Page 82 of Kiss & Collide
Violet opened her mouth to reply, but nothing came out. Such a simple question. Why couldn’t she answer it?
Rabia leaned in and lowered her voice. “I’ve seen you with him. I think you do.”
“But that doesn’t mean … there are things … it’s just complicated.”
“Is it, or are you making it complicated?” Rabia waggled her phone in the air, that picture of her and Rajan still glowing on the screen. “I’m hitting the loo once more before boarding.” She stood up, shouldered her bag, and gestured to Violet’s phone. “If you want the advice of someone older and wiser, quit making it so hard. Not when it’s the simplest thing in the world. See you at the track, Violet.”
34Los Angeles, California
Awoman with a clipboard and a headset ushered Madison on to the next reporter, and Chase dutifully took his spot at her side, ready to smile politely and compliment her hard work in the movie, even though he hadn’t seen it yet.
“Madison, it’s a big night for you,” the next reporter said. She was young, about their age, with short dark hair. They’d heard that half a dozen times already, but Madison lit up with a smile, as if her enthusiasm and delight were brand-new and one hundred percent genuine. Truly, only twenty percent of the acting work she did was caught on film. The rest was all out here.
“Working on this film was an honor, and a highlight of my career,” she said. “I’m just thrilled to finally share it with the world.”
She’d said some variation of that to the last six reporters they’d talked to, and somehow she’d had yet to repeat herself. It was a gift.
“How did you like your first Formula One race?” the reporter asked. “Was it exciting to watch Chase race from the garage?”
Madison flashed Chase a twinkling smile. “Oh, so exciting. No words for it, but it was such an adrenaline rush.”
“Chase, how did it feel, having Madison there to cheer you on?”
His brain spun, trying to find something to say that would put her in the best light. “Honestly, anybody who has Madison Mitchell cheering them on is the luckiest person on earth.”
Both Madison and the reporter nearly let out audible dreamy sighs. Madison gazed up at him with adoring eyes. He never could tell when she was acting and when it was real.
“Isn’t he the sweetest?” Madison gushed to the reporter.
“The absolute sweetest! You’re one lucky girl.”
Madison squeezed his hand and leaned against his shoulder. “I sure am.”
As they made their way through the slow-moving crowd entering the reception room, she leaned in to whisper to him.
“Sorry, but it’s not much better inside. Just a different kind of grilling. But at least there’s alcohol.”
An hour later, he knew what she meant. The reception inside was an endless parade of industry small talk, all of it like thinly veiled negotiations. It reminded him of his conversation with Eric Lenore. Whenever they had a moment alone, Madison would fill him in. This producer was a potential investor in some project she was hoping to work on. That director was about to start casting his next movie.
She’d told him she saw it all as a strategic game, and watching her in action backed that up. Outwardly she was all smiles and bland chitchat, but inside her mind was working away, moving those pieces on a board, all to angle herself into a better position.
Violet would have been impressed.
And now he was thinking about Violet, in the middle of this fancy Hollywood party, when he was here as Madison’s date. He’d come here to give things a go with Madison, since it wasbecoming clear Violet was never going to let him in. He owed it to Madison and himself to take it seriously.
Three hours later, after the reception and the screening of the movie (which wasn’t half bad), they were free, at least momentarily. The official premiere was over, but the director was throwing an after-party at some nightclub, and since everything was about networking, Madison had to go.
They were in the back of her chauffeured SUV, crawling through LA traffic as she answered the blizzard of texts she’d gotten.
“You were great tonight,” she said without looking up.
“I was? I barely said a word.”
She glanced up, flashing him a smile. “You didn’t have to say much. You’re a natural, you know. Everybody loves you.”
That’s exactly what Violet had told him when this whole thing had started. His thoughts just kept circling back to her, like an itch he couldn’t quite reach.
He forced himself to smile back at Madison, who wasgreat, and deserved his full attention. “Glad I could help.”
