Waking Up to You Overexposed - By Leslie Kelly Page 0,62

did not want it to be like this. Not tonight, on what had been, up until a few minutes ago, one of the most magical she had ever experienced.

Suddenly, she spied a face in the shifting crowd. Her worst fears were coming true. Her heart thudded in her chest and sweat broke out on her brow. This couldn’t be happening!

But it was. As fans drew closer, asking Tommy for autographs, she saw Oliver’s face in the crowd. He stood about twenty feet away, his attention glued on her, his face expressionless. How long he’d been standing there, she had no idea. Considering Tommy was hugging her to his side like she was his prized possession, she could only imagine what he was thinking.

The worst.

“No,” she whispered.

Tommy, probably thinking she was nervous about the growing hysteria of his largely female fan riot, dropped a possessive arm over her shoulder and hugged her tightly against his side. “Hey, folks, don’t freak out my fiancée, okay? I don’t want to scare her off before I get her down the aisle.”

The words caused a stir in the hallway, and every whispering person in the hallway gaped at her, most of the women eyeing her with jealousy, the men assessing her looks.

And then there was Oliver. She watched as shock washed over him, his dark eyes widening, his mouth moving, though she couldn’t hear a word he said. Of course, she really didn’t need to. Because, as the truth of the situation hit him—at least, the truth as he saw it—he drew himself up stiffly and thrust out his jaw. His shoulders squared, his eyes cold, he nodded briefly in her direction. Then he turned and walked away, heading for the lobby and, she imagined, the exit.

“Tommy, let go,” she insisted, knowing she had to go after Oliver and try to explain.

“It’s okay, honey, we’ll get up to our room soon,” Tommy said, overplaying the part of horny lover. She would bet he’d rather be chatting up the superhot waiter who was hovering near the banquet room door.

Just as she was ready to pound on his chest and scream at him to let her go, she saw another familiar face. It was Madison. She stood in the lobby and was jumping up and down, waving her arms over her head, trying to be seen above the crowd.

Her sister. Her twin. That was just who she needed.

“I, uh, need to use the facilities,” she said to Tommy, knowing her face was red with frustration and anger. Hopefully his adoring fans would think she was blushing over the behavior of her flirtatious fiancé, or at least because she’d had to make a public issue out of needing to use the damn john.

He finally let her go, but pressed a quick kiss on her lips before she could escape. “Hurry back sweet cheeks.”

She growled at him, and for the first time since he’d arrived, he finally looked her fully in the face and realized she was absolutely furious. And positively devastated.

“Babe?”

“I’ll deal with you later,” she snapped, pushing her way through the throng, who continued to converge on Tommy, gushing over his films. Nobody paid her much attention, and she slipped away, hugging the wall, until she reached the lobby.

She didn’t see Oliver anywhere. But she did see her twin’s head as Madison ducked down another hallway. She followed her, rounding a corner as Mad disappeared into what turned out to be a ladies’ room.

Hurrying in after her, she bumped into her sister, who’d been waiting anxiously by the door.

“Oh, God, Madison!”

“I know, I know,” she said, grabbing Candace and hugging her.

“How? When...”

“I was at the center and went to the cafeteria to get Grandpa some ice cream. When I came back, he said Tommy had called, looking for you because you weren’t answering your cell. He had just landed at the airport and wanted to know where you were.”

Of course Grandpa would tell him. He’d known Tommy since they were kids and probably thought his surprise would be a wonderful one for Candace.

“As soon as he told me, I started trying to call you.”

“I forgot to turn my phone back on,” she admitted.

“Where’s Oliver? Did he...”

“Yes. He saw. He turned around and left.” She sniffed, trying to hold in a sob as she imagined how he was feeling. “He’ll probably never speak to me again.”

Madison stepped back, gripping Candace’s shoulders, looking into her face, her expression serious. “Is that for the best, do you think? I mean,