Page 31 of Her Rock Star's Dark Secret

Chase appraised the space. “This is much nicer than I remember it being since I came here for prom back in the day.”

“Oh yes, Mrs. Larson has done quite a bit of work on the property in recent years.”

“She’s really put her heart and soul into it,” Lauren said.

Chase remembered the two girls being close in high school. Natasha had eaten at Lauren’s lunch table. Yes. Everyone called it Lauren’s lunch table. As the queen bee of the school and the student council president, everyone looked up to her. She had been a natural leader. He was sad that so much of who she was had been sucked out of her by such a destructive man.

Aaron turned to Chase. “I like the place. I think we can get it to work out just fine. Which is a good thing since I’ve already started planning on it being here.”

When they ended the tour, Chase, Aaron, and Lauren exited the front of the mansion together when suddenly, there were cameras flashing.

Chase’s first reaction was immediate anger. He didn’t want Lauren involved in this. And he certainly didn’t want the media suspecting anything about him being in a relationship. For some explainable reason, they knew where he was. In his hometown, tiny little Maple Creek of all places.

“How do they know I’m here?” Chase asked Aaron quietly.

“That would be my fault. I told the press about the event to get the ball rolling on publicity.”

Lauren smiled and waved at them, reminding him of the girl he remembered her being. The queen bee.

A reporter put a microphone in Chase’s face. “Chase Remington! We heard that you are hosting charity ball here Sunday night. What can you tell us about the event?” Fear clenched at his heart. Lauren had said that she wanted the event to be private. “I’m sorry. I can’t tell you anything about the event.”

“But I can,” Lauren said, surprising him. “We’re raising money for suicide prevention. The tickets to this exclusive VIP event are available on a first-come, first-served basis. We are holding it as a memorial to our fellow high school classmate Maisy Carter, who committed suicide. We had our high school prom here, and she couldn’t attend due to her death. So this charity ball is a tribute to her and her missed night of senior prom.”

“That’s beautiful. Can you give us your name and tell us a little bit about you?”

“Yes. I’m Lauren Parker. I own the salonAll Dolled Uphere in Maple Creek. This year is our ten-year reunion, and Chase has returned to join in the festivities. I was the student council president, so I’m in charge of the event.”

“Thank you so much,” the reporter said. “That’s very helpful.”

A few more reporters shoved their microphones in Chase’s face, but he waved them all away. “Can I talk to you inside for a moment?” Chase asked Lauren.

“Sure.”

“No more questions today. You’ve gotten enough information,” Chase told them.

When they were back in the mansion, Chase closed the door behind them. “What was that?” he asked. “I was trying to help you keep this small like you wanted, and you just blew this thing up.”

“I thought that was whatyouwanted,” Lauren said. “A big event for Maisy.”

“Yes, but not like this. You just opened a can of worms. Do you want them swarming your home and your shop?”

“Yes, I do. I need the customers.”

“Not this way.”

“You were going to tag my salon on social media anyway.”

“This is different. You just told them way too much personal information about yourself.”

“Why would they care about me? I’m a nobody.”

“The problem with telling them where your salon is located is that you live over it. And it’s where I’m staying. They’ll be watching it now, and they’re going to wonder why I’m going inside a door that looks like it goes to your house. They’re going to assume that something romantic is going on between us.” Did they have a good reason to assume something like that? Was it possible something was going to go that way with Lauren? Chase couldn’t deny the growing attraction he felt to Lauren, body and soul. And he didn’t want the media to mess up whatever he may have with her.

Chapter 11

Wednesday morning, Lauren stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around herself. She quickly got dressed and did her hair and makeup for the day, and then went into Penny’s room to get her dressed. Her sweet little girl was curled up in her bed, still asleep. Lauren brushed back her hair and kissed Penny on the cheek. It was moments like this that made everything worth it—all the sleepless nights. The endless responsibilities. Penny filled her with love and happiness. It was hard to be a single mom, but it was also endlessly rewarding. How much harder would her life be if she didn’t have Penny’s smiles and quirky jokes?

Penny opened her eyes and smiled up at her mama. “Good morning, Mommy.”

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