Chapter 59
Melody
Melody heaved a giant sigh of relief when she stepped out of the Apple Store with her fully charged and functional new iPhone, all her contacts and data successfully ported.
Her phone pinged with notification after notification as it caught her up on everything she’d missed over the past day.
And it was a lot, apparently. Her eyes must have looked comically wide as she noticed she had seventy-three new text messages and twelve missed calls.
And did she really have hundreds of social media notifications? That couldn’t be possible, could it?
Melody’s finger hovered briefly over Ben’s name. He’d sent her five messages while her phone was offline.
A mantle of nervous tension settled over her. She rolled her shoulders and tried to literally shrug away the muscle tightness before she took the plunge and opened his messages.
She’d seen the press conference recap when she woke up this morning and knew down to her marrow that Ben wasn’t the type of man to “hit it and quit it” as some of the reporters covering the story had crassly put it, but the whole experience had left her feeling rather raw.
She hadn’t been prepared for the type of emotional turmoil that went along with having her boyfriend’s reputation dragged through the mud. And in the public eye, no less.
She took a steadying breath and started to read through his missed texts.
Ben: Hi, Melody. I’m not sure if you’ve heard yet, but I’ve been accused of impregnating a one-night stand and then ignoring her. It’s all over the news. I’d like to think you would know this, but just in case you don’t, the allegations are completely false.
Melody couldn’t help but cringe as guilt overtook her. When she’d first heard the news, she’d had a brief moment of doubt, questioning whether it could be true. She’d quickly dismissed it as highly unlikely, but she had doubted him. If only briefly. Call it a casualty of his profession.
Ben: Shawna is arranging a press conference ASAP so I can address the allegations. Hopefully, that will be the end of it.
Ben: I’m heading into the press conference now. I won’t be able to use my phone, but I’d still love to hear from you.
Ben: It’s close to midnight. Are you okay? Did you get home safely? Did you see the press conference?
Ben: Melody? It’s 3 am. I’m freaking out here, sweetheart. I don’t know what’s going through your head right now, but whatever it is, please just tell me that you’re okay. I’m worried. Please?
Guilt surged through her and she hastened to type out a response.
Melody: I’m so sorry to have made you worry. I got home safely but dropped my phone on the floor. It was fully busted. My phone is only just up and running, the number ported to a brand-new device. I’m sorry to know I worried you.
Ben didn’t waste any time responding. She could see the bouncing dots that indicated he was typing out a response.
Uncertain whether she had the emotional energy right now to discuss Ben’s brief portrayal as a derelict playboy or the insecurities it had triggered in her, she quickly typed out another response.
Melody: I’m just running to a meeting. Talk soon.
She sighed a breath of relief before sliding her phone into her purse. Somehow, it didn’t feel like the right time to tell him her lunch meeting was with Nolan.
Melody knew she and Ben would have to talk things out eventually, but it didn’t have to be now, and it didn’t have to be over text.
Even though she suspected she hadn’t given him anywhere near the reassurance he’d been looking for, she could at least feel some measure of comfort knowing she’d responded to him and assuaged his concerns regarding her safety.
And she really did have to run. As it was, she’d have to hoof it if she was going to meet Nolan on time.
Grateful for the comfortable shoes that allowed her to walk at a fast clip without risking tripping over her own feet, Melody trotted up to the door just on time.
She went inside and surveyed the quaint little bistro. She smiled at its welcoming atmosphere. She’d never been, but something about it made her feel as though she had.
“Melody!” Nolan called out with a friendly wave from one of the tables in a side nook.
She smiled at his enthusiastic greeting, a feeling of warmth and ease suffusing her as he rose to his feet.
Despite his weeks of overwork, Nolan still looked good.
His intelligent ice-blue eyes, styled dark brown hair, and preppy attire spoke of both good genetics and solid grooming practices.
