Taking a Chance (9 page)

As the first notes rang through the place, the sound sent chills through Maddie’s entire body. They were playing one of their newer songs, but Maddie still knew every word. She could not believe how close she was to him. Again. He acknowledged the crowd after they finished the first song and the place got even louder as he thanked Chicago, the best city yet. Maddie clapped along with the crowd although she felt like she was in a dream. After they finished the second song, he walked over to the piano.

Maddie put her elbows up on the ledge of the box, leaned forward, and placed her chin on her hands. She was mesmerized as he began to play her favorite song. His eyes were closed as he started and she imagined he was picturing the woman he had written the song for.
God, I wish that was me.

He opened his eyes and turned toward the crowd, which immediately caused even louder cheers and screams. As he moved his eyes across the crowd, he looked up in the direction of their box and seemed to hesitate. He continued playing and singing, but his eyes darted back her direction and looked more intently her way. For a moment, Maddie thought he might have recognized her and so did the rest of the girls. She was not sure if the light above the box or in the box was enough for him to be able to see her. However, as he continued the song, he did not look away keeping his eyes locked on her.

Maddie forgot there was anyone else in the place. The only thing she could focus on was Austin. Soon, the entire place, including his band members, had followed Austin’s gaze. If Maddie had taken her eyes off Austin, she would have seen the thousands of eyes on her.

Positive she was dreaming, Maddie was afraid that if she turned away from the stage Austin would disappear. After he finished the song, Maddie took a chance and turned around to see all of the girls staring at her.

“Wow, Maddie. You are having quite the week,” teased Molly.

“What do you mean
week
?” asked Amanda, furrowing her brow.

“Oh, nothing, but this is seriously something that only happens in the movies. I cannot believe that just happened. I was just excited for Maddie to see Austin sing. I had no idea he would serenade her in front of the entire place!”

During the concert, Austin kept looking up toward their box and Maddie’s heart raced every time she caught him looking her direction. The band finished one of their last songs and left the stage. The crowd cheered for more, and the band ran back on stage to play their final three encore songs.

As they finished their last song, Austin thanked Chicago again for being the best audience, which made the entire place erupt. Just as Austin was turning to leave the stage, he pointed in Maddie’s direction. She was not sure what that meant, if anything.

She turned back toward the girls and smiled dreamily. “Not sure about you girls, but that was the best concert I’ve ever been to.”

Just as they began to comment on the night, a girl walked into the box.

“Excuse me,” she yelled, “who are you?”

She was staring down Maddie, but Molly jumped in front of her. “Why do you care?”

“Just tell me!”

“It doesn’t matter who she is. Please just get out of our box.”

“Listen, I want to know who the hell she is and how Austin knows her. I have a right to know!” she yelled.

As if the evening hadn’t taken on a strange enough turn, just then Austin himself walked into the box. “Tiffany, get out of here,” he snapped. “You have no right to be in here. She has nothing to do with you!”

“Damn right I do, Austin. That is
my
song. You wrote it for me, if you remember. You can’t go around singing it to whomever the hell you want! Who’s your latest whore?”

She was furious, but at least her anger had shifted to Austin.

“Get out, Tiffany!” This time Austin yelled it with such force she jumped back.

“Fine, Austin. But just watch your backs!” She glared at him and then at Maddie. She turned on her heel, flung her hand out and knocked over two drinks sitting on the table. The drinks fell to the floor and the ice cubes scattered about.

Austin turned back to Maddie. “I’m sorry, Maddie.”

When her name came out of his mouth, it knotted her stomach even more and her heart was once again beating too fast. It felt like a firework show finale going off in her chest.
Surely, this isn’t normal
. A few of the girls who had instinctively moved closer to Maddie when Tiffany had begun yelling backed up to give Austin room.

“Great show, Austin,” Maria said and smiled as she walked to the back of the box. The other girls nodded as they followed Maria.

