Page 17 of Her Rock Star's Dark Secret

“So about the memorial,” Alexis said. “Let’s do some brainstorming.”

“Okay,” Lauren said, licking her ice cream cone.

“Where do you think we should have it?” Alexis asked.

“I was planning on Maple Creek Baptist Church,” Lauren said.

“What about the place where we had prom?” Chase suggested.

“You mean the Whitmore House?” Lauren asked, referring to the gorgeous white mansion Aubrey Wheaton ran since Natasha had married Senator Larson.

“Yeah. That’s the place,” Chase said. “Maisy wasn’t able to go to prom, so let’s give her the experience she missed out on.”

“We don’t have the budget for that. And we definitely don’t have the time to put together an event like that, much less get the word out about it.”

“We’ll just announce it at the reunion and maybe put some flyers up around town,” Chase said. “I’m used to planning parties last minute. We can do this.”

“You plan parties?” Lauren said, giving him a skeptical look.

“You have no idea. I’m the king of parties.”

Lauren crossed her arms and glared at him.

“Is there something wrong with that?” Chase asked.

“You’d better not mess this up, Chase. That’s all I’m saying.”

“You really don’t trust me, do you?” Chase said, smiling at her.

“No, I don’t. I’ve been burned too many times by someone who turned everything into a big party.”

Chase put his hands up like he was stopping traffic. “Whoa, whoa. That’s not fair. I’m not your ex-husband.”

“He’s really nothing like Brandon,” Alexis said. “You can trust Chase.”

“How do you know? You barely know him yourself. He hasn’t even been around enough for any of us to know him.”

“I wish you could hear the irony of this conversation from my point of view,” Chase said with a chuckle. “I spend my life in the spotlight. And I’m pretty much an open book. All you would have to do to get to know me is pick up the latest issue ofPeople. But you don’t seem like the tabloid-reading type.” He hadn’t meant for that last part to sound like a jab, but he realized it had come out that way. He regretted it instantly.

Lauren’s face turned bright red with fury. “I have read the tabloids. And they’ve been crystal clear about what you’re like.”

“Then you’re reading selectively. I may throw parties, but I’m not getting drunk and stupid. Only socializing.”

“More like womanizing.”

“Would you guys just listen to yourselves?” Alexis said. “I think both of you need to take a step back and realize that you’re assuming the worst of each other.”

But Chase wasn’t assuming the worst of Lauren. He hadn’t meant to hurt Lauren with any of his words. But her words were hurting him, and he didn’t understand why she was comparing him to her ex-husband. It seemed like a low blow to him. He felt like he was flailing with Lauren. He wasn’t used to flailing with women, and he didn’t know how to talk to her in a way that wouldn’t have her snapping at him.

Somehow, he would thaw the ice around this beautiful woman’s heart. He could tell her ex-husband had done a number on her. This was completely uncharted territory for him. He’d conquered the party scene so thoroughly that he’d become bored with it. But this—this was something new and fresh, and he was up for the challenge. He wanted to see the light come back into this woman’s eyes, and he wanted to be the man to do it. He just wasn’t sure she would let him, and that meant he was going to have to get creative.

And creativity was his strong point. He was a man who lived and breathed creativity for a living.

“Let’s back up a little bit,” Chase said. “Back to the Whitmore House.”

“I thought we already decided that wasn’t going to work,” Lauren said.

“Just hear me out,” Chase said, his wheels turning in his head. “What if we had a fundraiser to gather the money?”

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