Page 96 of At the Heart of It
“Nice.” Kate watched as Sam swept a stray lock of hair off Elena’s forehead, then bent to kiss her again.
All those counseling sessions, all the awkward conversations. In the end, it had all been worth it.
“This is going to be a kick-ass pilot episode,” she said.
“Yeah. I talked to Viv this morning,” Amy said. “She had some really good ideas for the next two couples we’re flying out here. And she also had a few thoughts about weaving in the story arc with Jonah.”
Kate tried not to wince, but Amy caught it anyway. “Hey,” she murmured. “There’s nothing we can do about it. You heard what Chase said on the conference call this morning.”
“Right,” Kate muttered, hating the echo of his voice in her ears.
“I don’t care if you’re a zillion percent positive Average Joe doesn’t want to bone his ex-wife,” Chase had boomed over the speakerphone. “It’ll make for fucking great television either way.”
“God, what a dick,” Kate muttered.
“But he’s got a point.”
“Doesn’t mean it’s a good one,” she said. “Or that we have to like it.”
“No, but our hands are tied.” Amy sighed. “I talked with Rick Black in legal this morning.” Amy glanced around, but there were no crew members nearby.
Even so, Kate edged a little closer and lowered her voice. “What did he say?”
“He asked a lot of questions about dates and legal proceedings. Had me send over copies of everything related to the divorce.”
“Did he seem—hopeful?”
“He sounded like a lawyer,” Amy muttered. “Guarded. But I explained the importance of discretion here. That we’re doing our best to keep this whole thing quiet while we try to find a solution.”
“So what’s the plan?”
“He’s going to do some research into Oregon divorce law,” Amy said. “That’s where they were married, you know.”
“I know,” Kate murmured, remembering the details from the book. Viv’s glowing descriptions of the ceremony and vows and?—
“Oregon divorce law isn’t a specialty for an entertainment lawyer, obviously, though he has a couple guys on staff who know more than he does.”
“So until then, mum’s the word?”
“Yeah.” Amy nodded. “At least until we know more from the legal end of things.”
The buzzing of Amy’s phone put a halt to their conversation, and Kate felt a flicker of hope it was the attorneys. Maybe they had an answer to the problem. Maybe Jonah and Viv would never need to know their marriage was still technically?—
“Speak of the devil,” Amy muttered as she stared at her phone screen.
“Chase or Rick?”
“I meant the other devil. The one who wants to woo her ex on national television.”
Before Kate could reply, Amy tapped the screen to answer the call. “Hey, Viv. What’s up?”
Kate strained to make out the reply, but Viv’s breathy response was too soft to hear.
“We’re actually just finishing things here,” Amy continued. “Did you need us?”
More soft murmurs, and Kate watched Amy’s brow furrow. “Let me check with Kate really quick.”
Amy hit the button to mute the call. “Are you free to run by Viv’s place right now?”
