Page 34 of Ever With Me

She nodded, tempted to keep her hands curled around her stomach. She was so nervous she might throw up.

He held the door open for her, and she went past him into the living room. The place was as immaculate as it had been the evening before, without a trace of anyone having been there. “Are Cormac and your sister out?”

“My sister had to go back home for work. Cormac took my niece to the park so I could talk to you.” Brooks went over to the fridge. “Sparkling water?”

Maddie shook her head. “No, thanks.” Did that mean Cormac knew about her attempt to blackmail Brooks?

Brooks shut the door and uncapped his water. He ambled over to the couch. “Have a seat.”

No way she was about to protest or argue with him when he was being polite, so she went over and took the loveseat across from him, crossing her legs at her ankles. He stared her down, a frankness to his perusal that made her shift with discomfort.

“You’ve never blackmailed anyone before, have you?” Brooks said it without a hint of irony or amusement.

“Are you saying you don’t believe I’ll go to the press?” Maddie tilted her head, holding his eye contact. If he didn’t believethat, then she was screwed.Act tougher.

His mouth turned into a slight scowl. “I’m prepared to believe the worst about you, Madison. I haven’t gotten to where I am in life by being naive.”

Something about the way he said her name made her heartbeat speed up. No one ever called her by her full name—just her nickname. It had always been that way.

Yet the sound of her name on his lips felt oddly . . .natural.

Sexy.

Dammit all to hell.Enough, already.

He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “The thing is, I’m not at liberty to commit my band to a concert without talking to the powers that be. I’m not the only person involved, and my band would have to be available. And it’s a big ask. I can’t exactly explain to them why I want to play at some backwoods town fair when I usually play at international venues.”

That wasn’t a no, though.

Dare she hope?“I’m sure you could pull the right strings to make it happen.”

“Maybe.” He sipped his drink. “But it doesn’t exactly feel like an even arrangement. You can’t guarantee me no one will find out about the wreck. And . . . let’s say they did. Let’s say you go to the press. You can’t prove anything other than that I had a car accident—whichis, by the way, exactly what happened. Sure, they might spin it, but there’s not any evidence that I was anything other than tired.”

“There’s the fact that you tried to hide it, though, isn’t there?” Maddie kept her shoulders thrown back. “That doesn’t really sound innocent.”

“The only thing I’m guilty of is being famous.” His mouth drew to a line. “Why do you want this favor so bad? What’s in it for you? You could go to a concert of mine anytime you choose. Hell, I was supposed to play a few hours from here just the other night. You weren’t there, and you’re not a fan, so why the interest now?”

Would a little honesty hurt?

Maybe. He might think she was weak and stupid.

Then again, their relationship was already fringed with enough lies on the outside. She had even lied to her family for him. Asked others to lie for her.

She twisted a ring on her finger. She didn’t have to tell him thewholestory. Just enough that he would understand the need.

“Until about a week ago, I had River House on the books for the concert. Then they pulled out from the day I’d scheduled them for—which is supposed to be the ‘big night’ for the fair—and were moved to the day before. I’m in charge of filling the spot for Saturday’s musical act now because my family’s business is sponsoring the main stage that night.”

Brooks furrowed his brow. “River House, the country band?”

“Yeah, the one and the same.” Her posture relaxed slightly. He wasn’t being aggressive at all. If anything, he seemed genuinely curious.

“They suck.” Brooks rubbed the bandage on his left hand that he still wore from the day before. “You should consider yourself lucky they pulled out.”

“But they didn’t entirely pull out. They moved to Friday. And now I’ll be lucky if I can find a local band to take that slot.”

“So?” He crossed his arms. “What’s the big deal? It’s just a town fair.”

“The town fairisa big deal. We might be a small town, Mr. Kent, but that doesn’t mean we don’t excel at what we do. I’m not kidding when I tell you we draw a sizable crowd, especially after my grandfather put Brandywood on the map in Maryland a few years ago.”

---