CHAPTER ELEVEN
ADAIR

“We’re here at The Gathering Place for the fifteenth annual Arrow Healthcare Toys for Kids drive, where it’s been turned into a winter wonderland for children of all ages.” The cameraman angles the lens to catch a group of kids running through a maze of candy canes, with Travis leading the entire pack. “I’m going to win!” he yells over the sound of seasonal music, kids screaming, and lots of laughing as they all scramble to catch up with him. Nash is wearing a goofball grin as he watches the race with the event chairwoman, waiting to call the winners. 

“Ainsley really went out on a limb connecting me with the hospital director so we could set this up,” Carly whispers as she tugs at my coat, squaring it on my shoulders and pulling the collar out so it stands up around my neck. “He’s not supposed to ask you anything about The Machine or Stone, but if he does—”

“I know and stop fidgeting with my coat.” I hold up one hand, grabbing hers as she reaches for my collar again. “Don’t worry. If he asks me something I don’t want to answer, I’ll just give one of the canned responses we rehearsed the other night.”

Her eyes stay trained on me, but I see the heaviness in them as the wheels turn in her head. She’s probably playing every single possibility of what they could ask that I wouldn’t want to answer and they all center around her brother. I can’t even imagine how difficult of a position this is for her. I reach for her other hand and squeeze it lightly in mine. “I won’t screw it up—” She opens her mouth to speak, but I don’t give her a chance. “I won’t embarrass you, or Amaryllis. I promise.”

“Now, let’s talk to one of the men of Amaryllis who are the major attraction here today. Adair Miller, what made you decide to help out with our local event this year?”

As many times as I’ve had to be in front of a camera in my career, it never gets easier. “I—We… uh,” I stammer while Carly drags her hand down her face just out of the camera angle. I swallow hard and pull myself together. “As you know, we began the process of moving here after our last headlining tour and we absolutely fell in love with the community. We heard about this event and wanted to do what we could to help.”

“Speaking of community,” he pauses just long enough for me to catch on, “your fans were a little upset when they found out there wouldn’t be a follow up to your debut album with The Machine. How do you respond to those who say you disrespected the community, which you worked to build before you turned mainstream?”

Carly’s making a cut sign with her hands from behind him.

“Well, to tell you the truth—”

“I’ll tell you, Stone Thompson,” he turns to the camera, “The piano, keyboard, and synth player for Amaryllis before they abruptly kicked him out and brought on London James in the middle of their last and seemingly final tour, said he thinks you’ve all forgotten where you came from. He’s alleged that community is what your entire brand rests on, and you’ve all turned your backs on the Amaryllis fans. How do you respond to that?”

She gave me a canned response for just this occasion. It’s a shame I can’t remember it to save my life. “I’ll tell you exactly what I think about Stone Thompson.”

Carly swipes her finger across her neck like a knife. She even sticks out her tongue and lets her eyes roll back in her head for extra dramatic effect. Who could blame her for not wanting me to list my grievances with Stone on the air? It’s a good thing that’s not what I was going to do anyway. “I think it’s a wonderful thing to see Stone turning his life around and doing so many positive things in the community. The world needs more of that, so we’re here doing our part and we’d be here regardless of what Stone or anyone else had to say about us. As far as our fans, we’ve never forgotten them and they’re the reason we’ve decided to cut ties with The Machine.”

The reporter lets out a snort. “Can you explain that for us, please?”

“Sure.” I wave my hand in the air calling Nash and Griffin over. “I could, but my brothers would do a much better job of explaining how Amaryllis Studios was established for the fans… for our community.”

Griffin wears his signature smile and Nash looks like I just punched him in the gut. “Your timing leaves a lot to be desired,” he grumbles slapping me on the back as my cue to cut out of here and let them take over. The reporter seems more than happy to have the two main faces of Amaryllis to talk to instead of me.

I’m not disappointed either. “So, did I do okay?” I ask slinging my arm around Carly’s shoulders.

“You did, uh—” She shakes her head and looks up at me. “Why were you so nice about Stone? You hate his guts.”

There’s only one reason I could ever put my differences with Stone to the side and I’m looking into her eyes right now. “It just seemed like the right thing to do.”

“That’s not your brand.”

“Maybe I’m re-branding.”

Her eyes narrow as she studies me. If anyone knows me well enough to figure out my hidden motives, it’s her. I’d like to keep them to myself for a little while longer though. I need time to convince her I’m not the devil incarnate she thinks I am. “Re-branding, huh?”

“Sure.” I nod, shrugging. “You know, it’s kind of hard but I’m trying to force myself to not be a pig-headed walking cliché,” I say with a wink.

“That’s a tall order,” she snickers. “You’ve really made it your own.”

“Thanks,” I draw it out as long as I can without losing my breath. She giggles and playfully slaps my chest with the palm of her hand, which she lets linger there a little longer than necessary. I can’t resist the opportunity to make her blush. I flex under my graphic t-shirt with a huge parental advisory graphic plastered over the chest. Maybe not the best choice to wear to an event for kids… I’m a work in progress.

