Chapter 1
"So, where are you taking me today, Ethan?" I asked my driver from the back seat of my limousine.
"Your agent chose Storybrooke, Maine, Miss," he replied. "Apparently this map will help me find it, but I haven't heard of anybody who knows about this place."
"Storybrooke? Are you kidding me?" I scrolled through my Instagram feed, full of comments on my post, asking me where the mystery town I moved to is. "He might as well have picked Candy Land. It sounds so pretentious."
"Well, you asked for a small town that nobody knows about," he smirked at me from the rear view mirror.
"Well, I hope I got what I asked for. I intend to record my videos in peace," I fiddled with the purse next to me. "When will the moving vans arrive?"
"They're right behind us, Miss," I looked behind us through the window and, sure enough, three moving vans followed not too far behind. "You asked for no delays."
"I know, but I know it was a big ask," I took a quick selfie in front of the window, showing the forest flying by behind me, and posted it with the caption, Where will I go? Not even I know.
As much as I loved my fans, I had to move away. Someone managed to get my address, and they posted it on social media. I had many visitors daily at my house, and it had begun to frighten me. So, I begged my agent to find me a small town no one knew about for me to upload my Youtube videos in peace.
The day I turned 18, I began uploading my music onto Youtube. Then, as my subscribers accumulated, I started to upload other videos; such as dance videos, video games, tutorials of all kinds, reaction videos, and vlogs. By the time I graduated college, I had become something of a sensation, with 80 million subscribers. My revenue from Youtube and promotions alone was substantial, but traveling around the country to do concerts and occasionally taking acting parts brought me around 20 million a year, not including my investments and property. So, moving across the country to a mystery mansion in Maine? Hell, yeah, I could afford that alliteration.
In the middle of scrolling through Tik Toks, I heard my driver cursing under his breath. "Are you all right, Ethan?" I asked, concerned. "What's wrong?"
"This map says we entered town a mile ago, but I don't see anything. There was a sign a few minutes back, but now we're just surrounded by frickin' trees," he sighed. "But your house is a mile ahead."
"Don't worry, Ethan," I put my phone away and put my shoes back on, getting ready to leave the car. "If Rose said this is Storybrooke, then I trust her. Is my car there? I want to get lunch soon, and I know you must want to get back to the airport and home to your family." I spat that last word.
"Hey, Maddie, don't be bitter," he admonished. "You knew the whole time that I was married. What am I supposed to do? Pack up, leave my wife and daughter, and follow you to a town in the middle of frickin' nowhere?"
"No," I sighed. Here I go again, being irrational. "But you could've, possibly, not cheated on your wife and led me to think you'd leave her for me."
"I never claimed to be a man of honor," he said, and slowed to a crawl. I looked up to see a marvelous wood and glass mansion in front of us, and let out a low whistle. "Welcome home, Miss Cambridge."
I stepped out of the limousine and gaped at my new home. A very modern style, absolutely perfect. I couldn't wait to tour it.
"Three guest bedrooms, an office, a recording studio, a practice room, your master bedroom, your master bathroom, two additional bathrooms, a living room, a dining room, expansive kitchen, and you have quite the impressive backyard. It comes with a pool house. And, of course, a pool, jacuzzi, gazebo, and a gorgeous garden. Isn't this all a bit much for one person?" Ethan grumbled, closing the car door behind me.
"Not at all, especially for the future when I plan to have a family," I set my bag down on the sidewalk and leaned back against the limo.
"Well, you have it all," he mused. His hand traveled up my thigh, and watered- down arousal made its way up my spine. "Too bad your furniture isn't set up yet."
I pulled Ethan against me by his tie and crushed his lips to mine, hoping to feel something more dramatic than dull attraction. He made a grab for my ass and I pushed my hips closer to him. His tongue snaked into my mouth and I remembered passion- filled nights in my hotel room, in the backseat of the limo, but couldn't manage much for him.
I broke the kiss and he let out a low groan. "Get home to your wife, Ethan." I stepped away and grabbed my bag. I walked forward, not even bothering to tell him goodbye, and took the key out of my purse and unlocked the door of my house so men could begin the task of carrying furniture to their designated rooms. Their boss was there to give detailed instructions according to my vision, and would be there for the next couple of hours. I put the key back in my purse, grabbed my car key, and slid into the driver's seat of my BMW convertible.
