Page 22 of Legendary Rock Star
But no matter what I did, Maggie’s kiss was a lingering taste better than melted chocolate in my mouth.
I needed to forget her.
But her name had been repeated in every call I’d made this morning, so if I’d been avoiding her, I’d been hit over the head with the fact that she was talented and amazing.
Not that I needed the reminders.
But I hadn’t seen her since I walked her to the women’s quarters and the door closed in my face.
She’d not been staged in the group number as she and Rihanne had a meeting with production about costuming. I knew about it only because Jane mentioned it to me.
It was near eleven now so that had to be over.
I was lingering in the hall on my way to my solo track rehearsal when I finally saw her walking out of a conference room with a smile on her face.
She must have won.
I waved at her and she came closer. The butterflies in my belly had to mean I actually liked her. I said, “Maggie.”
She glanced at my white t-shirt, damp with sweat, and asked, “How’s your practice going?”
The lights were brutal, and the rehearsals exhausting, but I needed to prove myself. I needed the crowds. She didn’t have a clue what a high that was.
I wondered if she’d been avoiding me, and Mark too. My agent had said he’d tried to get in touch with her.
Meanwhile, to distract myself once more from thinking about how I had ruined another singer’s life, I had helped rewrite everyone’s assigned song again. Except for Maggie’s and Rihanne’s. They hadn’t been around to ask.
I ignored the goosebumps on my arms and said, “Fine. Have you checked your phone?”
She glanced down at my feet and said, “No. I turned it off when I was in the meeting. My parents have been texting a lot. I need to find a few minutes to call them, but I’m late for hair and makeup already.”
My shoulders relaxed. She didn’t know. I wrapped my arm around her so if anyone was looking, they’d give us a moment, and then said, “Look, Mark is desperately trying to get you on the phone.”
She didn’t shrug me off, and her eyes widened when she asked, “Mark Powers?”
Wow. She really had no idea about the emails or texts. I took her phone out of her back pocket and handed it to her.
“Yeah,” I said. “He wants you to sign.”
She took the phone and turned it on as she asked, “He told you that?”
Her phone beeped as it found a signal and I said, “Yeah, and he wanted to be the one to tell you.”
Seriously, she didn’t know. She was probably the only woman on the coast that wasn’t glued to her phone. She asked, “Tell me what?”
I came closer and could smell her light floral perfume as I whispered in her ear, “He’s talked to a record label. They want to put out our Christmas album.”
Her face brightened like she’d just won a prize, but then her gaze narrowed. “This is low. Don’t distract me with false promises to get me off course.”
“Check.”
“Fine.” She opened her emails and found the one from Mark with the PDF attachment while I said, “It’s a pretty good deal.”
She covered her lips and tears formed in her eyes. She then wiped them away and said, “I don’t know if I believe any of this.”
Her innocence was like a drug I needed. I hugged her.
I didn’t even remember my first time, or who she’d been. But I’d never forget Maggie. I put my hands in my back pockets and said, “You can call him and set up a meeting.”
