Maddox nodded. “Good point.” Snagging my hand, he pulled me over to the women in the line. “What are you looking to do tomorrow.”
“I want to go to the Louvre, the Opera House, and the top of the Eiffel Tower,” I answered, as the first of the women held out a CD for him to sign. “That’s all a day will allow us.”
“I can dig that.” He swished his name over the CD cover. “Want company?”
“I’d love some,” I answered.
The woman held out the CD for me to sign. I held my hand up. “Mademoiselle,I am not on that album.”
“Eh,who cares. You are a better drummer and way more handsome than Grig. Please, sign.”
I raised my eyebrows, but grabbed the marker and signed my name. She squealed and threw her arms around me. “Tres bien, you are adorable!”
“Thank you,”I answered, and I knew I was blushing.
Rand bumped my shoulder and grinned. He leaned in closer. “Too bad there are no hotties here for you.”
“I’ll live.” I quickly signed another album. “I’m not really about that life, anyway.”
“Star collectors?” Ora signed an album. “I’m not really either. Maddox was for a while.”
The grimace on his face told me he couldn’t deny that, but he shook his head immediately after. “Yeah, I was. Had a terrible scare. Now, I just stick to girlfriends.”
“Essie,” Holland sing-songed. “How did she end up taking the news she wasn’t going with us?”
“She…broke up with me.” Maddox’s voice was quiet. “Called me as we were boarding, and said she wanted a break because I simply couldn’t meet her expectations as a boyfriend. She needed time to think.”
“Oh, God, she fed you The Lines,” Ora said.
“I can’t say I didn’t see it coming.” Maddox smiled at the woman who threw her arms around him. “But her timing sucked because I wanted to talk to her and actually break up, not just take a break.”
“So, no nookie for you?” Holland asked.
“No,” he answered. “I’m seriously not interested. I wasn’t before her either, and I’m not going to be after her. I’m getting old.”
I glanced over at him. “How are you working through that?”
“Tells you a lot about what I thought of our relationship to begin with, doesn’t it?” He gave me half a smile and a shrug.
* * *
I had never beento Paris. With so many places to see, I didn’t know where to start, but my musical side desperately needed to see the Paris Opera House. One of the first things I had done in college was play the Phantom, and I was attached to him in a way that was somewhat unhealthy.
Maddox looked around, staring at the entranceway of the building, turning this way and that. I’d sort of known what to expect, but the reality was as surprising to me as it was to him.
“Huh,” he breathed. “Never been here. I wonder why.”
“Most people don’t realize that the whole building is beautiful.” I turned in another circle. “I’ve dreamed of singing here.”
“Singing?” Maddox asked.
“I sang Phantom in college. I’ve also sung Faust and Papagano.”
He dropped his jaw. “Opera?”
I laughed. “I had a full classical music education. I had to be a well-rounded musician. I also loved singing, and I have a voice that was more than trainable. So, they trained me. Drums…percussion is my passion. But I’m happy with anything musical.”
Maddox glanced around, and found what he was looking for. He grabbed me and pulled me over to someone near the main offices.
