“Spill it,”Harmony orders as I talk with her over the phone the next morning while I wolf down a bowl of cereal. “Did you get anything on Axel that we can use?”
I hurriedly chew and swallow. “Well, he volunteers at a soup kitchen.”
“Really? That doesn’t sound like the self-centered Axel we know.”
Guilt splashes over me. She means the Axel that Jovie Chord, aka me, villainized. Even though I think of Harmony as more of one of those friends who can be super annoying and pushy, she’s my boss. It wouldn’t be good for her to regard me as a hack journalist who’s been writing stories without verifying the facts. I was just so sure that I knew the type of person Axel was. I didn’t feel it necessary to do any deeper digging. Now, my shortsightedness … err, grudge is coming back to haunt me. I scramble for a way to navigate this. “Actually, he funds the soup kitchen and outreach center.” I don’t know what the situation is with the man Axel was asking about at the soup kitchen. There may be a story there, but I’m not ready to mention that to Harmony. Not until I found out more.
“He funds a soup kitchen? That’s unexpected.”
“Yes.”
Long pause. “Have you found out anything about his split from the band?”
“Not yet.”
She takes in a breath. “Well, keep at it.” Her voice lifts. “On a brighter note, I’m working the story from another angle and hope to have some info soon.”
I bunch my brows. “What angle?” I don’t like the idea of Harmony going around me.
“Do you remember Rachel King?”
“No, I don’t think so. Is she from Mt. Pleasant?”
“She is. Rachel and I were cheerleaders together. She’s been dating Max Wilson.”
Max is the only other member of the band from Mt. Pleasant. He and Axel have been tight ever since high school. In fact, they started the band together. I have to admit—I’m impressed with Harmony’s ingenuity. Max would be a great source.
“I’m hoping Rachel can give me some details about what happened. I contacted her through Facebook. When I didn’t hear back, I tracked down her mom, who gave me Rachel’s number and told me she’s on a Caribbean Cruise with some of her work friends. I called, but she didn’t answer, so I sent her a text and am waiting to hear back.”
“Is Max on the cruise with her?”
“I’m not sure. Rachel’s mother didn’t say.”
“Okay.” I chew the inside of my cheek. “Let me know what you find out.”
“Will do.” As I end the call, the scope of my predicament twists my stomach. I’m a professional and have set out to do a job. I can’t let my emotions cloud my judgement.
It’s good that Axel and I didn’t kiss. I have to keep reminding myself of this. However, I don’t know if I necessarily believeit. Maybe if we had, then I could finally put this ridiculous childhood crush to bed once and for all. Now, I’m hung up on theWhat if. What if the kiss had been a dud? Or what if it had been as incredible as I imagined back when I was stupidly naïve and thought myself to be hopelessly in love with Axel … err, Seth?
It's not like I’ve been pining away for Seth since high school. I thought I had moved on. And then when I got the job atThe See, I was trying to figure out which path Jovie Chord should take. As it so happened, I had recently dumped my boyfriend at the time because I discovered on Valentine’s Day that he was a low-down, cheating jerk. He claimed he was sick and couldn’t go to dinner. Dumb me, I bought his lie—hook, line, and sinker. I took him some chicken noodle soup and a loaf of sourdough bread, only to find him snuggled up on the couch with his coworker, who was giving him a thorough tonsil inspection, if you know what I mean. I dumped the soup on his head and tromped home in a steaming ball of fury. When I got on my computer, an article about Axel happened to pop up. All of my past frustration came to a head, and suddenly, I had my new favorite subject to write about.
And I haven’t felt a smidgen of guilt about any of it.
Until now …
I’ll be glad when I can get the scoop on this stupid story and move on. Axel is messing with my head in a big way. How will it be to face him today? Will he act strangely? Axel is so dedicated to his craft. I hate the idea of leaving him in the lurch for the benefit. If my mom knew what I was doing, she’d chew me out. Mom has ingrained in me the importance of always finishing what I start. Gah! That’s just not possible this time. I guess I could go incognito in some sort of ridiculous disguise. Would Axel go for us dressing up as Santa and his elf? I highly doubt it.
When I get to Axel’s house, there’s a Porsche SUV in the driveway. I go inside to find Axel and Bianca at the kitchen table,talking like old friends. Meanwhile, Consuela and Diego are hard at work on the next tree.
“Good morning,” Axel says with a broad smile.
“Hey.” I throw a glance at Bianca, wondering how this will go down. She obviously knows I haven’t been wrapping lights on trees. I’m surprised she’s not springing up to claw my eyes out.
My distress must show on my face because Axel jumps in to explain. “I told Bianca how you stepped in to help with the benefit. And how I brought Consuela and Diego in so we wouldn’t lose traction on decorating for the party. It’s working out well for everyone.”
“Yes, that certainly seems to be the case.” Bianca gives Axel such a cheerful smile that I relax a fraction. Disaster averted … at least for now. She rises to her feet. “I should get going.” The corners of her mouth turn down in sympathy as she studies Axel. “How are you holding up with Zoe being gone? I’m sure you miss her terribly.”
Axel rubs his neck. “Yeah, but I’m used to it. She travels a lot.” He pauses. “Truth be told, London and I’ve been so busy getting ready for the benefit that I haven’t had time to think about anything else.”
