Page 35 of She's the Star

NOLAN

The next morning, I hesitantly open the front door after checking my messages for the four hundredth time. I expected some sort of follow up conversation after our startlingly passionate kiss, but she didn’t contact me.

I didn’t contact her either.

Instead, my night consisted of rehashing every moment from when she emerged from the house. No matter how closely I examine it, I can’t figure out exactly what happened between us.

Faking is supposed to feel fake, but that kiss felt real.

I clutch the coffee in my hand a little tighter and slip into the house. Nothing but stillness greets me in the entry. Normally, I’d go find Maddy and Amber, but this morning I linger.

“Why are you just standing there?” Mina asks and I nearly jump out of my skin.

I spin around to face her. “No reason. Just thinking. How’d you know I was here?”

She looks at me like I’m nuts. “Security system.”

“Oh, right.”

“You just going to keep standing there?”

“Nope.” I toe off my shoes. Mina is acting normal which calms me a bit. “Are Maddy and Amber still upstairs?” I ask just before Amber charges into the entry.

“I’m late,” she says, thrusting Maddy into my arms without making eye contact.

We all watch as she slips out of the house at the exact same time that a black SUV comes to a smooth stop in the driveway. A man emerges from the front seat and opens the rear door. She hops in, and the vehicle pulls away.

“She’s in a mood,” Mina says as we watch the car disappear and Maddy squirms in my arms. “Something must have happened last night with Teddy.” She pauses. “Did she mention anything to you when you left?”

“Nope,” I say a bit louder than necessary. Did something happen after I left? Or is she stressed because of what happened while I was still here? I hope it isn’t the latter.

Maddy starts blowing bubbles with her slobber. It’s unnecessarily cute but doesn’t offer much insight into why Amber is out of sorts.

“Hopefully a day of rehearsals will restore order. I have a bunch of errands to do. I’ll be back later.” Mina grabs her bag off a hook on the wall, waves at Maddy, and then she’s gone too.

Friday morning is the same. Amber barely speaks to me as she deposits Maddy in my arms.

Last night I didn’t even see her because she texted that Mina was going to watch Maddy until she got home so I could leave whenever I wanted. I was tempted to wait for her, but I’m reluctant to force her to have a conversation she clearly doesn’t want to have.

Midafternoon, Maddy and I load into an SUV with tinted windows and two bodyguards to be escorted to the arena for the first show. We get snarled in traffic, and Maddy dozes in her car seat. With nothing to do but stare out the window, I can’t help but notice the eager crowds as we get closer to the arena. A lot of Amber’s fans are wearing sparkles from head to toe, and some of them are singing loudly enough for me to hear them. Our vehicle is ignored as we turn into the underground parking garage. Once we’re parked, we’re whisked through the bowels of the arena and brought to Amber’s dressing room.

Amber doesn’t make eye contact with me when we arrive, but she does abruptly stop her conversation and fly across the room. Her hair and makeup is already completed, and she looks radiant. Her skin shimmers like a spotlight is already tracking her movements. It doesn’t seem possible that she kissed me and is now trying to ignore me. She reaches us and I hand Maddy to her with a tight smile. She doesn’t seem to notice as she presses a kiss to Maddy’s forehead. This time, I don’t make the mistake of thinking she’ll give me one too. She flits away, talking and gesturing animatedly with everyone who enters while I attempt to fade into the background.

I sort of zone out—my two sleep deprived nights are catching up with me—so it takes a moment for me to realize the room has mostly emptied and Mina is now holding Maddy. I’ve taken one step toward them when Amber whips off the robe she was wearing to reveal her bare back, and her almost naked backside. The only thing covering her is a nude-colored thong and it reveals a lot more than it hides. She seems nonplussed by her nudity, but I am decidedly not.

My body heats as I register all her smooth flesh.

She’s ridiculously gorgeous. I’ve actively been disallowing myself to imagine her like this, but holy crap, I can’t unsee all that skin. I catalog every inch in a single blink before wrenching my gaze away. I’m not sure how to distract myself, so I dig around in Maddy’s bag like I can’t find something while I breathe through my nose and think about unsexy things. Gaping wounds. Toenail fungus. Dirty diapers.

By the time I have myself under control, Amber is sparkling in a short silver one piece jumpsuit and speaking rapidly to the people who crowd back into the room. I take Maddy from Mina and she snuggles into my chest and starts sucking on her fingers as we settle on a sofa off to the side. After a couple of minutes, the group disperses, leaving just Amber, Mina, Maddy, and me.

The tension is thick, and Mina looks from me to Amber and back again.

“It looks like you’re all set for the show,” I say as brightly as I can.

Amber stiffens but turns her head and smiles. “Yep.” She doesn’t elaborate, and instead directs the conversation to her daughter as she sinks onto the sofa next to us. “Umm…Maddy seems good today. Less fussy?”

“She’s been great. I think she likes being here.”

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