Page 84 of One to Watch

Bea shook her head. “Not even close. And I’m sorry he gave you that impression. You know how he is, I’m sure he was just trying to get a rise out of you.”

“It’s not just him,” Asher said softly.

“Oh?”

“Sam was pretty happy when he came home from his date.”

Bea exhaled deeply. She’d been so worried about these men hurting her, she hadn’t even considered the fact that she could hurt them.

“Come here,” she said to Asher, taking his hand and putting it over her heart, just as he’d done in Ohio. “I know how awful it is to see someone you care about with someone else, okay? Believe me, I’ve been there. But if you can’t trust that I’m taking this seriously, you might as well leave now. Is that what you want?”

Asher let out a huge sigh and pulled Bea into a hug.

“That’s the opposite of what I want,” he mumbled into her hair, and Bea relaxed into his touch. This was what she’d longed for all day, and now that she was here, she finally felt some of the tension in her body unspool.

He pulled back so he could look at her. “Forgive me for being a jealous ass?”

She nodded, then took his hand and led him over to a picnic blanket piled with pillows that the production staff had set out. They settled down to enjoy thermoses full of hot tea as they looked out over the falls.

“So,” Bea started, “we have a big decision to make this week.”

“Regarding my children?”

Bea nodded. “Will you tell me more about them? How old are they?”

“Gwen is twelve, and Linus is nine.”

“Wow, so you were a really young dad.”

“Yeah, just twenty-three when Gwen was born.”

“What’s she like?”

“She’s very serious.” Asher smiled. “She wants to be a scientist someday; she got very into zoology this year and did a whole research paper about the differences between leopards and cheetahs.”

“I love leopard print?” Bea ventured.

“I’m not sure that counts as having something in common.” Asher patted Bea’s thigh. “Gwen can be a tough nut to crack—she’s a lot like me, if I’m honest. Very thoughtful, very critical. Even a bit guarded. She didn’t want me to come on this show.”

“Really? Why not?”

“She thought it was a waste of time—and as you know, I agreed. But it meant so much to Linus … I just couldn’t say no to him.”

“Will you tell me about Linus?” Bea asked, and Asher’s whole expression softened.

“He has this sweetness that can change your whole day. And he’s sensitive—he picks up right away if Gwen’s in a bad mood, or I am. He just wants everything around him to be filled with joy.”

Bea didn’t miss the note of pain in Asher’s voice. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

Asher looked at Bea for a long moment, and then sighed.

“I’m afraid of putting him on television.”

“Because he’s so young?”

Asher shook his head. “Linus is gender nonconforming. He still uses he/him pronouns, and I don’t know how he’ll come to identify—for now, I’m following his lead. He loves to wear dresses, tutus, glitter, all of it. He’s a human ray of sunshine. But the kids at his school …”

“There’s been bullying?”