“You are such an idiot,” she laughs, her cheeks turning the brightest shade of red I’ve ever seen.

“You like it though. I saw you blushing.”

Her nose scrunches up as she shakes her head no. “It’s the cold air.”

“Right. And I’m Prince Charming.”

“Prince Annoying is more like it,” Travis’s voice comes from behind us. “Did you guys get any of the hot cocoa yet? It’s life.”

“It’s cocoa,” I deadpan while glaring at him from underneath my overpriced sunglasses, which I scored just for letting Carly post a single image of me wearing them on social media.

He takes a sip and has whipped cream stuck to his nose as he pulls the cup away. “But the girl I got it from is hot.”

“You might want to take care of that,” Carly wiggles her finger in front of his nose, “before you go back and try to sweep her off her feet.”

“Huh?” He rubs his nose on his sleeve and wrinkles his nose when he sees the white smear. “Oh well. Did you see me win that race, though?”

“You need professional help, Trav,” I groan, shaking my head.

“There you are.” The very familiar and unwelcome voice grates on my nerves.

Ridge. “What are you doing here?” I demand crossing my arms over my chest.

He gives me a smug smile as he leans in and kisses Carly on the cheek. “Thank you for inviting me. You did all this?” He holds his hands out wide. “It’s incredible.”

“I had a little help,” she admits. “Ainsley is the event chairwoman. This is something we’ve wanted to do for the kids for a long time, and…” She cuts her eyes away from Ridge and back to me. “These guys have been amazing sports about the whole thing.”

The death-glare he’s giving me right now must mean that didn’t sit very well with him. I’d love a chance to wipe that smirk off his face—again.

“Well, I think you are the star of this show. How about I take you out to dinner to celebrate?” He holds his hands up. “As soon as you’re finished with all your responsibilities around here, of course.”

Her sheepish look tells me all I need to know.

She wants to say yes.

“If you’ll excuse me,” I interrupt. “I’m going to go see if I can help with the judging since Nash is still having to deal with the reporter.” She deserves happiness, even if that happiness comes from being with Ridge. My heart breaks just thinking about it, but I want what’s best for her. “C’mon, Travis.” I smack him on the shoulder to pull him back from whatever daydream he’s currently in. His eyes were focused on the hot cocoa stand, so I have an idea of where his head was at. “Take me to get a cup of this life-changing cocoa before we get you back to the races.”

“Oh, I’m in.” He snaps his head up and glares at me. “Wait, you just made fun of me for racing the kids.”

“This time you’re going to be an adult and cheer them on while we call the winners.”

“Got it.” He nods toward the cocoa stand. “You think she’d go out with me?”

“Not if she has even half of a brain.”

He lets out a low whistle. “That’s a low blow.”

I shrug.

“Especially coming from someone who just let Ridge swoop in and get the girl.”

Yep, I’m definitely punching him as soon as we’re out of sight from all the fans, kids, and cameras. Mostly, the cameras.

Travis scowls at me as he sips his stupid hot cocoa. “You really need to man-up.”

“Back off.”

He turns around to apparently stalk Carly and Ridge. “Do me a favor.”

“No.”

He grabs my arm, spinning me around so I’m facing the same direction he is. “Wait for it. Five… four… three… Oh! There it is,” he shrieks, waving back to Carly who just looked over her shoulder and caught us staring at them.

“Fantastic. Now she thinks I’m spying on her. That’s not creepy at all.”

“Dude,” he takes another sip of his cocoa. I don’t bother to tell him he’s wearing the whipped cream again. “She looked back. That is universal code for Adair is an idiot.”

“How does this help me?”

“Because now you know you have a chance.” He takes a step toward the cocoa stand. “And now it’s time to see if I have one,” he says, wearing a stupid smirk as he flattens wrinkles out of his shirt. He still doesn’t know he has whipped topping on the tip of his nose. I’m not telling him, either. “C’mon.” He tilts his head, expecting me to follow, which I do because I cannot miss this epic show that’s about to go down.

A cute blonde blushes and giggles as she walks up to the counter. “You must’ve really liked our cocoa.”

“I like more than the cocoa here.” He gives a wide toothy grin completely oblivious to the white blob dangling from his nose.

And this is the guy trying to give me advice about my love life?

She giggles and waits for his order. A class-act all the way, ignoring the huge fluffy white elephant in the room.

He clears his throat letting his glance shift for a split second to a napkin holder perched on the counter, perfectly positioned to catch his reflection in the stainless-steel. I try to stifle a laugh. A squeaky snort comes out instead. “Adair…” he growls as he reaches out trying to grab me around the shoulders.

I jump back just enough to make him miss, so he pulls back a handful of air. “Sorry, bro. Going to have to be faster than that.” I take off running in a zigzag through the candy canes and trees lining the path.

“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me!”

“Worth. It!”