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I hired Nora five years ago when my workload became more than I could handle on my own, and in those five years, she’s become my best friend and confidant. She’s the best when it comes to assistants. She’s wild, energetic, my complete opposite, and I love her.
I look over at my friend. Her blue hair is piled on top of her head, dark-framed glasses crooked on her face, and one pierced eyebrow arches upward in wait.
“I didn’t want to do it, but you know, all in all, it was pretty amazing.” I sit, knowing I’ll get a reaction out of her.
“I knew it!” Nora pushes to sit up and throws her arms in the air like she won the competition. “What was the best part?”
I tug on the tag attached to my tea, and the scent of peppermint and vanilla rises with the steam. “The whole thing was just…surreal. Getting stuck in the elevator, seeing Josh on the big screen, singing the final word, and knowing I did it.” I pause, remembering it all. “Leaving there, I felt…lighter. Like I could breathe again or at least like I was alive again. I don’t know if it was seeing Josh’s face, hearing him say he loves me…”
I try to think of how to put my feelings into words. “I walked in there this morning wanting to turn around and come back home. I thought I was just doing it for him, wanting to get it over with. But really, in the end, I think I did it for me. I feel like I took a step in a different direction, and I’m not sure where I’m going yet, but somewhere, and it feels really good.”
I hear Nora sniff. The girl seriously tears up if someone has a hangnail.
“I’m so happy for you. You were amazing. I don’t know why you don’t put yourself out there more. The web is blowing up with reposts of you singing. Labels and producers will be coming out of the woodwork tomorrow.”
I roll my head. “You know why. I don’t want that life, especially now with Axel.”
“I know, I know. You’re just so talented. I wish I had an ounce of what you have.” She adjusts her crooked glasses. “Anyway, tell me what you did after you were done singing. Did they treat you like the queen you are?”
I laugh. “No. I joined the owners in their box to watch the game. They were gracious and so kind. Then I sat in the outdoor area, trying to collect myself a little and let my emotions settle when some of the players' wives or girlfriends asked me to sit with them.”
Nora snorts. “Look at you making friends with the Tiger elite. They didn’t have you strip down and pose with kissy faces that I’m going to have to somehow get removed before your mother sees them, am I?”
I laugh. “Haha. Yeah, right. Although, now that you mention it, that would’ve been a fun way to torture her. Speaking of Countess Dracula, she called me while I was stuck in the elevator, and I had to have that fantastic conversation in front of Sean.”
“Oh, we’re calling himSeannow.” She sets her arms in her lap with a smug look on her face.
I roll my eyes. “Anyway, I have to decide about the benefit.”
“We both know you’re going, so stop pretending.”
I groan. “I know. Why can’t I just say no?”
“Because you’ve got a heart so big it’ll just slap your mother right out of the way while you do so much good.” I rub my temples, feeling the stress of it seep into me. “You could take me as your date, which will really set her off.”
“You know I would, but I need you to watch Axel.”
Nora grins. “Yep. I’m totally the winner in this deal. Plus, my tattoos and piercings might shock those stiffs into a tizzy.”
“You’d give them all something to talk about and love every minute of it.” I’m already dreading it since staying home with Axel is my favorite thing in the entire world.
Nora clears her throat. “You think they’ll want to meet Axel at some point?”
I close my eyes and rub my face, feeling drained from the emotional day. “I don’t know. They haven’t mentioned it, and I’m fine with that. I know the minute they see him, they’ll have his whole life planned out for him, and he’ll carry around all that pressure his whole life. Or worse, they’ll treat him like they treated Josh. I just want to protect him from all of that.”
Nora sits up straighter. “No, that won’t be how it is. He has you. You get to dictate who and how much they’re involved in his life. I just want to see the look on your mother’s face when momma bear lays down the law. Your dad might have to resuscitate her.”
I sink down in my chair a little, knowing it’s likely inevitable at some point, but I’m just not ready yet. I’m perfectly happy keeping Axel far from their ridiculous standards he will never meet.
“They don’t even ask about him. They only care about how this looks to their small, superficial world. They still haven’t forgiven me for marrying Josh when they had Brice lined up. I’m just waiting for the talk about how improper it is for me to be a single mom. Then she’ll arrange a moving truck filled with Brice’s stuff to arrive at whatever house she’s picked out for us so she can tell all of her friends I’m finally coming back into the fold.”
Brice. The egotistical slimeball I stupidly dated when I was nineteen for about five minutes until I realized he’s a dirtbag ofthe worst kind. Of course, my mother will see and hear none of it. He remains her answer to the kind of life she wants to demand I live.
Nora shivers, wrinkling her nose. “Yuck, Brice. He’s like the scum that lives on top of algae at the bottom of a swamp.”
She’s not even wrong. “They’re just so…pretentious and condescending. Without Josh, I have no doubt this benefit is a ploy to drag me back into their world. At least my mom was mostly honest about that. She didn’t even try to hide it. They’ll look at Axel as collateral damage they can explain away with bogus grief and military honors. It makes me sick, and if it weren’t for the kids I know will benefit, there’s no way in hell I’d be going.”
“I’m so sorry, Andie.” Nora’s soft sympathy tugs at my heart. “I guess it’s just one night, and you can blow the sticks out of all those uptight asses. And well, Brice, I’ll let you borrow my mace. I’d like to see how well he functions without those creepy wandering eyeballs.”
