Taste of Love (15 page)

Her cell phone rang and she damn near jumped out of her skin. Since it was the middle of the night, she cautiously answered it, even though she didn't recognize the number.

"Hello?" she asked, her heart thumping loudly in her chest. She was always nervous when she received calls so late.

"Hey baby, miss me yet?" A deep voice purred in her ear.

"Cameron?" she asked, with an instant smile on her face.

"The one and only," he confirmed. "Still doing laundry?"

"Yeah, I'm almost done though. But it's kind of funny you called, I was just looking at an interesting picture of you. How're you doing?" She kept looking at the picture, which somehow made her feel closer to him.

"I'm alright. So what's the interesting picture?" he asked, curious, but at the same time a little ticked since he knew how the tabloids were.

"Oh, you know, pretty much the same as every other one I see. Some girl either kissing you or looking like she's ready to go down on you," she told him, with an air of indifference. "You look like shit though. Are you feeling alright?"

Cameron laughed at her honesty. "I'm fine, just a little tired out by my schedule. Every time I feel I'm getting too old for this shit, I keep thinking about the Stones or Aerosmith, and figure if they can do it, so can I."

"When's your next break?" she asked, noting that even his voice sounded tired.

"I think we have one coming up in a few weeks, but I'm not sure. All the dates and all the cities blend together," he told her. Then in a sarcastic voice he said, "But here's some great news. Since we're so in demand, and everyone's loving our show, we've had a few more dates added. We get to tour for at least three more weeks now!"

"And you sound so excited about that," she laughed.

"I'm used to it, but I was really hoping this wouldn't turn into a long tour. For the first time in my life, I really miss being at home."

Madison didn't know what to say. She didn't want to tell him how much she missed him, especially since it wouldn't matter anyway. "Well, at least you have plenty of girls to keep you company."

Cameron sighed. "I'm sure that the tabloids have made it look a lot worse than it actually is."

"Don't forget that I've seen it firsthand," Madison reminded him.

"You saw me kiss a girl. That's all I've done, kiss the girls. I don't sleep with groupies anymore. And still, so many of them claim I fathered their babies, I should keep a DNA sample on record to refute their claims. I've lived and learned, and I'm not going there again."

Madison was hurt. She didn't know if he was talking about her when he mentioned the DNA sample or not, or if he meant that he had learned from her miscarriage. No matter what he meant, she knew she was nothing like those women in the tabloids.

"I'm not a groupie," she choked out.

Cameron could have smacked himself. "No! I wasn't talking about you, Madison. I'm sorry. That sounded pretty insensitive, but I wasn't talking about you. I just meant that I've grown up, and the whole rock star thing is getting a little old. I love making music, but I'm sick of the parties, and especially girls, drawn like bees to the fame and fortune. I know you're not a groupie, and I'd never label you as one."

"It's alright. I probably better go anyway," Madison told him, saddened by the tone of their discussion.

"Wait, don't go yet," he pleaded. "I miss talking to you. I'm sorry if what I said hurt you. Just a little longer?"

"My clothes are almost done, but I guess I can talk for a few more minutes," she relented.

"So, you haven't answered me. Do you miss me yet?"

"Yeah, a little, but don't read anything into it," she warned.

He pressed on. "Yeah right, I know you love me. I can't wait for the day when you realize it."

"It's not going to happen. Even if I had feelings for you, nothing would come of it. It wouldn't work between us. We're too different, and would end up hurting each other," she told him honestly.

"You say that now," he told her, leaving it open ended, like a promise for the future.

The dryer next to Madison buzzed. "I have to go now Cameron. My clothes are done, and I have to fold them before they wrinkle."

"Ah, my domestic goddess," he laughed. "Ok, I'll let you go, but I'm going to call you again soon."

"I'm not going to hold my breath. Get some sleep. I don't like you looking like hell in those pictures I see."

"Yes ma'am." He paused. "Good night Madison. I miss you."

She smiled. "Pleasant dreams," she replied, before hanging up and closing her phone. She missed him too, more than she wanted to admit.

W
ork seemed to consume Madison, and she was getting less and less sleep because of it. They had decided to change their hours, now closing an hour later to accommodate the increase in business. She was also losing weight from being on the go all the time.

Her nights out with Thomas had become less frequent, much to Sasha's dismay, and much to Bunny's joy. They still came to the restaurant often, and Madison would sit and talk to them for a few minutes each time.

On one of their normal nights, Madison was getting ready to tour the dining room, when Bunny peeked into the kitchen. She looked around and spotted Madison giving instructions to her chefs as she untied her apron. Seeing some of her staff looking to the door, Madison shifted her eyes in that direction. Bunny waved at her.

Madison's face lit up. "Bunny, I was just coming out to see if you and Sasha were here," she smiled, walking to the door.

Bunny stepped in, a look of uncertainty on her face. "I was wondering if I could talk to you in private for a moment?"

Madison frowned. This was odd. "Sure, let's go to my office." Madison put her hand on the older lady's back and led her down the hall. Once they were seated with the door shut, Madison tilted her head in concern. "Is there something wrong Bunny?"

"I was hoping that you could tell me that," she replied. Bunny reached out and put her hands over Madison's. "Are you doing well?"

Madison was taken back. Since her parents were no longer alive, she hadn't had a mother figure in her life for quite some time, and Bunny's concern made her feel like she had a motherly presence in her life again. Tears prickled her eyes as she looked at the care written on Bunny's face.

