feel obligated to burn up as much energy as possible before the whistle blew. Bear parked the Satellite at the end of a row and peered through the windshield at the two teachers standing on the steps. One of them was a hot pink puffball in a knee length parka. The other was Maureen.
A hundred feet away in a coat and hat and he knew it was her. Damn, she was hot.
His phone rang. He dug it out and checked the number. Marc. “What now?”
“I wanted to know if you’d scheduled that drop-in.”
“What are you? My mom? I told you I would and I did. Happy?”
“Yes.”
He tried to make out the expression on Maureen’s face, but she was a little too far away. She’d been happy last night. Very happy. So had he, and he couldn’t remember the last time he’d been that happy not getting off.
“Are you even listening to me?”
“No.”
Marc sighed. “Look, I know we’ve been bugging you a lot this break, but there’s a lot riding on this album.”
“And you know what? All the promotion in the world isn’t going to help until the tour starts.”
“The tour isn’t selling.”
The last album had sucked, but not so bad it should be killing the new one. “What exactly do you mean, the tour isn’t selling?”
“I mean we start touring in a month and we don’t have a single venue even half sold.”
“You’re kidding.”
“I wish I was.”
Maureen was turned toward the far side of the playground. That woman was too good for a one-night stand. Too good for a one-week stand. Damn, he’d miss her. “I’m doing a drop-in Friday. See if Candy can scare up an interview in the same city and I’ll hit the forum.”
“The forum? You know all those folks already got their tickets. Plus they’re crazy.”
“I know, that’s why we need them. They’re crazy about us so they’ll talk up the album, request the songs and convince their friends to go to the shows.”
“True. Good to hear you thinking again.”
Thinking. Yeah, about how he should have been staying away from Maureen Donnelly. She was a nice woman who deserved a stable romance, not some gypsy musician who was going to rip her life apart like a time bomb when somebody realized who he was and who she was to him. Some of the women on the forum, for instance.
* * * *
“So how was your weekend?” Linda asked, surveying the playground with her hands stuffed in the sleeves of her coat.
Maureen hadn’t noticed the chilly weather all weekend. Okay, she hadn’t noticed anything. “Great.” She caught herself grinning. Great almost defined it.
“Great?” Linda turned to study her. “Did you call Greg?”
“Oh, I forgot.” Forgot to call Greg, forgot to do laundry, forgot to get groceries. But she’d gotten her brakes fixed and her car tuned up. Yesterday afternoon she’d almost gotten a tune up of her own on the couch. Her mouth curled into a dizzy grin again.
“What did you do all weekend that was so great?”
“Michael.” Her mouth snapped shut as Linda’s eyes went round. “No, I mean I spent all weekend with Michael. I mean—” Maureen pinched the tip of her tongue between her teeth as if that would make the words come out right. “I was hanging out with Michael every day. We went to the dinosaur exhibit. The kids are going to love it.”
“Yeah.” Linda pulled her hands out of her sleeves and folded her arms in the ‘you’re in trouble’ pose she used on the kids. “Who is Michael? Not that mechanic.”
Her face now frozen in a ridiculous grin, she nodded.
“I can’t believe you spent an entire weekend with a mechanic.”
“What’s wrong with it? I got my brakes fixed and my car tuned up for free.”
Linda cocked an eyebrow. “Free, huh?”
As the subtext sunk in, her grin melted. She should have guessed what people would think. Who was she kidding? She had guessed, she’d just been pretending it didn’t matter.
If they found out. Who said they had to find out? It was called a personal life for
A hundred feet away in a coat and hat and he knew it was her. Damn, she was hot.
His phone rang. He dug it out and checked the number. Marc. “What now?”
“I wanted to know if you’d scheduled that drop-in.”
“What are you? My mom? I told you I would and I did. Happy?”
“Yes.”
He tried to make out the expression on Maureen’s face, but she was a little too far away. She’d been happy last night. Very happy. So had he, and he couldn’t remember the last time he’d been that happy not getting off.
“Are you even listening to me?”
“No.”
Marc sighed. “Look, I know we’ve been bugging you a lot this break, but there’s a lot riding on this album.”
“And you know what? All the promotion in the world isn’t going to help until the tour starts.”
“The tour isn’t selling.”
The last album had sucked, but not so bad it should be killing the new one. “What exactly do you mean, the tour isn’t selling?”
“I mean we start touring in a month and we don’t have a single venue even half sold.”
“You’re kidding.”
“I wish I was.”
Maureen was turned toward the far side of the playground. That woman was too good for a one-night stand. Too good for a one-week stand. Damn, he’d miss her. “I’m doing a drop-in Friday. See if Candy can scare up an interview in the same city and I’ll hit the forum.”
“The forum? You know all those folks already got their tickets. Plus they’re crazy.”
“I know, that’s why we need them. They’re crazy about us so they’ll talk up the album, request the songs and convince their friends to go to the shows.”
“True. Good to hear you thinking again.”
Thinking. Yeah, about how he should have been staying away from Maureen Donnelly. She was a nice woman who deserved a stable romance, not some gypsy musician who was going to rip her life apart like a time bomb when somebody realized who he was and who she was to him. Some of the women on the forum, for instance.
* * * *
“So how was your weekend?” Linda asked, surveying the playground with her hands stuffed in the sleeves of her coat.
Maureen hadn’t noticed the chilly weather all weekend. Okay, she hadn’t noticed anything. “Great.” She caught herself grinning. Great almost defined it.
“Great?” Linda turned to study her. “Did you call Greg?”
“Oh, I forgot.” Forgot to call Greg, forgot to do laundry, forgot to get groceries. But she’d gotten her brakes fixed and her car tuned up. Yesterday afternoon she’d almost gotten a tune up of her own on the couch. Her mouth curled into a dizzy grin again.
“What did you do all weekend that was so great?”
“Michael.” Her mouth snapped shut as Linda’s eyes went round. “No, I mean I spent all weekend with Michael. I mean—” Maureen pinched the tip of her tongue between her teeth as if that would make the words come out right. “I was hanging out with Michael every day. We went to the dinosaur exhibit. The kids are going to love it.”
“Yeah.” Linda pulled her hands out of her sleeves and folded her arms in the ‘you’re in trouble’ pose she used on the kids. “Who is Michael? Not that mechanic.”
Her face now frozen in a ridiculous grin, she nodded.
“I can’t believe you spent an entire weekend with a mechanic.”
“What’s wrong with it? I got my brakes fixed and my car tuned up for free.”
Linda cocked an eyebrow. “Free, huh?”
As the subtext sunk in, her grin melted. She should have guessed what people would think. Who was she kidding? She had guessed, she’d just been pretending it didn’t matter.
If they found out. Who said they had to find out? It was called a personal life for
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