LITMIR.BIZ

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hang up, please.” Something in the woman’s voice caused her to pause. “I’m Devin Kenney’s producer for Cover Your Assets.”

      That’s why the voice sounded vaguely familiar. She’d heard it on the radio the once or twice she’d tuned in to Devin’s show—strictly for research purposes, of course. “And I still have no comment.”

      It wasn’t for lack of trying, though. She’d spent hours trying to come up with the perfect comment. One that would be pithy and quotable yet shut down any further questions. Sadly, such a comment did not exist.

      “I understand your reluctance, but please hear me out. I’m not looking for a quote or a story.” The woman laughed. “That’s not my job.”

      Megan focused on the water stain on the ceiling and prayed for patience. “Ms. Wilson, I’m extremely busy today, so—”

      “So I’ll get to the point. I understand you’re getting a lot of unwelcome attention from the media right now.”

      That was an understatement.

      “I don’t know how much you’ve dealt with the media in the past, but I do know one way to get this circus under control.”

      That would be too much to ask, especially since this woman worked for the media—and Devin. Therefore her offer to help sounded suspicious at best. “And that would be …?”

      “You beat them to it. Put yourself out there in a way you can control.”

      “Ms. Wilson—”

      “Call me Kate.”

      “Kate, I’m really not interested in doing interviews or anything of that nature.”

      “Exactly. That’s why I think you should come on Devin’s show.”

      What part of “no interviews “does this Kate not understand? “I’m sorry, what?”

      Excitement oozed out of the woman’s words. “You could tell your side with Devin right there to corroborate the truth of the stories. You could take questions, even, and end the speculation. If you show that you and Devin aren’t on opposite sides—and that you two think it’s a nonissue—that issue will no longer be interesting. Problem solved.”

      That sounded way too good to be true. Too easy. “What makes you think anyone would—”

      “Dr. Lowe, you have to know the fact you’re a marriage counselor and Devin is a divorce attorney is the stuff blogs eat up. It just feeds on itself, and the more that’s not said about it just gives rise to more speculation.”

      “I am aware of that.” Blindingly aware, she thought as her eye began to twitch again.

      Kate seemed to miss the sarcasm. “Then come on the show tomorrow night. You and Devin can address this issue head-on. Get the truth out there and end everyone’s curiosity.”

      It couldn’t be that easy. Plus … “I’ve never done anything on the radio before.”

      “Don’t worry about that. You have a great voice, and Devin and I can walk you through the specifics.”

      “I don’t know. Maybe I should talk to Devin first.” Oh, the thought made her stomach hurt again.

      “It’ll be great for Devin’s ratings, too. I think a lot of folks will tune in to hear you two sort things out. And think, you could become the most popular marriage counselor in Chicago. It would probably increase your patient list.”

      Something didn’t quite feel right. “Why didn’t Devin call me himself with this grand idea?”

      “He’s in Atlanta today for a book signing and won’t be back until tomorrow afternoon.”

      It was tempting. Very tempting. Except for the talking-to-Devin part. And the being-near-Devin part. That hadn’t gone so well yesterday. She cringed again.

      Kate did have a point about taking control instead of being pushed along. And wasn’t she always telling her clients to act instead of react?

      But the radio? Devin had a coast-to-coast audience. She wasn’t the same wallflower she used to be, but still … Who wouldn’t be nervous at the idea of being heard by that many people? The possibilities for humiliation were huge.

      But if it went the way Kate seemed to think it would … Maybe she could shut this down before it got any bigger and get back to work. Put Devin out of her life once and for all.

      “Dr. Lowe? If this is going to work, we need to jump on it now. Before it gets any bigger.”

      Megan took a deep breath. “Then I guess I’ll come on the show.”

      “Wonderful! You’ll need to be here by six so I can brief you. Do I need to send a car for you …?”

      Kate rattled off questions and instructions, but Megan was questioning her sanity and barely heard them over the sound of her head gently banging against the headboard.

      Devin made the mistake of heeding Megan’s advice about reading his own press just as his flight began its descent into O’Hare. He put his seat and tray table in the upright position, stowed his electronics and changed to printed media to occupy the last few minutes of the flight.

      There, on the front of the entertainment section, in type large enough to be read from Coach, was a promo for tonight’s show.

      And Megan’s name was right next to his.

       What the hell?

      According to this, tonight’s very special guest would be his ex-wife, Dr. Megan Lowe. His surprise at Megan’s doctor title was quickly swamped by the news that she was coming on his show.

      Whose bright idea was that?

      He reached for his phone, only to remember he couldn’t use it. Waving over the flight attendant, he asked, “How long until we land?”

      “Hard to say, Mr. Kenney. There’s a bit of a line and we’re going to have to circle for a while. I’ll let you know when we get an updated ETA, though.”

      He didn’t know who to call first when they landed—Kate, Manny or Megan. Scratch Megan, since he didn’t have her number. This stunt reeked of Manny’s machinations, but Kate could’ve had a hand in it, as well. They were probably in collusion to drive him insane. Ratings and money: the two things Kate and Manny could be guaranteed to jump on any possibility of.

      He shifted in his seat as the pilot announced the delay to the rest of the passengers.

      How had they talked Megan into this idea? She had a fear of public speaking. She hated being the center of attention. Their small, family-only wedding hadn’t been all about finances—Megan just couldn’t face the idea of being the focus of that many people. She was an introvert, uncomfortable outside her zone.

      That protective instinct that had appeared out of nowhere yesterday swooped back in again. The feeling was both familiar and odd at the same time. He’d been trapped by that feeling the very first time she’d turned those huge baby-blue eyes on him, awakening some caveman instinct to protect and shelter her from the big, bad world.

      But it should be long gone by now, beaten down by the way she’d walked out on him, buried by her selfishness and immaturity….

      There was the feeling he was used to getting on those rare occasions Megan crossed his mind. That older instinct had just been shaken loose by the surprise at seeing her the other day. That twinge of guilt he’d felt at the bookstore had been easily tamped down, even as several tenacious reporters had questioned him about their marriage in interviews yesterday. He’d evaded the questions as much as possible.

      Megan wasn’t a part of his life. She needed to go back to whoever she was and whatever she did when not crashing his book signing. She certainly wasn’t relevant to his career.

      And

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