Page 41 of Finding Emotion

Mandy cleared her throat. “Anything I should know?”

Skylar glared down at her music. “Like what?”

Mandy leaned forward. “Is this thing between you two still fake?”

“Of course,” Skylar answered quickly.

“Hmmm.” Mandy sat back again, but she didn’t sound convinced.

The way Skylar’s chest squeezed didn’t feel so feigned to her either. She ignored the feeling, switching her fingers to play her own song again, but it sounded different than it had when she’d written it. Softer.

Chapter 17

Damon hopped down from the stage after he had run through the song enough to feel comfortable with it. It sounded just right after the tweaks he’d added based on Skylar’s suggestion.

Jimmy started packing up. “You’re going to want to rerecord it, aren’t you?”

“You know me too well.” Damon placed his guitar in its case. He was a perfectionist at heart, especially when it came to his music.

“I’ll set it up. There’ll be an expense.” Jimmy sighed, frowning down at the cords he’d collected. “You sure it’s different enough?”

“It’ll be worth it. Trust me.” Damon joined his manager. He never minded helping. “Oh, speaking of expense, can you work with Skylar’s manager to see about chipping in on the suite?”

“That girl is scarily efficient,” Jimmy muttered. “It’s less cute than I thought.”

Damon didn’t laugh, knowing that Jimmy was still hung up on his annoyance from earlier. His manager rarely let things go, despite his careless attitude, which was a facade. Jimmy always cared. “That’s probably for the best,” he said. “Things could have gotten messy if you two hooked up.”

Jimmy stopped packing, leaning back on his heels to glare at Damon. “Seriously? What gives, man? You knew I had it bad for Skylar. I mean, I get you fucked her, but that was all her. She jumps anything that moves.”

Irritation rose as Damon remembered the text message he’d come across on her phone. “Careful, Jimmy.”

“Oh, don’t be a pussy. I’m trying to say that I wasn’t jealous or anything at that point. Hell, her sexual reputation is part of her appeal. But today, man, what was that? Tell me you don’t like her.”

Damon took a breath. “I do. I like her.”

Jimmy scowled at him. “You think you have a chance with her? You?”

Damon leaned back to stare at his manager. “I didn’t expect this to happen, but it has. You know me, Jimmy.” He bit his lip, looking away from his gaze. “I wouldn’t have slept with her if I didn’t like her.”

“Yeah, I guess. It’s still kind of bullshit, but I’ll suck it up.” He grabbed for the cords, shoving them into the bag. “But I’m still going to flirt with her and hope. She’s too fucking awesome. I’m sure she fucks like a sex goddess, too, you lucky prick.”

Damon was surprised at his sudden urge to punch the guy. He shoved to his feet, putting some distance between them. He wasn’t a brawler like Malcolm.

“She’ll get bored with you soon enough,” Jimmy continued, packing up the last of the equipment.

Damon crossed his arms as he stared at the stage. He was only annoyed because Jimmy was spot-on. He needed to keep himself in check.

Jimmy was ready to go a short time later. “You want me to drop you at the tavern, right?” He snorted. “For your big date, if she shows up.”

Damon smiled as the anticipation of seeing her again rose. Which was ridiculous. He was in so much trouble.

Jimmy’s head tilted. “It’ll be a good photo op. The fans are eating this up. Want me to make sure some pictures are taken?”

“No,” Damon said, ignoring the way Jimmy looked at him. “Not at Malcolm’s place. He doesn’t need the attention.”

“It’d be advertisement,” Jimmy said. “It was kind of slow in there the other night.”

“Malcolm does well enough.” Damon knew his friend was proud of what he’d built. “Besides, the whole fake dating thing put a lot of pressure on Skylar.”

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