Unexpected Admirer

by Bernadette Marie

  Well, he’d play it off as a moment to sing to a fan. No one would be the wiser, but he’d feel like the fool. He’d probably have one pissed of man after him, too.

  Just one more song, and he’d go make nice with the son. Salvage the night, and maybe she wouldn’t think he was such an idiot.

  After he’d sung his final song he hurried offstage, and Bryce met him, as always, with a towel and a bottle of water.

  “Another great show.”

  Jesse sucked down the water. “The altitude is torture.”

  “I just think you’re a wimp.”

  Jesse laughed as he finished off the bottle of water. “What did you do with Melissa?”

  The smirk on Bryce’s face was all the razzing he’d get over asking some woman on stage. Jesse knew that.

  “She’s over in the corner with her son. You’ve never done that before,” he said as they walked toward them, Bryce keeping close to him—as though to protect him as he always did.

  Knowing Bryce was his closest confidant, he could be honest. “There was something about her. I needed to see her.”

  “She’s not your type.”

  “And I have a type?”

  Bryce chuckled. “Well, let’s say she’s not the type Carson gives you.”

  “He can bite me. That last woman he put me with, the model, I’m sure she didn’t have an ounce of intelligence in her head.”

  “Well, honey, I could have told you that.” Bryce patted him on the back before he turned his head and gave a very blatant look at the ass of one of the stagehands. “Is he taken?”

  Jesse laughed as they made their way to Melissa, who was busy looking down at the young boy who he could only hear was speaking much too fast.

  “Hi.” His voice shook as he approached them. The boy stopped talking and turned to look up at him. It was most definitely her son. He had the same eyes which had caught Jesse off guard.

  Melissa placed her hands on the boy’s shoulders. “Jonah, this is Mr. Charles. Can you say hello?”

  “Hi,” the boy’s voice squeaked, and Jesse decided they were in the same boat. He was as shaken meeting Jesse as Jesse was having met Melissa.

  Jesse held out his hand. “What’s your name?”

  “Jonah.”

  “Jonah, it’s nice to meet you. Thanks for letting me borrow your mom.”

  “Oh, sure.”

  Melissa kept her hand on his shoulder—and her gaze, too. Jesse’s own mother had never looked at him like that. Who would have thought he could be jealous over such an endearing moment.

  There was a tightening in his chest, and he didn’t like it. Even if the woman was someone else’s wife, he could salvage the time. Jonah looked like the kind of kid who needed a special moment. Even though his mother looked down at him with pure love in her eyes, there was sadness in his.

  Jesse reached for Jonah’s pass, which hung around his neck. “I see that you were coming back here to see me anyway.”

  “Mom won the tickets on the radio.”

  Jesse shifted his glance from the boy to his mother. There was a blush to her cheeks. The ache in his chest deepened. He didn’t need to hear much more, he knew she was a special woman.

  He looked back at Jonah. “What does your dad think of you two staying out so late?”

  Jesse smiled and looked at Melissa, but the smile that had permeated her lips since he’d met her backstage slipped away and Jonah’s head lowered. He’d said something horribly wrong.

  “Jonah’s father died three years ago.” Melissa’s voice had softened, but her hand remained on his shoulder.

  “I’m sorry.” Jesse swallowed hard. “My dad died when I was ten. It was hard.”

  Jonah looked up at him. His eyes had grown damp. “I miss him.”

  They had a connection—him and this young man.

  Bryce caught Jesse’s attention. The show might be over, but the stage fright was still very real. It was time for the doors to open and the fans that adored him to come in a gawk. He was thankful for them all, but he didn’t enjoy the closeness. Perhaps he’d learned that from his mother. She’d kept her distance his whole life, staying only close enough to dive into his wealth when she needed.

  Jesse sucked in a breath.

  “Jonah, would you like to meet all these people with me?”

  Jonah’s head lifted, and he looked back at his mother. “Can I?”

  “Oh, you should stay out of Mr. Charles’s…”

  “Jesse,” he corrected her.

