Page 24 of Aria

Noah

I drove into the studio parking lot, killing the engine of my Corvette and pulling off my sunglasses.It had been a few hours since Chelsie had left my hotel room, and I’d yet to speak with Devon since the club.I was more than curious about this “major thing” Devon had referred to in his last text message.

Stuffing my keys into my pocket, I climbed out of the car and entered the studio, spotting Devon chatting with our manager and agent, Sean Pierce.

"Yo," I called out, garnering the two men's attention.

Devon had an enthusiastic look on his face, which was a welcome contrast to our previous interaction together. I’d been expecting a well-deserved punch to the jaw.

“I figured you'd be here hours ago. Sorry I bailed, but you’re going to shit yourself when you hear the news.” Devon took a sip of his soda as he approached me.“What the hell took you so long?”

"I told you, I had family stuff to do today.Plus, I had to take care of your girlfriend this morning."

Devon stalled in his tracks."What are you talking about?"

I bristled at the memories from the night before. "Chelsie.I was stuck with her last night.I sent Lisa and Julia home, thinking you would take care of her, but then you left, so I had no choice but to bring her back to my hotel room with me."I had to take a step back when Devon advanced on me with murderous intent in his clear-blue eyes. "Whoa, nothing happened, all right?I wouldn't do that."

"You hadno choice?Why didn't you call Julia or Lisa to come back and get her?"

"I didn't have their numbers."

"And you didn't think to check Chelsie's phone for their numbers? Or look at her driver’s license for her address?"

“I…” I paused, realizing I didn't have an answer. Whydidn'tI do that?

All I could do was blame it on the alcohol.

"Awesome.” Devon let out a caustic laugh. "As if you haven't traumatized her enough, she had to wake up to your fuckin’ face this morning. Real nice."

My defenses flared as I took a step forward. "Hey, I took care of the girl last night. I had to physically carry her ass out of the club after she passed out in the bathroom. Where the hell were you?"

"You know, I have no sympathy for you.You made the mess, and you deserved to clean it up," Devon shot back.

It was true.I rubbed my hands over my face and sighed."Fine. You're right. I was an asshole. But I don't want you losing sight of the big picture because of some pretty face."

"Losing sight? Dude, I just booked us the gig of the century."

I froze, my mind racing. "What?"

Devon's smile returned as he pulled a contract out of his back pocket. "The fuckin' Grammy's, man."

CHAPTERSEVEN

CHELSIE

It was a cloudy Sunday afternoon, and I had yet to hear from Devon after my embarrassing spectacle on Friday night. I was certain I’d scared him away for good.In fact, he was probably touring China just to get as far away from me as possible. What kind of idiot epically botches her first date with Devon Sawyer?

This girl.

I was lying on the couch, reading the latest Tarryn Fisher novel and wallowing in my own pathetic misery, when there was a knock at the door.I glanced at the clock, not expecting Lisa to arrive for our lunch date for another hour.

"Coming," I muttered. I gave a sharp tug to the messy bun on top of my head, still in my pajamas. The dreary day complemented my mood quite nicely.

Stepping over to the front door, I swung it open, prepared to tease my best friend about her early arrival.Lisa had always been the overly punctual type.

But I was unprepared when I discovered that the person standing on the other side of the door was… Noah Hayes.

"Hey," he said.

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