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Ryan was still filming without her.
In Berlin, Stockholm, and Oslo, Ryan appeared at the restaurants they were supposed to cook and film in, smiling in that charismatic way of his and showing the viewers at home the tremendous cooking traditions of these beautiful places. Not once did he mention Diana’s name.
Diana hated how much her heart broke at the sight of him. She hated how handsome he looked. Hated, too, how many memories from their past swarmed in her mind and made it difficult for her to breathe.
How she loved him! How she wanted him to come home, to protect her and Valentina, to understand that their family always had to come first!
Without Diana, the public fell into a panic. At the grocery store and on the news, Diana saw her name everywhere.
“Trouble in the kitchen? Are Diana and Ryan on the outs? Where is Diana? Where did she disappear to?” The questions came from every direction.
Diana was surprised at the outcry. She’d always thought Ryan was the favorite and Diana was replaceable. But people loved gossip; they ached for it. And there was clearly some trouble between this very public couple. What was it?
As weeks went by, Diana felt herself crumble with sorrow and loneliness. Due to her and Ryan’s insane schedule, she had very few friends, and she usually spent her days walking up and down the beach with Valentina, trying to make sense of her life. Sometimes she thought she heard Ryan’s tires in the driveway, and she burst from the couch or bed to greet him, her heart pounding, ready to forgive everything. The driveway and garage were always empty. It was always just a trick of her mind.
It wasn’t till after they were done filming in Europe that Diana heard from him. He called early morning her time when it was the afternoon in Europe.
“Diana. Hi.”
Diana stopped breathing. She was standing at the kitchen counter with a fruit smoothie in hand as Valentina waddled all over the place. It felt like talking to a ghost.
“Hi.”
“Been a while,” Ryan said.
“Yes. Um. How are you?”
Ryan laughed gently, and Diana’s insides melted.
“I’ve missed you,” Diana said before she could stop herself. Why was she so powerless when it came to Ryan?
“I’ve missed you, too,” Ryan said.
“You finished filming?”
“We did.” Ryan laughed again. “And I have some news.”
“Okay.”
Diana expected something horrible. She expected him to say he’d met someone else, that he wanted a divorce, and that she had to leave the house in Santa Monica and find somewhere else to live.
Instead, he said, “Our ratings are off the charts.”
“Oh?” Diana was confused.
“People are fascinated with your disappearance,” Ryan said. “It’s driving them crazy. They don’t know what to do. They tune in week after week to see if you’ve made an appearance or if I’ve said anything about your whereabouts. You’re our big mystery!”
Diana watched as Valentina cradled her doll lovingly, cooing to her.
“They want us to do a whole new show inspired by your disappearance,” he said. “It’s like Carmen Sandiego meets a cooking show.”
“What?”
“You’ll go somewhere mysterious and cook something spectacular,” Ryan said, “and I’m supposed to guess where you are based on what you cook. After that, I sort of chase you around, trying to imitate the foods you made. At the end of the season, I finally catch up with you, and there’s a big reunion. What do you think?”
Diana’s heart pounded. This seemed insane.
But then again, hadn’t she spent all this time aching with love for Ryan? Didn’t she miss him?