  Melissa looked up at him and smiled before she looked back at Jonah. “You should stay out of Jesse’s way.”

  “Really, he wouldn’t be in the way.” He leaned in closer to her. “I’d enjoy the distraction.”

  Jonah looked up at his mother again. “Please.”

  Melissa dropped her shoulders. “For a little bit. We need to get home. We have school tomorrow.”

  Jesse found humor in that. “You go to school?”

  Melissa narrowed her brows and then the smile was back as she understood what he’d said. “I’m a teacher. Middle school biology.”

  “You’re much too pretty to be a biology teacher.”

  Her cheeks filled with color. “Well, thank you. I’m sure my students figure I fit the part.”

  He didn’t suppose she knew what they really thought. The woman was making his head spin and he’d been with women that society deemed perfect. They hadn’t cut it, but she…

  Bryce nudged him. “They’re ready to open the door.”

  “Jonah is going to be my assistant tonight.”

  Bryce nodded. “Oh, good. My replacement. C’mon, Jonah, I’ll show you what we need to do.”

  Melissa watched her usually shy son walk away with the man who obviously spent his life taking care of the pop star.

  “Really, you don’t have to do this.”

  “He’s a great kid. Is he ten?”

  “Yes. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen him smile as much as he did tonight. Thank you for that.”

  Jesse ran his hand over his hair. “That is certainly validation for my job.”

  “Well, a mother can’t give a son who has lost so much that kind of joy.”

  “I think you’re selling yourself short.”

  Why did this man find it necessary to flatter her? She was nothing to him, but his charm on her was working.

  Jesse looked toward the door where a crowd stood just beyond a large man who held them out. “I suppose I’d better get over there. I’ll keep an eye on him.”

  “Thank you.”

  He touched her arm as he passed by her, and a shiver ran through her. What was it about this young man that had her mind turning to mush? Why had he pulled her on that stage, and why was he being so kind and considerate to her son?

  Honestly, she’d figured he’d wave to the crowd and they’d call that a meet and greet. But this…she never would have dreamed.

  Melissa found herself a place against the wall and leaned up against it. The room was filled with young girls screaming and chattering. Jesse took pictures with each of his adoring fans and gave them each a moment of his time. Certainly he wasn’t stereo-typical to what she’d expected.

  “He hates this part.”

  Melissa looked to find Bryce leaning up against the wall next to her.

  “He doesn’t look like he hates it too bad.”

  “It’s part of the job. He likes to perform, but all the hype…it’s not for him.”

  Melissa couldn’t imagine. Why would someone want to be as famous as Jesse Charles and not like it?

  “It’s very nice of him to pay attention to Jonah. He really doesn’t have to do that.”

  “I think they have a connection. Jesse’s dad died when he was ten. Right about the time he began to perform.”

  Melissa laid her hand on her chest. Her heart ached every time she heard such a thing. She knew what Jonah was going through. It was bad enough that so many people grew up that way.

&nb
sp; “I just hope he’s not let down tomorrow. I don’t know how to explain to him that people like Jesse don’t stick around to be your friend. They pull people on stage and make them feel good for that moment. I understand it, but I don’t know how to make him understand it.”

  “Between you and me, he’s never pulled anyone on stage before.”

  An uneasy feeling had her stomach tightening. “He said that, but I didn’t think he meant it.”

  “He thinks it’s tacky.”

  That still didn’t change the fact that tomorrow Jonah would already be missing that moment that Jesse had created for him, and she’d be the one that would have to compensate for another loss in his life.

  Melissa would have liked to have left the arena and headed home, but the meet and greet lasted an hour. Jesse had kept Jonah next to him the entire time. Between each overly excited, screaming girl, Jesse would take a moment to talk to Jonah. Melissa laughed aloud when one of the girls even kissed Jonah because he was cute.

  When the last of the fans were escorted out of the room Jesse walked back toward her, his arm around Jonah’s shoulders.

