Second Chance at the Riverview Inn (Riverview Inn)

“It’s a celebration and a fundraiser event all in one. We have a silent auction and then a larger…auction. And your money will go towards entertainment for kids.”

“Bouncy castles?”

“Yes. Exactly.” She gave him a wide smile and then got lost for a second in the grin he gave her back. “And because of you we can have a small stage with a magician and musicians.” Even though she was really trying not to, her eyes met his. Goodness, they were very pretty eyes. So blue. And those thick, stubby lashes that looked like he was wearing eyeliner. Wait…was he wearing eyeliner?

“Kids love bouncy castles and magicians.”

“Indeed, and,” she said, warming up to her pitch, “parents love—”

“Micah!” From down the hallway there was a bellowing voice that belonged to a man who was clearly out of patience. “The fuck?”

There was the stomp of boots in the hallway and around the corner appeared Alex Sullivan, Micah’s younger brother. If Micah was handsome in a rough-hewn kind of way, Alex was…pretty.

Same blue eyes set in a face that had not been in as many fights. He had jet-black hair, slightly curly and entirely messy. And his smile was well-practiced mischief backed by kilotons of star power.

Helen had to work to keep her jaw from dropping to her chest and her panties from slipping right off her body.

“Oh,” Alex said when he saw her. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt anything.”

The way he said it. Cheeky and slightly—just a little—sneering, made her spine stiffen.

“You didn’t,” Micah said, stern again. All softness gone. “Don’t be an ass.”

Alex held his hands up. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to offend anyone. I’m Alex.”

“Helen,” she said and waved instead of shaking his hand. Which could be seen as a little relic from COVID.

“She’s from Haven House,” Micah said.

“Well, nice to meet you,” Alex said. “But we need our lead singer back.”

“Of course.” She held up her hands. “Thanks for your time, Micah.”

The two men turned from her, and she was a grown woman and a professional, but it would take a woman a million times stronger not to check out their asses as they walked away.

Micah’s wins, she thought.

As if she’d said it out loud, Micah turned around and winked at her.

Chapter Four

“That was amazing,” Jonah said for perhaps the millionth time since leaving the rehearsal space. “The new songs sounded good, didn’t they?”

Helen stopped furiously tapping out an email on her phone and looked over at him. “I think they sounded good, but different.”

“Good different.”

“Intense different.”

The good-old-boy lean to some of their music was gone and the new album sounded like a man coming to grips with really hard things. Life-or-death things. Every song was a moment. Which was amazing. And also intense.

“I loved that forgiveness song,” Jonah said, and she nodded, picking her phone back up. “Did it sound familiar to you?”

“No,” she said.

“What about “White-Knuckled”? None of that…”

“What?”

“Sounded familiar?”

“Why in the world would it sound familiar?”

He shrugged.

The truth was that she’d listened to the new songs for a minute and then retreated into her brain, where the lyrics couldn’t touch her and her complicated relationship with forgiveness was left unprodded. Unexamined.

Which was just the way she liked it.

Bursting into tears on top of hiding in a closet? Man, there was only so much social disaster in front of an international rock star a girl could handle in one day.

She was aware that it was beginning to rain; the world outside the car windows was going gray and wavy. And the panic she’d expected to feel didn’t arrive. It was as if all her adrenaline had gone for the moment. She’d used it up in that closet.

Which wasn’t the way it worked, but whatever.

“What are you doing?” Jonah asked.

“I am writing an email to Micah,” she said, tapping away. Her thumbs were highly tuned instruments at this point. “I didn’t get a chance to pitch my ideas to him, but I think he’d be agreeable to donating some things to the auction.”

Thank you, she wrote. You were kinder than you needed to be today. And I appreciate that more than I can say. You are not at all what I thought. I hope my asking for more of your time and talent doesn’t offend you. It’s just my job Feel free to email me back at this address or you can reach out on my cell phone.

She added her cell phone number at the bottom of the email and hit Send.

“There,” she said. “Done.”

“What a day.” Jonah sighed.

“Yep,” she said. “It was quite a day.”

Her phone binged in her lap and she picked it up to see a message from an unknown number.

What did you expect? When you met me?

“Oh my god,” she said, staring down at the text that could only be from one person. A lightning bolt went through her and her fingers tingled. Her whole body tingled with the reappearance of adrenaline and shock.