Just a Girl - Becky Monson Page 0,53

takes it and blots his brow line and the side of his face.

“Thank you,” he says, tucking the tissue into the pocket of his jeans.

I want to say more about Brady; I want Henry to know that nothing is really going on there. Nothing serious, at least. I’m not sure why I want to make sure he knows—I don’t owe Henry anything. It’s all just my brain making up crazy romantic stories. Like maybe if I told him, he’d smile and say “brilliant” like he does, the corners of his mouth pulling into a full smile, and the cameras would turn to us just as he’s kissed me for all of Orlando to see. Because that’s super likely.

I don’t say anything, though; I just turn my head toward the news desk and watch as the camera that was on Curtis rolls over to the main news desk to Moriarty and David.

I feel Henry tense up next to me. “You’ve got this. Just follow my lead. Easy questions, okay? I promise. We’ll stick to the script.”

His reply is just a nod. He takes in a deep breath through his nose, his chest rising and falling as he does. I want to reach up and touch his arm again, to give him comfort. But I hold myself back.

“And now we’ve got a little something fun for our viewers tonight,” I hear Moriarty say. “Here at Channel 4, we’re doing a feature called ‘Date Our Producer.’ In just a minute we’re going to introduce you to our executive producer, Henry Pierce. And let me tell you something, Central Florida: you’re going to love him.” She does her signature smile into the camera, the matte red finish of her lipstick looking perfect under the studio lighting.

“Well, I know we all have loved working with him here at KCFL so far,” David croons. “Shall we introduce him?”

“Ready?” I whisper to Henry and watch him take another deep breath.

No reply, just a nod.

“Come on over here, Henry,” Moriarty says, and I head into the lights of the studio, Henry following behind.

“With him, we have Quinn Pearson,” Moriarty says, her voice fake as ever. “Many of you probably don’t recognize her—she does the midday news.”

I keep my fake smile plastered on my face as the camera follows us to the news desk. But inside I’m calling Moriarty all kinds of names. Like a word that rhymes with “witch.” She can never miss an opportunity to throw in a dig.

“Quinn has agreed to help us out with this,” David says, giving me a toothy grin. I’ve always liked David. He’s had to work with Moriarty for something like eight years, so the guy will probably be sainted.

“Good evening,” I say to Moriarty and David as I stand next to the news desk. “I’d like to introduce Central Florida to our own Henry Pierce.” I gesture over to Henry, who gives the camera a small smile.

“Don’t be shy, Henry,” Moriarty says, looking at us and not the teleprompter, where it’s very clear that I’m supposed to be doing the talking now and not her. “Tell our viewers about yourself,” she says, a little twinkle in her eye.

She’s a demon. The worst kind of person. She knows exactly what she’s doing, and it’s not like I can scream and stomp my feet and say, “I was supposed to talk next!”

Henry swallows audibly, and I know I have to step in here. I promised him easy questions, and I won’t let Moriarty ruin that.

“Henry comes to us from London,” I say, filling the space. I reach over and put my hand on his lower arm, letting him know that I’ve got this.

He blinks a couple of times in succession. “That’s right. I grew up in Surrey.”

“Just listen to that lovely British accent,” Moriarty croons. Henry gives the camera a timid smile.

“So,” I say quickly, making sure Moriarty doesn’t try to jump in again. “We’ve got three dates that will be filled by three of you.” I look at the camera, reading the words on the teleprompter. “If you’d like to go on a date with our producer, just fill out the online questionnaire and submit a photo on the web address that you can see right now on the bottom of your screen. Or you can log onto the KCFL website, and there’ll be a link on the upper right-hand side of the page. You can also learn more about Henry there, in the profile he filled out about himself. Also,