As if the return to her alma matter hadn’t been enough of a blast to the past, now Peggy was venturing into a middle school auditorium. Everything from the plastic bucket seats and stale granola smell to the stage ahead looked like doll furniture, but she imagined all those components appeared massive and important to the students. Students who were currently huddled in groups, speaking in whispers and failing to disguise their laughter. Over Alice?
Peggy’s stomach flopped over. Elliott thought he was out of his depth? She’d been a fucking cheerleader—about as far as one could get from a drama geek. And yet the heft of this mission rested squarely on her shoulders. She could feel it, weighing her down into the cheap carpet as she and Elliott approached the harried teacher. For once, Belmont was no help at all, his claustrophobia keeping him stationed at the auditorium door, arms crossed like a sentry. Not that he’d said a word about his agitated condition to Peggy, but she knew seeing Alice trapped in a small space would bother him, so she’d squeezed his elbow to let him know she understood.
See? Easy. Teenager having a meltdown in front of her peers? Not so much.
What to say to Alice? What to say? Just like her first encounter with Elliott’s daughter last night, she could very well blurt out the dumbest thing to enter her head and blow this undertaking to smithereens. The girl would be found seven hundred years from now, her bones uncovered by paleontologists, still locked inside the bathroom. Theorists have concluded that this specimen’s father’s ex-lover was responsible for her rather awkward demise. Now, on to our next exhibit…
When the students began taking notice of the legend in their midst—Elliott—a hush fell over the groups, elbows nudging, mouths dropping open. Sensing how much Elliott was discomfited by the hero worship, she let her hand graze his, just a touch, in a way that would appear accidental. Or might have, if he didn’t raise a stately eyebrow in her direction.
“Do you have a game plan?”
Peggy pulled him to a stop mid-aisle. “This isn’t football, Elliott.” She cast a glance toward the awed students. “This is middle school. It’s far bloodier.”
“You’re exaggerating.”
“Were you born an adult or did you manage to wedge a childhood in there?”
“I assume you don’t expect an answer.”
“Oooh.” She gave him a narrow-eyed head shake. “You’re so condescending sometimes. It’s even in the way you look at people.”
He rolled his tongue along the inside of his lower lip. “I don’t have a mirror, Peggy, but I’m pretty damn sure that’s not how I look at you.”
“No.” She drew the word out while mentally reminding herself of her ulterior motive. Just because she was there to save Alice didn’t mean she couldn’t tick a box on her seduction checklist. “You look at me like a dieter ogling chocolate cake. But you should know something.”
“What’s that?”
She moseyed a step closer. “Even the most dedicated dieter eventually takes a bite.”
If they were alone in that moment, she had a feeling he’d have taken a few bites, but as it were, they had a rapt audience. Peggy was just getting ready to remind Elliott of that when he slanted his head to the side. “What did you mean earlier when you said, ‘I deserve it’?” He gave a tight head shake. “It’s not sitting right.”
Fast as Peggy could manage, she pushed through her surprise. She hid the achy, breathless shock that he’d even been thinking about their encounter by brushing off the question with her best Whatchu talking ’bout, Willis look. She still didn’t know what she’d meant by her unexpected outburst earlier. There had always been something poking beneath the surface, preventing her from moving on from Elliott. Was this buried belief that she deserved punishment the cause? “You Catholics really know how to dwell.” Needing to distract him, she cast a glance toward the buzzing students. “While I’m salvaging this seventh grade Armageddon, why don’t you go sign autographs for these kids? It’ll make their year.”
“Autographs,” Elliott repeated slowly. “I haven’t exactly been friendly since…” He stopped himself, cutting her a quick, sidelong glance. “You sure that’s something they’d want?”
“Of course it is,” Peggy murmured. “Everyone wants one. They’re just too scared of you to ask.”
“You’re not,” he blustered. “Today alone, you’ve had me agree to a speech, a fund-raiser, and a signing.”
Her smile bloomed. “That sounds like a yes.”
Elliott grunted.
Even though he’d broken her heart and stood between her and potential happiness with someone else, Peggy was so happy with him for agreeing, she went up on tiptoes and laid a smacker on his cheek, lingering there to speak near his ear. “Right about now, I’d let you autograph my naked body in Sharpie. Anywhere you wanted. As many times as you wanted. And I wouldn’t even try to wash it off.” She pulled back and started toward the stage, throwing him a little wink over her shoulder. “Makes you wonder why you aren’t always so agreeable, huh?”
