Taking A Risk Read online

  Taking her earpiece out of her ear she handed him the envelope she had been nursing for the last few hours. “Here, I booked the tickets this morning; we’re going home the day after the last Scotland gig. I rang mum, she’s excited her golden boy is coming home. Oh and Cam’s trying to convince Emma that they should visit at the same time. The kids are getting big now, and he wants Uncle Alex to get to know them a little better.” Alex smiled broadly at the mention of his niece and nephew; he had only seen them in the flesh a handful of times.

  “Thanks Iz. I’ll ring Cam; it would be great; all of us at home for a few days. Did you clear my schedule? Don’t make any more firm arrangements without running it by me first, ok?” He smiled at his sister as she whipped the travel confirmation out of his hand, slipping it back inside her bag. She didn’t trust him with anything. She knew he was useless with paperwork; she emailed him everything so he wouldn’t lose it.

  Taking out his phone he dialled his brother’s number knowing full well he would just forget to ring later. “Hey! If it isn’t the tattooed love god! Iz told you didn’t she?” It was great to hear his brother’s voice, it had been too long. “I’m still working on Em but the way the kids are running her ragged at the minute, I’m sure she won’t take too much persuading!” Alex listened to him rattle on about Em and the babies, revelling in the normality of his brother’s life.

  “Listen, I have to get going in a minute. Last minute sound checks, but I’ll get Izzie to sort your flights out and book you a driver from the airport. Don’t drive with the kids....... Nah, don’t worry about it, I can’t take it with me when I die! Besides Em can’t argue if I’ve paid for it can she? Yeah, see ya.” As he put his phone away Izzie was already on to the airline making sure she got the best seats for their brother. He deposited a kiss on her cheek as he stood to join the others. For the first time in a long while he felt calm. They had a day off tomorrow and then they would travel to Scotland for the last three dates of the tour. He could get through three shows.

  It was after lunch when Alex woke up. His phone beeped on the nightstand. Reaching over, he tilted the screen allowing him to see he had three missed calls and a text, all of them from Izzie. He tapped on the message to open it:

  ‘morning bro, gone shopping call if you need anything. Chris called, you have an interview tomorrow am with breakfast tv people, fill you in l8r x’

  Oh good, another mind numbing interview to look forward to, no doubt it would be the same old questions, did he have a girlfriend? How was he enjoying the tour? What was his favourite colour? At least he wouldn’t have to think too much about his answers, breakfast TV meant an early start and he wasn’t his best in the mornings.

  He was less than happy when he realised it was just him going to the interview. Apparently the others were doing a couple of radio shows between them, leaving Alex to fly solo on TV. Well at least Izzie was going with him, he’d take her out to breakfast as soon as they were done, reward for all the suffering the presenters were surely going to inflict on him.

  Sitting in the make-up chair, he played games on his tablet PC as the girl worked her magic, transforming him from worn out singer to somewhere near human. Izzie rattled off a few emails, filling him in on any important stuff as she did. “That women’s mag are after doing another piece on the band. They want to know if you would do a naked shoot this time. Whatcha think Al, you wanna flash the boys for all to see or should I decline?”

  He smirked at his sister’s humour before pretending to consider their offer. “How much are they paying? I mean if they money’s right, I might do it.” He tried to hide his glee as a look of horror flashed across her face.

  “Alex! You wouldn’t! Would you...?” She had always been easy to wind up; right from being little he could get her every time. He threw his head back laughing loudly as she slapped his bare forearm.

  “Mr Carter...Erm can I just... your microphone, I need to mic you up. If that’s ok. I can come back if you like but you’ll be heading onto set in ten minutes so...” The young girl standing in the doorway behind him was blushing, her whole face flushed crimson. She didn’t look much younger than Izzie, putting her at no more than twenty two; he was drawn to her almond shaped eyes as they flitted between looking no higher than his chest or at the floor. She nervously messed with her hair, tucking it behind her ear only to remove it instantly, enabling her to hide behind the veil it created.