His eyes might have held a hint of extra tiredness, and his scruff might look ever-so-slightly less maintained, but these supposed imperfections only added to his appeal.
Maybe it was because it made him look more real and less movie-star perfect.
When Melody reached their table, Nolan took a few steps toward her, smiled broadly, and pulled her into a friendly hug.
It could have had something to do with the fact he worked in a caring profession, but the man gave great hugs.
He somehow knew how to employ just the right amount of gentle squeeze to leave her feeling soothed and comforted without feeling like her personal space had been encroached upon.
Nolan’s arms didn’t feel like coming home the same way that Ben’s did, but there was something heartening about his embrace.
He didn’t hold her for overlong, which Melody appreciated, but she couldn’t deny that the brief contact had somehow managed to settle her.
It was a very welcome feeling after the twenty-four hours she’d just had.
“It’s good to see you,” Nolan said, retaking his seat. The smile he shot her way was both friendly and admiring.
“You, too,” Melody answered honestly.
Nolan pushed up his shirtsleeves before casually resting his forearms on the table. “I’m really sorry it took me so long to get back in touch.”
“Please don’t apologize,” Melody responded as she leaned in and rested her own arms on the table. “You warned me that you were going to be busy.”
“I know I did,” he answered as he used his hand to push back a lock of hair that had fallen over his forehead. “I’m just sorry I didn’t make time to call or text. My life has been a zoo, but I should have done better.”
“It’s okay,” Melody reassured.
Despite how conflicted Melody was currently feeling about her relationship with Ben, the part of her that was still hopeful they could work things out—in spite of the challenges now smacking her in the face—was sure to point out that, no matter how busy Ben got, he always made sure to reach out and find a way to let her know he was thinking about her.
Even when he’d forgotten his cellphone at his photo shoot, barely a day had gone by before he’d reconnected with her.
Melody made sure to remind herself that it wasn’t a competition, but it was hard to ignore the fact that Nolan had gone weeks without getting in touch.
“So, what looks good to you?” Melody asked in an attempt to pull her thoughts away from Ben and her surrounding uncertainties. She inclined her head toward the menu she’d seen Nolan holding when she first walked in.
“They have a blue cheese and apple sandwich that looks interesting,” he said with a thoughtful tilt of his head.
Melody smiled fondly—and with a certain measure of relief that trying to kiss her likely wasn’t on his radar if he’d decided to order something containing blue cheese—and sunk into their easy camaraderie in much the same way she would a pair of well-worn slippers.
Despite their short acquaintance, there was something about Nolan that made her feel at ease around him, like they’d known each other for ages.
“So, how’ve you been?” he asked as she perused her menu. She wasn’t overly hungry, but she might order something to nibble on if anything caught her interest.
Melody took her eyes off the menu and glanced up at Nolan. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught two young women—girls, really—who were staring at her and whispering behind their hands.
Melody sighed heavily, not even sure what she’d been about to say. “It’s been a pretty eventful few weeks, actually.”
“Oh yeah?” Nolan asked as he settled himself more comfortably in his seat.
“Yeah,” she breathed out, even though she couldn’t help but feel “eventful” had been putting it mildly.
“It sounds like quite the story,” Nolan observed.
Melody glanced over at the girls again. Yup. They still had their eyes trained on her.
Melody let out an audible exhalation. “The truth of the matter is I started seeing someone else over the past few weeks,” she shared bluntly.
She wasn’t sure what the modern dating handbook said about how much information she was supposed to disclose on the matter, but she was tired of looking outside of herself to determine how she should act, especially when she found the mere notion of navigating through all the “shoulds” too exhausting to even contemplate now.
So much of her emotional energy was already tied up in her confusion and uncertainty about whether she would find the strength to move forward in her relationship with Ben that she just didn’t have the bandwidth to try and filter her words.
Plus, her gut told her she owed Nolan her honesty.
“Okay,” Nolan acknowledged. He waited patiently for her to continue, as if knowing she had more she needed to say on the matter.
