Page 100 of Doc Rock
“Maybe, maybe not,”Ford said.
Sie chuckled.“You sound as confused as I am.”
“I really am. I hate that you left, but Iknowmyself and the drive I have.”Ford took a few deep breaths and stared at Sie until he finally said,“We start again.”
“We do?”Sie’s voice trembled.
“Yeah.”He held his hand out to her.“My name is Graham Ford. I’m the singer for Midnight Thunder.”
Sie gazed at him, then her eyes dropped to his hand. Reaching across the table, she took hold of it, a smile twisting the corner of her mouth when shefelthis palm was as clammy as hers.“I’m Maisie Jones. I’m a Consultant Paediatrician.”She hesitated before she added,“And musician.”
He shook her hand and didn’t release it at the end.“I never asked. Do you prefer to be called Mai or Sie?”
Sie was silent for a long moment.“Sie. I want you to keep calling me Sie.”
Chapter 35
Mai
Mai thought about it.Couldshe imagine him calling her Mai? She didn’t think shecould, so when she answered, she said,“Sie. I want you to keep calling me Sie.”
“But everyone else here calls you Mai.”
“Yeah. But everyone else isn’t you.”Mai wasn’t sure if she was making sense. Actually, she wasn’t sure if she understood it herself. But she didn’t want Ford to call her anything but Sie.
“Even though we’re starting again, you want to still be called Sie?”Ford queried.
“The thing is, Ford. I don’t want to start again.”Maiwatchedhim carefully as pain flashed across his face, before she continued talking.“Because starting again erases everything we’ve both done in the last sixteen years. I don’t want to start our story again. I want to continue it.”
“You want to continue it?”Ford said slowly.
“Yes. We met so young. We fell in love. We got married. Then I did something monumentally stupid, and we both lived with that. You’ve had so much success over the years.”
“And so many rehab trips,”Ford interjected.
Mai laughed.“And so many rehab trips. Which weren’t ideal, but they made you the man you are today. And from what Icantellso far, he’s a man I want togettoknowagain. I don’t want to erase anything. I don’t want to start anything again. I want to continue,”Mai said firmly.
She breathed deeply after she finished speaking.Thereit was. She had laid her cards on the table.
“Yes.”Ford didn’t even hesitate, a broad grin crossing his face.
“I—”The doorbell rang, interrupting Mai. Frowning, she stood up.“Hang on. That’s probably Steve returning his plate.”
She was already at the door, pulling it open before Ford said,“No, wait!”
A flash erupted in her eyes, and she blinked in bewilderment, trying to work out what was going on.
Who was blinding her and why?
Suddenly, a camera was thrust into her face, and a man’s voice was talking from somewhere behind the light.
“Maisie Jones, do you have any comments on the allegations that you’re Sie Harrington?”
“I…”Mai stuttered and tried to make out how many people were standing on her driveway.
Therewere at least ten, and what looked like a news van pulled up to the curb.Shit, her secret was well and truly out.
“According to a user named Midnight Thunder Forever on Reddit,there’s no doubt from facial comparison that you’re the long-lost Sie. Do you have any comment on this allegation?”