  Jonah’s arms were loaded down with posters and T-shirts. And he even wore a new Jesse Charles hat which had been signed.

  “Mom, look at all this neat stuff he gave me.”

  She shook her head. “You really didn’t have to do that.”

  “My pleasure. You have a great kid.”

  There went her heartbeat, racing at an abnormal pace. “I do have a great kid.”

  “Mom, can we take a picture on your phone?”

  She pulled the smartphone from her pocket and carefully pulled up the camera. The darn thing still made her nervous. It had cost her nearly an entire car payment, but she’d needed it.

  She lifted it to take the picture when Bryce rested his hand on her shoulder.

  “You go get in there too,” he said as he took the phone from her.

  She wasn’t one to jump into pictures, though she’d always wished she had been. She simply was too critical of herself. Her hair was always a mess, her smile a bit crooked, or God forbid, her hips ended up in the picture. Even at the thought she was thinking she’d start a diet in the morning.

  Bryce was still standing there with his hand held open, reaching for the phone.

  Melissa handed him the phone and walked toward Jonah and Jesse.

  She stood to the side of them, but Jesse slid his arm around her waist and pulled her in closer until they were all three in a tight huddle. There was, however, no way to deny the physical excitement that was pumping through her veins having Jesse Charles pressed close to her; his hand holding firm to her hip and his head pressed against hers.

  Bryce looked at the screen on the phone. “That’s one cute family pic right there.”

  That was when all of the excitement and nerves reached her throat and threatened to choke her with tears. Melissa fought them back as she slipped on her coat and handed Jonah his.

  Jesse had taken her phone and was looking at the picture. “Do you mind if I send this to myself?”

  Melissa had to process the man’s words. How could he have gotten her so worked up? She had been worried about Jonah’s let down tomorrow when Jesse Charles was just again some news headliner and not someone special—now she wondered how she was going to handle it.

  She forced a smile to her face. “Sure.”

  Jesse hit a few buttons on the phone and then handed it back to her. His own phone buzzed in Bryce’s pocket, and he handed it to Jesse.

  Jesse pulled up the text on his phone and then showed Jonah the picture. “There. Now I’ll never forget tonight.”

  That had nearly forced the tears to the surface when Melissa saw Jonah’s smile. This man was playing with her son’s emotions—and hers. She didn’t know if she should slap him or kiss him again.

  There wasn’t much time to process that before Jesse was standing right in front of her, gazing at her with his hypnotic grey eyes.

  “Thank you for coming and letting me pull you up on stage.”

  Her throat had gone dry. “Sure.”

  He leaned in closer to her. “Thank you for the kiss.”

  Melissa felt his breath on her cheek and his hand took hold of hers, and he gave it a squeeze before he took a step back and looked down at Jonah.

  “See you around, kid. Be good.”

  “Okay.”

  Jesse looked back up at Melissa. “Ed is going to walk you out to your car. I don’t want anything to happen to you two.” He waved, and then he and Bryce slipped into another room as an enormous, burly security guard approached them and walked them out to the parking lot.

  Jesse could feel the smile on his face. His cheeks had begun to hurt, and it felt nice to be happy.

  Bryce shut the door to the dressing room after having kicked everyone else out of the room.

  “What was all of that? You’re going to break that little kid’s heart.”

  Jesse dropped down onto the couch in the room and pulled out his phone. “He’s fine.”

  “Why? Because you met him and gave him a few things? Damn, man, you kissed his mother!”

  Jesse felt his smile widen. “Yes I did.” And it had been a kiss of a lifetime.

  “You’ve been that kid. C’mon, his dad died. Mom obviously works hard to support them and now some spoiled rock star has messed with their heads.”

  The smile was gone, and Jesse pursed his lips. “That’s not my plan.”

  “You have a plan?”

  Jesse pulled up the phone number he’d sent the text to himself from and sent it on in another text and then made a phone call.

