Page 65 of Places I've Never Been

“That asshole doesn’t get to police your love life. If anybody’s going to do that it’s me, and I say forget the jerks who came before and have some fun.”

“I have to be careful, and professional. At least until I win that award.” Mattie carried two dresses back to the bed. One was very short and fire-engine red with a sweetheart neckline and thin straps. The other was long and white, with a halter-style top that dipped low in the back. “Which one?”

“The red one. Definitely. And you’re not being professional, you’re being a scaredy cat,” Piper said. “Trust me, if the rest of the song is anything like the lines you sent me, this song will definitely win awards. People who matter will know the truth. So will your fans, which is the most important thing.”

“If a photo of us goes viral the fans will forget all about the song.” Mattie put the white dress on the bed and held the red one up in front of her. It barely reached her thighs, but she loved the color. “I don’t know if I should wear this to dinner with the guys. It’s not really a dress. It’s supposed to go over a bathing suit.”

“You’ll never find out if Adam has other skills if you keep going to dinner with the entire band,” Piper said with an exasperated sigh. “You’ll look hot in red. Put a bathing suit under it and stop worrying about what might or might not wind up on Twitter. Seize the moment. March your pretty little behindover to Adam’s place and find out if he’s good at something else besides singing and kissing.”

Mattie gave her sister an exasperated smile. “I have to go.”

“Promise you’ll at least get another kiss,” Piper demanded.

Mattie picked up the phone and hovered her finger over the End Call button. “Love you.”

“Love you more.” Piper waved half-heartedly. “Call me later. I want details.”

Mattie ended the call and stashed the phone back in the drawer without looking at the waiting text messages or emails. She’d been on the phone so long she didn’t have much time to get changed.

The house phone rang just as she stepped into the bathroom. Abayomi probably wanted to know what she’d like for an evening snack or breakfast the next day. She trudged back to the bedroom to answer it.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Mattie,” Adam said. “I was wondering…would you like to go on a picnic with me? Cooper had it planned for him and Tina tonight, but she’s backed out. It’ll all go to waste if someone doesn’t go, so he offered it to us.”

“Oh,” Mattie said.

Piper’s advice rang through her head.Live a little. Have some fun. Seize the moment. Find out if Adam is good at something besides kissing.

“Mattie?” Adam sounded confused. “Are you there? Is this thing working?”

“I…um…”

A picnic. Probably on a beach. Under the stars.

She couldn’t think of anything more romantic than that. Why would any woman turn that down?

What was she thinking? She really shouldn’t do this. All the reasons she should say no lined up in her head like planeson a runway. What if something went wrong? What if it didn’t? What if photos leaked to the tabloids? What would Kat say?

“Mattie?”

She started. “I’m here. Sorry, I’m just getting ready.”

“Oh,” Adam said. He paused, and it was her turn to wonder what was going on. She thought she could hear the guys in the background laughing, but maybe she was imagining it. “Um, yeah. Me too. So, anyway. About the picnic. No pressure. We can do the usual dinner around the bonfire with the guys if you want.”

She pictured the two scenes and heard Piper’s voice in her head.You’ll never find out if Adam has other skills if you keep doing dinner with the entire band.

Her sister was right, and the realization that she very much wanted to know if Adam had other skills besides kissing made her open her mouth and say the words she probably shouldn’t say.

“Okay. A picnic sounds like fun.”

“Great. The driver will pick us up in about thirty minutes. That work okay?”

She glanced down at the white powdery dust covering most of her legs and arms, then over at the two dresses waiting for her on the bed. It was a good thing she’d never been one of those girls who needed two hours to do her hair. She could dash through the shower and spend the rest of the time deciding whether to be a seductress in red or an innocent in white.

“Okay. See you then.”

They hung up, and she padded back to the shower feeling lighter than she’d felt in a long time.

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