Taking a Chance (10 page)

“No. Well, yes, I suppose. I mean, I’m not sure what to say to a rock star without sounding like an idiot.”

“Maddie, I’m just a regular guy.” He placed his hand gently on her leg. She flinched ever so slightly at the touch and he immediately withdrew his hand.

“I appreciate the sentiment, but it’s impossible not to see you as a star. I mean, you do perform in front of thousands of people and I’m sure people recognize you everywhere you go. Those are big expectations to live up to.”

“True to the music and recognition, but I try to blend in whenever I can. My band mates help me out when necessary, like today. They drew attention at the front of our hotel, while I snuck out the back. Most of the time I get lost in the crowd, except when people know my travel schedule or where I’m staying. But I didn’t come here to talk about that. I want to hear everything about you and understand what makes you the person you are. By the way, I’m not asking you your age because my mother taught me that would be rude. But, I do have to ask how a person that barely looks old enough to have graduated from high school is a director at a big corporation?”

She tilted her head back and laughed, and he smiled at the sound.

“I don’t mind telling you my age, I’m twenty-six. To answer your question, I have worked hard to get to my position and have to continue to prove I deserve it every day. Some days it wears me out, but most of the time I love my job. Consulting with companies to help them become more successful has great reward for me personally.”

“Well, I would have guessed you were successful no matter what you did. So, seven years younger, are you sure you want to deal with an old man like me? I mean, someone will probably need to take care of me in a few short years.”

Maddie laughed and already felt more comfortable. The way he was talking it was like he already assumed they were dating. She was confused but decided it couldn’t hurt to have a conversation. They talked about her work, friends and family, including Ashley. She told him about her father and how much she missed him every day.

“Not that I want to have something like that in common with you, but I lost my father a few years ago too. It was the hardest day of my life and it hurts me every time I see my mom sad. I’m on the road a lot and even when I’m around home, I spend more time in the studio than I should. I wish I could do something to make it easier on her. My sister has dealt with it more than I have, and too often I think my sister keeps her pain inside to be strong for our mother.”

Maddie could not believe how easily they had slipped into conversation and she almost forgot he was a famous rock star. Her phone buzzed, bringing her back to reality.

“I’m sorry, but this is my friend Molly calling. I’m sure they’re wondering where I am.” She turned her head as she said hello.

“Hey, where are you?”

“I just had to run down to the lobby for something. I’ll be right back up.”

“Sounds good. See you in a couple of minutes.”

Maddie turned back to Austin. “I’m sorry, but I have to get back up to the spa. I’m glad you came over for a few minutes.”

“So, I’m a
something
?”

Maddie felt her cheeks warm. “Sorry, but I didn’t want to tell them what I was doing. I don’t want anything to take away from Amanda’s weekend.”

“It’s okay. I’m just teasing you. You’re a great friend. Most girls would want to have all the attention. I think it’s great how much you respect her weekend. Not that I think meeting up with me is that exciting, but either way, it makes you special. I’m on the road for the next few weeks. I have a short break at the end of the month. I can come to Chicago that weekend. I really want to see you again.”

“I won’t be here that weekend. I’ll be in California for Amanda’s wedding.”

“We’ll figure something out, because I’m not going to let you disappear again! I’ll call you tomorrow night, so I can hear your voice.” Austin smiled as he got up. “I wish I could spend the rest of the day with you, but I understand why you have to go. I do appreciate you sneaking away for a bit. It was nice to see you without someone yelling at one of us.” He laughed and put his hand out to help her up. She looked up and hesitated before taking his hand.

“Maddie, are you okay?”

She blinked hard and shook her head. “Yes, sorry.” She reached up to take his hand, and Austin pulled her up into him in one fluid motion. Her other hand grasped his arm to stop her forward momentum. As she tried to focus on her balance she felt the warmth of his other hand on her cheek. Before she realized what was happening, he tilted her head up and pressed his soft lips to hers. The kiss was quick, but she felt it through every inch of her body. The butterfly feeling in her stomach and the warmth spreading throughout her body made her light-headed and she almost had to sit back down.

