Page 139 of One to Watch

“Definitely.” Bea nodded. “It took me a long time to believe—truly believe—that it was even possible for me to find a lasting relationship on a show like this one, so of course I’m disappointed things didn’t turn out the way I pictured. But you know, in a way, what happened was even better.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“If you had come to me the week before we started filming and told me that Ray was going to leave his fiancée for me, I would have cried for joy. I would have run to him so fast—and it would have been a terrible decision.”

“So your happy ending is getting over your feelings for Ray?”

“That’s part of it.” Bea considered. “But it’s more than that. I’ve told myself for so many years that I’m afraid of men rejecting me for the way I look, of them refusing to look past my size. But I was wrong—I don’t need a man to look past my size. I need someone who’ll see me and love me exactly as I am. For all its flaws, this show made me believe that that’s possible.”

“You’re not the only one who thinks so,” Johnny said. “We talked earlier about the people who weren’t so nice about you being on this show. But I hear you also received a lot of support from the plus-size community?”

“Yes!” Bea chirped. “That’s been one of the best parts of this whole experience. So many women and girls have shared their stories with me, have told me about all these acts of bravery they’ve been inspired to take in their own lives.”

“Any favorites?”

“Oh gosh.” Bea grinned, thinking back on all the terrific letters. “One girl told me that she was nervous to put her name in to be considered for prom court, but then she saw me on TV.”

“And did she become prom queen?”

“No. She decided to run for class president instead.”

The audience broke out in a thunderous ovation, and Bea beamed.

“Well,” Johnny said, “we have a surprise for you, Bea.”

“Uh-oh,” Bea’s response was involuntary, and the audience laughed good-naturedly.

“As you know, a lot of these letters came to us at Main Squeeze, and we passed them on to you. We loved the letters as much as you did, and we wanted to celebrate the women who wrote them. Can we get the lights up on the studio audience?”

On Johnny’s cue, the lighting in the studio changed dramatically: The hot lights on the stage dimmed, the house lights came up, and for the first time, Bea was actually able to see the audience.

Every single woman in the crowd was plus-size. And they were rising to their feet to applaud.

“What? What is this?” Bea grabbed Johnny’s hand, and to her great surprise, he held it tightly, keeping her steady as the tears streamed down her face.

“Every member of the audience is a woman who wrote to you, Bea,” Johnny explained. “We thought you deserved a chance to meet, live and in person, some of the many people who see themselves in you.”

“I can’t believe I finally liked a twist on Main Squeeze,” Bea blurted, and everyone laughed and cheered some more.

“I hope you won’t mind, but we have just one more.” Johnny guided Bea back to the couch as the studio lights returned to normal. “I’m guessing you noticed that one man from your Main Squeeze journey hasn’t made an appearance tonight?”

Bea’s pulse sped up—was he here after all? She looked wildly toward the stage door, thinking of how good it would feel to hold him, to tell him that, after all of this, he was the only one she wanted.

“I’m sorry to tell you that Asher declined our invitation to be here.”

“Oh.” Bea’s voice caught in her throat, and she couldn’t say anything more.

“But we do have a surprise guest—a certain celebrity who’s made it quite public that he’s interested in making your acquaintance. From the new film Lieutenant Luxembourg: Blast from the Past, please welcome Chris Evans!”

As a movie star made his way to the stage to give her a friendly hug hello, Bea swallowed her hurt over Asher and tried to stay in the moment, to marvel at the absurdity of her life. To think that less than a year ago, she was lying in bed, counting the days until Ray would be visiting for the Fourth of July, and now here she was, on live television, exchanging niceties with a Hollywood superhero because some publicist or executive had thought it would help sell movie tickets.

Or maybe, Bea stopped to remind herself, he actually was interested in dating her. As she gazed into his dreamy blue eyes, she couldn’t rule it out completely.

Three thousand miles away, in a cozy rental house utterly buried in mess and half-packed moving boxes, Gwen and Linus sat rapt in front of the TV.

“Dad!” Linus screamed. “Will you please come in here for one minute?? It’s IMPORTANT.”

Asher rushed in from the kitchen, packing tape still in hand.