His wolfish growl imbued Peggy with the confidence she needed. She’d never been much of a planner, but she’d been born with enough bravado to sink an ocean liner. At times like these, mama worked with what the good Lord gave her. “Hello! Hi!” Peggy chirped as she reached the drama teacher—Mrs. Hughes, Elliott had informed her on the way in—who could have passed for one of the students in stature, but the character lines around her eyes set her apart as the adult. Peggy took her hand and shook it vigorously. “So lovely to meet you. Can you please direct me to my acting pupil, Alice Brooks?”
“Your pupil?” Despite her clear confusion, the woman’s warm smile never faltered. “Are you her—”
“Acting coach. Yes.” Peggy threw her arms out with abandon and turned in a slow circle. “Ah, to be back on the middle school scene. It hasn’t lost its magic and it never will. Not as long as there’s a stage to serve as our magic wand, right, Mrs. Hughes?”
“Sure. Yes. Yes!” The woman actually began to shake when Elliott joined Peggy, the dozen or so necklaces looped around her neck clanking together. “Coach B-Brooks. It’s an honor. Can I get you a glass of water?”
“I’m fine.”
Two words from Elliott nearly sent the teacher into a swoon and Peggy started praying they kept smelling salts backstage. “Since I don’t see Alice,” Peggy continued, loud enough for everyone to hear, “I assume she’s still mid-exercise.”
Mrs. Hughes glanced toward the right auditorium wing, probably where the bathroom was located. “Mid-exercise?”
“Yes.” Peggy walked past the drama teacher toward the stage, running her finger along the edge and picking a few boys to smile at. “She’s getting into character, just as she’s been instructed. Time doesn’t exist until the curtain call, isn’t that right, Mrs. Hughes?”
“Well, I suppose—”
“If a butterfly emerges from its cocoon before it’s ready, it might never fly as magnificently as it could otherwise.” Peggy threw herself into a chair between two female students in the front row and took their hands. “I encourage you all to follow Alice’s lead pre-performance and close yourself off from this world until you’re ready to fly into the next. Just like the butterfly. You are all butterflies.”
“Uh. Thank you,” one of the girls muttered.
Swearing she heard Belmont’s low chuckle from the entrance, Peggy surged to her feet. “Alas, every pupil needs a mentor. Does the butterfly not receive assistance from the wind?” She blew a kiss at a male student who sat three rows back with his mouth hanging open. “I must go to her.”
Mrs. Hughes lifted her arm in slow motion. “She’s that way.”
Peggy caught only a quick glimpse of Elliott’s astonishment before sailing off toward the ladies room. “Oh!” She stopped short and turned. “While I consult with my actor, Coach Brooks would be pleased as punch to sign autographs for—”
Everyone moved at once, diving over chairs and riffling through backpacks for writing implements. Peggy couldn’t help but watch for a few seconds, arrested by the utter disbelief on Elliott’s face when the kids formed a line, excitement rolling off them in waves. The quiet grit of his voice had Peggy closing her eyes and sighing as she approached the bathroom and knocked.
“Malice Alice. Your rescue has arrived.”
“I heard you from in here. Are you from another planet or something? Oh God, there’s no way they bought that.”
“Yeah, there’s a pretty good chance some of them didn’t.” Peggy leaned to the side so she could get her eyes on the autograph proceedings. “But I think your pops is tidying up any loose ends.”
Silence. “I can’t believe he’s here.”
Peggy frowned at the door. “Did you think he wouldn’t come?”
“I don’t know.” A gusty sigh. “But I’ve been in here for, like, ten hours. No way I can come out now.”
“Yes, you can.” Peggy leaned her side against the door and crossed her ankles. “Tomorrow there will be something else for them to gossip about. Maybe we can even frame someone as a diversion tactic.”
“Chess Club Moonlights as Strippers.” Alice sniffed. “The middle school paparazzi will eat it up.”
Peggy snort-giggled. “You’re a funny kid, Alice.” There was no response from the other side of the door, which could have been a good or bad thing, but Peggy had no way of knowing without seeing the twelve-year-old’s face. She needed to do better here. Unfortunately, she’d never been so aware she was winging something. Peggy blew out at a breath and turned, bracing both hands on the door. “Look, you might not see it now, but you have the advantage here.”
“Wow.”