“Thanks.” He smiled at the girls and then turned back. He grabbed Maddie’s hand, which caught her off guard. When he touched her, she instantly felt the electricity surging between them. “I’m sorry she yelled at you. That’s my ex-girlfriend and she seems to think she still has control over me and what I do.”

“It’s fine. She just caught me by surprise.”

“I didn’t know she was going to be here. Otherwise, I would have known she would cause a scene as soon as I acknowledged you. I wish I could stay and talk, but I have an appearance I have to go to now. Will you be around tomorrow?”

Maddie looked down. “I have all of these girls staying at my place. It’s one of my best friend’s bachelorette weekend and I can’t leave them. I’m sorry.”

“Are you sure? I would like to see you, even if for a few minutes.”

“Yes, I’m sure.”

“Okay.” He ran his hand through his hair. “I’m disappointed I can’t see you, but I understand. Can I can see you the next time I can get back to Chicago?”

Molly was one step ahead of her. She grabbed Maddie’s business card out of her wallet and handed it to Austin. “Here you go, Austin.” She turned to wink at Maddie and she was glaring back.

He held the card up between his fingers. “Thanks,” he said to Molly. He turned back to Maddie, “I have to go, but it made my night to see you at the show.” He leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek. Giving her a quick hug, he turned and was out the door before she could even process what had just happened.

“Molly, I can’t believe you gave him my business card. You know he’s never going to call.”

“Um, were you just at the same show as us? The guy sang a song to you during his show. I think that means he kind of feels something for you, don’t ya think?”

Unable to answer, she gathered her wits. She felt as though she were in a dream. “Either way, I would like to thank you for a fantastic surprise. I enjoyed the evening, at least before that Tiffany girl showed up. Did she look familiar to any of you?”

None of the girls spoke up. Molly took charge. “That was Tiffany Canyon from the reality show
Three Girls
.”

“Oh my God, that’s right. I forgot they dated. I knew she looked familiar! Nothing like trying to compete with a famous girl. This is hopeless!” exclaimed Maddie.

“Did you ever think Austin might be looking for more than a ditzy girl?” asked Molly. “Come on, you’ve seen her on that show. She’s an airhead just looking for attention.”

“I don’t know, maybe, but he did go out with her in the first place. Let’s just forget about it for now. Where are we heading to next?”

M
addie had scheduled her spa appointments to end first in case she had to take care of any last minute details for Saturday evening. She wanted to make sure the other girls enjoyed every minute at the spa.

Before getting dressed, she sat in the whirlpool for a few minutes after her massage. She was looking forward to relaxing in one of the day beds and reading as she waited for the rest of the girls to finish their appointments. She grabbed her iPad and checked her phone to make sure she didn’t have any important messages from work. She saw a missed call from her brother and picked up the voicemail. Her heart sank as she listened to the message. Her brother was talking, but she could hear Lola yelling in the background. Lola was upset that Maddie had gone out with Todd and needed to speak to her right away.

Right, Lola…let me get right on calling you!
Maddie would deal with her later. She was hoping Lola’s anger would dissipate if she delayed calling back. Just as she was placing her phone back in her purse, it rang.
The woman has no patience
.

Maddie picked it up with a stern, ‘Hello.’ She was not going to discuss the issue now, but wanted to let Lola know she would call after the girls were gone tomorrow.

“Whoa, sorry, did I interrupt something?”

Crap.
Maddie’s mind raced as she tried to place the voice. She knew who it sounded like, but thought she might be going crazy now. Even though the number was not programmed into her phone it could still be one of her clients.

“No, I’m sorry. I thought this was someone else calling. Who is this?”

“Austin.”

Just relax. No big deal …

“Oh, um…hi, Austin. Sorry, I thought I was going to have to deal with something or should I say some
one
unpleasant.”

“I’m certainly happy not to be that person! I wanted to call and apologize again for what Tiffany did last night. I feel bad that you were put in that situation.”

Like this has been bothering him all day?

“It’s okay. She just surprised me, but I’ve already forgotten about it.”

“Great. I know you said you were with your friends all day, but I was hoping I could see you for a few minutes. I have to leave town first thing tomorrow and will be busy for a few weeks, so I won’t have a chance to see you again for a while.”