  “Alex, call me Alex. My dad is Mr Carter. Come in, we don’t bite. This is my sister Isobel.” He held out his hand for her to shake, amused by how unsure of herself she was. He lowered his head as he bent slightly at the knee, enabling him to make eye contact with her. The colour in her already flushed face deepened further. He smiled reassuringly at her before straightening to his full height, allowing her to do her job.

  Hooking the battery pack into the back pocket of his jeans, he could feel her shaking. “Erm Mr Cart...Alex, I erm need to run the wire under your erm...shirt. It you don’t mind. Or you can do it if you prefer.” Her whole arm shook whilst she tried to remain professional.

  Alex grinned, holding out his arms in an almost surrendering pose, gesturing for her to carry on. Lifting the hem of his shirt she began feeding the wire through, pushing her hand up between his flesh and the material. She tried to focus on the job in hand instead of counting the ridges of his abdomen as she brushed over them. “Just clip this bit on to the button hole here. That should do it.” Without thinking she ran her hand over the outside of his shirt, smoothing it back down where she had caused it to ruffle. Her insides fluttered at the feel of his muscular form, the sound of her own pulse vibrating in her ears. “Oh God! Sorry...that was wrong of me. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have. I mean if you just want to straighten that out, I’m done. Thanks.” Turning on her heals she hurried out of the room and back down the corridor.

  “Oooh Alex has an admirer!” Izzie giggled teasing him.

  “Shut up. The poor girl looked horrified, go after her Iz, and tell her its ok will you?” He felt terrible that he had made the girl uncomfortable.

  “You go Mr Big Shot! I’m not your slave.”

  “Do I need to remind you who pays your wages?” Regretting his tone immediately, he now pleaded. “Iz, please?” He could see it was futile, she had turned her attention to the guy sitting in the chair next to her who was trying to chat her up. Huffing loudly, he shot out of the door and in the direction the girl had gone.

  He found her at the water fountain just around the first corner, cursing to herself under her breath as she paced back and forth.

  “Hey, I just wanted to say sorry if I embarrassed you. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. Sorry.” He smiled genuinely at the girl. With the colour in her cheeks now faded he could truly appreciate her beauty.

  “I think they’re ready for you now Alex, do you want to follow me. It’s just this way.”

  Holding out his arm, he indicated for her to lead the way, following closely behind her but not so close that he couldn’t truly appreciate her. Her shoulder length sandy coloured hair swished in unison with her hips as she walked purposefully in front of him. His eyes were settled on her denim clad behind when she abruptly came to a halt, causing him to career into her. He held out his arm to steady her as she looked less than impressed that he had nearly sent her flying onto the studio floor.

  “If you just want to wait here, I’ll take you across to the sofa when they cut to the ad break. Maybe you could try to watch where you’re walking then too.” Raising one eyebrow as she spoke, she managed to stop her face from flushing as she looked into two very dark, very sexy eyes.

  Alex smirked at her attempt to tell him off. “So what should I call you? I’ve just realised that you know my name and yet here I am still in the dark as to how to address you”

  “Grace, Grace Harris.” She didn’t look at him as she spoke; instead her eyes were transfixed on the studio floor, watching everyone’s movements like a hawk, leaving Alex feeling a
little unimportant.

  Leaning forward so he could speak in a hushed tone he whispered in her ear, conscious of not disturbing the live broadcast that was going on a few feet away. “It’s nice to meet you Grace.” He chuckled as she visibly shuddered from his nearness before she quickly placed her hand on his arm to guide him across the floor. After briefly introducing him to the two presenters who were about to inflict torture on him, she wished him luck and scurried back across the studio, taking up her place just behind camera one, where she remained the whole time he was air.

