Part 7
Kevin’s mind was so chaotic that he was amazed that he could even focus on the interview in the first place. He had so many questions. Did she still love him? Was she mad at him for the way it had ended and if she was mad, would she forgive him? He’d thought of her frequently over the years and wondered how she was doing? Was it even Chelsea out there? It had to be. AJ had described her the same way he’d always described her….her eyes definitely being the most memorable thing about her. And the star pendant….that was the final thing that convinced him that it had to be her.
“Look, Kevin…it’s a shooting star!” she bubbled.
“Close your eyes, baby, and make a wish,” he whispered in her ear.
She did as he requested and he slipped the necklace around her neck.
“What is it?” she asked as she felt the pendant on her chest.
“It’s a shooting star so all your wishes can come true.”
“Oh, Kevin!! That’s soooo sweet,” she gushed as she turned in her arms. “I’ll never take it off.”
An elbow in his ribs brought Kevin back to the present and Howie asked, “Are you going to be okay?”
“I don’t know. Have you seen Marcus?”
“He’s talking to AJ.”
Across the room, Marcus was with AJ who asked, “How much time do I have before the meet and greet?”
“None, bro! They’re waiting now. Why? What’s up?”
“There’s this really gorgeous lady out front with her little girl. I gave her my cell number and told her to call me after the show but I didn’t get her name. I thought I’d go out and try to find her.”
Marcus knew from Kevin that AJ was interested in Chelsea and he was thrilled. He adored her and felt really bad that Kevin had hurt her the way he had. Smiling, he said, “Go to the meet and greet. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.”
“You’re kidding? She’s in there?” questioned AJ excitedly.
“You’ll just have to go and find out,” smirked the big guy.
“What are we waiting for then?” asked AJ happily. Calling to the others, “Let’s go do this meet and greet.”
“What’s with him?” asked Nick.
“Not sure,” smiled Brian, “but if I had to guess, I’d say that there’s a beautiful lady at the meet and greet and Marcus just told him.”
“Oh cool! Wonder if it’s the one he was talking about earlier,” replied Nick as they all followed AJ out.
With a knowing smile, Marcus followed the guys and as he passed Kevin, he simply nodded his head ‘yes’ to tell him Chelsea was there.
Kevin’s heart skipped a beat. There had only been two loves in his life and he was married to one. The other was now two rooms away, waiting for him. Would she be as happy to see him?
All five men followed Marcus into the room where they were greeted by anxious fans. They took their places, AJ at the beginning of the line and Kevin at the end. With each new face, the two men became increasingly more anxious.
As he handed the poster back to the girl in line, he turned to the next person only to find the cute little button-nosed girl staring up at him. Kneeling down, he smiled, “Hello again!”
“Hi!”
“Who do you have with you now?”
“This is Aunt Moni. She’s not really my aunt but she and my mom have been best friends forever,” said Annie really dramatically, much like she’d heard her mother say it.
AJ stood and took Monique’s hand placing a kiss on the back. “Nice to meet you Aunt Moni.”
Monique blushed as she gave a giggle. “My real name is Monique.”
“Beautiful.” Looking back down and putting a finger on the tip of her nose, AJ said, “You know something. I don’t know YOUR name.”
Before Annie could speak up, Chelsea stepped around Monique to say, “Her name is Annie.”
AJ’s eyes grew big as he looked into her eyes. “You ARE here.”
“I need to talk to you.”
“Okay, find me when you’re finished meeting the others.”
“No, I need to talk to you now. You can introduce me to Brian and Nick later,” she insisted as she took his hand. AJ followed Chelsea away from the group and she said, “I need to tell you something.”
“How about your name first?”
Chelsea tucked her head as she blushed, “Chelsea.”
“Chelsea…a beautiful name for beautiful lady.” Turning her hand over, he said, “I see you haven’t washed my number off.”
“Didn’t plan on it until I could write it on a piece of paper,” she replied with a smile. “AJ, I really want to get to know you but I need to warn you, things here are about to get really tense. See, I know Kevin and he’s the one who had Marcus bring me back here.”
“Oh,” said AJ, disappointment in his voice.
Glancing over his shoulder, Chelsea saw that Monique and Annie were talking to Howie who was standing beside Kevin. Still holding his hand, she pleaded, “I promise, it’s NOT what you think. I’ll explain before the night is over if you’ll just come with me now.”
AJ saw the desperation in her eyes and was curious about what was about to happen. “Have dinner with me?”
“JUST you and me,” she smiled.
“What about Annie?”
“Monique can take care of her but I have a feeling that I’m not going to have to worry about it anyway,” she said as she started towards Annie, Monique, and Kevin not letting go of AJ’s hand as she went.
“Well hello!” greeted Kevin as Monique and Annie reached him. Looking at the little smiling face, Kevin knew right away that this was Chelsea’s daughter. The only thing different was the eye color. Kneeling down to be face to face with the little girl, Kevin asked, “And what is YOUR name, young lady?”
“Annie but my real name is Ann Scott Richardson.”
