My mom nodded. “If that Warren Wright has some sort of tricks up his sleeve, I’ll take him down myself. Give that jerk a real story to report on.”
“Come on,” Ravi said, starting for the door. “I’ll drive.”
We quickly made our way outside, filing into Ravi and Jen’s SUV. My mom placed her hand on my knee as Ravi turned onto the street.
I reached for my phone and typed out a text to Grace.
I’m on my way.
THIRTY-FOUR
Luca
Beads of sweatformed along the back of my neck as Warren Wright continued his line of questioning. It started off simple enough with him asking how I was feeling and how I’d been handling the onslaught of press. But with every response, my mind wandered back to the promise of the surprise message from my past. Nobody who actually knew me would agree to something like that without giving me a heads-up because they’d know how important an interview like this was.
That meant it was someone who didn’t know me at all, which could cause this entire thing to go up in flames.
“I want to talk to you a little about your past,” Warren said, crossing one leg over the other. He was a tall and imposing figure with his salt-and-pepper hair and his tailored blue suit. “During your time with Midnight in Dallas you were known for being a bit…wild.”
I nodded. “Yeah. I was.”
“You were often photographed drinking alcohol, which on its own isn’t necessarily a bad thing,” he began. “But those pictures appeared alongside tales of drunken brawls and unruly behavior. It’s often been speculated that you may have a substance abuse problem. Would you say that’s a fair assessment?”
Between the heat from Warren’s interrogation and the burn of the set lights, I would’ve given my left nut for a glass of water.
“It was,” I admitted. “There was a long period of time when I drank heavily. Nearly every night. I used to pop pills like they were candy and chase them down with tequila. But I haven’t had a drink or taken anything that wasn’t prescribed by a doctor in over two years. I stopped because I saw myself going down a path that scared me. My thoughts were dark enough without the shadows cast by the alcohol and drugs.”
“Hmm,” Warren said. “But there were still some pictures taken of you within that two-year period where you were spotted with a flask in hand.”
I shifted in my seat and cleared my throat. “Yes, there were. But that flask didn’t have any alcohol in it.”
“What was in it, then?”
“Water. Sometimes soda.”
“I think people are going to find that hard to believe.” Warren leaned closer, his brows drawn. “If you didn’t want people to think you had a problem with alcohol, why carry a flask out in public?”
“At the time, I didn’t care what people thought of me,” I said. “Or at least that’s what I told myself. Look, it didn’t matter if I carried around a bottle of water or a Starbucks cup—people were going to say what they wanted. There was this preconceived idea of who and what I was, and I didn’t feel like fighting it. I let people think what they liked.”
“Do you have regrets about that?” he asked.
“Yeah, I do.”
Warren folded his hands together in his lap. “You were also known for the seemingly revolving door of beautiful women you kept on your arm. In fact, it was a running joke in the tabloids. They called you ‘One Strike Sterling.’ Did you know that?”
I shook my head. “I didn’t know about the nickname, but I was aware of my…reputation.”
“In the past couple of weeks, a few stories have come out from various women who’ve said they had encounters with you over the years. They’re saying you didn’t bother to learn their names, that you never attempted to get to know them.” He paused, his eyes narrowed. “Is there any truth in that?”
“Yes,” I confessed.
“How many of these types of encounters would you say you’ve had over the years?”
What the fuck kind of question is that?! Is he really asking for my body count on national television?
“Honestly? I don’t know.” I ran my thumb along the edge of my jaw. “I didn’t respect myself, let alone anyone else. That’s not an excuse for my behavior, but I didn’t have the emotional capacity to give more to anyone.”
“Did these women know that?”
