DREW
"You're gonna do great, honey."Gwen's syrupy voice came through the phone as I sat in the green room atWake up with Clarywaiting for my time to go on air. "The fans can only fall more in love with you. I know I did."
My stomach twisted and I tried not to feel guilty at her last words.
How could she say so freely that she loved me, when I still couldn't say the words back?
What was wrong with me?
Why were those three little words so hard to say?
I always told myself it was because those words meant so much more to me than they did to others…but what if I was wrong?
What if I was just a cold, hard-hearted person who couldn't feel that way about anyone? I barely even said it to my mom, and that wasn't until she said it first.
I was seriously messed up.
Instead of taking Gwen's bait, I changed the subject. "I'm excited to see you this weekend. Did you find someone to watch your dogs?"
"No. My mom refuses to take them again, after what happened last time." Drew could just imagine the adorable way her brow furrowed when she said that. "Penelope was just nervous, thinking I was leaving her for months again. My mom should care more about a dog than her carpet. It's not like the carpet is alive or anything," she whined.
"She did just get the carpet put in,” I said matter-of-factly. “Can you understand how she might be upset that Penelope had an accident in the corner?"
Gwen huffed. "It's not like she can't afford to get the carpet cleaned. It's really not that big of a deal."
It would have been a big deal to me. I couldn't stand having dogs in the house.
Sure, they were fine for other people to have, but I certainly didn't need all the trouble they caused. Which was why I didn’t love the idea of Gwen's dogs taking over my house once we were engaged.
But it was something I'd have to deal with when the time came. If I got to the point of asking her to marry me, a loving wife would be more than worth putting up with yippy dogs chewing on my shoes.
There was a knock on the door. I looked over my shoulder to see Kate peeking her head in. She held up five fingers to indicate how much time I had until the stage crew came for me.
“Hey, Gwen. I gotta go.” I nodded and gestured for Kate to come in. "I'll talk to you later."
"Good luck,” Gwen said. “I wish I could be there with you."
"Me too. Just a few more months and I'll be showing you off to the whole world."
I hung up and set my phone on airplane mode, and then slipped it into the breast pocket of my sports coat. I stood and started buttoning my jacket.
"Are you nervous?" Kate asked.
"A little,” I admitted. “I've done interviews like this before, but this is the first time I'll be discussing my personal life and not business. I just hope I can answer those questions without sounding like a robot."
"Do you want to run through them one more time?" Kate offered.
But I shook my head. "If I don't have them down by now, it's never gonna happen." I inspected my favorite Armani suit in the mirror. "How do I look?"
Kate stepped closer and gazed at my reflection. Heat rose up my neck as I tried not to feel nervous under her examination.
Why was I still so nervous around her?
"You look pretty good. There's just one thing." Her eyes seemed to linger on my neck for a moment. "Your tie is crooked.”
“Oh, really?” I tore my gaze away from her to inspect my tie.
“Here, let me.” She leaned in to readjust my tie, clearly much less unaffected by our close proximity than I was. Her fingers smoothed along my tie and I held my breath, afraid to breathe. "Right there, that's good."