Taste of Love - By Stephanie Nicole Page 0,25

for friendship, rather than romance," he said, purposely busying himself by taking out the containers of food so that he didn't have to look at her while explaining.

Madison laid a hand on his arm, stopping him. He looked at her. Their eyes met, and she gave him a genuine smile. "I think it's a great idea, Cameron. Thank you."

The tension between them instantly melted. Cameron finished unpacking the food. Madison thought she wouldn't be able to eat anything, but one whiff of the French fries and she was starving. He put in the first movie, and Madison moved over to make room for him on the bed.

And so it was that Madison and Cameron - once bitter enemies -- had a pleasant time watching movies, eating, and getting to know each other.

"You know, for a wild rock star, you're a pretty decent guy," she told him, as they lay side by side on her bed talking after the movies were over.

"Yeah, my mom and my nanny raised me right," he said with a laugh. "Actually, I'll let you in on a little secret."

"Yeah?"

"I'm not all that wild," he whispered.

"Yeah, right. I Googled you, I know your deal."

"No, really. I may be a pain in the ass sometimes and want to get my way, but for the most part, I'm a pretty normal guy. I get a little crazy out on tour, but mostly because it's what fans expect of me, rather than how I really am. Yes, I like to drink and have a good time, but the tabloids make it out to be far worse than it really is."

Madison gave it some thought. "You know...I can almost buy that."

He laughed. "I so rarely get to be myself that sometimes I forget who that is. My mother expects me to be a 'proper young man'; speak properly, walk properly, behave properly. Then my fans expect me to raise hell all the time, but really, I'm just a guy somewhere in between."

Madison nodded. "I can see that," she said. "Think the tabloids would imagine you would show up at a woman's bedside with cheeseburgers and movies and be so nice to her?"

"It's easy to be nice to you," he said.

"Thank you for coming tonight and taking my mind off everything. It means more to me than you could imagine."

Cameron met her eyes. "It meant a lot to me too. I know that I wasn't exactly on board the whole time that you were pregnant, but in my own way, I was beginning to like the idea of being a father."

Madison's eyes began to water at Cameron's admission. He took her chin in his hands. "You're going to get through this. We're going to get through this, together. I am truly sorry for being such a dick before."

She shook her head. "You must hate me. It's my fault," she said, before the waterworks came on full force. "I should have been happier about the baby. I should have slowed down at work. It's my fault that I lost our baby."

Cameron shook his head vehemently and made her look up at him. "No!" he insisted. "It's not your fault in any way. The doctor said that these things happen, and you did nothing wrong. You've got to stop thinking that way. Do you hear me?"

Madison looked up at him.

"I don't blame you," he said with such certainty that there was no choice but to believe him. "I would never, ever blame you."

Seeing that he wasn't lying, and that he didn't blame her, she felt a little weight lifted off her shoulders. "I'm so sorry."

"I know." He pulled her close to him and wrapped his arms around her. He rocked her body with his as the tears kept coming. "I'm sorry too."

The shrill ringing of the phone woke them both from their slumber a few hours later. They both looked at each other and jumped apart as if they'd been pricked. Madison picked up the phone that was next to her bed, and Cameron stood and began collecting the movies that he had brought over.

"Oh, hi, Austin. No, it's alright, we'd...I'd just fallen asleep." After listening to the earpiece for a moment, her face grew rigid. "Yes, he's still here. He came over to help me through a difficult night, not that it's any of your business."

Cameron looked back at her and raised an eyebrow. She rolled her eyes. She listened for a moment, then sighed. "I'm not going to fight with you about