The Mighty Quinns: Dermot-Dex. Kate Hoffmann

might be splashed all over the covers of the tabloids a few days later. She’d lived her life paralyzed about what the press would say, always suspicious of strangers and wary of friends.

      It had been simple for her mother to maintain control. After all, she was the only one that Maddie could truly trust. But lately, Maddie had begun to notice that her mother had motives of her own. More money, more fame, more of everything that she’d come to enjoy. And when Maddie had mentioned that she might want to give up performing and just focus on songwriting, her mother’s true feelings had burst forth.

      Why couldn’t she have had a normal life? A childhood filled with friends and school, a world where there was still so much opportunity laid out in front of her. Maddie felt as if she’d already lived a lifetime. She felt old and tired, cynical and unhappy with life.

      “I guess I owe you,” she said softly, brushing aside the urge to kiss him. Maddie reached into her pocket and counted out one hundred dollars. “Here. This is for buying the ticket.”

      He shook his head. “That’s all right. You hang on to it. I know where to find you if I need it.”

      “I’m really tired,” she said with a soft sigh.

      Kieran patted his shoulder. “Here, you can lean up against me. Close your eyes and take a nap. We’ve got a long ride ahead of us.”

      “You’re a really nice guy,” she murmured as she wrapped her arms around his. Pressing her cheek to his sleeve, she drew in a long breath. “You smell good, too.”

      Kieran chuckled. “I wouldn’t breathe in too deeply. I’ve been on a bus for twenty-four hours. I could use a long, hot shower and some clean clothes.”

      “Me, too,” she said. “A shower would be perfect.” Maddie closed her eyes and let her thoughts drift. But they didn’t wander back to the life she’d run out on, her mother’s angry face or her manager’s warnings that her career would be over if she didn’t perform. Instead, they focused on the man who had rescued her from certain discovery.

      It sure was nice to have someone in her corner for once.

       2

      FOR THE FIRST time since he’d boarded the bus in Seattle, Kieran slept. Not just a half-conscious, restless nap interrupted by the slightest noise or jolt. He was out, completely unaware of his surroundings, lost in a deep, satisfying slumber.

      Afterward, he and Maddie chatted, learning a little bit more about each other as the Kansas landscape passed by. Chatted, he thought to himself. That was a benign word for what they’d done. Full-on flirting was a more apt description. They’d laughed and teased, injecting tiny sexual innuendos into the conversation at every turn.

      And when the teasing wasn’t enough, there had been the casual, almost accidental physical contact. A touch here and there, her warm hand on his arm or his face, his shoulder bumping against hers.

      When they’d grown bored with silly stories, they’d found a discarded book of crossword puzzles in the overhead bin and had filled in the empty spots on the half-finished puzzles, arguing over the answers playfully.

      It was the most fun he’d had with a woman in—well, ever. He could be himself with her, not afraid to reveal the flaws he kept secret from others.

      She found his obsession with financial matters charming and his constant checking of the schedule strange. She’d called him a “stuffypants” and a “human calculator,” not to mention a few other things that he might have taken as insults coming from anyone else. But Kieran liked that she spoke her mind.

      And yet, they hadn’t talked about anything serious, or anything real. He still didn’t know the circumstances that brought her to the bus station or why she felt the need to run. All she’d said was that the life she’d left had become too much for her.

      The lunch stop had been at a small diner along the interstate and once again, Maddie had ordered four or five entrees from the menu, then picked through them until she found something that piqued her interest—this time a grilled cheese sandwich and a strawberry shake. Kieran hadn’t even bothered to order. He simply enjoyed the dishes she rejected. He was getting to know her faults as well, and didn’t mind them a bit.

      They pulled into Topeka at a quarter after eight in the evening, fifteen minutes earlier than scheduled. He thought about getting out for something to drink, but Maddie was dozing beside him, her arms wrapped around his, her cheek resting on his shoulder.

      As he stretched his other arm over his head, he noticed two young girls standing in the aisle staring at him. “Hi, there,” he murmured.

      They giggled and pointed to Maddie. “Is that Maddie West?” they asked.

      Kieran frowned. He should have suspected his Maddie was using an alias. “Who is Maddie West?” he whispered.

      “The country singer,” one of the girls said. “Can we have her autograph?”

      “This isn’t Maddie West,” he said calmly. “Sorry. She gets that all the time. Her name is Alice. Alice Smith. But I’ll tell her you thought she was Maddie West. She’ll get a kick out of it.”

      The girls walked down the aisle and out of the bus, disappointed. Kieran looked at the woman sleeping beside him. So she was Maddie West, country singer? Now, suddenly, the reason she’d had the two goons looking for her made perfect sense. They were probably her bodyguards. And for all he knew, they believed she’d been abducted. Maybe it was about time for some answers.

      Kieran turned and shook her gently. “Maddie,” he whispered. “Maddie, wake up.” She groaned softly. “Maddie, they need you onstage.”

      Maddie’s eyes flew open and she jolted upright, scrambling to pull her hood over her tousled hair. “What? Now?” Rubbing her eyes, she looked around the bus, then groaned. “What are you doing? Why would you do that to me?”

      “I think maybe it’s time for you to tell me the truth. The whole story.”

      “There is no story.”

      “Then maybe I should tell those little girls out there that they can come back and get Maddie West’s autograph. Because they seemed pretty damned impressed that they were on the same bus as a big country-music star.”

      With a low curse, she sank down in her seat. “Oh, great. There’s nowhere I can go in this world to get away from it. It follows me everywhere.”

      “Not everywhere. I didn’t recognize you. But then, I’m really not a fan.”

      “I figured that out right away. It was one of your most endearing qualities.” She quickly stood. “I have to get out of here. If those girls recognized me, then it won’t be long until everyone on the bus is looking at me.”

      “Where are you going to go?”

      “I don’t know. Where are my sunglasses?” He handed them to her and she put them back on her nose, then pulled her hood over her hair. “I can’t stay here.” Maddie held out her hand. “Thanks for everything. I really appreciate you riding to my rescue.” When he refused to shake her hand, she turned to hurry down the aisle, then paused.

      A moment later, she stumbled back to him and threw her arms around his neck. Her lips met his, soft and sweet and unbelievably exciting. Kieran slipped his hands around her waist and pulled her closer. The kiss was so unexpected and yet so perfect.

      Her lips parted and Kieran took the invitation to explore more deeply. A tiny moan slipped from her throat as their tongues met and his hands slipped beneath the sweatshirt, circling a tiny waist and pulling her down into his lap.

      He’d known this girl, this woman, for a half day and yet, they seemed to sense what the other wanted from the kiss. Kieran settled her against his body, furrowing his fingers through her hair. The high backs of the seats hid them from the view of the passengers still on the bus and they lost themselves in a rare moment of privacy.