Epilogue Brynn
Two years later
“Coming in the third hour of Sunup , Hayley will be telling you where you can get your hands on pocketbook-friendly versions of the fashions that took Madison
Avenue by storm at last year’s Fashion Week.”
“That’s right, Mark. And Lance is going to be cooking up some delicious delicacies with Chef Xavier Stone, who I hear may
be willing to spill a couple of details about the upcoming season of America’s Fiercest Chef .”
“Ooh, I hope so, Elena,” Mark chimed in. “That’s one of my favorites. By the end of each episode, I just about have Bunny
convinced she should let me back into the kitchen.”
Elena laughed and imploringly gazed into the camera. “Don’t do it, Bunny!” Mark elbowed her gently as she comically rubbed
her jaw. “My teeth haven’t recovered from those last bricks he brought to work.”
“Those were pralines, thank you very much.”
I chuckled at their banter as I stood next to camera one in the Sunup3 studio and watched them on the monitor. It was sickening, of course, but Mark and Elena actually made a decent team. Besides,
even the stiff, scripted dialogue of yesteryear couldn’t burst my bubble today.
“And, of course, you’ll want to stick around for Brynn’s exclusive Sunup3 interview with legendary international reporter Sebastian Sudworth.”
“‘Legendary.’” Chills ran down my spine as I felt his breath against my ear. “Do you hear that, Ms. Cornell? I’m legendary.
Are you sure you’re up for the task? It’s not every day one interviews a legend.”
I spun around and faced him and even managed to keep my hands to myself like the professional broadcaster I was.
“Eh. Last week was Disney Channel reunion week, and I interviewed the casts of That’s So Raven and Lizzie McGuire . I’m pretty used to it.”
He was smiling at me, but he was also fidgeting with his tie and looking around for a mirror. “Is this thing even straight?
I’d pretty much forgotten how to tie a tie.”
I fiddled with the knot and straightened it. Or at least I pretended to. It was already perfect, but who was I to pass up
an opportunity to indulge in a little workplace-appropriate PDA?
“You’re not nervous, are you?”
“Of course not.” He looked over my head at the monitor. “Why is Mark Irvine holding up a framed picture of me?”
“He brought it from home.” His eyes flashed to me, unamused, and I winked. “Why do you think? They’ve been promoting this
for weeks. It’s sort of a big deal that we got the exclusive with you. Ratings are going to be through the roof.”
Truth be told, for the past twenty-two months, we hadn’t even been able to figure out where the roof was.
We just kept climbing. After a couple more weeks in Adelaide Springs, I’d ended up back in New York, but only after all parties had agreed that Elena would stay teamed up with Mark on the Sunup couch, and I’d move back to Sunup3 in the top position.
Robyn had actually been the most skeptical.
But once I was able to convince her that I wasn’t incinerating
my career—and her flawless reputation by extension—with a Molotov cocktail of panic, homesickness, and infatuation, she had
handled all the negotiations for me like the superstar agent she was. As it turned out, Hayley Oswell and I were a match made
in morning-television heaven. Even Lance seemed to like us, most of the time. Things only got better from there. I’d told
the whole ugly truth about my upbringing and my convoluted path to contentment in my memoir, Not All Sunshine , After All , and for whatever reason, people seemed to like me more after that. Maybe it was like that cross-stitched pillow at Maxine’s
house said, “The only thing people appreciate more than honesty is someone mowing their lawn for them.”
Or so Cole claimed. I’d yet to see that one for myself.
“Are you actually straightening my tie or just looking for an excuse to manhandle me?”
I looked up at him and batted my eyelashes. “Can’t a girl multitask?”
He smirked and shook his head, then pulled away as my hands released him.
“Hey, Sebastian,” Hayley greeted him as she passed on her way to the stage. “Sure you’re up for this? Brynn made Meryl Streep
cry last week, you know.”
I shrugged dismissively. “Meryl was just showing off. You’ll be fine.”
He was still fidgeting. Once I’d gotten back to the land of decent internet, I’d watched the man escape crumbling buildings in Beirut and dodge drug cartel gunfire in Mexico without batting an eye. Apparently sitting on a couch wearing a Hugo Boss tie was going to be his undoing.
“You’re actually freaked out about this, aren’t you?” I crossed my arms and cocked my hip against a column. “Maybe you should
have brought Murrow.”
“He’s with a production assistant in the greenroom.”
I stood up straight and grabbed his arm. “I was joking! I didn’t know you were actually worried. Seb, seriously... are
you okay?”
He studied me and then started laughing. “I just didn’t want to leave him alone at the hotel. I’m fine.”
