Page 82 of Under My Skin

“You okay, sweetheart?” Braden asked, breaking me from my daze.

Taking a deep breath, I nodded quickly. “Yeah, I’m good.”

He moved to stand in front of me, tucking a stray strand of hair behind my ear and kissing my forehead. “What’s going on in that beautiful head of yours?”

“You’ll think it’s stupid,” I mumbled, casting my gaze down to the floor.

“I promise I won’t.” He tilted my chin back up so I was looking at him again. “What is it?”

Letting out a sigh, I voiced the single thought that kept running through my mind over and over again.

“That’s Bailey freaking Knight!” I whisper-shouted.

He chuckled and brushed his lips against mine. “And Finn fucking Davies. It’s not stupid to be starstruck. Still happens to me all the time. Do you want to meet them?”

I cocked my head to the side, eyeing him inquisitively. “Is…is that allowed?”

“Of course it is. Contrary to popular belief, musicians are human just like us,” he said with an amused smile. “Come on, beautiful.”

Braden laced his fingers through mine and escorted me over to the reserved section – where we’d be sitting, since we were here as special guests of Ian and Kyler – and casually sat a few seats down from Bailey and Finn. Bailey lifted her head and timidly smiled at us, a complete contrast from the powerhouse rock star who could command an entire arena, and Finn inclined his head in a silent greeting.

“You’re Braden Hicks,” she murmured. “Ian and Kyler’s best friend, right?”

“On my better days,” he chuckled as he held out his hand, which they both shook. “It’s nice to meet you both. This is my girlfriend, Dani.”

“Hi,” I mumbled as I shook their hands. “It’s nice to meet you guys. I’m a big fan.”

“Aww,” Bailey giggled softly. “Thanks. It’s nice to meet you too. Would you like to take a picture?”

Eyes wide, I turned to Braden, who grinned and pulled out his phone.

“Selfie with all four of us?” he suggested.

“Absolutely,” Finn said in his thick British accent.

The four of us huddled close, with me and Bailey on the inside and the guys on either side of us, and Braden held his phone out in front of us and snapped the picture before we sat down.

“So, Ky won’t shut up about how amazing ‘Speak the Truth’ is,” he said once he put his phone away. “I can’t wait to hear it.”

“It’ll knock you on your arse,” Finn said with a grin. “I’m so proud of her. And of Kyler. I know this wasn’t an easy subject to tackle.”

Braden smiled. “It wasn’t. But it’s something she’s passionate about, and I’m excited to see the finished product. Anyway, how come you’re not out there with everyone else?”

Bailey took a deep breath. “I get really bad social anxiety. We took some pictures and I answered a few questions, but I’m here to support the documentary, not for the press. What’s your excuse?”

“There was a reporter who started being super rude to Braden,” I told her. “I guess they have a history. I told her that if she couldn’t show Braden respect, we were done, and I brought him inside.”

“Smart.” Finn gave me an approving smile. “Tonight’s about Kyler, and if the vultures can’t respect that, they don’t deserve their sound bite.”

“Speaking of tonight being about Kyler…” Bailey said quietly. “I asked her if there were any songs she wanted me to sing during my set tonight, and she just said that other than ‘Speak the Truth,’ she didn’t care what I played. Do you know of any songs that are special to her? If my band and I know them, I’ll happily add them to the setlist.”

“Well, if it’s not too weird for you to sing one of Daphne DeVille’s songs, I know ‘Queen of the Angels’ really helped her after her assault,” Braden suggested.

“That’s not weird at all,” she chuckled. “And obviously I know it, since I used to sing backup for Daph.”

“And her and Ian’s song is ‘Head Over Heels’ by Tears for Fears,” he added.

“Nice,” Finn said. “I’m joining Bails for a few songs, so we can add that one to the set when I’m onstage.” Then he turned to his wife. “If that’s okay with you, love.”

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