My wide, desperate eyes dart up to lock on a steady sea of blue.
“You’re okay,” Wyatt says, pivoting my body toward his, so the stage is at my back.
“I can’t go out there, Wyatt.” I gulp. “I can’t do this. I’m sorry, I thought I could, but I think—”
“Katharine.” He gives me a light shake. I feel the press of his fingertips against my skin and try to focus on that instead of the fear and the panic churning through me. “Take a deep breath. That’s it — in through your nose, out through your mouth. Good. Do it again. One more time.”
He breathes with me, applying firm pressure on my shoulders as I stare up at him.
Saving me, even when he hates me.
Eventually I feel my jagged breaths even out into something remotely normal. The panic is still there, swirling through me, but it’s walled off behind a barrier of calm, built brick by brick out of Wyatt’s steady hands and soothing words.
I hear Eileen winding down her Grayson story, starting to make my introduction. “I’ve got another surprise for you today — no, it’s not Ryan Gosling, there’s a law in Los Angeles that he and Grayson aren’t allowed to be in the same room, it causes riots,” she jokes, but it all sounds somewhat distant as I look into Wyatt’s eyes. He doesn’t pull away.
“We’ve got the exclusive first look atUncharted, Grayson’s new movie!” she says, making the crowd roar again. “But, that’s not all…”
I suck in another deep breath.
“We’ve also got his new co-star Katharine Firestone in the house! It’s her first time on the show, so let’s make some noise for her!”
The cheers build to an undulating wave of sound.
“You can do this, Katharine.” Wyatt pivots my body toward the stage again. His mouth hits my ear. “You hear me?You can do this. I know you can.”
“Okay,” I whisper, staring at the stage, but the word is lost in the clamor of the crowd.
Wyatt gives me a small push between the shoulder blades and I stagger out of the wings, blinking at the bright lights overhead. The rumble of hundreds of voices hits me like a punch to the stomach.
I can do this.
I smile and wave as I walk to the settee, trying to take in the sight of the crowd, but I barely see it. My mind is fully focused on the memory of two bottomless blue irises, an ocean where I’d happily drown… and a warm set of hands stroking the bare skin of my biceps… and the gruff, steady sound of a voice pulling me back from the brink.
Out of the shadows.
Into the sunshine.
Five
“Baby, you turn me on.”
- A lamp.
The crowd goeswild for the footage ofUncharted.
It’s the first glimpse the world has ever seen of Violet and Beck’s epic love story — barely more than thirty seconds of clips roughly cut into a teaser. And yet, their excitement is palpable. They gasp at all the right places, elbowing each other and squealing when the giant screen behind us flashes with a shot of Grayson emerging from the waves, shirtless and dripping. Sighing when the screen fades out to a montage of us kissing on the beach at sunset.
It’s surreal to see myself, larger than life, on the screen, being watched by strangers. An out of body experience that sets my heart galloping in my chest and makes my palms grow clammy with sweat. I’m thankful for the audience’s long applause when the sizzle reel ends — I find I need the time to recover. My days as a child star onBusy Beesdid not adequately prepare me for this moment.
So far, the interview has gone better than I dared to hope. Eileen truly is a pro at making her guests feel at ease, and Grayson is well-practiced after years in the public eye. Between the two of them, the conversation flows easily — trading jokes and anecdotes, keeping things light and fun, avoiding the landmine topic of relationships; a stipulation we agreed to before the interview. The attention is rarely on me, for which I’m grateful, and when it does stray my way, somehow Eileen manages to make me sound charming and composed, instead of mulish and tongue-tied.
“Whew!” She makes a show of fanning herself with both hands, looking out over the audience. “I don’t know about y’all, but I think I need a moment to compose myself! How sexy was that sizzle reel?”
Whistles and cheers echo back from the audience.
Eileen turns to look at Grayson and me. “I think I speak for everyone here when I ask… where the heck do I buy my ticket?”
We both grin.