Always You: A Lilac Bay Novel (Friends with Benefits) Read Free

on a local Detroit news affiliate?” I asked. “And that she was offered a correspondent job at the American News Network in New York only two years later? She took a failing morning show and completely rebranded it, totally revolutionizing the format of daytime talk shows. She’s an inspiration, Andrew. She had to battle humble beginnings, sexism and ageism in the work place, the loss of her fiancé—”
    “I know, I know,” he said, holding out his hands in defeat. “You’re right. The morning news lady is a hero to us all. Can we drop it now?”
    I narrowed my eyes at him. “She’s not just the morning news lady. In addition to being a featured correspondent on The Morning Show, she’s the host of her very own program. The top rated daytime show in the country. Not to mention the host of several successful primetime specials and variety hours—”
    He buried his head in his hands and muttered something muffled that sounded like, I should have just let it go.
    “Yes,” I said primly, reaching over my shoulder for the remote on the counter. “You should have. Because now we’re going to watch the last ten minutes of Daytime Dale so you can see exactly how impressive she really is.”
    “No.” He sat up straight and turned pleading eyes toward me. “Please, Riley. Don’t make me watch that show. I’ll do anything. I’ll—” His eyes frantically scanned the table, apparently in search of something to offer. “I’ll give you the last bite of my cookie!”
    “Too late.” I hit the power button and punched in a seven, smiling when Heather’s face filled the screen. “Perfect timing.”
    I drowned out Andrew’s groan by turning up the volume.
    The host had just finished an interview and was now addressing the audience, something she did at the end of every episode. I relaxed into my chair, forgetting all about Andrew’s anti-Heather attitude, my entire focus on the screen. I was recording this at home, of course, just like I recorded every episode. I watched them when I got home from work, my little reward for getting through a long day of Millie’s disapproving sighs. But that didn’t mean it wasn’t a nice treat to catch an episode live.
    I hadn’t been exaggerating when I said Heather Dale was my hero. I had looked up to her ever since college, the only time in my life when I lived off the island. I’d attended school downstate in Detroit, where Heather was in her second year of anchoring the news for the local ANN affiliate. Back then, I had grand ambitions of someday going into news or television, so I had always made it a point to watch as many different newscasters as possible. As soon as I saw Heather Dale on my TV I knew she was going places. She was beautiful, for starters. I had serious hair envy for her long and wavy chestnut locks. My own hair was an acceptable shade of blonde, but stick-straight and virtually impossible to style. Where I was tall and thin, Heather had a perfect curvy figure that would have suited a swimsuit model. But she was way too ambitious and professional to ever consider a career like that. She infused both her morning correspondent segment and daytime show with a mixture of hard-hitting interviews, news, politics, and culture. She could make her guests laugh and cry and shake in their boots with fear when she turned her relentless questioning on them—all in the same interview. She dressed really well—professional but stylish. She was charming, warm, whip-smart, with a killer sense of humor.
    I wanted to be Heather Dale.
    “Oh, God,” Andrew muttered. “You have that look on your face.”
    “What look?”
    “The one that tells me I’m eventually going to have to drive to Manhattan to bail you out after your arrest for stalking a TV news star.”
    I threw my napkin at him, never taking my eyes from the screen.
    Of course I didn’t want to stalk Heather Dale. I just found her inspiring, that was all. And, honestly, who could blame me? It was pretty