Allie breathed deep, opening her heart to peace—hoping to find some after her crazy morning. She felt someone sit next to her and found a poised young girl with familiar turquoise eyes. “Can I sit here?” she asked.
“Sure.” Allie glanced around for the girl’s parents. “Where’s your mom or dad?”
The girl slouched. “My mom is at the spa and my dad is coming. He had to park the car. But he told me to find the prettiest woman in the room and sit next to her.”
“Oh.” Allie pressed her hand to her heart. “That’s really nice of you to say.”
The girl cocked her head in a way that seemed familiar to Allie. “You’re two kinds of pretty.”
Allie blinked. “I didn’t know there were two kinds of pretty.”
“There’s the kind of pretty my mom likes—where you have smooth skin and a rockin’ bod. And there’s the kind of pretty my dad likes—where you’re kind to others and junk like that.”
Allie worked to keep her face straight. This girl was a hoot. “I’m going to take that as a compliment.”
She shrugged just as a large guy with a ridiculous man-bun sat down next to the girl and put his arm over the back of the pew, his hand resting on Allie’s shoulder.
Allie shook him off. “Do I know you?” she asked.
“We’ve met before, but it could be too soon to share a bench,” came the reply.
A slow smile tickled across her lips as she took in Mark’s gorgeous face. Her gaze roamed over his wig and the ill-fitting jacket. “Do you always dress up for church?” she teased.
Mark’s jaw hardened. “Only when I’m avoiding press.”
“Ah.” Allie turned her attention to the girl. “You must be Chloe.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
A woman in huge sunglasses and a white trench coat tapped Mark on the shoulder and took the seat behind them. He glanced once and then did a double take. “Aspen?”
She nodded.
“I thought you didn’t do church?” Mark glanced at Allie, worry lines carving into his forehead.
“Uh-oh,” said Chloe.
Allie gripped her purse straps. She wasn’t sure who this was, but she got the sense that this woman felt as if she owned a bit of Mark and didn’t take kindly to Allie moving in on her territory.
She squeezed until the stitching imprinted on her palms. Maybe she was the other woman.
“Are you insane?” she asked Mark. “We had a good thing going and you threw me away for a church mouse.”
“Aspen, what we had wasn’t real.” Mark’s voice was firm, final.
“That doesn’t matter,” hissed Aspen. “By noon the world will think you’ve cheated on me. Me, Mark! I don’t get cheated on. The only reason I agreed to all this was because you were a boy scout. How could you do this to me?”
Mark’s shoulders fell. “I’m sorry, Aspen.” His eyes cut to Allie. “I didn’t plan on falling for Allie—”
“Do you think that matters?” She cursed, and several people turned around to gape.
Allie gave them a small wave, her face flaming. “Can we take this outside?” she begged.
“You’d love that drama, wouldn’t you?” snapped Aspen.
“Hey, now.” Mark held up his hand.
“Don’t get all defensive on her behalf. She’s caused enough problems.”
“So let’s put it to rest. We’ll tell everyone we broke up a couple weeks ago. I’ll even tell them you broke up with me.”
Aspen glared. “I’ll let our PR handle that.” Her brows came together. “I’m disappointed. I thought you were better than this.”
Mark reached across Chloe and took Allie’s hand. “I acted impulsively, I’ll admit. But I don’t regret what’s happening here.”
“Not that—her!” Aspen pointed to Allie. “Look at her, she’s a nobody. It’s so insulting to be fake-dumped for a, a waitress.” The disdain that dripped from her words stained the church carpet.
Allie’s arms went slack in shock.
Mark came out of his seat. He glared down at Aspen, an intimidating image. “It’s time for you to go.”
“Fine.” Aspen stood in one fluid motion, her grace not abandoning her in her moment of indignation. “I think a little drama is exactly what my career needs right now. I’ve decided to play up my scorned woman part in all this.”
“Why?” asked Mark, his face full of stress.
“You’re the one who likes to give things away—if I destroy you, I can build my career on the rubble.”