See me again for a while?

Maddie glanced at her watch. “Well, the earliest any of the girls will be done is about forty-five minutes from now, so if you’re nearby maybe I could meet you for a couple of minutes.”

“Done. Where are you?”

“I’m at the spa at the Four Seasons on East Delaware.”

“I know exactly where you are, and I’m only a couple of blocks away. I’ll be there in less than ten. Do you want to meet in the lobby or at the spa?”

Maddie didn’t want the girls to know she was meeting up with Austin. “I’ll meet you in the lobby in ten minutes.”

“See you then!”

Maddie put on a touch of make-up before heading down to the lobby sitting area. Still feeling pleasantly relaxed, she wandered to the back corner and sunk down into one of the couches. It was a quiet afternoon with only a few people moving about the sitting area.

Then reality hit her. Hit her hard.
What the heck am I doing here? I’m not interesting or attractive enough for a rock star!
Maddie knew nothing about him other than he was an amazing singer. They might not have one thing in common other than their taste in music.

I need to get out of here.
She was in over her head and decided to go back up to the spa and forget anything had ever happened. It’s not like he was going to hunt her down. She had no idea why she had agreed to meet him in the first place. His call had caught her off-guard, but she still should have known better. She stood up to head back to the elevator and then she saw him.
Too late.
Maddie hesitantly waved to Austin when he came around the front desk.

Somehow, he had managed to get to the hotel in ten minutes and pick up two drinks on his way. A wave of anxiety swept over her and she felt almost light-headed. She managed to relax a little when the gorgeous smile spread across his face. His dark hair was the same, a perfect combination of mess and style. Maddie could think of a few ways to mess it up.
Get a grip, Maddie!
He had the shadow of a beard today, which made him even sexier. The only possible flaw the man had was the almost-invisible crescent moon scar on the right side of his chin, which was absent of dark stubble.

He had on silver aviator-style sunglasses, but remembering the warmth behind his eyes had her body on fire already. He had on jeans, low on his hips and worn in perfectly with a gray T-shirt. Austin was lean, but in fantastic shape. Seeing the definition of his muscles through his perfectly fitted shirt made Maddie want to reach out and run her hands over his toned body.
Oh my God, what is wrong with me? When have I ever thought about running my hands over a perfect stranger?
His look was slightly edgy, but something about him made him seem approachable, like a regular guy.

“I didn’t know what you’d prefer, so I have a latte or iced green tea.” He smiled again.

“Green tea, please,” Maddie said as she hesitantly smiled back at him.

After he handed her the drink, he took off his sunglasses and hooked them on the V-neck of his shirt. Those same deep brown eyes she had pictured over the last couple weeks were staring back at her. Now she also noticed flecks of gold, which sparkled with his smile. She had always known he was good looking from the numerous pictures she had seen and interviews on television. But in person he was startlingly attractive and she could understand why any person would be drawn to him.
No way he is single.
Even if he did not have a serious girlfriend, Maddie imagined women threw themselves at him every minute of every single day.
Not that I can blame them.

As they both sat down on the couch, she inhaled and caught the cedar and spicy vanilla fragrance of his cologne. She already knew it smelled like him as it had been ingrained in her brain since their first meeting. Austin bent his right leg up on the couch, so he could turn sideways to face her, which kept his back to the rest of the room. He put his arm on the back of the sofa and leaned into the cushion. Maddie saw he was wearing a gorgeous silver watch and a few leather bracelets on his right wrist. It occurred to her then that he must be left-handed.

He seemed relaxed. Maddie imagined that the situation was easy for him as she was sure he had a lot of time with girls. Although the thought made her uneasy and she was still nervous, her curiosity won over; she wanted to see what kind of person he was. She was thankful he had handed her the tea, as it gave her something to do with her hands.

“Is something wrong? You seem nervous or distracted.”

Even his voice was sexy. He had a slight accent. Definitely east coast, but she was not sure exactly where he was from.