  “Hey, I need a favor. I know it’s the middle of the night. I just texted you a phone number. I need an address by noon.”

  Jesse turned off his phone and rested his head against the back of the couch.

  He had no intentions of letting Jonah down. And whatever it was that turned him inside out when he saw Melissa—he wanted to explore that a little more.

  The world was going to think he was crazy. He was twenty-five and tired of being a pop star. There had to be something in his life that meant more.

  He thought about the kiss he’d planted on Melissa. He hadn’t meant to, but the need to had just taken over. What would it be like to leave it all behind and live a life with her and her son? It was undeniable. There was a spark between them, and just thinking about her made his head spin.

  She wasn’t a supermodel. Hell, she hardly made it past five foot three, he presumed. She was curvy. Her hair was a mass of uncontrolled curls, and he’d noticed her boots. That part bothered him. Not that he noticed they were old cowboy boots which had seen better days—but that he’d noticed shoes at all. Obviously, he spent way too much time with Bryce.

  There had never been a hitch in his heart for a woman as there was with this one.

  He’d spent most of his life being admired by people. Certainly he’d be the unexpected admirer when it came to Melissa. But he wasn’t going to let it go.

  Only a few minutes later, his phone buzzed in his hand. He looked down to see the text message. His connection was fast. There on the screen was Melissa’s address.

  Jesse took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He had two more shows over the weekend, but maybe Monday he’d take his day off and make a trip back to the beautiful mountains of Colorado.

  Chapter Three

  It was nearly two o’clock before Melissa’s head touched her pillow. All she could hope was that Jonah had quickly fallen asleep when he went to bed. The boy jabbered the entire way home.

  It hadn’t helped that her mother was up and sitting at the kitchen table when they walked through the door.

  “Grandma!” Jonah had yelled. “Jesse Charles kissed mom!”

  Her mother’s face was priceless, but she didn’t say much more. Jonah hadn’t given her a chance. He’d told her every detail of the entire night and showed off his swag.

  He was happy, and that was a
ll that mattered to Melissa.

  And now, as she thought of the less than four hours of sleep she desperately needed, that stupid song—which she truly didn’t like—played over and over in her head. The melody was only made worse by the memory of Jesse gazing at her when he sang it to her.

  She rolled onto her side and pounded at her pillow.

  Why had he done that? And why did she care?

  She cared because it had been a very long time since a man touched her hand the way he had or had gazed at her to where she’d forgotten where she was.

  It was all part of his charm, and she knew that. She’d be a fool to think there had been more, but she couldn’t help it.

  Finally, she smiled in the dark to herself. It was nice to have a young and attractive man give her some attention. That’s all it was, and it was a brief moment in her life. Tomorrow, or later that day, she’d just be Mrs. Mathews again. and that was what she enjoyed most.

  She closed her eyes.

  But for a moment she was Jesse Charles’s girl.

  Melissa parked in the parking lot of the school, reached into the car for her bag, her purse, and her lunch box. Then she tried to keep a steady hand on her coffee as she bumped the car door closed with her hip.

  She had on her glasses, her eyes much too tired to put in her contacts. The hair dryer had only managed to frizz her hair, and she’d forgotten to write up the test for the end of the unit they would finish in class. The students would be happy about that part.

  As she made it to the office, she again readjusted the bags hanging on her arm. There was an angel somewhere as she had yet to spill coffee down the front of her.

  She looked at the clock. It was only seven-thirty. Four o’clock was a long ways away.

  “You look horrible.”

  Melissa looked toward William Scott, who stood in the doorway to his office.

  “I’m not sure you’ve ever been that blunt.”

  “Sorry. Can you come in here?”

  Could her morning drag on any more?

  Melissa shuffled her way into his office and set her bags in the chair in front of his desk.

  William Scott wasn’t a threat. He was a dear friend. And as she finally took a sip from her coffee, she reminded herself that she was tired. His snippy comment didn’t need to set her mood for the day. Many people did a full day’s work on two hours of sleep. She could too.