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happy. My whole life ahead of me.” She sighed and shook her head. “The next, I was waking up in the hospital. Alone.”
    “There were people there. People who loved you.”
    “None that mattered,” she said. “Not at the time, at least. There’s been so much speculation about that day. People so greedy for all the gory details, as if I’m nothing more than a story.”
    “People are vultures,” Bare said.
    “The first person I saw was my dad. He was afraid to touch me, as if I might break completely.”
    “You were vulnerable,” Bare said. “You know Jamison loves you.”
    “I do,” she agreed. “Then I saw you. You were the one who told me the baby was gone, that Lance was gone. I knew, but you confirmed it. This perfect stranger who held me while I cried.”
    “We all need someone,” Bare whispered. “Sometimes, it’s easier to accept comfort from a stranger.”
    She shrugged. “The next person I saw was my mother. She told me she’d taken care of a press release about Lance’s death and the attack. That I shouldn’t worry. Even assured me the studio would wait for me, especially since my little problem had been eliminated.” She stopped, cupping one hand to her mouth while the other flattened over her stomach.
    “Jesus!” Bare swore.
    “I’d lost my whole world and all she cared about was getting the best spin in the press to make the most out of my career.”
    “Your mother’s a bitch,” Bare said. “You deserve so much better than her.”
    “She is,” Paisley agreed. “That was the day I finally realized no matter how many chances I gave her or how long I continued to hope, she wouldn’t change.”
    She turned her gaze up to lock with his blue eyes and told him the rest. “I can’t have kids, Bare. They had to do a partial hysterectomy on me. I didn’t just lose my baby. I lost the ability to ever have a baby. And my mother wanted to assure me the scarring would be minimal because she’d had the foresight to call in a plastic surgeon.”
    She shook, tears slipping down her cheeks. “I lost Lance, who was such an amazing man. I’ll always love him. I lost our child and a chance to have any others. I lost my home, my career. And I came here, to hide away from the rest of the world. I’ve done a pretty good job, but I need to stop hiding. Stop being afraid.”
    “No one will hurt you again,” Bare swore, one palm cradling her face.
    “I’m not afraid of that. I’m afraid of letting myself feel again and losing. I don’t think I could take it again. I think I would shatter.”
    “What are you saying?” Bare asked.
    “I wanted to forget. I thought maybe I’d lose myself in you for a while just to feel something other than pain. But I don’t want to use you, Bare. Not you. You’ve been the best friend I’ve had these last few years.”
    “So what do you want?”
    “I want you to teach me how to let go. I want you to teach me how to live again.”
    “I want that,” Bare said. “God, I’ve wanted that for so long.”
    She saw something in his eyes and knew he was holding back.
    “What is it?” she asked. “What are you not telling me?”
    “What I’m about to say doesn’t change what you just said. You gave me the green light, and no matter what comes next, that stands.”
    She nodded, her lips tilting up briefly at the corners.
    “Jamison flew to LA to try to talk to your mother.”
    “What? Why?” she demanded, any remnants of a smile fading.
    “Vivian has decided to do an interview here, with you, to show the world how you’re doing after the attack.”
    A surge of anger fired through her. What was her mother up to now? She knew Paisley would never agree to an interview.
    “When will she get here?”
    She didn’t have to ask if Jamison had persuaded Vivian otherwise. She didn’t need to see the expression on Bare’s face. She knew her mother, and nothing would stop Vivian once she had her mind set on something.
    “By the end of the weekend most