“Stay with me.” Peggy patted the door. “Like I said, you’ve got a great sense of humor and…reality, which puts you ahead of those kids out there. You can see this situation for what it will be in the future. A great frickin’ story. You’re going to slay with this one someday at a party.” There was no answer. God, she was sucking balls. Before Peggy could turn away from the door, however, a giant hand came to rest on her shoulder. She didn’t have to turn around to know it was Belmont because the peace that cooled her head to toe was his signature effect. “Listen, Alice,” Peggy tried again, voice firmer than before. “When I was in middle school, I worried about things like my hair and brand names and…okay, I still worry about things like that. But you’re different.”
“That’s the problem.”
“No, it’s not.” Peggy drew a heart on the door, then filled it with little finger scribbles. “You’re already looking back on this day with an adult perspective, aren’t you? The way you talked about what’s-her-name…Kim Steinberg—”
“Oh my God.” An agonized groan hurtled through the door. “Lower your voice or she’s going to hear you.”
“Ooh, sorry.” Peggy winced. “But seriously, that’s the kind of outlook I never had going for me. Not many people do. You know middle school isn’t where life ends, but you’re living in the moment kind of grudgingly anyway. You’re going to make the ultimate adult.” Peggy turned to Belmont with a how-am-I-doing expression, but he only shrugged. “Go out there and take it all in, Alice. Laugh about it and move on. There are bigger and better things ahead for you. Like the best ice-breaker story ever. Some dopey ex-cheerleader pretended to be your acting coach while you lived in the bathroom for an afternoon. Plus? Chess club strippers.”
“Sounds like this is going well,” Elliott remarked from the hallway entrance. “Alice—”
The door opened.
Peggy almost fell headfirst into the bathroom, but Alice and Belmont caught her just before she busted her ass. She straightened, brushing both hands down her skirt. “Well. When you gotta go…”
Alice laughed, then seemed almost embarrassed for cracking. “I better not keep them waiting out there.” She peeked up at Peggy. “Thanks.”
Lightness inflated in Peggy’s chest. “No problem.”
Alice’s head tipped back, her face turning red as she saw Belmont for the first time. “Who i-is that?”
“That’s your bodyguard.” Peggy nudged her brother with an elbow. “Bel?”
He nodded at Alice and stepped aside, indicating she should lead the way. “After you.”
“Whoa,” Alice breathed. “I wouldn’t mind him being one of the bigger and better things ahead.” A beat passed. “I just said that out loud, didn’t I?”
Laughing, Peggy gave Alice a side hug and sent them on their way.
Before the pair could enter the auditorium, Alice paused in front of Elliott. “Hey, sorry about making you come down here. I just—”
“Don’t mention it,” Elliott said brusquely. “I’m glad it all worked out.”
“Yeah.” Even though there was a definite note of disappointment in her voice, Alice’s shoulders stayed squared as she threw a glance at Peggy. “Can you come over for dinner tonight?” Clearly startled by her own invitation, she didn’t take it back. “It’s just spaghetti or whatever, but…”
“I, um…” Peggy didn’t have to look at Elliott to know he didn’t want her to accept. “I don’t know if I can—”
“Please?” Alice asked, the flush on her face deepening.
There was no way in hell Peggy was going to turn down Alice and let her be embarrassed twice in one day. Elliott could just suck it up for an hour and deal with the fact that she existed. “Sure. I’ll bring the Kool-Aid.”
Alice rolled her eyes, but her pleasure was obvious. “See you later.” She looked up at Elliott. “Bye.”
“Bye, Alice.”
When Elliott and Peggy were alone in the hallway, the silence was thick. Too thick. Before she had to endure a lecture or listen to him explain why dinner was a bad idea, she breezed past him. “Relax. It’s not about us.”
“Hey.” He snagged her elbow before she could pass. “I appreciate what you did.” His voice sounded rusted. “She’d still be in there if I’d come here by myself.”
“You have no idea how wrong you are. She would have flung that door open before you got through a hello.” Between his statement and questioning earlier if the students really wanted his autograph, those insecurities the great Coach Brooks used to reveal only to her were shining through. Letting her in just enough to make her ache, dammit. But she’d never been able to turn away from him, especially when he needed reassurance. “Tell me one good thing you did today.”
His features tightened, the air growing heavier around them as past collided with present. “After all this time, after everything, you’re still trying to redeem me?”
Further proof she was a glutton for punishment. “No. You have to take care of that yourself now.” Feeling his scent, his magnetic presence, and his hypnotic voice begin to take hold, she tugged out of his grip before she could make a fool out of herself and beg him to let her in again. That’s not why she was in Cincinnati. “Just like I have to take care of myself. Later, Elliott.”