The thing about this town was I was within a ten minute drive of just about everything. I hadn't yet decided if that was a good or bad thing when I pulled in front of the only diner in town, a quaint little place called Granny's. I sighed, Can this town get any more simple? And got out of my car. A girl walking on the sidewalk in the direction of the diner gaped at me. I smiled in response, and walked through the diner doors.
I didn't see anyone at the counter, so I took a seat on one of the barstools and scrolled through my text messages while I waited. I texted my agent, assuring her that I got to Storybrooke safely, and that I was very happy with the house she chose.
"You sure you wanna sit there, sister?" I turned around to find a man shorter than even me with my 5'1" height, looking up at me like I was crazy.
"I'm fairly certain," I replied, confused. "What, is something wrong with this seat?"
"Well, the mayor always sits in that seat, and she takes her lunch about now. And you know what happens when you piss off the- wait, who are you?" The guy looked at me in alarm.
"Fine, I'll move seats," I rolled my eyes and shifted to the next seat. "And, what do you mean? Never seen a stranger before?" I joked.
"No one new comes to this town," a young boy's voice answered from behind me. "Ever." This little boy was quite adorable. He was small, probably no older than ten, with chocolate brown hair and fair skin. His cute little charcoal coat covered a school uniform.
"Well, I'm happily breaking that tradition," I smiled at the boy. "My name's Madison."
"Well, Madison," the little boy wrinkled his adorable nose, as if he expected more from my name, "Why are you here? And how old are you?"
"Uh, I wanted to get a change of surroundings. I moved here just today, and I'm 22," I chuckled slightly at his curiosity. "Does it matter?"
"It matters a lot," he replied seriously. "Be careful, Maddie. Can I call you Maddie?"
"Uh, sure," I replied, confused. "That's what everyone calls me."
"Well, be careful, Maddie," he narrowed his eyes at me. "And stay away from the Queen."
He turned, and took a spot two seats away from me while I chucked at his very active imagination. A young woman, who was very pretty, bounced up to me to take my order.
"The juiciest burger you have," I replied with a bright smile. "No fries, and sweet tea."
"Got it," she chirped. "So, I bet you've probably gotten this a million times, but we never get very many strangers here… well, not at all, actually… what brings you here?"
"Trying to get away from my noisy life," I sighed. "And I'm experiencing a breakup, so I'm kind of hoping to find a new, healthy relationship."
"Well, you shouldn't have very much trouble finding some male attention, being a celebrity like you," she smiled.
"Male attention, female attention, it's all the same to me, being bi and all," I sighed. "You could not imagine the amount of more thirsty fans that opens up."
"Oh, for sure, it must be a nightmare," she nodded. "No wonder you moved here."
I sighed in response. The door opened behind me and someone sat in the seat next to me. "Hello, Henry, dear. Have you been waiting long?"
I turned and sitting next to me was the most beautiful woman I had ever laid my eyes on. The air left my lungs in a gasp. My eyes hungrily devoured her features, starting with her immaculately dressed tall frame, ample breast, slightly brown skin (was she Puerto Rican? Italian? ) plump lips with a sexy scar above it, and gorgeous eyes. I dove into her Copper colored pools and had no intention of resurfacing, but her voice pulled me into reality.
"Hello," the woman smiled at me and, oh, it was such a beautiful smile. "I'm Regina Mills. Mayor of Storybrooke."
"H-hi," I extended my hand to shake hers, but was still in a daze. Everything was too much. She was too beautiful, her voice was too beautiful, her smile was too beautiful, I had to fight to pay attention. "I'm Madison Cambridge, I just moved here."
She frowned in confusion, and my heart almost broke. I couldn't bear to see the frown mar her gorgeous mouth. "We don't really get new people moving here. Did you come alone?"
"Well, no," I would have said anything to get her to smile. "My driver drove me here, and I have about eight men moving furniture into my house, but I'll be living alone, yes."
