Page 8 of Her Rock Star's Dark Secret

When she questioned him about where Penny was, he’d been so drunk he’d fully confessed to her that he’d just left their two-year-old at home alone. Lauren was smart enough to pull out her phone and get a video of the entire exchange. Lauren had rushed right over to his place and had taken Penny home. Brandon hadn’t even objected. After that, it wasn’t hard to get his custody changed to supervised visitation. Soon after, he gave up his rights completely.

Penny tossed the food into the pond and bounced on her toes when the ducks swarmed the spot. She clapped her hands and then turned to Chase. “Wanna go on the swings now, Chase?”

“I sure would,” he said.

“Come on!” Penny grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the playground area.

Chase glanced over his shoulder back at Lauren. “You coming?” he asked her.

“Sure.” Lauren fell into step beside him, her insides warring. She didn’t want to seem rude to Chase in front of Penny. She didn’t want to teach her daughter that it was okay to be rude to others. Her beef with Chase had nothing to do with Penny, and she didn’t want her daughter getting wrapped up in her issues with the singer any more than she already was at this point. Lauren had worked hard to keep Penny from the spectacle that was her own father. So she owed it to her daughter to keep her from getting wrapped up in drama with a man she wasn’t even related to.

“My, oh my! What a lovely sight!”

Lauren turned to see Mrs. Wheaton, the town gossip, approaching them, walking a little black Schnauzer. She groaned inwardly. She never knew what the old busybody was going to say next. Or what assumptions she would make, especially in this case.

“Mrs. Wheaton?” Chase said, a broad smile crossing his face. “Is that you?”

“Yes, Chase. How are you, honey? I can’t tell you how good it is to see you again. Especially with you looking so . . . happy.” She looked pointedly at Chase’s hand holding Penny’s like it held some huge significance for her. “Am I to hear that some congratulations are in order?” She smiled hopefully at Chase.

“You can congratulate me if you’d like. I was able to convince Lauren to go to the park with me today. I’d say I’m winning this morning.”

A blush swept over Lauren’s cheeks. Was that what Chase had been doing all morning? Trying to get her to hang out with him? Impossible.

Mrs. Wheaton smiled eagerly. “Well, that sounds like a win to me! And such a beautiful prize at that.” She waddled over to Lauren. “You own that salon on Sycamore Street, isn’t that right?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Lauren said, perking up a bit. Mrs. Wheaton wasn’t a client of hers, but if she were able to win Mrs. Wheaton as a client, it would be just as good as putting in an ad in the local newspaper. The woman talked to everyone about everything. “I don’t believe I’ve seen you over at my salon before.”

“No, no, I see Miss Darla at the salon on Main Street.”

“Well, if you come to see me, I’ll give you a cut and style. First one’s on me.”

“Oh! Honey, that’s so sweet of you.”

“Stop by this week, and I’ll see if I can fit you on my schedule.” Lauren tried to make it sound like her week was booked up, but she knew the schedule was wide open for the week.

“I’m happy with the job Miss Darla does. No need to fix what isn’t broken,” Mrs. Wheaton boasted.

Disappointment tore through Lauren. She really needed to get her calendar booked up.

“You’re missing out,” Chase said. “Her salon is fantastic. In fact, Lauren has me on her schedule this week.”

Lauren didn’t. But she saw what Chase was trying to do, and it warmed her heart.

“Is that so?” Mrs. Wheaton’s eyebrows shot up. “Well, maybe I could stop by for a quick trim.” She reached up and stroked a tuft of her short, graying hair.

“I’m looking forward to it,” Lauren said.

“Er, what day are you going in, Chase?” Mrs. Wheaton glanced at him sideways in a way Lauren assumed was meant to be flirty, but when Mrs. Wheaton did it, it just came off strange.

Lauren looked to Chase curiously.Yes, when is his fictional appointment?

“Um,” he said, looking back at Lauren like she could telepathically tell him when she had an opening. What he didn’t know was he could pick any day, and she’d be able to get him in. “Wednesday,” he said.

Lauren nodded him in encouragement.

“What time on Wednesday?” Mrs. Wheaton asked greedily.

“Sometime in the morning . . .” Chase drifted off.

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