Hold on to My Heart (Maine Sullivans)

“Oh my gosh,” she exclaimed, “that was fantastic! Even better than I hoped it would be. Sisi’s life was so interesting, but sad too.” She cocked her head. “Did you like the museum?”

“I did. A lot, actually. And thanks for getting us the audio guides. You were right. That way, we didn’t miss a thing.”

Scanning the gift shop, she said, “I’m going to buy a deck of cards with her picture on it to remember today by.”

“Good idea.” He picked up a key chain that featured Sisi’s face. Which was crazy, because he didn’t need keys for anything. He was always driven around.

Once upon a time, his van keys had been his refuge. His escape. He’d been sixteen years old when he bought a run-down VW van. He’d spent every spare minute and every spare dollar fixing up the engine and building out the inside. The van was how he’d escaped his miserable life with his mother. It was where he’d written all of his early songs. It was where he’d slept after gigs.

That van had changed his life. And though he now traveled the world in the most expensive tour buses on the market, he’d never enjoyed any vehicle as much as he loved driving and living in that van.

A kernel of an idea suddenly sparked inside of him. What if he bought another old VW van and built it out the same way?

Shaking away the crazy thought—his touring and recording schedule was way too tight to deviate from for more than this one day with Ashley—he was about to offer to pay for their mementos when he realized he didn’t have any cash on him and using a credit card would out his identity.

He was the worst caricature of a celebrity, wasn’t he? He didn’t drive anything, didn’t pay for anything, didn’t do his own laundry, didn’t clean his own rooms.

“Ashley, I wish I could pay for these, but I don’t have any cash on me and using a card with my name on it would be a bad idea. I’m sorry.” He felt like a complete idiot.

She waved away his apology. “I’m sure you’re good for a few museum tickets and a key chain,” she teased him. “Besides, we already agreed that I’d do all the talking with people today, so I’m happy to do all of the buying too. In fact, it’s my treat! I usually only spend money on endless bags of groceries. Buying these stellar tourist mementos is a lovely change of pace.”

Instead of making him feel like a jerk, she had remained relaxed, cheerful, and easy to be with. What’s more, she found the wonder of everything, even a deck of cards and a key chain with a long-dead Viennese empress’s face on them.

She bought his key chain and handed it to him. “I’m sure you’ll treasure this,” she said, clearly teasing him.

But he would, more than she knew.

Grinning as he slipped the key chain into his green polyester pocket, he asked, “Where to next?”

“The Lipizzaner horses at the Spanish Riding School are world famous. The online tickets sold out ages ago, but I read that if you show up right before a performance, they sometimes have a few standing-only seats available. You wouldn’t be interested in that, would you?”

“Sure I would.” Didn’t she realize he was totally and completely hers for the day, regardless of where they went or what they did? All he wanted was to spend time with her. He grinned. “Let’s go see if they’ve got any nosebleed seats left for two well-dressed tourists.”

In his regular life, Nash could have had tickets to a sold-out show in a millisecond. But today, he would try his luck like anyone else.

The riding arena was near the museum, and a few minutes later, Ashley was triumphant at the ticket booth. “They have two spots left! And the next show starts in just a few minutes. It was meant to be.”

He loved seeing how happy she was. But when he saw the price of the tickets, he blanched. “I’ll pay you back every cent,” he said in a low voice as they walked inside.

Again, she waved away his concerns. “That’s okay. It’s fun having someone to see everything with. And like I said, this is the first time I’ve gotten to spend my savings on something fun and frivolous for myself and a friend. It’s usually endless gallons of milk and cartons of eggs, or the mortgage, or repairs on my car.”

He wanted to ask her who she was buying “endless” groceries for. Of course there was a guy waiting at home for her. Because there was no way on earth that a woman as beautiful, intelligent, and sweet as Ashley could be single. No wonder she’d ignored him when he’d said how good kissing her had been.