Page 65 of Recklessly, Wildly Yours

“No, not that video. The one that went viral yesterday.” She stops, her brows furrowing at my blank look. “You haven’t seen it, have you?”

“I try to avoid social media unless I’m stalking you.” When she doesn’t smile at that, I realize we’re dealing with something big for her. “What’s in the video?”

She bites her bottom lip. “It’s not good and I really hope you don’t go looking for it now.”

“I won’t if that’s what you want, but talk to me. Tell me why it’s got you apologizing to me.”

“It’s not really a sex video but it may as well be.” She grimaces and I get the impression that she hates having to tell me about this. “Tucker made the video last year. I was practically naked and he filmed me talking dirty to him. He’s shared it from an anonymous account and the caption is written to make everyone think you made the video. I’m so sorry.”

It’s undeniable how much I hate thinking about her with Tucker. Hell, with any other man. What I hate more, though, is that she’s dealing with this shit.

“You’ve got nothing to be sorry for,” I say, making sure she’s listening to every word. “This is the chaos, Miller. You hold your head high and you just keep going. And, baby, let them drag me into it. I don’t care. I was made for chaos.”

She grips my shirt tightly, fusing our bodies. “I really think you were,” she breathes. “And if you keep calling me baby, you and Leigh are gonna have problems because I’m going to be late to everything.”

“Fuck it,” I growl. And then, without having the first fuck to give about her being late, I throw her over my shoulder.

22

Madeline

“Hottie McHottie is going to be a problem, isn’t he?” Leigh says while we walk into the Nashville International Airport where I’m playing a set today as part of the airport’s live music program.

I think about what Ethan did to me this morning after he carried me into the bedroom. By the Ethan Black standard, the sex was quick; by anyone else’s, especially Leigh’s, it was anything but quick. I have no doubt she will do her best to make him regret that decision, but I don’t think he will. I certainly don’t. Not even the fact that it caused me to miss my first interview of the day made me regret it.

I grin at her as my security team of four cages us in to keep the crowd that is forming away. “I kinda hope so. I’d like to live a life filled with Hottie-McHottie problems.”

She rolls her eyes. “I think you like making my life difficult. Judy reamed me out over the missed interview this morning. Next time, I’m sending her your way. I thought I was all here for this new phase of our working life but now I wonder if I actually prefer the Madeline who always showed up on time and never made waves.”

I know she’s joking, and since I’m enjoying our new fun working relationship, I play along. “So, you think I should bow down for Tucker today? I could try. I’ll smile like a good girl and ignore anything assholey that he says to me.”

She lifts a brow. “Well, you always were so good at it. Let’s see if you’ve still got it in you.”

I laugh, not even the slightest bit offended because I know Leigh has my back all the way from here to wherever I take us. “I like this side of you. Keep it up.”

“Keep what up? Saying offensive things to you?”

I shrug. “You’re right. I was always good at letting people get away with this kind of shit. I’ve probably still got it in me.”

Now, she laughs. And then she exhales a long breath before shooting me one of her stern looks. “Seriously, though, no more quickies when we’ve got a schedule to stick to.”

God, I love her. More every day. “I promise, so long as you promise to make Ethan regret this morning. I’d have fun watching that.”

“Ooh, I like this side of you. But how do you think I should do that? I mean, I know I said I would make him regret it, but I never imagined having to make good on my threat.”

“Start talking to him in acronyms. Better still, I’ll give you his number and you can text him all day long with acronyms and slang. He can’t stand any of that and he hates his phone. That should do the trick.”

She blinks at me. “Wow. If this is how you treat a guy you’re falling for, I’d hate to see what you do when you don’t like a guy.”

“Get ready, then. We may run into a guy I hate today. Should be fun, don’t you think?”

“If you start screaming, I’m outta here.”

I laugh, feeling the lightness of it through my body. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

We make our way toward Concourse C where I’ll perform a thirty-minute set after Tucker finishes his. This has been booked for months and we were supposed to perform together. Darren sent me a terse email two days ago letting me know we’d each do thirty minutes. There’s a twenty-minute break in between, which is due to start any minute, so we should miss Tucker with any luck.

However, as we draw closer, I hear him. He’s not singing but rather talking with his audience. Laughing and being the charismatic performer his fans adore. And since I know him so well, and know how he operates, it doesn’t sound like he’s anywhere near close to finishing up.

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