Page 108 of At the Heart of It
On top of that, Viv had been acting weird. At first he chalked it up to her mugging for the camera. She’d share some poignant memory from their past, always as a means of illustrating a point she was making for a couple they counseled. He’d catch her smiling at him a little long, or reaching across her desk to touch his hand.
He tried not to react, even though instinct made him want to yank his arm back and tell her to knock it the hell off. That wasn’t exactly the best way to model positive dialogue for the couples they worked with.
As days wore on, Jonah was starting to wonder if all this time on camera was making everyone a little loopy.
“Here’s the Speedo they want you to wear.”
Jonah turned to see Amy looking sheepish and offering him a garment the size of an eye patch.
He frowned. “I thought they were kidding about the hot tub scene.”
Amy shook her head, still holding the Speedo like a steak entrée she’d been asked to serve a vegetarian. “Sorry. I didn’t make the shot list. But we already know the shirtless stuff has been playing well with focus groups.”
Which Jonah could grudgingly admit was a good thing. They’d had something like a gazillion hits on the teaser video they’d floated on YouTube. The result had been a slew of donations to Clearwater Animal Shelter, and a growing buzz about the show. Jonah didn’t understand how it all worked, but everyone kept using the word viral. The video had laced footage from Jossy’s shelter with clips from Viv’s appearance on Oprah several years ago, hyping the whole thing up as America’s hottest new reality show.
The wording had bugged the hell out of Viv, which Jonah could understand. Hell, he could even understand her being irked by how much attention he’d been getting. This television shit was horribly sexist, so maybe he owed it to her to take one for the team.
He stared at the Speedo. “I’m not wearing that,” he said. “I’ll do the hot tub thing, but I’ll wear my own shorts. I think I have a gym bag in my car.”
Amy smiled and tucked the Speedo back in her bag. “Great! They’ll see you out there in ten.”
She walked away, leaving Jonah wondering if the whole thing had been a gimmick to get him to agree while letting him feel like he’d won some small battle. He sighed and glanced at his watch. God, this was shaping up to be their longest filming day yet. At least Beth was holding things together at the bookstore.
“Jonah?”
He looked up to see Kate hovering in the doorway of the makeshift greenroom. There was no one with her—no cameraman, no sound checker—and Jonah tried to remember the last time they’d been alone together.
In her hotel room, he remembered, and tried not to picture her naked.
She must have had the same thought, because her cheeks turned faintly pink. “I just heard you agreed to do the hot tub scene.”
“News spreads fast in this business.”
She looked at him a little oddly. “Right. Yes, it does.” She glanced behind her, then took a few more steps into the room, bringing her close enough to touch. Not that there could be any touching between them. Not here, anyway. “You look exhausted,” she said.
Jonah laughed. “Gee, thanks.”
“No, I mean—if you want, I can talk to the production guys about putting this off,” she said. “Maybe we can reschedule or something.”
“You’re sweet to be concerned,” he said. “Actually, I’m looking forward to it.”
“To getting in a hot tub with your ex-wife?”
He frowned. “Viv’s going to be there?”
“Shit.” Kate frowned. “Yeah. I take it they didn’t mention that part?”
He shook his head, feeling irritated. “No, they didn’t. Are they doing some bullshit thing where I walk out there and act all surprised to see her in the hot tub?”
“No, nothing like that. They won’t make you fake anything.”
The look on her face wasn’t very reassuring. “So what’s the setup?”
“You’re just supposed to act like you’re unwinding together after a long day of filming,” she said. “Technically, that’s true, right?”
He frowned. “Sure, if I were in the habit of stripping down and taking a bath with my ex-wife.”
“Don’t think they didn’t kick the bathtub idea around,” she muttered. “Be grateful they went for the hot tub. At least it’s huge. Plenty of room for you to have your own space.”
