Page 12 of Her Rock Star's Dark Secret

“So, you’re ready to put on your big-boy britches.”

“I think I put those on a long time ago.”

Alexis giggled and took a sip of her coffee. “I’m not so sure.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Chase asked, a teasing edge to his voice.

“You can’t wear big-boy britches and go to wild parties. It doesn’t work that way.”

“Sure, it does. You just take them off for a while and then change back into them when you get home.”

“This conversation just got weird,” Alexis said, making a face.

“You’re the one who brought up the big-boy britches. I was just going along with it. And hey, sometimes I was the one hosting the parties. It takes some maturity to put together a big event like that.”

“Okay, fine. I’ll give you that,” Alexis conceded. “Since you’re such an experienced party planner, maybe you can help Lauren plan the memorial for Maisy.”

“Does she want my help?” Chase asked. “I don’t want to intrude.”

“Let’s find out,” Alexis said, grabbing her phone.

Before Chase was fully aware of what Alexis was planning, she had Lauren on the phone on speaker. “Hey, do you need any help with Maisy’s memorial?”

“Sure, who’s offering?”

“Chase.”

The other end of the line went silent for a moment. A long moment. Finally, just as it was beginning to be awkward, Lauren said, “Chase wants to help?”

“He’s right here, listening. I have you on speaker.”

“Oh.” Was it just him or did she sound a little flustered? “Hi, Chase.”

“Hey, Lauren.”

“You want to help out with the memorial?”

“Sure, if you need the help,” Chase said.

Lauren paused. “Can I get back to you on that? I’m not sure what I still need help with.”

“Of course.” Chase’s cheeks burned. Did Lauren know he was at fault for Maisy’s death? He shook off the unpleasant thought. There was no way Lauren could have known anything about that. He didn’t think Maisy knew he had anything to do with the vandalism, so unless Lauren was a mind reader, she wouldn’t know anything about it.

He still couldn’t quite figure out why Lauren hated him so much. He had no idea what he’d done to make her so cold and rude toward him. He knew he’d been a punk in high school, but surely she could see that he was no longer that rebellious teen. He’d changed into a decent human being. He paid his taxes and said hello to his neighbors when he passed them on the street. Sure, he’d stayed away from Maple Creek, but that was his business, and it certainly didn’t make him a bad person.

He had a lot of ghosts in the town, but he was trying to settle that.

He needed this memorial service to Maisy. It was why he’d decided to come home after all these years. He used the reunion as an excuse, but the real reason was that he’d heard about Maisy’s memorial when he’d read the email Lauren had sent out to the alumni. He knew he had to come back to try to close the door to his turbulent high school years.

Maisy’s death had really done a number on him. It was one of the real reasons he hadn’t returned to Maple Creek after all these years. His parents had just made it easy on him. If only Lauren understood how good he was at party planning. He could be an asset to her in planning the memorial, and then he could consider his debt repaid. His wrong made right.

It wasn’t much, but it would matter to him, and that was what was important. His heart needed to heal. He’d written too many tortured songs over the years, and only he knew he was singing about Maisy and the guilt he felt over his involvement in her death.

Alexis ended the call with Lauren and turned to Chase. “Well, that was intense.”

“What do you mean?” Chase said.

“The two of you. There’s definitely something going on between you. There’s all this sexual tension.”

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