“That’s quite the smooth move,” she managed to say.

“I try.” He smiled, showing the dimple that made her melt. “I was afraid if I gave you a chance to think about it, you would hesitate. I just wanted to make sure it was exactly how I thought it would feel.”

He kept her hand and laced his fingers with hers as they walked toward the elevators. When he turned to say goodbye, he hugged her before she stepped into the elevator. She waved and smiled. As the doors closed, she let out her breath.
What was I thinking, sitting around talking to Austin Hunter? Now it will just be more difficult to go back to the real world.

Molly was in the waiting area of the spa when Maddie walked in.

“Don’t ask,” said Maddie.

“I won’t, but something is up with you. The good news is you have a smile on your face, so I’m not going to worry about it right now.”

“True, but I didn’t earlier.” She gave Molly a quick recap of the message her brother had left about Lola and Todd.

“She can’t control who you date! Why does she even care who you’re seeing? It has nothing to do with her!” exclaimed Molly.

“I know. You’re right, but she thinks everything is about her. I’ll talk to her later to see what she’s so angry about.”

Molly simply rolled her eyes.

• • •

T
he rest of the weekend went by without a hitch and Maddie was sad to see everyone go on Sunday afternoon. Having everyone over at her place had kept her mind busy, and some of the girls had not seen each other for a while. It was always great to catch up, but the last two weeks had been non-stop and now she was going to enjoy a relaxing afternoon.

Although it was inevitable she would have to call Lola, it was not on the list of things she was looking forward to. She heard sirens go by her building and Todd immediately popped into her head. Why did Lola even care that she was seeing Todd? Maddie couldn’t shake the anxious feeling that this would not end well.

Maddie’s guest bedroom doubled as her office and workspace. She decided to work on a couple things for Amanda’s wedding. Every bottle of wine for the wedding would have the Chicory Hill label on one side and a custom label on the other. Maddie was designing the custom label and wanted to send the final layout to the winery next week, so they would have plenty of time to print and place them on the bottles.

She was also putting crystals on the back of a white zip-up sweatshirt for Amanda to wear on her wedding day. As she placed the last crystal on her transfer paper, she laid the sweatshirt on the heat press and pulled down the press to set the crystals. Once the crystals were set, Maddie pulled the sweatshirt off and slipped it on to be sure the word was properly centered on the back. Sadness hit as she realized she would not be wearing a “Bride” anything for quite a while.

Even though she had accepted that marrying George would have been a mistake, it still hurt to know she would no longer be a bride next week. Her dress was hanging at her mother’s house where Maddie had kept it hidden from the groom-to-be. Thank goodness. If she saw it now, she would break down. Only a few wedding related items remained at her place. She had taken the rest of her wedding stuff over to Amanda’s place several weeks ago with instructions to use whatever she wanted and to throw everything else away.

Her phone rang, bringing her back to the present, and she ran to pick it up. Glancing at the screen before she hit talk, she smiled.

“Hi, Austin.”

“Hey. I know I said I would call tonight, but I couldn’t wait any longer. Is everyone gone?”

“Yep. I’ve had a few hours to catch up on things. It’s been so busy lately. So, where are you today?”

“Minneapolis. I don’t suppose you would catch a flight and meet me up here tonight?”

“It does sound fun, but I do have to be at work tomorrow morning.”

“I get it, but it
really
would be more fun to have you up here.”

Maddie laughed as sat on her couch, put her feet up and lay back into the pillows. She liked living a fantasy and planned to enjoy it while it lasted to keep her mind off other things. When he asked if she was excited about the upcoming wedding, it caused her to feel slightly uneasy as she had not told him about her own past. But now was not the time.

They easily fell into conversation again, and Maddie enjoyed hearing all of his stories from the road. Eventually she glanced at the clock and could not believe the time.

“Did you know we’ve been on the phone almost two hours?” asked Maddie.