I released the breath I’d begun holding just as Sheila, our executive producer, called my name. “Brynn, we’re on you and Hayley
in sixty seconds.”
I nodded my acknowledgment and then looked back to Sebastian. “You look fantastic, by the way.” It was my first time seeing
him in a suit, live and in person, and it had pretty much the exact same effect on me as seeing him in a Foo Fighters tee.
There was no ball cap today, of course, and while he’d been sure to get a haircut, there was only so much he could do to tame
those delicious curls. “Hayley and I’ve got about four minutes of chat, and then I’ll see you over there after the first break.”
I spun on my Louboutin heel and began walking away, but spun back when he said, “Brynn?”
“Yeah?”
“Don’t forget, we agreed...”
I nodded. “I know. Hardball.”
“I mean it. No question is off-limits. Don’t feel like you have to take it easy on me.”
I quirked an eyebrow and smiled. “Sebastian Sudworth, when have I ever taken it easy on you?”
***
“Now, joining us in a Sunup3 exclusive, celebrated international journalist Sebastian Sudworth. His revelatory coverage of the genocide in Myanmar was
aired for the first time three months ago, but until now he’s not spoken publicly about the atrocities he witnessed. We’re
going to touch on that and more, and of course you can read the entire story for yourself in his firsthand account of what
he saw and what he learned—in Myanmar and throughout the world. Conscience: Fair Reporting in an Unfair World debuted last week as an instant New York Times bestseller, and his groundbreaking podcast of the same name is currently topping all current-affairs podcast charts. Sebastian,
welcome.”
“Thanks for having me, Brynn.”
“From the sound of things, you’ve been very busy lately.”
“You could say that.”
“And on top of all of that, I understand congratulations are in order. Rumor has it you recently got engaged.”
He shifted on the couch as the crew began laughing behind the cameras. “Yes, that’s true.”
“Tell us a little about your fiancée, if you would.”
He took a deep breath and rolled his eyes so subtly I knew no one else could see. Then he glanced at the prompter, but of
course nothing was there. It was a new day at Sunup3 . “Well, she’s wonderful, of course, and we’re very happy.”
“And we’re all so happy for you.” I folded my legs as Kate Middleton had taught me and leaned forward, resting my forearms
on my thighs. “You love her a lot?”
His lips twitched and he said, “Of course I do. In fact, until about thirty seconds ago, I was convinced she was the best
thing that ever happened to me.”
“When’s the wedding?”
He chuckled nervously and looked offstage to Hayley, probably hoping she would step in and give him the interview he had expected. She just grinned and shrugged. Good girl.
“Well, um...” He started fidgeting with his tie again. “Are you sure you don’t want to talk about the book?”
“Oh, we’ll get to that.”
“Okay... um... Well, we haven’t set a date yet...”
“And where will the wedding be held?”
“I... um... I guess we haven’t decided that yet either.”
“You should have it right here on Sunup3 !” I turned emphatically to the camera. “Wouldn’t that be amazing, fam?”
Sebastian shook his head. “No way. We’re not doing that.”
I pouted a little, causing the crew to laugh again. “It was just an idea. It doesn’t sound like you’ve given it much thought
yet, so—”
“Are you kidding? There aren’t many minutes of the day when I’m not thinking about marrying her.”
I sat up straight. “Really?”
He rolled his eyes again, and this time everyone in America was probably able to see it. “Yes, Brynn. Really. It’s going to
be in her hometown, of course, because that’s where we met, and we plan to keep a house there so we can visit all the time.
Besides, she’s told me at least thirty times now that she wants to get married in early September in the mountains, just as
the trees are changing color. Of course we’re going to have to plan around Township Days, because her freakish creativity
combined with my freakish ability to make things happen turned this stupid little festival into a cultural phenomenon. But
we’ll figure it out. We always manage to. Now, considering my ring is on your finger and our engagement photos were in People magazine, can we please stop acting like we’re fooling anyone and just talk about the book?” He pulled down on his suit jacket
as a simultaneously annoyed and enamored smirk overtook his lips. “For the record, this isn’t what I meant by hardball.”
“Well, you did say no questions were off-limits. And we at Sunup3 are the people who gave up-to-the-minute election results from the deck of Rihanna’s yacht. I don’t know what you expected
here...”
He nodded. “That is true. I have only myself to blame.”
A giggle escaped, then I adjusted my position to look at camera three, where the red light was definitely on.
“If you’re just joining us, I’m Brynn Cornell, and I’m madly in love with my guest today, Sebastian Sudworth. Much, much more to come, after this.”