  The interview wasn’t as bad as he had expected it to be; they had tried hard to avoid the inane questions he was usually asked, instead sticking to asking him about his music or for his impressions of the city so far. He shook their hands as they drew the interview to a close, linking into yet another ad break. After a few pleasant exchanges Grace was by his side again ready to guide him back to the green room where Izzie awaited him. To avoid any further embarrassing situations, Alex unhooked his own mic, shoving it back down beneath his shirt before pulling out the battery pack and handing it over. Izzie tossed him his leather jacket before steering him out of the building. Glancing back over his shoulder as they left, he was certain that the girl had checking him out.

  As they sat in the car his thoughts drifted back to Grace, he still felt uneasy about the way she had acted around him. He hated it when people came over all star struck around him; he didn’t think of himself as being any different to the next person, his job just meant he was in the public eye. Strangers either thought they knew you personally or that you owed them some sort of debt. There were generally two camps; the ones who would run up to you no matter what you were in the middle of demanding your full attention, or the group that would shout your name or some abuse at you. He missed being able to blend into the scenery.

  As the car headed back to the hotel, he sat staring out of the window watching the shops whizz past them when inspiration hit him smack in the face. “Stop the car!” Izzie slid forward on her seat as the car came to an abrupt stop before Alex opened the door, jumping out on to the pavement he sprinted into the shop they were parked outside of, leaving his sister unsure whether she should follow or just sit tight. Taking in the surroundings she figured it was best if she went after him. The last thing she needed was for him to be swamped by some crazy fans.

  As she pushed open the door the aroma that filled the air brought on a sneezing fit. Rummaging in her pocket for a tissue she headed across to the counter where her brother was filling in a small card. Peering over his shoulder she saw he had written a phone number before signing his name, not his flourishing autograph as she would have expected but just his first name in his normal scribble. Smiling broadly at the assistant behind the counter he grinned as he spoke. “Make it big, something really amazing not just the usual garage forecourt crap.” He pointed to a huge display that sat atop the counter. “Something similar to that, but a lot bigger. Please.” He pulled his wallet from his front pocket, handing over his credit card, as Izzie peered at the cash register, Jesus how much!

  “Are they for mum? That’s kinda expensive Alex; she’ll go mad at you spending all that on her. You know what she’s like!”

  Smirking, he tucked his wallet back in his pocket before placing his hands on Izzie’s shoulders, steering her back out of the shop. “You go first; check the coast is clear. I don’t want to get papped coming out of the florists.” Doing as she was told she checked out the street before opening the door and allowing him to run full pelt, straight into the back of the awaiting car.

  Chapter 3

  Walking into the office on Monday morning Grace was confused by the crowd that had gathered around her desk. She never usually drew that much attention, after all she had only worked for the station for a little over a year, joining the workforce more or less straight out of college. Grabbing a coffee from the machine she made her way across the floor towards her desk, craning her neck as she tried to see what all the commotion was.

  “What the.....! Who are they for, they are beautiful!” She gasped as she took in the large oversized basket of flowers that sat on her desk; it stood almost a metre tall and was just as wide, filled with roses, orchids and lilies, with fronds of greenery framing the riot of colour. The scent was amazing as she leant forward inhaling deeply. The girls flanking her giggled as one of them handed her the small hand written envelope that had arrived with the delivery. Her name emblazoned across it. Her heart began to pound as her mind raced, who had sent her flowers? Well they weren’t just flowers really, that was doing them somewhat of an injustice. Sasha nudged her, urging her to open the card. They too were as desperate as she was to see who had sent the overblown gesture.

  Turning the small white card over she took in the phone number and name that had been scrawled at a jaunty angle across the back. Accompanied by a single x. “Who’s Alex? Have you got someone tucked away that you’ve been keeping secret from us?” The girls erupted into loud cackles of laughter as the colour rose freely in Grace’s cheeks, she was confused.

  “I don’t know anyone called Ale.....oh. No! No way!” She gasped as she fanned herself with the small card, blocking out the chat that was going on around her. Sasha moved to her side noticing the less than impressed look that was now plastered on Grace’s face.

