Susan Mallory - Sizzling

"You're the one they're going to try to annihilate," Walker said. "There won't be anything they won't ask."

Reid thought about the article in the paper- the one claiming he was lousy in bed. "They're going to take it as far as the censors will let them."

"Are you prepared for that?" Dani asked. "It will be humiliating."

He knew that. He would probably become the butt of a lot of late night comedy jokes.

"This isn't about me," he said. "If something doesn't change, Madeline will die. I don't know any other way to help."

Cal nodded. "Then you do what you have to do. We're fine with it."

Reid looked at each of them. "Are you sure?"

"Of course we're sure," Dani said. "When compared with what Lori and her sister are going through, none of the rest of this matters. We'll be fine."

"We can handle it," Walker said.

Reid had known they were going to say that, but he was still gratified to hear the words. "Then I'll e-mail you and let you know when I'm on Access Hollywood. "

LORI HAD NEVER BEEN inside a television studio before. Reid's Access Hollywood interview was being held at a Seattle station.

The set was used for a local morning show. Lori didn't expect it to be so small, or so isolated in a sea of backdrops, lights, cables and cameras.

She and Madeline stood several feet behind the equipment and watched as a woman dabbed Reid's face with a sponge.

"I'm nervous," Lori admitted. "Nothing about this is going to be easy. They're going to ask some awful questions. I know he says he's prepared, but I'm not so sure."

"You think he's going to punch anyone?" Madeline asked.

"No, but I hate to see him humiliated."

"Imagine how I feel," Madeline muttered. "He's putting himself in the spotlight because I have a sick liver. I'm not even sleeping with him. That hardly seems fair."

"The sex stays in the family," Lori teased as she took her sister's hand. "That's what matters."

"But you're the only one having a good time."

"I'm not going to share," Lori told her with a grin. "Just so we're clear on that."

"It doesn't matter if you're willing or not. Reid is only interested in you. I can see it every time he looks at you."

Lori's insides got all warm. She desperately wanted Madeline's words to be true, but wishing wasn't going to make that happen. Still, a woman could dream.

The reporter, an incredibly beautiful blonde in a tailored suit that emphasized her curves, walked over to Reid and introduced herself. Lori couldn't hear them, but as she watched they shook hands, then the woman leaned over and kissed Reid on the cheek before indicating where he should take a seat.

A man walked over and adjusted the microphone clipped to the front of Reid's shirt, then someone yelled for quiet. Lori and Madeline both put on the headphones they'd been given so they could hear the interview.

"I'm here with Reid Buchanan, a bad-boy baseball player who's been in the news these past few weeks. He's here to talk about something important. Thanks for being with us today, Reid."

"My pleasure."

The woman smiled at him. "I know you have some interesting things going on in your life, but first you know what we have to talk about."

Lori's gaze locked onto Reid's face. Nothing about his expression changed, but she sensed him bracing himself for the assault.

"That last game against the Cubs?" he asked.

"Not exactly. There was a rather insulting article about you in the Seattle paper a few weeks ago. Apparently you and the reporter had a night together and when it was over, she was not a happy camper. Care to comment on that?"

"Are you really asking me a question?" Reid smiled his charming smile- the one that made Lori's toes curl.

"I'm going to be tough and demand an answer."

"She didn't have as good a time as either of us would have liked," he said with a shrug. "I can give you a lot of excuses, but I won't."

The reporter looked disappointed. "That's all? Don't you want to defend your reputation? Several women you've been with have come forward to complain about your…performance, shall we say."

"They didn't complain to me."

"Women seldom do. Is what they say about the fragile male ego true? Do you think your bed partners resisted saying anything because they didn't want to hurt your feelings?"

"If that was the reason, they've gotten over it now." He shifted in his seat. "I love women. Always have. Despite popular opinion, the biggest rush for a guy is pleasing the woman he's with." He held up his hand. "For most guys. Certainly for me. If that didn't happen, I'm sorry. It's always my intent."

"A lot of people, women especially, believe that celebrities aren't very good in bed because they don't have to be. Do you think that's part of your problem?"

Lori groaned. She actually took a step forward, then stopped. Reid didn't need her breaking into his interview so she could tell the world that he was an amazing lover.

"I hate this woman," Lori muttered to her sister.

"I'm not real fond of her myself."

"I don't know what happened with the reporter who started all this," Reid said. "She never talked to me about anything. She came on to me in a bar. For all I know, the whole thing was a setup. It's been uncomfortable. This isn't anything any guy wants to deal with. As you know, I've been avoiding the press."

"I'm aware of that," the reporter purred. "Of all the reporters around, you chose me." She put her hand on Reid's arm. "Are you trying to tell me something?"

Reid looked directly at the camera. "Yes, I am. I'm putting up with these questions because they don't matter to me. Say what you want- I don't care. What's a hell of a lot more important than what anyone thinks about my love life is the fact that every day people are dying when they don't need to be."

The woman sighed, as if aware the juicy portion of the interview was over. "You're talking about those waiting for an organ donation."

"Right. In other countries, organ donation is the norm."

He went on with his pitch, but Lori wasn't listening. She pulled off her headphones and turned to her sister.

"He did it. He got through. I can't believe it. He was great. You saw that. Right?"

"He was a god," Madeline said, then sighed. "Seriously, he was terrific. I'm really grateful."

Lori hugged her. "Me, too. I still can't believe he was willing to go through that for you."

Madeline smiled at her. "No, Lori. He didn't do it for me. Don't you get it? He did it for you."

"BERNARDO IS A GOOD MAN," Mama Giuseppe said as she ladled more pasta sauce onto Dani's plate. "His father started the restaurant nearly fifty years ago. We were so young then, with foolish dreams."

The tiny woman, dressed all in black glanced around the gleaming restaurant kitchen. "Maybe not so foolish." She looked back at Dani's plate. "Eat. Eat!"

Dani cheerfully tasted another forkful of the perfect pasta. The sauce was delicious enough to make her wonder how rude it would be to lick the plate when she was finished. But as she hadn't technically started her interview, she'd probably better remember her table manners.

She'd arrived at three and had immediately been ushered into the kitchen. The prep chefs were hard at work, yelling and insulting each other in Italian. At least she assumed it was Italian. But judging from their expressions and the laughter, she had a good idea what they were saying. Some things about the back of a restaurant were all the same.

Although she'd met Bernardo, the owner of Bella Roma, he'd been called away to take a phone call, leaving Dani alone with his mother. As Mama Giuseppe had been offering incredible food, Dani wasn't complaining.