Mark’s jaw about unhinged. Chloe leaned into Allie. A small whimper escaped her lips. The poor girl. Allie glared at Aspen. How dare she threaten Mark in front of his daughter. Allie’s arm went around her in a protective gesture.
Allie stared after Aspen as she left. A half of a breath later, Kate shoved through the doors.
“What was Aspen doing here?” she asked.
Mark filled her in quickly.
Allie looked down at Chloe, who had seemed so grown-up when she sat down but who now looked like a lost little girl.
Mark dug his fingers into his wig. “What does this mean, Kate?”
“It’s bad.” Her head dipped toward Chloe, indicating that their situation would affect even her.
Allie felt the hot darts of unfair tears. Unfair? This was just how her life went. Every time she found a ray of sunshine, the clouds rolled in. “But if I go away, this all goes away too, right?”
“No, Allie.” Mark cupped her elbow.
Allie looked to Kate for an honest answer. Kate nodded once.
“Can you give me a ride to work? I’ll hide out there until closing,” she asked Kate.
“Don’t do this,” Mark begged.
Allie smiled at Chloe. Dear, sweet Chloe who needed her father. Her gaze came up to Mark. Wonderful. Perfect. Mark, who needed employment, custody of his daughter, and a clean slate to propel Waters without Borders and Teens on Target forward. She shouldn’t taint him with her storm clouds.
Dropping down to Chloe’s level, she squeezed the girl’s hand. “It was very nice to meet you. For the record, you are two kinds of pretty, too.”
Chloe smiled. “It was nice to meet you, ma’am.”
Mark moved to follow her out.
Allie wrung her hands. “I can’t hurt that little girl, Mark.”
“You don’t understand. She needs you more than you know. I need you.” He put his hands over his heart. “You’re here, Allie. This is where you belong.”
She placed her palm on his cheek. “You’re my dream come true.” She pressed her lips to his in an urgent goodbye before tearing herself away and darting out the door.
“Where to?” asked Kate.
“The diner by my apartment.” Allie stared out the window as tears trickled down her cheeks.
“I wish I’d never thought up that stupid raffle.” Kate dropped her face in her hands.
A sardonic laugh escaped Allie’s mouth. “I didn’t even win—George did. If I had entered, none of this would’ve happened.” Allie bit her lip. She needed to remember that. Needed to remember that she just didn’t have the right kind of luck in love.
Chapter 12
Mark swiped the ugly wig off his head and threw it on the living room floor.
“Ew, Dad. That’s disgusting.” Chloe made a huge circle around him and his discarded hairpiece. “What’s for lunch?” She headed into the kitchen.
Mark put his hands on the back of a chair and leaned forward. “Whatever you want.” He didn’t care if he ever ate again. Watching Allie walk away this morning was like having half his heart peeled away. He squeezed his eyes shut against the pain. For the life of him, he couldn’t figure out how to let what had started with Allie continue and keep his life free of the drama family court judges frowned upon.
“Dad?” Chloe called from the kitchen. “How do you turn on the oven?”
He pushed off from the couch and hurried into the kitchen. “What’s going on in here?”
“I wanted lasagna.” She thunked the chunk of frozen Italian goodness onto the counter.
Mark reached above the fridge to retrieve a cookie tray. He opened the box and slid the aluminum pan out. The instructions were simple enough—they included illustrations—and yet he couldn’t think past getting the box open.
“Dad!” Chloe waved her hand in front of his face. “Are you thinking about that woman—the pretty one?”
He nodded and turned around to preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
“She seemed really nice.”
“She is,” he said to the stove top, unable to put on a happy face for his daughter. Allie was more than nice. She was … charitable. Like, pure love of Christ kind of charity.
“So, are you going to date her?”
He flipped around in time to see the uncertainty on Chloe’s face. “Would that be bad?”
She shrugged. “I don’t think so—not with her. With that Aspen woman, yeah.”
He chuckled. “I can guarantee you Aspen will never set foot in this house.”
