Take Two by Laurelin Paige Page A

anytime.”
    “It’s no problem. The waitress wanted my autograph anyway but couldn’t get the nerve to ask. Now she’ll have it.”
    So he had noticed the waitress. Sure Micah had more money than God, but treating everyone was a nice gesture and Maddie saved her own acknowledgement until she had his full attention. “Thank you.”
    He nodded and she felt his eyes as she stood, grabbing her purse from where it hung on the back of Sam’s chair. She waved and started out of the bar.
    Before she’d made it to the street, her phone buzzed with a text from Micah from the party . She grinned at his entry then read his text. No, Maddie. Thank you.
    She wasn’t sure if he was thanking her for Breckenridge or the handjob, probably the latter. What struck her was the effort he was making to get her…it made her tummy swirl with a storm of butterflies.
    But it also made her dizzy and disoriented. Why her? She’d said no, more than once. If he was really only interested in a lay, why was he still trying to win her? Was it the thrill of the chase? Had her refusal read to him as playing hard to get?
    It was the uncertainty and the fear of leading him into pursuing her more that kept her from responding to his message. Instead, she closed his text and pretended she could put the man out of her head as easily as she stowed her phone in her pocket.

Chapter Ten
    “The last one intrigued me,” Maddie said as they neared the venue of the next movie they planned to see. Out of the three films they’d seen so far, the last had been the only one halfway decent. Still, she was having fun with Joe, Chloe, Sam, and even Fudge and Micah. As promised, Breckenridge was beautiful, and she enjoyed getting in touch with what other artists were doing. Such days never failed to inspire her.
    “Agreed,” Joe said, walking into the old movie theater. “It wasn’t exceptional, but it had something.”
    “It was sort of creepy,” Fudge said, holding the door for Maddie.
    “It was brave,” she said, walking in to the lobby.
    “The satire was perfect,” Micah chimed in behind her. “Clearly influenced by Brandon Ellis.”
    Maddie faced him. “Ellis? I’d say more Armon Petri.”
    “I’ve never even heard of Armor Peteri or whoever.” Chloe rubbed at her mouth. “My God, it’s so dry here. Does anyone have any lip shit?”
    “No, definitely Ellis,” Micah insisted, removing his baseball cap and pushing his sunglasses to his head. “I think Maddie has some ChapStick.”
    Maddie blushed, ignoring the glint in his eye and the memory of her hand on his privates as she dug into her purse for her ChapStick. “It’s almost gone, but take it.” She handed the tube to Chloe. She turned back to Micah, not letting the intimate flashback interrupt the debate. “ Insanity in America would never have existed without films like Suspicion .”
    “But I guarantee you that”—Micah pulled his crumpled program from his back pocket and flipped until he found what he was looking for—“Todd Nichols never in his life saw a Petri film or Derr or Sello, for that matter, so I’m calling Todd’s influence Ellis.”
    Maddie pursed her lips. Few people could keep up with her on film history. Even in the biz, she never ceased to be surprised by how many people had no idea about the background of their art. Micah’s ability to intelligently and convincingly hold his end of the debate warmed her core. “Just because the artist is unaware of the influence doesn’t mean it isn’t valid,” she argued, less forcefully than before.
    “I think you’re mistaking influence with roots.”
    “I got the tickets,” Sam cut in. Maddie hadn’t noticed he’d gone to the ticket counter. “This one’s popular. We need to get in if we want to find seats.”
    “Lead the way,” she said. Thankfully, Sam wasn’t acting weird after the drive up. In the backseat of the van where he sat with Maddie, he’d taken her hand. Maddie had pulled away—gently, but