They arrived on the ground floor, and Brooklyn held the elevator door to let her mom exit first. “I understand. That makes sense.” It still didn’t sit quite right with Brooklyn. She had to wonder if there was another way out of this.
Her mom dug her sunglasses out of her handbag. “One more thing before I go. Will you promise me you won’t shop for a father for my grandchild via the silly letter your sister wrote?”
“So you think a sperm donor is the best option?”
“It will certainly be a simpler means of getting what you want.”
True. But it wasn’t everything Brooklyn wanted. There was still this stubborn part of her that wanted love. A partner. “I suppose.”
Her mom softly patted Brooklyn’s shoulder. “Just keep it together, darling. Don’t let everything that has happened because of the letter derail you from your actual plan. You want a baby. Have a baby.”
“You’re right.”
“No rash decisions, okay?” her mom asked.
“Got it. As long as I can ask the same of you. Please let me try to talk you out of selling Aurora. Or at least into finding the right buyer.”
Chapter Ten
Whenever Lela madean appearance onGood Day USA, Alec made a point of complimenting her work after taping. “Great segment on lipliner, Lela,” he said as he ran into her in the hall outside his dressing room. She was a fresh and fun presence on the show. They needed as much of that as they could get.
She came to a halt. “Thanks?” Peering up at him, her skepticism was plain. “Wait. You don’t honestly think I believe you care about that.”
“Let me put it another way then. I appreciate what you do. It’s nice to have you on the show. You’re always so upbeat. And you keep your hands to yourself.”
Lela arched both eyebrows at him. “Tilly Ann? Again?”
He shook his head. “Thankfully, no. But I’m always on guard.”
“Maybe you should talk to someone at the network about it.”
Alec had considered that once or twice, but he’d feared the fallout. Would he get laughed out of the room? After all, there was no imbalance of power between himself and Tilly Ann, and the gender issue was messy—there was an unspoken rule in network culture that men didn’t complain about women. “What do you think would happen if I talked to her directly about it?”
Lela stepped aside as a stagehand rushed past them. “If it was me, I would be horrified by my actions, and embarrassed that we had to talk about it, but it would definitely make me stop.”
Alec suspected Tilly Ann would have a similar response, and he dreaded being the one to prompt it. Despite his issues with Tilly Ann, he genuinely liked her. He didn’t want to make her feel bad about her actions. But… it was still an issue. It bothered him. “I guess that means I need to find the right time to bring it up.”
“If there’s anything I can do, please let me know.”
“So, did you and Brooklyn ever end up getting lunch?” Alec asked, eager to change the subject.
“We did.” Lela nodded and smiled. “Yesterday, in fact. Man, that woman has a lot on her plate. I don’t know how she does it. And then you add in everything that’s happened since she was on the show and it’s like, wow. I’m surprised she gets any sleep at all.”
“Everything that’s happened since then? I’m not sure I know what you’re talking about.”
“Thirty-seven guys is now over six hundred. It’s unbelievable. I guess men just walk up to her on the street now. She got some young hottie of an intern because of it.”
Alec got that feeling again—unsettled stomach, bile threatening to climb up his throat, his entire body restless. “Wow. I didn’t know. I guess I’m just not plugged in when it comes to gossip.”
“I’m not either. I only know what she told me.”
Alec’s phone rang, interrupting their conversation. He fished it out of his pocket and saw Georgia Carle’s name on the Caller ID. “Oh. Shoot.”
“Everything okay?” Apparently, Alec was wearing his concern quite plainly on his face.
“Yeah. Sorry. I need to take this. I’ll see you later.” Alec waved goodbye to Lela and ducked into his dressing room, closing the door behind him. “Georgia, hi. How are you?”
“I’m fine, thank you. Do you have a few minutes? I wanted to give you an update on your interview with Brooklyn Monroe.”