Regina smiled, and said "Well, Welcome to Storybrooke Miss Cambridge. And, if there's anything you need, don't hesitate to ask me."
My order came up minutes later while I concentrated on not staring at the beautiful Regina Mills. I put in earbuds to discourage myself from listening in on her conversation with her son. I didn't want to leave the woman, but I also didn't know what to say to her. At least, not to her face.
"Madam Mayor?" I turned to her after I finished my meal.
She turned that devastating smile on me, the one that turned my legs to jello. "Yes, Miss Cambridge? What can I help you with?"
I smiled back, hoping desperately to not sound awkward. "I'm looking for something to do when I'm not publishing videos. You don't happen to know anyone who's looking for an assistant?"
Her eyes lit up, and again I was at her mercy. "Actually, I hope this doesn't sound selfish, but I have been looking for an assistant for quite some time. But there's no room in the budget for me to pay anyone so-"
"I'd happily take it," I beamed at her. Perfect. "I can start tomorrow, if you'd like."
"I'm so glad to hear it!" She continued to discuss hours and responsibilities with me and I was ready. I walked out of that diner confidently, and drove home quickly to pick out my outfit for the next day, the day I was to start working with the alluring Regina Mills.
After paying the movers I toured my house, then picked out my outfit for the following day. Since the next day was so important, I went slowly, step by step, through my beauty regimen, had a workout, then a shower, then went to bed early.
Going to bed early when you're excited doesn't always help. Time passes slowly, each second crawling over your body as you toss and turn, trying to get the sleep that you so desperately want. I never slept that night, I simply tossed and turned and groaned in frustration at not being able to sleep. I replayed every second I spent with Regina in my mind, over and over, hour after hour, and picturing what might happen tomorrow. Finally, at 5AM I got up and worked out, showered, then got ready for my new job. I chose to post a vlog that day about the beautiful woman I met in a diner.
Before going to work, I stopped at a flower shop, "Game of Thorns" and ordered a bouquet of three dozen pink roses and made an anonymous note, all for Regina. Then, I got a second bouquet of a dozen yellow roses.
The drive to Regina's office was only 3 minutes long, but an excruciating 3 minutes. When I finally entered through the unlocked door of her office, i was able to sigh in relief of being close to her again.
"Good morning, Mayor Mills," I sang, elated to be near her, "Have you had your morning coffee yet?"
"As a matter of fact, I haven't," Regina smiled at me. "Good morning, dear, what are those?"
I put the bouquet of yellow flowers on her desk. "This one is from me, to celebrate our first day working together,"
"Oh, how sweet of you!" Regina smiled widely and my heart wanted to leap out of my chest and into her hands. She bent her face forward, closed her eyes and sniffed at the roses, and the relaxed smile and the entire image of her delight made my knees weak. "Thank you so much, Madison."
"Everyone calls me Maddie, you can too if you'd like," I took the roses and set them on the table not far from your desk, then set the pink roses in front of her. "These are also for you, but the person who sent them didn't leave their name on the card."
Regina's eyes widened in delight, a bigger smile than I've seen from her yet donned her face and I was very glad I bought them. I wanted to make her smile like that every day. "Oh, they're so beautiful! Oh, there's a note! I'll read it."
She cleared her throat, which was now one of my favorite sounds in the world, and I walked to make her coffee while she read. "To the lovely woman who has captured my heart, since the moment I first laid eyes on you, I knew you were the one for me. It's about time I start showing you how I feel. Beautiful flowers for the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. This is the first of many to come, roses every day that I'm wishing you're mine," she sighed dreamily and my heart stopped. "And- oh, whoever it is left their phone number! No name, should I text them?"
"It depends," I said, handing her her coffee. "Do you want that level of adoration?"
"Oh, trust me, I do," she sighed again.
"I'd text him, or her," I encouraged. "If he or she turns out to be psychotic, block their number. Or send the sheriff after them."
We both giggled at that. "All right," Regina said, pulling out her phone. "I'll put in their number, and I'll text them tonight."
"Good luck," I wiggled my eyebrows at her. She laughed again.
"Thank you," she said, more seriously. "It's nice to have a friend. And thank you, again, for the roses."
"You are very welcome," I replied. "For both."