he asked.
“I don’t know. A couple thousand, maybe three.”
“Don’t go flashing that around,” Kieran warned, pushing her hand back in her pocket. “You’re going to get mugged.” He shook his head. “Just get on the bus.”
Maddie nodded. She watched him through the window as he strode outside. When he approached Nick, she held her breath. Between Nick and Rick, Nick was the smart one. He was naturally suspicious and very loyal to her mother. What was Kieran going to tell him? And what would she do if one of them stayed and watched the buses?
A few seconds later, the two men took off running, racing through the doors of the terminal, right by her. She waited until they headed toward the ticket counter, then slipped through the doors. She walked directly to her bus, handed the driver her ticket and got on. Maddie found a seat halfway to the back and slipped into it, sinking down and watching the activity outside the window through her dark glasses.
Kieran had disappeared. When the bus driver stepped onto the bus and reached out to close the door, Maddie stood up, ready to shout for him to stop and wait. But then, at the last moment, Kieran came bounding up the steps.
He handed his ticket to the driver, then made his way down the aisle to Maddie. With a grin he nodded at the space next to her. “Is this seat taken?”
“I was kind of saving it,” she said. “But you can sit here. For now.”
Kieran stowed his bag on the overhead rack, then dropped down next to her. As the bus pulled out of the station, Maddie closed her eyes and sighed deeply.
“And the adventure begins,” Kieran murmured.
“Thank you,” Maddie said. “I couldn’t have gotten away without you.”
“Are you going to tell me what you’re running away from?” he asked.
“Can we just wait on that one?” she said. “I’d really like to enjoy anonymity for just a little bit longer.”
Kieran nodded slowly. “All right. But there is one thing you have to do for me.”
“What’s that?”
He reached out and gently removed her sunglasses. Folding them neatly, he tucked them into his jacket pocket. Then, he pushed the hood from her head, his palms smoothing across her face. Maddie closed her eyes and turned into his touch.
It was such a simple gesture, but in an instant, she felt a flood of warmth rush over her. When she opened her eyes, he was watching her, his gaze fixed on her mouth. Maddie waited, wondering what was going through his head. Kissing him would complicate everything, but then, it could also make a boring bus trip much more interesting.
“Why did you help me? You don’t even know me,” Maddie asked.
“I don’t know. I guess I figured there was no one else who was going to ride to your rescue.”
“No one ever does anything for me without some kind of motive.”
“Well, you did give me money, and I’m broke. So, I guess I did it for a sandwich and the half-eaten candy bars. And I was hoping for some fascinating company on the rest of my trip.”
He really was a nice guy, Maddie thought to herself. And he was sexy as hell, too. She’d made so many bad choices when it came to men … Then again, she’d never dated an ordinary guy.
Maybe that was her problem. When she slept with celebrities, there were so many expectations to live up to. They were supposed to be heroic and larger-than-life and she was supposed to be the ultimate bad girl.
But she’d always been disappointed. Her lovers were never as strong and gallant as she imagined. And she was never as uninhibited as they’d undoubtedly imagined.
It was difficult to allow herself any type of freedom when the end result might be splashed all over the covers of the tabloids a few days later. She’d lived her life paralyzed about what the press would say, always suspicious of strangers and wary of friends.
It had been simple for her mother to maintain control. After all, she was the only one that Maddie could truly trust. But lately, Maddie had begun to notice that her mother had motives of her own. More money, more fame, more of everything that she’d come to enjoy. And when Maddie had mentioned that she might want to give up performing and just focus on songwriting, her mother’s true feelings had burst forth.
Why couldn’t she have had a normal life? A childhood filled with friends and school, a world where there was still so much opportunity laid out in front of her. Maddie felt as if she’d already lived a lifetime. She felt old and tired, cynical and unhappy with life.
“I guess I owe you,” she said softly, brushing aside the urge to kiss him. Maddie reached into her pocket and counted out one hundred dollars. “Here. This is for buying the ticket.”
He shook his head. “That’s all right. You hang on to it. I know where to find you if I need it.”
“I’m really tired,” she said with a soft sigh.
Kieran patted his shoulder. “Here, you can lean up against me. Close your eyes and take a nap. We’ve got a long ride ahead of us.”
“You’re a really nice guy,” she murmured as she wrapped her arms around his. Pressing her cheek to his sleeve, she drew in a long breath. “You smell good, too.”
Kieran chuckled. “I wouldn’t breathe in too deeply. I’ve been on a bus for twenty-four hours. I could use a long, hot shower and some clean clothes.”
“Me, too,” she said. “A shower would be perfect.” Maddie closed her eyes and let her thoughts drift. But they didn’t wander back to the life she’d run out on, her mother’s angry face or her manager’s warnings that her career would be over if she didn’t perform. Instead, they focused on the man who had rescued her from certain discovery.
It sure was nice to have someone in her corner for once.
2
FOR THE FIRST time since he’d boarded the bus in Seattle, Kieran slept. Not just a half-conscious, restless nap interrupted by the slightest noise or jolt. He was out, completely unaware of his surroundings, lost in a deep, satisfying slumber.
Afterward, he and Maddie chatted, learning a little bit more about each other as the Kansas landscape passed by. Chatted, he thought to himself. That was a benign word for what they’d done. Full-on flirting was a more apt description. They’d laughed and teased, injecting tiny sexual innuendos into the conversation at every turn.
And when the teasing wasn’t enough, there had been the casual, almost accidental physical contact. A touch here and there, her warm hand on his arm or his face, his shoulder bumping against hers.
When they’d grown bored with silly stories, they’d found a discarded book of crossword puzzles in the overhead bin and had filled in the empty spots on the half-finished puzzles, arguing over the answers playfully.
It was the most fun he’d had with a woman in—well, ever. He could be himself with her, not afraid to reveal the flaws he kept secret
