Josh shrugged. “I had hoped to settle things with Katia without getting dragged before a camera.”
“But you’ve changed your mind?” Joanne asked.
“Yes.”
“Are you willing to appear on the show tonight?”
“I’ll do it under one condition,” Josh stated.
“What’s the condition,” Maria asked, her voice leery.
Josh pointed at the paper. “You make that go away for me. I want to walk away from that woman and never have to deal with her again in my life.”
“Done.” Joanne spun on her heel and headed for the door. She was grinning from ear to ear as she glanced back. “Would you mind keeping this little nugget to yourselves? I’d love nothing more than to have Josh walk onto the set and drop this bomb on the entire nation at the same time Katia hears it.”
Tuck groaned. Not because he cared. He didn’t. He just wanted this all to be over. Josh coming forward like this changed everything for him. He was just so damn tired.
As soon as Joanne disappeared, Maria settled Tuck in a chair and handed him a script. Dave, her assistant, popped his head in, and Maria told him to grab his laptop and get to work. They needed to rewrite the script practically from scratch.
“What about Katia? You want me to change hers too?” Dave asked.
“Nope. She doesn’t deserve the head’s up. You work on getting Tuck’s lines figured out and we’ll let Katia flounder in the wind.” She laughed maniacally. The world of reality TV truly was a crazy one.
Not ten minutes later, Joanne rushed back into the room and handed Tuck a manila folder. She was grinning again. “Look it over. See what you think.”
Tuck reluctantly opened the folder and lowered his gaze. For a moment, he thought his eyes were deceiving him. Finally, he lifted his head and handed the folder back to Joanne. “Not gonna happen. Sorry.”
She looked shocked. “Ah, come on. At least think about it. The show did so well, we’ve already been given the green light.”
He met her gaze. “Listen, I’ll be honest with you. Although I never cheated on Katia and followed to every section of my contract, I did meet a woman. I can’t wait for all this to be over so I can pursue her finally. No way in hell would I consider starring on season two of Cold Feet. Not even for a million dollars.”
Joanne’s face lit up as if he’d just told her he’d love to do it. “Well, I can’t promise a million, but I can get the network to pay you far more than you made this time. And, if the woman you’re pursuing is as amazing as you seem to think she is, we’d be happy to look into casting her as the bride-to-be.” She clapped her hands together as if she had it all solved.
Tuck shook his head. “Not gonna happen.”
“Don’t you think you should at least talk to her? See what she thinks?”
“Nope. She would laugh me out the door and I’d never see her again.”
Joanne humphed. She handed him back the folder and patted it. “You think about it. Talk to her. You two can come in and meet with us later this week. We’ll work with you to come up with a plan that works for everyone.”
Oh, lord. She was insufferable. “This is not going to happen, Joanne. Not in ten thousand years.”
She ignored him. “Do you have any idea how popular you are on this show? Have you seen your social media following?”
“No. I don’t care.”
“You have three times as many followers as Katia.” Her voice rose. “You’re the nation’s sexiest bachelor. You have to consider our offer.”
Fuck me. “No.”
“Don’t say no. Think about it. Read it over. Talk to your girl.” She left in a flurry of movement before Tuck could respond. He reached over to the trash can and dropped the folder in the bin.
Dave laughed without looking up. “Can’t blame ya, man,” he muttered under his breath as he continued typing. This was a cutthroat business. Tuck couldn’t figure out why anyone would want to work in this industry. These people never slept. They worked sunup to sundown.
Tuck had been in some tense predicaments many times in his life. His years as a SEAL had put him in some of the most stressful situations imaginable. The past week working in the bar had on occasion also stressed him out. Last night in particular.
But nothing compared to Hollywood. His acting days would officially be over in about three hours. All he could do was hope people forgot every detail about him as fast as possible. He did not want to spend his life looking over his shoulder dealing with crazed young girls who thought he was the sexiest man alive. What a joke.
The only person whose opinion mattered was Jodi’s, and for her sake he prayed no one hounded them for the rest of their lives.
Chapter 22
Jodi settled into the corner of the sofa, legs folded and tucked under her. She wasn’t slouching, however. She sat ramrod straight. She couldn’t get comfortable. She picked up her second beer of the evening and took a long drink, hoping with enough alcohol she could survive this final episode of Cold Feet.
Her dad wandered into the room from his bedroom and headed for the fridge. He returned with his own beer. “Please tell me you’re not going to watch that shit.”
She glared at him. “Stop it. You know there’s no way I could ignore it. It’s the last episode. I’m going to see the ending.”
Her dad sighed and dropped down into the armchair next to the couch.
“You don’t have to watch it with me.”
He took a sip. “Yeah, I think I do. You might end up over there needing a box of tissues and a shoulder. I’ll be here.”
She rolled her eyes. “Don’t be so dramatic. I’m not going to cry. I’m going to have a party. This is cause for celebration.”
“Did you know he emailed me his