“Ben and I went out on our first date the same week we went to Snakes & Lattes,” Melody explained. “And things progressed pretty rapidly after that.”
Melody glanced up at Nolan to find him watching her thoughtfully.
“Why do I sense a ‘but’?” he asked.
Melody’s eyebrows furrowed. “You’re an insightful man. Do you know that?”
Nolan smiled gently. “So I’ve been told.”
“Maybe you’ve heard some of the story on the news?” Melody wondered aloud.
Nolan’s eyes popped wide open with that disclosure. “The news?” he asked, a little dumbfounded.
Melody then proceeded to tell Nolan the whole story—at least the PG-13 version—of her relationship with Ben, up to and including the Cynthia Hargraves scandal.
“Oh, jeez,” Nolan offered up, his tone commiserating, once she’d finished her tale.
“Oh, jeez indeed,” Melody sighed.
Nolan ruffled his hair absentmindedly. “I kind of already knew that I turned into a bit of an ostrich when things get super busy at work, but this certainly proves it,” he observed.
Melody wasn’t sure how to answer that, so she just smiled and shrugged.
“So, what now?” Nolan asked. His tone suggested he was merely curious, but Melody got the impression he was invested in her answer.
“I don’t know,” Melody answered with honesty.
“I won’t lie and pretend I don’t care for him, but I don’t know if I have it in me to live my life in the spotlight cast by a high-profile career.
It’s a relationship complication I didn’t really consider as thoroughly as I should have.
” She breathed out another heavy sigh, as though the release of her breath might somehow help to ease the emotional burden she was carrying.
“That’s fair,” Nolan observed. “You might have processed what dating a celebrity might be like logically, but no one can fault you for not knowing how you might deal with it emotionally until something came up.”
“Thank you for saying that,” Melody replied gratefully. “It’s easy to feel like it’s my own fault that I’m taking this as hard as I am. I feel like I should have been more prepared. Seen this coming.”
Nolan reached across the table and laid a comforting hand on her forearm. His hand only touched her skin for a moment, but the sensation of his comfort lingered.
“I’m sorry,” Melody apologized and meant it. “You’re probably one of the last people I should be talking this out with.”
“I disagree,” Nolan surprised her by answering. “I think I’m exactly the right person.”
Melody started a little at his response. Her eyes sought out and found a deeper connection with his.
“Do I wish you hadn’t met someone else or that I hadn’t ignored my grandpa’s prodding to meet you for so long?” Nolan continued. “Yes. Yes, I do. But I respect your honesty. That’s the foundation every good relationship needs—no matter its type.”
“So, you’re saying you’d be happy to just be my friend?” she sought to confirm.
Nolan shifted more upright. “Let me return your honesty with some of my own, Melody,” he said clearly.
“I will respect your relationship if you decide to continue being in one but make no mistake: I want more from you than friendship if that’s on the table, but I’m willing to wait to pursue anything romantic until you’re officially single. ”
When she responded, her voice was barely stronger than a whisper. “You make it sound like it’s a foregone conclusion that Ben and I won’t weather this. What if we do? What then?”
“I don’t know,” Nolan admitted. “Let’s wait to cross that bridge until we get to it.”
“Are you sure you’re okay with that? You seem like a really great guy and the last thing I want to do is risk leading you on.”
“You aren’t,” Nolan said with a conviction she found reassuring. “You’ve been straight up with me and this is the decision I’m making. Do I hope things don’t work out with this other guy? I won’t lie. Selfishly, I do hope that. I find myself unwilling to give up on you.”
Melody looked askance at him.
“Because I feel like you’d be a mighty fine lady to know—in any capacity,” Nolan shared.
Whoa, boy. How was a girl to resist a sentiment and an offer like that? Her heart might still be set on Ben, but it couldn’t help but flutter at Nolan’s incredibly kind words.