  “Hey, you ok? Who’s the mystery guy?” Grace stared blankly forward, how could she tell her friend that the lead singer of one of the most popular rock bands of recent years had just sent her flowers? She had no idea why he had felt it necessary either but she knew that Sasha wouldn’t let it drop unless she filled her in with some details. Grabbing her friend by the arm she headed back across the room and out into the corridor where she filled the over excited woman in.

  “Oh My God! You have to call him! Call him now, here use my phone, he left his number on the card didn’t he?” Staring at the phone Sasha thrust toward her, Grace couldn’t understand why the girl was so hyped.

  “No way am I calling him! Why would I call him? I’ll just send a thank you note to his management company. It will just be his PA’s number.” He probably sends everyone he comes into contact with flowers of gifts or whatever.

  “Are you for real?! The guy chased you through the corridor on Friday! Believe me, I have met loads of celebrities doing this job and not one of them has sent anything like that to anyone I know just to say ‘hey thanks for shoving my mic on for me’! He gave you a freakin’ number to call him, why would he give you a number if he didn’t want you to call?” Sasha threw her hands in the air in exasperation.

  “Look just keep it to yourself, last thing I need is to be the centre of the office gossip ok?” She pleaded with Sasha, wanting to just get back to her work and forget the whole thing. She’d drop the flowers down at reception later; there was no way she was taking them home on the bus.

  Returning to her desk following the afternoon production meeting she had to endure with the less than perfect, anchor couple, of the morning show she worked as a runner/dogs body for, she rested her head in her hands trying to massage away the tension that had formed at her temples. Her mind began wandering to the evening she had planned, bottle of wine, movie and her best comfy sweats. Bliss, what more could a girl want after the day she was having.

  At twenty three, Grace was in her dream job, ok she may be on the first rung of the ladder but it was a ladder she was more than ready to climb. She had been lucky to land the interview let alone the job. Fresh out of college her tutor had introduced her to the head of the TV Company, whom she knew well. After putting in a good word for Grace all she had to do was show up for the interview and try not to make a complete idiot of herself. Which as far as she was concerned was easier said than done, but she had managed to secure the job enabling her to stand on her own two feet, ridding her of the financial burden she felt she had been on her parents.

  Standing, she lifted the flower creation from her desk using both hands. Tracey on reception wou
ld love them, she had no doubt about that, besides they were far too ostentatious for her humble flat.

  As she placed them on the main front desk in the foyer she felt a little guilty at giving them away, they obviously cost a fortune. There must have been at least twenty of each flower tucked away in the ornate creation. She fobbed Tracey off with some excuse that they were left behind on some set upstairs and were now surplus to requirements, the less people knew the truth the better.

  When the receptionist was preoccupied with an enquiry, Grace had a moment of madness as she quickly snatched a single rose, lily and orchid from the elegant display, sure no would either notice or miss the three flower stems. Waving goodbye to the woman behind the desk Grace headed out into the warm early summer evening air, lifting the stems to her nose as she did. They were from Alex Carter and they had been addressed to her after all, it would have been extremely rude to not keep at least some part of the display.

  There was no better feeling than turning the key in your own front door after a less than enjoyable day at work. Throwing her bag under the console table in the hall she headed off to hunt down a vase for the flowers before she would snuggle down in front of the television for the night.

  Forget the action movie she had planned on watching, she’d had a better idea on the journey home. Setting up her glass and nibbles on the coffee table, she huddled under the throw as she pressed the play button on the remote control. The music thumped through the speakers. Grinning to herself, she allowed the hysteria that was emanating from the small antiquated box that she called a television wash over her. She hadn’t been lucky enough to see them play live but the DVD version was a good substitute. She just loved their music. Taking a sip of her wine she rested her head back on the sofa, closed her eyes and allowed Alex’s smooth voice to wash over her like warm honey.