Page 14 of At the Heart of It
“Pretended to be married,” Jonah supplied.
Hell, might as well put it all out there.
“That’s not as scandalous as it sounds,” Kate said with exaggerated patience. “There were these two old ladies talking about the people next door having really loud sex, and Jonah and I—” She stopped there, probably realizing that any additional detail would make things sound more meaningful than they were. Kate cleared her throat. “Anyway, we saw a play together and had dinner afterward, but we didn’t even exchange phone numbers.”
Jonah watched her speaking, intrigued that she didn’t mention the kiss. And that’s all it had been. Just a kiss, or more accurately, several long, drawn out, passionate kisses. Making out, if you wanted to call it that. The sort of kissing-for-the-sake-of-kissing that most people forget exists sometime between, “Are you taking the SAT prep course?” and, “I now pronounce you man and wife.” Kissing as the endgame, rather than foreplay.
God, he’d loved that.
But if Kate wasn’t going to say anything about it, he wouldn’t either. He still didn’t know what the hell was going on here, but he sensed he was better off not volunteering too much. He turned back to Viv, who was studying them both with that clinical, analytical look she always got when she was trying to burrow into a client’s brain and wiggle her fingers around in the dark, slippery layers.
But she didn’t press for more information, so it seemed like a good idea to get on with whatever the hell had prompted her to invite him here.
“So,” he said to Viv. “Want to tell me what this is all about?”
Vivienne folded her hands in her lap and nodded. “In a nutshell, the Empire Television Network would like me to star in a new unscripted television program called Relationship Reboot with Dr. Viv. They’ll follow one couple each episode from the point where they first appear in my office for counseling to the point where they leave with a decision to save the marriage or mindfully disentangle themselves from the union.”
Mindfully disentangling themselves from the union was exactly what he and Viv had done, or at least what she’d suggested when she’d brought up the idea of divorce in the first place. The words still grated on him, and brought out his inner chest-thumping caveman the way it always did around her.
Maybe that’s what she wanted. Why he was sitting here right now.
“Let me take a guess,” he said, pulling off his glasses so he could polish them on the hem of his T-shirt. “You want me to be part of this show.”
He regretted the words the instant they left his mouth. He’d look like a dick if he’d guessed wrong.
But he wasn’t wrong. He could see from the way Viv pursed her lips, and the way Kate shifted uncomfortably on the sofa and looked down at the floor.
Viv cleared her throat. “Based on the success of our co-authored book, and the fact that?—”
“No.”
All three women frowned, but it was Viv who spoke first. “Jonah?—”
There she went again using his full name. To this day, he regretted that stupid Average Joe moniker. Playing the Neanderthal to his ethereal, educated wife had seemed like a good idea at the time. But now . . .
“We were able to function beautifully together during the publicity push for On the Other Hand, despite our separation,” Viv continued in her soothing-therapist voice. “Very maturely.”
Jonah put his glasses back on and folded his arms over his chest. “Not that maturely.”
“Having you as part of the show would lend an authenticity to it,” Viv said. “A relatability element.”
Kate cleared her throat. “For what it’s worth, the focus groups we’ve tested the concept with so far found a male element to be vital for a show like this. Your contributions to On the Other Hand were some of the most compelling, heartfelt sections in the whole book. They literally changed my life.”
She was selling it pretty hard, though there was an earnestness in her voice that almost sounded real. But hell, she knew how to act. He’d seen that firsthand.
He looked away, needing to keep his focus on the subject at hand instead of the lushness of Kate’s thighs crossing and uncrossing under that snug little skirt. Jonah tugged at his collar and turned his attention back to Viv. “You swore when we finished that publicity tour that we’d be all done. No more.”
“I know that,” she said. “It was a promise I meant at the time, but things change.”
“No shit.”
God, he sounded like a bitter ex-husband. He wasn’t really. The divorce had been friendly enough, and they’d parted on decent terms. What was it about sitting here with her that made him turn into a goddamn cretin?
“Jonah,” Viv tried again. “Just hear us out.”
“I don’t think so. Have you forgotten the fact that I hate TV appearances? Remember how many we did during the push for On the Other Hand?”
“Zero.” Viv pressed her lips together. “We did zero. You also wouldn’t pose for a book jacket photo. Not even the hands on the cover are ours.”