“I think that’s the longest I’ve ever been on the phone with anyone. Actually, I can’t believe no one has interrupted me for the last two hours. I swear that in itself is a miracle! I have an appearance soon, so I guess I should get ready. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

“Okay, talk to you later.”

She had been open to talking about every part of her life with the exception of her engagement and cancelled wedding. She wanted him to get to know the real her, not the sad, pathetic lonely Maddie.

Although Maddie felt a little guilt about seeing two guys within a few days of each other, she reminded herself that meeting Austin on Saturday afternoon had not been planned and couldn’t really be called a date. Maddie had never dated more than one guy at a time and didn’t want to start now. She shook off the thoughts and smiled at herself. It was unlikely that things would go any further with Austin and she’d only been on one date with Todd. It was a little soon to worry about having to make a choice.

She steeled herself and decided to call Lola. She still couldn’t imagine why Lola was so upset but wanted to deal with it now, so it didn’t keep eating at her.

“Hello.”

The greeting was stern and Maddie knew it would not be a pleasant conversation. When Lola was moody, she was stubborn and downright mean.

“Hi, Lola,” Maddie said cheerfully. “How’s Ashley? How are you doing? Are you feeling better?”

“I’m fine,
Maddie
. I hope you didn’t call to chat about life. I’m not in the mood.”

Yep, correct on her mood.
“I was just returning Scott’s call from Saturday. He said you were upset I was seeing Todd.”

“Yes, I am. I don’t want you dating him.”

“Why? He’s a nice guy and we had a great time together. He’s no longer your doctor, so I don’t see what the problem is.”

“Of course you don’t. All you ever think about is yourself!”

Maddie felt her anger burst. If anything, one of her faults was putting her own feelings on the back burner while making sure everyone else was happy. “Lola, you know that’s not true,” she snapped. She was sick of Lola pushing her around. For two years, she had tried to be friends with her and, obviously, it was never going to happen. “I never put myself first and you know it. What do you want from me?”

“It’s simple, Maddie. Stop seeing him.”

“I don’t want to. I like him. He makes me happy and I would think you could understand I need that in my life right now.” Maddie’s voice had started to get louder, but she didn’t care anymore. Enough was enough.

“Okay, then you will not see your goddaughter anymore.”

Maddie gasped. She didn’t know if Lola was bluffing, but she was not sure if she was willing to take the chance. After calming herself for a few moments, she finally dared to speak, “Lola, that’s not fair.” Maddie couldn’t hide the quiver in her voice. “Don’t you think Scott would be upset about me not being part of Ashley’s life?”

“Scott will never know about this conversation. If he does find out about it, I guarantee you will never see her and I will make your life hell.”

Lola already made Maddie’s life hell at times; Maddie didn’t like to think what it would be like if Lola was actually trying. Even though Maddie liked Todd, standing up to Lola on that would be a risk.

After sitting in stunned silence for a moment, she managed to say, “I’ll think about it,” and hung up her phone quickly so Lola could not have the satisfaction of the last word.

Maddie could not believe her brother was in love with that woman. If her brother could see the person Maddie did, she was sure he would feel differently.

Maddie knew in her heart she was not strong enough to see if Lola was bluffing. Although she wanted to call her brother, she did not want to be the cause of a bitter argument, or even worse. Calling her mom would not help the family situation and Molly would go crazy if she heard about Lola’s ultimatum.

Maddie made the decision on her own. She decided to call Todd and tell him the truth.

• • •

“But, I don’t understand why she even cares.”

“I know, Todd. I’m sorry. I just wanted you to know the truth. I was looking forward to seeing you again. I feel terrible, especially after you were so kind to me.” Maddie felt the tears on her face. She was trying not to let Todd know how upset she was. He didn’t deserve this and she did not want to make it any harder on him.

“I know you feel bad and I do appreciate you telling me the entire story. I would hate to think I misjudged our connection. I hope things can change, maybe after more time passes.”

“Thanks for understanding,” she whispered.

“I hate that you’re upset. I wish I could do something. You’ve been through a lot and all I want is for you to be happy.”

“I know, and that’s what makes this even harder. I hope someday things will change.”