Page 6 of Movers and Shakers

“I’m well aware.”

I opened my mouth, but I could hear the cameras coming. In the background, I heard Mia calling my name. She wasangry,and it made me want to hide even more.

“Can I come in?” I asked.

“Do you even know where you are?”

“N-no, but I’d rather be inside and away fromthat.” I pointed in the direction of the commotion. This man could have been a serial killer for all I knew, but in that moment, it was better than being seen with Blaze.

He stared at me like I was a fool, and to be fair, I was. But he pressed his palm on the door behind him and opened it wide.

I didn’t waste any time darting inside. Once the door was closed, I realized I was alone in a dark room with a stranger.

I should have been afraid, but I wasn’t.

The lights flipped on, and I took in my new surroundings. I saw an old tile floor and stainless-steel appliances.

“I hope you don’t make a habit of asking men you don’t know if you can come into random buildings,” my savior said.

“I don’t. You must be the exception.”

His eyes met mine, and I could have sworn he was seeing through my soul.

“Make sure I’m the only one.”

“Why?”

“Because I know I’d never do a thing to hurt you,” his voice was low. “I can’t say the same for others.”

My heart kicked into gear, but for an entirely different reason.

My eyes trailed over his features once more. He was the kind of man who I could write songs about.

A man who’s indescribable, yet I wanted to try.

The lyric popped into my head, which had been abnormally silent for the last few weeks, except for the angry, hurt words pouring out of me. This was the longest I’d gone without writing anythinggood.

“I can’t thank you enough,” I said, voice wavering. “I could, um, pay you for your time?”

“I don’t care about money.”

“You have to want something.” People always did, and I always found a way to give it to them.

“I want to know why you were panicking in an alleyway and running from a slew of paparazzi.”

Ah.Well, that was a bit more complicated.

“Would you believe me if I said I was just tired?”

“Probably, since you just had a concert, but you usually do fan meetings.”

Just how much did he know about me? He didn’t look like my typical sort of fan.

“Those were canceled for . . .‍” I looked outside, thinking of the chaos Mia had called to photograph Blaze and me in the street. “Don’t worry about it. It’s really not that interesting of a story.”

The corner of his lip quirked up. “Try me.”

It had been a while since someone cared aboutme.My career was about others. At first, it was pleasing the fans by revealing the depths of my soul. But then Mia had taken over Rick’s place and she’d told me they didn’t want to hear me whine about my life. They wanted dance hits.

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