Chloe tipped her chin in an I know you love me kind of way. “You smiled funny at Allie. I’ve never seen you look at someone like that before.”
“I did?”
“Yeah. I think she makes you happy.”
“She did.”
Chloe pulled her shoulders up to her ears. “Did she leave because of me?”
“No, darlin’.” She left for you. For us—to protect us. And in the process made me fall in love with her. Allie had given up everything and asked nothing of him in return. Mark sucked in through his teeth as if he’d stuck his hand in the hot oven without an oven mitt.
He’d fallen in love with Allie.
She’d put Chloe before herself, once again showing the depth of her character. If he was going to deserve her, he needed to lay all that he had on the table. Gaining custody of Chloe was of the upmost importance. He’d give up all that he had to have her and Allie in his life—including his acting career, if that’s what it took.
Chapter 13
Three months later
Allie leaned back into the leather sofa in the VIP box of the Atlanta Braves stadium. Beyond the glass, the humidity stuck T-shirts to backs and shorts to bottoms as the fans watched Anthony Green climb out of the dugout.
“Ant-ney!” cheered José his arms raised high in the air.
Leticia caught Allie’s eye and they exchanged smiles. This was José’s third home game, and each time Anthony came to bat he acted like it was the bottom of the ninth in the seventh game of the world series.
Thanks to Leticia’s tutoring, Allie now knew how important that moment was in baseball. Though the memories from her fairy-tale weekend with Mark still made her ache with longing, Allie was thankful that she’d made friends with Leticia and Anthony. Not only had she shared in the joy of baby Julissa joining the family; Allie now managed Leticia’s premier bath boutique in downtown. Selina worked there full time, her schedule flexible to accommodate José’s medical needs.
A wail pierced the air. Leticia cooed as she scooped baby Julissa out of the car seat and bounced her lightly.
On the field, Anthony swung and missed for the second time. “Boooo,” José yelled at the umpire.
“Shhhh, José, the baby wants to sleep,” said Leticia in a quiet voice.
“Boooo,” he whispered, making Allie’s heart melt.
Wrapping Julissa in a mint-green minkie blanket, Leticia snuggled her close. She drifted back to sleep and sighed in contentment.
Anthony stepped out of the batter’s box and adjusted his grip on the bat.
“I saw the billboard for Mark’s theater,” Allie admitted.
Leticia rocked side to side in her seat. Allie didn’t know if she even knew she was doing it; the woman had taken to being a mother naturally.
“His first show opens in the fall. Do you want to go?” Leticia asked.
“I don’t think I should.”
“Should or could?”
“Could,” she admitted. A couple days after she’d left Mark at the church—man, that sounded bad, like she’d run out on him at their wedding—a producer had been caught on tape trying to buy cocaine from an undercover cop. Her and Mark’s story lost its momentum despite Aspen’s attempts to stir up trouble. There were a few articles painting the Hollywood starlet as the victim in this situation, but she really just came off as pathetic and spoiled.
When Allie had trudged home from the diner that night, there was a car waiting to take her to Leticia’s. Her new friend was a sympathetic shoulder to cry on with an unending supply of chocolate ice cream and tissues. Over the next week, Allie went to work, repainted a nursery, and took a lot of chamomile-scented baths. “I miss him too much.”
Leticia patted her knee in sympathy. “It’s because you love him.”
“I know.” In all the time she’d been apart from Mark, she’d never dared approach the L-word in her thoughts. Falling in love with someone in a weekend was absurd. Absolutely ridiculous. Beyond reason. And totally possible when that person was your soul mate.
Anthony struck out. Allie quickly lifted her finger to her lips to remind José to be quiet.
“Bad call,” he stage-whispered.
The announcer wasted no time in moving the game along. “Time for the seventh inning stretch, folks. We’ve got a special surprise for y’all today. Would Allie Gray please step out onto the balcony? Come on, Allie!”
Allie pointed at Leticia. “What did you do?”