"Thank you so much for your concern Bunny, but I am fine. I've just been working a lot of hours, and haven't had much time to myself lately," she said, trying to reassure not only Bunny, but herself as well. It wasn't just the restaurant and chores that kept her up at night; it was her thoughts of Cameron, too. The pictures in the tabloids were disturbing to her, in each new one she saw, he looked worse and worse.

"Well, my dear, you need to promise me that you will start taking better care of yourself." The older woman smiled, though worry still showed in her eyes. "If there is anything I can ever do for you, please don't hesitate to ask. Maybe we can take a girl's day out and go shopping or something."

"That sounds wonderful, Bunny. As soon as things slow down here, I will definitely take you up on that offer." Madison stood. As much as she wanted to ask Bunny about Cameron, she just couldn't do it. "We better get you back out to Sasha. She might think I put you to work or something."

Bunny laughed. "As if..." She linked arms with Madison when she made her way out from behind her desk, and all Bunny could feel was bone. It seemed the girl had lost more weight than she realized. Her uniform did a good job hiding it.

Later that night, Bunny made a call to her son, hoping that there was something he could do. She knew there was something between the two of them; she just didn't know exactly what it was. She saw the looks Madison and Cameron exchanged each time they were near each other. She also noticed the challenging looks Thomas had thrown at Cameron during the charity events.

Cameron answered his phone on the second ring. "Mother? Is something wrong?" His mother never called when he was on tour. She didn't agree with the lifestyle he led on tour, so she chose to avoid it. If that meant not talking to her son for a couple of months, so be it.

"I'm not sure Cameron. It's about Madison," she started to tell him, before he interrupted.

"Madison! Is she okay? Did something happen to her?"

Bunny smiled, hearing the care and concern in his voice. So she was right after all, there were some feelings between them!

"I don't think it's anything major, but I believe she is just working herself too hard. Her sparkle has faded, and she has lost some weight. I'm worried she may end up in the hospital from exhaustion if she keeps up like this."

"She did sound tired the last time I talked to her, but she promised to start taking it easy," he told his mother, not thinking about how he was opening himself to a long list of questions.

Bunny raised an eyebrow. "When did you talk to her last?"

"It's been a while, probably too long. I think it was about three weeks ago, but I'm not exactly sure." He rubbed his forehead. "What can I do to help?"

"I'm not sure, dear. Maybe you should give her another call, try to talk her into slowing down a bit," she suggested, happy that she had made the call to her son.

"I was planning on calling her soon anyway, but things just get so hectic on the road." She heard him put his hand over the phone and talk to someone in the background. "I have to run Mother, but I will call to see if there's anything I can do."

"Thank you dear. I do hope you get through to her. And I hope that you are doing well," she told him. "I love you, son."

"You too, Mother. Bye." He hung up the phone, his thoughts on Madison and how he could help her out. But as his manager dragged him through the concert venue, his thoughts of Madison were lost, replaced by his mental preparation for the concert.

Madison fought to keep her eyes open as she sat in the Laundromat. She watched as her clothes spun in the dryer, around and around, almost mesmerizing her into slumber. Just as her head dropped forward, a loud shrilling noise jolted her. She looked all around, trying to figure out where the sound was coming from. She located her phone and flipped it open, not even looking at the call display.

"Hello, gorgeous," a familiar voice purred into her ear.

"Cameron?" She was surprised that he had called her again.

"Good guess. I'm glad there isn't another guy calling you on laundry night, calling you gorgeous." He laughed into the phone.

Madison's stomach flipped. She wondered if he really meant that or was just saying it to make conversation. "Nope, just you," she told him, realizing that she sounded a little sleepy. "How's everything going?"

"Not too bad, same old, same old. What about you?" he asked, not wanting to disclose that his mother had called, worried about her.

"The same, just working. We've been busier than I ever imagined. I think I owe much of that to your mother. I think she tells everyone she meets to come by and try the food," Madison laughed.

Cameron picked up on how hollow her laugh sounded. He could hear over the phone how tired she was, and he knew exactly what she needed. "Listen, I had a thought, and you really can't tell me no, because you owe me."

"I owe you?" Madison asked, suddenly annoyed with him. How could he think she owed him anything?

"Well, last time I saw you, I told you it was rude to walk out on me and not use the backstage passes that I gave you. Not only that, but you did attend those charity events with Thomas, and barely gave me a chance. So the way I look at it, you owe me," he explained.

"First of all, you'll remember that I did go backstage, and you were preoccupied," she reminded him.

"True enough, but you still can't tell me no." He took a deep breath, ready for the oncoming verbal assault. "I have a ticket for you at JFK airport, leaving tomorrow afternoon for you to come out and meet me on tour. It's only for a couple of days. You'll meet me in Indianapolis, see the show there, then travel with me to Chicago, then St. Louis, and fly back to New York from St. Louis."

She laughed out loud. "That's not funny."

"I'm not laughing, gorgeous."

He wasn't. There was a long pause while the request sank in.

"Cameron, have you forgotten that I have a restaurant to run?" she finally snapped. How dare he make these decisions for her?

"I know you have a great staff. Austin seems to handle things very well."

"Besides, I already told you that our lives are too different. I'm not into partying and watching girls crawl all over you."

"No girls will crawl all over me," he said. "You can keep them away."

As much as it made her mad that he assumed she'd leave her responsibilities behind to go 'play', she was also tempted to take him up on his offer. Not only did she need a break, but she missed him terribly.

"Listen, I'm sorry that it sounds like I am dictating your life, but the truth is, I need you. I need a sense of normalcy right now. I feel like I am going crazy touring, and we still have three weeks left to go," he told her honestly. "I need someone to ground me, and you seem to have a knack for that."