Kate Hoffmann - The Mighty Quinns - Dermot-Dex

Kieran chuckled. “I wouldn’t mind taking a peek. I bet they’re really pretty.” He drew a sharp breath. “Can we just quit talking about it and buy some?”

Maddie tossed her choices into the cart, then mentally went through her shopping list. Shampoo, hair color, scissors, mascara, hair dryer, underwear, a few cute outfits, three cotton dresses and—”Luggage,” she said. “I need a bag to put all this in. And shoes.”

But as they walked to the shoe department, Maddie caught sight of a rack of party dresses. A couple of teenage girls were going through them, giggling excitedly as they held their choices up in front of them.

“I bet they’re going to a dance,” Maddie said. “I’ve never been to high school dance.”

“Neither have I,” Kieran said.

“You didn’t go to prom?”

He shook his head. “I wasn’t actually very smooth with the girls. And I didn’t get too involved in school. My brothers and I spent most of our free time together, working on our boats or sailing. Girls just weren’t very important back then.” He paused. “Of course, that all changed in college.”

“I never went to college, either,” Maddie said. She looked back toward the girls. “You know, I think I need one of those dresses. Every girl needs a party dress.”

“Where are you going to wear it?”

“I don’t know. Maybe on the train?” She pressed her finger to his lips. “And don’t tell me I shouldn’t waste my money.”

“I wasn’t going to do that,” Kieran said. “I actually think a party dress might be exactly what you need.”

With a giggle, Maddie turned over control of the cart to him and walked over to the rack. “I’m just going to try a few on.”

As she looked through the dresses, the two teenage girls gave her an odd look. In truth, Maddie could understand their curiosity. She was still wearing the hoodie and her sunglasses. They whispered to each other, watching her from behind a nearby rack.

“It’s for my niece,” Maddie said to them, grabbing a pink taffeta strapless gown with a huge tulle skirt.

The girls approached. “Are you—”

“You’re going to say Maddie West, aren’t you,” Maddie quickly replied. “I get that all the time. Do you really think I look like her?”

“She gets that all the time,” Kieran confirmed, nodding his head.

Maddie put the pink dress in the cart, then quickly grabbed a slinky black number from the end of the rack. “All the time,” she said, pushing the cart away.

They hurried though the shoe department, the girls following them at a safe distance, their curiosity piqued. When they reached the checkout, Maddie tugged her hood down over her forehead.

“Would you mind paying for all this while I wait out in the cab,” she murmured. At his nod, she walked out of the store.

When Maddie reached the safety of the taxi, she jumped into the backseat. The cabbie was reading a magazine. He glanced up at her in the rearview mirror, then twisted in his seat. “Are we waiting for your friend?” he asked.

“Yes,” Maddie said. “Of course.”

He nodded. “No problem.”

Maddie thought he’d turn around again, but instead, he stretched his arm across the back of the front seat. “If you don’t mind me asking, what’s a famous singing star like you doing running around a big box store in Topeka, Kansas?”

Maddie moaned and covered her face. “You, too?”

He nodded. “I saw you on the CMAs last year. You were just great. You’re the most famous person I’ve ever had in my cab. I mean, you blow Willie Nelson away.”

“What’s your name?” Maddie asked.

“Ron. Ronald. Ronald J. Widmer.”

“Listen, Ronald. Do you think you can keep my secret? There’ll be a really big tip in it for you. And if you’ll give me your address, I’ll send you a complete collection of my CDs when I get home. And I’ll sign them all. Do you think you could do that for me?”

He gasped. “I’m sure I could. I always thought being a star has to be a hard life. I just want you to know, you have a friend in me. Ronald J. Widmer.”

Maddie smiled. “Thanks. I really appreciate it. And—and don’t believe any of the stuff you read in the tabloids. None of it is true.”

“Oh, I know that.” He held up the tabloid he’d been reading. “I just like them for the Bigfoot stories.”

Maddie smiled to herself. If things didn’t work out with Kieran, she always had Ronald. “Thanks, Ronald,” she said. “I really appreciate your discretion. Sometimes, it’s nice to just be anonymous.”

“But sometimes, it sure must be nice to be famous,” he said with a chuckle. “I wouldn’t mind tryin’ that out for a day or two.”

MADDIE SAT IN the center of the bed in a nest of pink tulle. She’d found a small bottle of champagne in the minibar and was sipping bubbly out of a coffee mug from the room-service tray.

Kieran watched her from the sofa. They’d both grabbed a quick shower while they were waiting for their room-service dinner to arrive.

Her long hair, still damp from her shower, curled around her face in pretty tendrils. Even from across the room, the scent of her was intoxicating. With any other woman, he wouldn’t have thought twice about seduction. And he had to admit, thoughts of seducing Maddie had been running through his mind from the moment he’d met her.

But there was something that had stopped him—or at least slowed his pace toward the inevitable. Though she seemed tough and resilient on the outside, he sensed that it was all for show. She was a scared and vulnerable woman, trying to find her true path in the world. And he wasn’t about to take advantage of that. Not until they were both ready.

She dribbled champagne on the front of her frock and brushed it off with her fingers.

“Why are you wearing that dress?” Kieran asked.

Maddie shrugged. “Oh, I don’t know. I just wanted to celebrate. I feel like I’ve been let out of prison.” She paused. “You know, sometimes I wish I could go back and live the last ten years all over again.”

“What would you do differently?” Kieran asked.

“I’d stand up to my mother,” she said. “And I’d keep my song-writing talents to myself until I turned eighteen. It’s true what they say about child stars. We are all screwed up.”

“You’re not screwed up,” Kieran said, pushing to his feet and crossing the room to stand beside the bed. He held out his hand and when she placed her fingers in his palm, he pulled her up to her feet. She stood on the bed in front of him and Kieran slipped his hands around her slender waist.

“You look very pretty.”

“I think I actually believe you,” she said.

“And why wouldn’t you?”

“Because people tell me exactly what I want to hear all the time. After a while, I don’t really know what to believe or who to trust.”

He nuzzled her belly. “You can trust me, Maddie. I’ll always be honest with you.”

“I know I can,” she murmured. Her fingers furrowed through his hair and she tipped his face up until he met her gaze again. “So, you really think I look pretty?”

He nodded.

“Then why haven’t you kissed me again?”

“Do you think I kiss every pretty girl I see?” he asked. “Why haven’t you kissed me?”

“I don’t know. I’ve been thinking about it a lot. But now that we’re all alone with this big bed, I thought kissing you might start something we might not be able to stop.”

“And we barely know each other,” he said. He lifted her off the bed, drawing her into his embrace. “I can stop. Just say the word.”

He bent close and found her lips, soft and slightly parted. This time, he took it slowly, savoring every sensation and sweet taste of her. Before, the kisses they shared were like excited outbursts, but this time, he meant to seduce her. After this kiss, she’d know exactly what to expect if she didn’t tell him to stop.