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and left the room. A production assistant
pointed them in the right direction along the way.
    Brady sat and watched television while she flipped through a
magazine. A short time later they were called to the set and microphones were
attached to their clothing. After being introduced to the two hosts, they sat
down and waited for the commercial break and subsequent news segment to end.
    The floor director gave Melanie, one of the hosts, the
countdown, and she began to speak. “We’re joined by Olympic Gold Medalist Leah
Fitzpatrick and top-ranked professional bull rider Brady Parrish. Yes, you
heard that right, a figure skater and a bull rider. Let’s find out what they’re
doing together.” She turned to Leah and said, “So, tell us about how you two
got hooked up.”
    Leah wondered why everything Melanie had said made it sound as
if she and Brady were a couple. Was that on purpose? Maybe to play off the sexy
photos from yesterday? Well, two could play that game. Pasting on her best
public persona smile, Leah began, “It’s simple, really. Nelson Motors is a
sponsor of both the US Figure Skating Association and the National Bull Riding
Tour. The CEO of Nelson Motors, David Nelson, approached both of us and asked
if we’d consider doing a promotional tour to let the folks in each sport learn
a little about the other. After all, who wouldn’t want to learn more about a
sport that boasts good-looking guys like Brady taking on those big, powerful
beasts?”
    She reached over, grasped Brady’s biceps and squeezed,
throwing him a wink and barely holding back a giggle when his mouth fell open
and a blush crept up his face. She was happy to see she’d shocked him. Clearly
he hadn’t expected this reaction from her. Of course, she’d been in this game a
long time and knew David would love it too.
    Melanie tittered and turned to her co-host. “Who, indeed?”
    Evan, the male host, smiled indulgently and addressed Brady.
“So what’s your part in all this?”
    Brady cleared his throat. “I get to escort this lovely lady
on my tour for the next couple of weeks, show her off to my fans, and tell ’em
all about what a great sport figure skating is.”
    “But really, Brady, have you ever even watched figure
skating?” Evan scoffed.
    Brady’s eyes turned stormy so fast even Leah jumped away a
bit. “Of course I’ve watched figure skating. It’s a beautiful sport, and it’s
every bit a sport. If you think it’s easy to get that kinda air for those
jumps, much less land them on ice with those itty-bitty blades, you’re outta
your mind. It takes a tremendous amount of strength, determination and skill.
Anyone who laughs at figure skating, who thinks it’s a sissy sport, just isn’t
giving it a chance.” Leah noticed his accent was thicker when he was angry and
idly wondered when else it was thicker. She felt her face flame again. Why
couldn’t she better control her reactions to this man?
    Melanie cut in then. “Well said, Brady. We need to take a
break. We’ll be right back with Leah Fitzpatrick and Brady Parrish, who are
here to talk about their respective sports, figure skating and bull riding.”
    When the camera clicked off, Brady sighed. “I apologize for
my outburst, Evan. It’s just…it makes me mad when people assume stuff about
other people.” Leah was still too shocked to say a word. But as Evan and
Melanie conferred with the producer, Brady reached over and squeezed her knee.
“Hey,” he whispered.
    She blinked up at him. “Hey.”
    “You all right?”
    “Fine…”
    “You sure? You need some water? You look like you’ve seen a
ghost or something, sweetheart.”
    “No, I’m good, really.” She studied him for a moment and he
let her look her fill. “Thank you for what you said. No doubt people will think
it was only because Nelson Motors is paying you to.” She laughed. “That probably is why you said it, but thank you nonetheless. That might be one thing
we have in common. People