Page 136 of One to Watch

The audience laughed gently at this.

“And the hardest part was, because I was believing these terrible things about myself, I wasn’t believing the men who genuinely wanted to get to know me. I wasn’t even giving them a chance.”

“You were in a pretty bad funk, and you had to pull yourself out of it.”

“That’s right.”

“And how did you do that?”

“How does anyone do anything? With help! My best friend, Marin, came to set pretty early on, that was a real game changer for me. Then we went to Ohio, and I got to be with my family, which was great.”

“That was also the week you started getting closer with Wyatt,” Johnny pointed out.

“Yes, absolutely,” Bea agreed. “Wyatt and Sam in particular were so good to me in helping me believe that I deserved more than to shut myself away from the possibility of finding love.”

“And Asher?” Johnny urged.

“Things were more complex with Asher—and with Luc. I had beautiful moments with both of them, and tough ones too.”

“Luc has been pegged as the villain of your season—maybe one of the worst villains in the history of Main Squeeze. But it sounds like you don’t see him that way?”

“I don’t,” Bea said. “I can’t. It’s not that simple for me. Luc hurt me badly, but he also made me feel beautiful when none of the other men could. He was the first man in my life to show me how that felt.”

“Well, you’re about to have a chance to tell him exactly what you think about him—let’s welcome Luc to the show!”

A spotlight illuminated Luc as he made his way toward the stage in tight jeans and a strategically undone black button-down, his hair long enough now to be pulled back in a loose little ponytail. The audience reaction was mixed—they cheered for him like they knew they shouldn’t, but they just couldn’t help themselves. Bea understood exactly how they felt.

“Bea.” He kissed her cheek, and he smelled the same—salt and smoke. “It is good to see you.”

“You as well,” she said politely.

“The last time we saw you two together was at that unforgettable kiss-off ceremony in Amboise. Have you communicated since then?” Johnny asked.

They both shook their heads—they hadn’t.

“The public didn’t find out until after the episode had aired that Luc was having an affair with a producer of this show. But Bea, did you know? Is that the reason Luc went home that day?”

“I did know,” Bea answered.

“Of course she knew,” Luc added. “She saw us herself.”

This prompted a smattering of gasps from the audience, and Bea shook her head—even now, Luc always had to cause drama.

“Well.” Johnny’s eyes widened. “That’s news! Bea, is this true?”

“Yes,” Bea admitted. “That morning, I walked in on them.”

“How did you feel when that happened?”

“You know, it was tough, to have that happen within hours of spending the night with Luc, something which was very meaningful to me—and still is.”

“Because he was the first person you’d been with since Ray?”

Bea sighed. If America was going to know the truth about her sex life, they might as well know all of it. “He’s still the only person I’ve been with since Ray.”

Concerned murmurs from the audience—poor Bea!

“Do you regret your decision to spend the night with him?”