Leticia shook her head. “Not me, amiga.”
Allie shyly stepped through the glass door.
“Give us a wave, Allie, so we know it’s you.”
She lifted her hand and saw her movement on the jumbo screen. Laughing, she waved harder. People cheered. She waved both hands and it got louder. She finally understood why people danced like dorks and waved their baby’s arms to get on the screen. This was kind of fun.
She was watching the screen when the door opened behind her and suddenly there was Mark standing next to her on screen. But that would mean …
She turned to find him right beside her—close enough to touch. A thousand emotions swirled inside. Including joy and excitement at sharing the same three feet of space with the man she was desperately in love with, to worry over what would happen when the press caught wind of this. Her heart pounded against her ribs, threatening to break right through. She placed her hand on his chest. “If you’re trying to be sneaky, you’re not doing a very good job,” she whispered.
Mark pulled a microphone to his mouth, his eyes alight with joy. “Hello, Braves fans!”
The crowd cheered. He whispered in her ear, his warm breath sending shivers of delight down her spine. “I’m done hiding how I feel about you.”
Was he … were they … was this …?
Mark continued, “I’m Mark Dubois. Atlanta is my home and I love this city.” The crowd cheered. “This is Allie Gray and she’s going to lead us in ‘Take Me Out to the Ballgame.’”
Allie’s hand flew to her mouth. She shook her head. The crowd laughed.
“You can—you’ll be great.” He tipped the mic away. “The words will be on the screen and I’ll be right here with you.” He laced their fingers together. “Sing.”
Allie took the mic. She gripped tight, the plastic sliding in her slippery palm. “Hit it,” she said, and the crowed clapped as the organist started the ol’ tune.
“Take me out to the baaaaaall game.” She couldn’t believe that was her voice filling the stadium. The thrill of performing shot up from her toes, strengthening her courage.
Mark started swaying the two of them from side to side. It wasn’t hard to move Allie—she was so shocked he could have knocked her over with a feather—or a paintbrush.
“Take me out to the crooowd.”
Mark tugged her closer and Allie was all too willing to go. If he was here, and they could truly be together, then she wanted to be as close to him as possible. I
f this was a dream—and she hadn’t ruled out that scenario yet—then she was going to enjoy every second.
The crowd had all joined in, their voices rising up from under the box seats. “Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jack. I don’t care if I never get back.” On the big screen a baseball bounced over each word, keeping them all in time.
Mark kissed her temple and Allie fumbled through the next line. His chest bounced as he chuckled, and she almost whacked him with the mic.
“For it’s one, two, three strikes you’re out.” Allie went for the big finish, pulling the mic away from her mouth so she had the right volume. “Ball game!”
She dropped the mic to her side and waved with her other hand. Mark did the same right up until the image on the screen changed to the pitcher in his warm-up.
Allie rounded on Mark. She took his face between her hands and pulled him down for an urgent and demanding kiss. Mark didn’t take any time to catch up to her train of thought—or train of kisses, as it were. His arms enveloped her and she ran her hands down those broad, round, hunky shoulders of his and back up to the back of his neck, where she pulled him even closer, bending back in the process.
When she absolutely had to come up for air, she loosened her hold but didn’t let go.
Mark stood them up and kissed her forehead. She leaned into his lips, fluttering her hands across his chest. “I’m sorry. I just couldn’t let you leave without doing that.”
Mark tipped her chin up so their eyes met. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“But Chloe …?” Leticia had explained about Mark’s custody battle with his ex-wife. A sharp pain erupted behind Allie’s eyeball every time she thought about the damage she had done to his case.
“Chloe is moving in with me at the end of the month—it’s been settled.”
“Wha—how?”
“Apparently, owning a theater is a respectable job—according to Judge Jamison it is, anyway. Beau’s still not convinced.”
Allie felt her cheeks widen. “She’s yours?”
“Until she’s eighteen.”
A Blockbuster Proposal_The Trouble with Dating an Actor_A Vintage Romance Page 9
