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What’s more, it had taken Ashley years to live down her reputation as the girl who had gotten pregnant in high school. Actually, if she was being completely honest with herself, she wasn’t sure she had ever truly lived it down. And now she was all but certain her very public kiss with Nash would revive her own past mistakes. She could imagine what people would say. What can you expect from someone who had a baby in high school? And, Ashley Sullivan always manages to find trouble, doesn’t she?
Just then, as though some force in the universe was looking down on her with pity, a soccer ball flew toward the sidelines and hit one of the dads in the jaw. As Ashley was in charge of the first aid kit, she immediately rushed to his side to see if he needed help, rather than answering Belinda’s question.
It was the coward’s way out. She knew that. But despite the fact that in Vienna she’d vowed not to be a coward anymore, without a foolproof plan to circumvent gossip, she didn’t know what else to do.
While getting pregnant at seventeen hadn’t been anywhere in her plans, she’d become a master planner in the years since. Everything in her life was done on track with her well-organized spreadsheets.
Until she’d had the best day, and night, in Vienna with Nash.
Until she’d kissed him at the café today.
Until they’d made love in her bedroom this afternoon, and then she’d fallen asleep in his arms.
Suddenly, it felt as though all her carefully laid life plans had gone out the window.
And now she was forced to scramble again, just as she had in high school.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
By the time Ashley put the first aid kit away, she had come to the conclusion that the other parents were bound to talk about her and Nash whether she wanted them to or not. So it was in her best interests to try to direct the narrative as best she could.
Putting a smile on her face, she headed back to the group of parents. As though she’d meant to answer Belinda all along, she said, “You can tell your cousin that it’s true—Nash is a friend of mine. I was delighted to see him when he dropped by the café today. I wasn’t expecting to see him again so soon.” Or ever again, she added silently.
“Didn’t he spend some time in jail?” Belinda asked, not bothering to cover up her nasty nosiness this time.
Ashley smiled so hard at the other woman she thought her face would crack. “I don’t waste my time reading gossip magazines or websites, so I wouldn’t know what they’ve said about him. All I know,” she said, knowing she shouldn’t stoop to Belinda’s level, but she couldn’t help herself, “is that millions of fans all over the world certainly don’t seem to care about anything other than what a brilliant musician he is.”
Fortunately, one of the other moms, a gentle soul, spoke up next.
“You’re so right about that. I’m his biggest fan! Is he planning to do a show nearby? Because I thought he just finished a European tour.”
“I’m not sure, but I think he might be here to take a bit of a break. He knows my cousin Smith and has heard how great everyone in Bar Harbor is about giving celebrities some space.” Though she gave the warning lightly, she hoped the other parents would not only take her words to heart, but also let their friends and family know to respect Nash’s privacy. “I’ve assured him that people here will be more than happy to leave him alone,” she added with another big smile. And hopefully, if they all left Nash alone, that meant they’d also keep their noses out of her business.
At last, practice ended, and the kids ran toward them, sweaty and stinky, like they always were after practice.
“Mom, did you see me do that awesome bait-and-take?” Kevin asked her.
“I sure did.” Thankfully, she had noticed him do the maneuver at the beginning of practice. “You’re a superstar.”
He grabbed a tangerine, and after he wolfed it down, she gave him a granola bar stashed in her purse, then waved good-bye to the other parents.
She was just breathing a sigh of relief as they got into her car when Kevin said, “Sammy said his grandma saw you kissing Nash at the café today.”
Ashley turned to look at her son with horror. Oh God, this was a million times worse than dealing with Belinda.
“I told him you guys were friends, ’cause that’s what you said back at the house,” Kevin added before she could come up with a response. “But how come I’ve never heard about him before?”
“Well…” she said slowly. “He’s a fairly new friend. I met him in Vienna, at Uncle Brandon’s hotel.”
