Invisible to My First Love (Harper and Maddox) novel Chapter 105

Harper

My hair appointment was at 5 PM and looking at the time, that was just two hours away. I’d styled my own hair so many times before for different occasions, but I was going to my first ball and wanted it to be special.

Since 11 AM, I’d been checking my phone, thinking that I might have missed Maddox’s messages or calls, but there was still nothing. I was curious about how it had gone with his father at the cemetery.

It made me smile when I thought about how excited he had sounded, even though he wanted to act like it wasn’t that big of a deal.

While I wanted him to be the one to call me and tell me about the time they spent together and the vibe of the entire experience, I couldn’t take it anymore since he was taking too long. I needed to know.

As soon as I finished my snack, I dialed his number and paced right near the kitchen counter.

He didn’t even pick up the first time or the second and I thought he must have been in a meeting or something and I was being a disturbance.

No matter how curious I was, I decided to leave it up to him to call me back.

I put the phone down on the counter with a heavy sigh, reaching for a glass so I could fill it up with water.

I was just about to drink it when my phone rang, making me rush over to my phone with the glass in my hand.

When my gaze landed on the screen and I spotted Maddox’s name, I smiled as I picked up quickly.

“Hey, I hope I didn’t call at a bad time.” I took a sip, leaning against the counter. “Were you in a meeting? I figured that was the case since you didn’t pick up.”

“Nope. No meetings today.”

His tone was so flat that he felt like he didn’t want to talk to me. I expected him to be cheerful, considering what day it was for him.

“Uh… is everything okay?” I asked.

He sighed. “Nope. My dad wasn’t able to make it.”

I gasped, quickly putting down the glass. “Oh, I’m so sorry. How could he do that to you?”

“It’s not his fault. Around 8 in the morning, Margot fell down the stairs and hurt her ankle. It’s so bad that she might not even make it to the ball this evening.”

My eyes suspiciously narrowed as I scoffed. “Of all the times that could’ve happened, it had to be at a time when you were about to do something special with your dad? I’m not buying it.”

“Me neither.”

I sighed with frustration as I put myself in his shoes. “Couldn’t your dad see what she’s doing?”

He chuckled, finally. “He assured me he’d be there next time and I believed him because I know he will.”

My head tilted as I thought about how he dodged my question. Before I could even point that out, he spoke again.

“I ended up taking flowers to my mom’s grave alone, just as I’ve been doing for a while now. Being there is always so…”

“Peaceful,” I said with a warm smile like he could see me.

He chuckled softly. “Exactly.”

“I know that feeling too well. I get it all the time when I visit my mom’s grave.”

“Sometimes I feel like I can talk to her for hours and she’ll just listen to me. I actually felt that way today.”

My eyes widened a little in pleasant surprise. “I get that feeling a lot.”

He had a lot to say about that since that was one other thing we had in common and I listened to him first, and he listened to me without interrupting me. A few years ago. I would’ve never thought I’d have so much to talk about with him on a personal level.

While I was still talking about my mother, my phone began to beep against my ear, alerting me that there was another call. Without making it obvious that I was a little distracted, I quickly checked the caller ID and my grip instantly tightened around my phone. It was Grayson. He just wasn’t going to stop until I spoke to him.

I let the beeping continue, pretending not to hear it as I continued talking to Maddox.

“You know, you’ve never shown me pictures of your mom.” he said.

“I didn’t think you’d be interested in seeing her.” I shook my head like he could see me.

“Why wouldn’t I be interested in seeing the woman who gave birth to you?”

His delivery made me please hand on my chest. “You better stop.”

“Or what?” I could imagine him smirking like he was daring me. “You know you can’t do shit about it until this evening.”

I was certain that I saw a spark in his eyes for a split second, but it was gone when he winked.

Maddox possessively rested his hand on my waist as we started making our way towards the entrance. I’d felt him hold me like that so many times that I didn’t want him holding me any other way.

As we made it up the stairs so we could get to security, I spotted a famous actress having a chat with someone. I had only ever seen her on magazine covers and in movies. She was looking straight at me. Her eyes dropped

my gown and she gave me a small appreciative smile.

That unexpected moment sent a rush of excitement through me and I just had to talk about it, so I leaned closer and whispered, “You knew Angelina was coming and didn’t tell me?”

“Had I told you, I wouldn’t have seen this exact reaction,” he teased me as he glanced at her.

I realized I might’ve been too obvious, so I gently pressed my lips together to keep it cool and he chuckled.

“What?” I asked.

“Nice try, but wait until you see who else is here this evening.”

My eyes widened with curiosity. “Who else is here?”

He thoughtfully looked around. “Hmm, I can’t remember. Well, I guess you’ll just have to wait and see.”

I gave him a quick pout but that changed nothing.

While I would’ve loved to find out right at that moment, there was something about the way he always built my anticipation that made it all worth it.

Security stepped aside as we walked through the glass doors and just a few feet away was a sight that made me swallow hard.

Tiffany and Grayson were on the red carpet, posing for pictures and all eyes were on them as the photographers constantly begged them to look into their individual cameras.

I’d been ignoring his calls and now, I was on my way to him. He hadn’t even seen me yet as he was too busy with his wife since they were in the spotlight.

But as soon as Maddox and I began to get closer to their spot, the attention shifted when the photographers spotted us. The flashing lights were so rapid as they constantly called our names that my heart raced a little.

I wasn’t even able to catch the looks on Grayson and Tiffany’s faces as Maddox blocked the view.

He tightened his grip on my waist with a smirk, brought his lips right against my ear and whispered, “Forget those two. It’s time to own this moment.”