Page 12 of Aria

"Sounds like a plan.I'll see you soon."

I continued to hold the phone to my ear, well after our goodbyes had been said, paralyzed with shock. I pinched my arm to make sure I wasn’t dreaming. Devon Sawyer, lead singer of Freeze Frame, was going to travel across the country in less than twenty-four hours to have coffee with me.

Withme.

A surge of dizzy adrenaline coursed through me, and I jumped off the couch, dancing around my living room while Misty glared at me in a way only a judgmental cat could pull off. My reservations had been set aside for the time being.

I was going to sit back and enjoy the ride.

* * *

My fingertips danced across the high-top table. I sat there awaiting Devon's arrival, deciding that this was the most nerve-wracking cup of coffee I’d ever had.We had decided on a quaint café called Luca’s in the heart of New York City, and the aroma of cappuccino and pastries was the only thing calming my jitters. While my eyes stayed fixed on the main entrance, my foot tapped against the burnt orange tiles as I checked the time on my phone once again. He was almost a half-hour late.

I was about ready to leave when Devon breezed in through a side door.

"Man, I'm so sorry," Devon apologized, maneuvering himself around the tables and approaching me with a sheepish grin. "My flight was delayed, and then there were these fans at the airport…"

"Hey, it's no biggie.” My smile brightened as I let my eyes fall over him."You're a popular guy."

Devon reached for my hand and placed a chaste kiss along my knuckles."And you're an incredibly beautiful girl. Have I told you that?"

"You might have let it slip," I grinned, feeling almost hypnotized.With any other man, I would have laughed at such a cheesy line.But Devon’s words felt sincere and the look in his eyes was tickling my insides.

When we were both seated at the table, we ordered our beverages and regarded one another with nervous smiles. I folded my hands in my lap, chewing on my bottom lip—an awful habit. "You know, this was the last thing I expected to do today," I said."I never thought I'd see you again."

Devon's gaze was electrifying. "I couldn't let you get away that easily," he smiled."I felt shitty about what happened that night.I needed to apologize, even if you never agreed to see me in person."

"I should probably apologize, too," I told him. "I didn't mean to leave in such a hurry.I’m sorry I freaked out.”

"Hey, it's totally fine.Noah was being an ass.He knows that, and he's sorry."

I couldn't hold back my snort of laughter. "Right. I'm sure he's really broken-up about it."

"No, he is.I mean, sure, Noah's kind of a dick sometimes, but he's a good guy.We've known each other since the first grade.”

My eyebrow lifted with curiosity as I leaned forward on my elbows. "I guess I just don’t understand why he had such a problem with me.”

"You know… Noah is a mystery, even to me.It's nothing you said or did.He tends to go on the defense when a girl enters the picture that may pose a threat to the band. He's serious about what we do, and he doesn't want a pretty face to jeopardize that," Devon explained.

I frowned. “A threat?”

"Well, he could sense that I liked you.More than just a one-night stand sort of thing."

Oh.

Oh.

"Oh," I said through a slow blink.

Devon ducked his head with a timid smile. "Yeah."

I was certain my cheeks were more crimson than my red romper—I was officially under the love spell of Devon Sawyer and there was nothing I could do about it.Before I could speak, a barista came by with two macchiatos and placed them down on tiny square napkins.

"So," Devon began."Tell me about yourself." He brought the coffee to his lips, his eyes still fixated on me over his khaki-colored mug.

Raising my wrist, I glanced down at my invisible watch."There's only twenty-four hours in a day.You want the cliff-note version?"

Devon laughed."We'll start with the easy stuff. Have you always lived in New York?"

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