Tommy was acting weird, and it was making Madison nervous.
She glanced in the vanity mirror, ensuring that her wig was still on, her makeup in place. She’d been careful to stick to her role and keep her arm covered. And yet not long after they’d exited the freeway, something had shifted between them, and she’d been unable to get him back on her side.
She remembered the previous times they’d met, back when he was a naive country boy who was in way over his head. He’d been so much easier to manipulate back then.
The summer had changed him. Now he seemed resentful, edgy, like he had somewhere better to be.
Was it because back then she’d been Madison Brooks—the It Girl at the top of Ira’s get list? She doubted it. Their kiss felt like something more had sparked between them—something more equal and intimate than the usual fan/celebrity hookup.
Did his change of heart have to do with Layla?
Was he really so devoted he wouldn’t indulge in a little harmless flirtation?
And if so, what the hell did he see in her?
She guessed Layla was pretty enough. And God knows she was driven and ambitious in a way Madison might’ve found admirable if the circumstances had been different.
But the way Layla had gone after her on her blog had earned her a place on Madison’s blacklist. Her most recent post ensured she’d remain there for good.
Madison looked out the window and sighed. Tommy was so keyed up, she worried he might try to drop her off and drive away before she even had a chance to put her plan into play.
“Stop,” she said. “Stop right here.”
Tommy motioned toward the windshield. “There’s nothing here.” His tone was a combination of jittery and annoyed.
“I know. Just—I want to say something before we arrive.” She waited while Tommy reluctantly pressed his foot to the brake and slowly rolled to a stop. When he killed the engine, she said, “I’m sorry.”
He removed his sunglasses and studied her face.
“If I got too flirty, or made you feel uncomfortable in any way, then I apologize.”
The look she received in return was blank.
“I know you have a girlfriend and—”
“We’ve been over this.” He gripped the wheel hard. She’d pushed him too far. “It’s weird how you keep bringing it up.”
Madison studied him. “I thought you and Layla Harrison . . .” She left it unfinished, but Tommy just stared out the windshield and clenched and unclenched his jaw.
“I’m tired of every nuance of my life being dished out for public consumption.” His features sharpened, his lips flattened in fury.
“You wanted to be a star.” Her words echoed between them. “It’s part of the deal.”
He turned to her, eyes burning. “I never wanted any of that. I never wanted people to dissect my choices—who I’m dating, what I’m wearing, what I drive, where I go, what I eat, drink. Everything I do is under a microscope, and if they don’t like what they see, they don’t hesitate to unleash their contempt in the comments section. It’s total bullshit! My personal life is none of their business, and yet they act like they own me. All I wanted, all I truly ever wanted, was to make music that people enjoyed—that’s it!”
Madison simmered in fury. Any residual guilt she might’ve felt over stringing him along had just vanished. If there was one thing she hated more than anything, it was when people acted like victims of their own good fortune. The other thing was when people blamed outwardly instead of getting real with themselves.
“You sure about that?” Her voice was her own, no more pretending. “Because last I checked, you wanted fame and the fan base that comes with it. Only your dream didn’t come packaged to your exact specifications, so now you think you have the right to complain to anyone who will listen. Well, too bad. The spotlight is shining on you, so what are you going to do about it? Are you going to run back to your hick town and let the locals use your return to defend their own sorry avoidance of whatever dreams they once had but never found the guts to pursue? ‘Look at him,’ they’ll say. ‘He soared so high he touched the sun, but in the end, he came running right back to us.’ Will you play into their narrative? Performing sad songs at the local dive bar and pretending you’re relieved to have escaped the evils of Hollywood—to be back among all the real people living real lives?” She rolled her eyes. “Give me a break, Tommy. I’m all too familiar with the sort of world you fled, and I’m here to tell you that Hollywood is far more raw and gritty and real than just about anywhere else. It’s a place of soaring triumphs and devastating defeats. Where fortunes rise and fall on the whims of an increasingly fickle public that’s impossible to please. Every choice is a risk and the stakes are tremendous, and yet every failure offers another shot at redemption. So you tell me, what’s more real than that? From the moment you arrived here, you entered the game. And trust me, you’re one of the lucky ones. It didn’t take you very long to get known.” The laugh that followed was harsh. And though she knew she should let up, she’d kept the sentiment bottled up for so long the words had to be spoken.
She’d been pretending to interview Tommy off and on for hours, and she was tired of the way he’d framed his life. Maybe that sort of regretful, wide-eyed, how-did-I-end-up-here bullshit story would work in print, but as it turned out, nothing he said would ever go any further than the inside of his car.
The irony wasn’t entirely lost on her. For a person who specialized in deception, Madison was demanding 100 percent authenticity in return. Only then would she know she could trust him.
“You came here to be a star, right?”
Tommy glared, silently seething.
“And now you are. So own it, or leave. Your call.”
“Kind of seems like the ‘interview’”—he used air quotes around the word—“ended back in Calabasas.”
“It was never an interview.” Madison paused, letting the words sink in. The game was over. And though she had no idea what would follow, she knew it was time for her to get real too.
Tommy stared in astonishment. She’d just confirmed what he’d already been thinking, but now, from the looks of him, he was having a hard time processing it.
“What the fuck are you doing?” he asked, his voice low and menacing.
Still, Madison relaxed for the first time that day. Finally, they could start to move forward. She knew he wouldn’t harm her. Tommy wasn’t the type to ever raise a hand to a woman.
“Seriously! What the fuck?” He gazed around wildly. “I mean . . . fuck!” He slammed his fist hard on the wheel, repeating the word, as Madison watched quietly from the passenger seat. “Do you have any idea what you’ve put us through? I went to jail because of you! We all did! I got death threats. My tires were slashed. And you’ve been alive all this time?” He whirled on her. “What the fuck, Madison?”
He’d called her Madison, not MaryDella. She took it as a good sign.
A single tear slid down her face. Crying on cue had always come easily. But while her intent was to appear vulnerable in a way that would make Tommy calm down enough to talk, the flood that followed came of its own accord. Once it started, Madison found it impossible to stop.
It was the first time she’d cried in a really long time. It felt good to finally let it all out.
Tommy glanced from her messed-up ankle to her bandaged hand. “What the hell happened to you?” He reached for her arm and gently pushed up her sleeve, seeing the burn scar and the new one just above it, where her flesh was still tender and pink. He shook his head and sighed. It was the final confirmation he needed.
Next thing she knew, he drew her into his arms. Smoothing a hand down her back, he whispered a string of reassurances she longed to believe.
It was the second time she’d turned to him for solace. She hoped his support would extend a little further. She pulled away and dabbed at her cheeks with the cuff of her sleeve.
“Here.” Tommy pressed a napkin he’d plucked from his cup holder to her cheek. “It’s clean, I promise,” he said, which made them both laugh.
With his other hand, he slid the sunglasses from her face and stared in confusion.
“Contacts,” she whispered.
He gazed at her in wonder. “Down to every last detail.”
“And yet, you still saw right through it.” Her biggest fans hadn’t even recognized her, and yet Tommy had.
“I might’ve kissed and told.” He shot her a guilty look. “But I never forgot the moment you revealed the real you.” He held her gaze until her cheeks begin to heat. The rest of her body soon followed. “Where to now?” he asked, breaking the spell and returning them both back to reality and the decisions ahead.
“You’re not going to turn me in?”
“No,” he said, his voice firm. “Not before you’ve had a chance to explain.”
It was the best scenario she could hope for. “Your mama raised you right,” she told him. “You’re one of the good ones.”
Tommy laughed and engaged the ignition. “Someday, when this is all over, I’ll tell her you said so.”