Page 32 of Something to Believe In
He stuffed his dirty clothing into his duffel bag. Mads finished packing her clothing, much neater than his, and they left the room.
As they approached the front desk, he noticed a man standing nearby wearing black pants and a white shirt. Axel nodded. "I'm Axel Peters."
"Hello, Mr. Peters. I'm from the dealership. I need the keys to your car, and I have the rental for you out front."
Axel looked out to see an SUV. He could live with it. He handed the service rep his Mustang key. "It's out back. You'll find it easily. It has key marks on both sides."
"Thank you."
They exchanged keys, and he hustled Mads into the SUV. He wasn't nervous about their meeting today. He was excited. Eager to get this formal part of the band finding out about them over with. Probably some funny stares to see if they looked different. At least that's what he felt they'd do. He and Mads wouldn't be any different than they ever had been and they could move on.
When they arrived at the Barn, Tony's car was already there. He glanced at Mads and took her hand in his. "Ready?"
"Yes. Let's get it over with. I feel like it's an end-of-the-school-year test, and I didn't study."
He chuckled and opened his door. He hurried around to open Mads' door. They entered the barn holding hands. Tony and Jami sat at the end of two of the sofas in the sitting area, so they were at a forty-five-degree angle to each other. When Jami remodeled the Barn, he added four sofas, creating a square in the middle so they could lounge and relax. It worked beautifully.
"Here they are. Morning," Jami said.
"Morning. We're as eager as you are to have this conversation," he replied.
He and Mads sat on a sofa together, across from Jami, and waited.
Tony leaned forward. "Congratulations. I believe Jami told you, we saw the connection the two of you have had over the years. So this comes as no surprise. Obviously, the ground rules are tossed out the window. Livia and I did that last year."
Axel nodded.
Jami leaned forward. "Are you two sure you can manage a relationship and working together?"
Maddyn smiled and looked at him. "I think we can manage. It can't be worse than watching him head off with a groupie. Or, going home alone, wishing we were together and feeling hopeless about it."
His gut twisted when she mentioned the groupies, but it was a fact. He nodded, and Jami sat back and grinned. "So, Tony and I have been talking about the rules. Basically, I asked him what he and Livia talked about as far as keeping home things from spilling over into work things. I'll let him explain it."
Tony nodded. "Basically, we don't go to bed mad. If we're still irritated with each other before we come to work, we sit on the sofa and talk it out. I'm happy to say it hasn't happened more than a couple of times. Growing pains, I guess."
Axel leaned forward, resting his forearms on his knees. "We've had that conversation. We've worked together for years, so that part of us is solid. The relationship is new, but we'll be fine. We're both grown-ups. We've had relationships in the past. We both know what we want." He turned to look into Mads' eyes. She smiled at him and nodded. "We're solid."
Axel grinned, and she stared at him for a few beats. He really was as handsome as could be. She'd always thought so, but today, she felt it stronger than she had before. Maybe because now he was hers.
Tony nodded. "Did Mitch get your cameras installed?"
Axel nodded. "He's there now. We met him earlier this morning. He thought it would take a few hours, so he’ll be here around two."
And tonight, he and Mads could stay at his place. He looked forward to that more than he ever dreamed he would.
"Great. Any questions for us?" Tony asked.
He turned to look at Mads. Her lips turned up into a soft smile. She shook her head, and he turned to Tony. "We don't have anything."
Chapter Twenty
Maddyn took a deep breath as the barn door opened and Livia stepped inside. Livia searched the room for her, then hurried toward her. Maddyn stood to greet her friend and was rewarded with a huge hug. Livia whispered near her ear. "Congratulations, Mads. You two deserve to be happy, and I just know you will be."
"Thank you."
They pulled apart, and the door opened once more as Sean stepped inside. He stared at his bandmates, she and Livia standing and embracing. Axel relaxed, watching them. Jami and Tony sat at the end of the two other sofas.
Sean shrugged. "What did I miss?"
