Part 3
Inside the bus, AJ spotted the little girl again. "There she is!" he exclaimed. Pointing, he said, "Drew, see that little girl on the guy’s shoulders?"
"Yeah."
"Bring her to the front of the crowd and make sure her mother is with her."
"What if that’s her boyfriend or husband?" questioned Brian.
"I have to find out," said AJ not taking his eyes off the little girl.
AJ was next off and as Drew went to do the favor for him, he signed autographs for fans next to the bus. He’d wait to go to the other side until Drew gave him the thumbs up. The wait wasn’t long and Drew was tapping him on the shoulder.
Moving quickly to the other side, AJ came face to face with the most incredible blue eyes he’d ever seen. "Hey," he said shyly.
Annie piped up as she shoved her lunchbox into AJ’s face, "Would you please sign this, AJ?"
AJ smiled and took the lunchbox as he knelt down to talk to the little girl. "Are you okay? I saw you get knocked down earlier."
Annie blushed, "Yes sir, I’m fine."
Standing up, AJ looked at Chelsea. "I had security bring you up so I could be sure to sign something for your daughter. I don’t like to see anyone get hurt or knocked down like she did."
"Thank you," smiled Chelsea. "You’re her favorite so that made it even better."
"Can I sign something for you?"
"Taking care of my daughter is enough. Thank you."
Taking her hand, he turned it over so he could write on her palm and lowered his voice. As he wrote, he whispered, "This is my cell number. Call me after the show."
Chelsea’s face felt like it was on fire as she looked at the number written on her palm. God, she would love to call but she wasn’t ready to get involved with someone else who would leave her the way Annie’s father had. She just couldn’t go through that heartache again and she didn’t want to put Annie through it either.
Politely, she said, "I’ll think about it."
"Enjoy the show," he said giving her hand a squeeze. Before going on to sign other autographs, AJ bent to give Annie a kiss on the cheek and said, "Be careful inside, okay."
"Yes sir."
It had been forever since she’d had a man’s attention. Well, actually, it had been forever since she’d WANTED a man’s attention. She’d had plenty of guys asking her out and wanting to be with her but she’d always brushed them off, more because she was afraid of getting hurt again. Annie was her excuse and generally, when guys found out she had a little girl or that she was studying to be a lawyer or something else that was intimidating, they didn’t push the matter. Maybe he’d be different….but should she really take that chance and risk breaking Annie’s heart…not to mention her own? No, she had to stand by her convictions….NO involvement with someone who would simply walk out of her life and leave her to pick up the pieces alone.
