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Kyle beamed "I'm fully aware of that."
Jose turned back to me. "What about the fact that he was… an escort? Was that difficult for you?"
I shrugged. "Lots of people screw other people for money. What Kyle was doing was just more… direct, I guess."
"If I could go back and change the past, of course I would," Kyle said. "But I was in a place where I felt that I had very limited options. So I did what I had to do to survive, and I don't regret that. I actually quit a week ago. I didn't even tell Lowell. I just… had to be with her for the right reasons. There were lots of them."
Jose nodded as if we were actually making sense to someone other than ourselves. I could only hope that our parents, my fans, and the people in the industry felt the same way.
"What do you think is going to happen now?" Jose asked me. "With your career? The director of your latest film's been pretty vocal since your run-in with the police."
I nodded. "I have no idea what's going to happen. I can only hope that my fans know how much I love them and appreciate them. I want to keep working, that's for sure. But will that be possible?" I shook my head. "I don't know. Plus, my director's still on me to lose another ten pounds, so—"
Jenny, Lucas's PR girl, stood and stamped her feet. "Enough! That's a wrap! Not another word, Barton!"
Jose raised his eyebrows.
"I'm not taking orders from you. Or anyone else," I snapped at her.
Jenny stood there, fuming with her arms crossed.
I squeezed Kyle's hand and looked back at Jose. "We're doing this interview to tell the truth. The truth is this is the man I love. I also love my work. While I'm at it, I want to add that I really hate starving myself just so I can do my job. I guess my point is that I can't keep living a lie just to save face. To pretend I'm perfect when I'm not. I just want to be who I am. And be a good person. And do good things. I hope you all can accept that."
I looked up and saw Jenny glaring at me while Gigi gave me the thumbs-up. So my performance was already getting mixed reviews, but I didn't regret it.
I looked at Kyle, who was beaming at me, and I felt sure.
Doing the right thing really was always a good idea.
* * *
Jose was thanking us for what he said was the best interview of his career when we heard a commotion out front.
Kyle and I jostled past the crew to the door.
"What's going on?" he asked as I peered out the window.
I groaned and leaned against the door, wishing I could un-see the scene outside.
"What? Tell me," he said, his voice urgent.
"It's my mother. It looks like she's holding a press conference, chock full of fist-waving and screeches."
Kyle blew out a deep breath. "You wanna just ignore her?"
I shook my head. "Let's go out the back door and sneak around." We hustled past Jose, and I jerked my thumb toward the front of the house. "You're missing a story out there. My mom's holding an impromptu press conference."
Jose let out a low whistle. "You two are exciting." He grinned. "My wife and I just binge-watch cable shows for excitement. We're boring."
"Boring is good," Kyle called, pulling me toward the back. "We're striving for boring as soon as this is all done."
"I highly recommend Game of Thrones," Jose called. "A little something for everyone. Even has dragons."
Kyle gave him a thumbs-up then headed into the kitchen.
"You did a fantastic job with that interview," Shirley said when she saw him. "Seriously, we listened from in here. I might have to hire you, Kyle. Public relations in this town isn't for the faint of heart, but you're a natural."
"Thank you—if my dad decides to fire me again, I might just take you up on that." He grinned. "But right now we have a situation. Lo's mom is out front, having a hissy fit in front of the press. You might wanna come watch."
