Page 93 of Hayden's Stalker

“I don’t feel so bad, then,” Tati grins at her.

We order a round of drinks when we order our appetizers, and the drinks come out after a few minutes. I take a sip of my whisky, and it tastes good.

“Favorite tour moment so far…go,” Gabriel says to Sebastian, who’s sitting next to him.

“When you forgot the words to ‘Cataclysm’ and sang the second verse first,” Sebastian laughs.

Gabriel laughs as well. “Fair call. Mine was when Harrison performed half the show with his fly undone.”

“Shut up. Heather’s still teasing me about it,” Harrison groans.

“I liked when Sebastian started singing ‘Sweet Mission’ in the wrong key,” Lita laughs.

I grin as I think about him stopping the song to apologize to the audience, and it’s as amusing to me tonight as it was when it happened.

“You were backstage. You didn’t even see it,” Sebastian objects.

“I’ve seen the video, though, and that was good enough,” she assures him.

“What about when Gabriel’s microphone cut out,” Ariana says.

“Oh yes, that was hilarious,” I laugh, then turn to look at Tatiana. “What’s been your favorite moment, Tati?”

I’m curious to know what she’s enjoyed the most and excited to hear what she has to say.

“I’m not sure what you think I’m there for, but it’s definitely not to watch you guys perform, sorry,” Tatiana cringes.

My disappointment hits me forcefully as she reminds me she’s here to do a job, not me.

“I honestly thought you were coming to see me perform every night. I’m so offended,” Seb exclaims dramatically with a loud gasp.

“And yet, Hayden’s still breathing, so all’s well that ends well,” she tells him.

Another reminder of her role in my life, so I laugh as casually as I can. “I definitely prefer breathing to Tati watching us perform.”

Tatiana smirks at Seb and says, “But there was that time Sebastian’s microphone wouldn’t stay up during one of your soundchecks.”

We all burst into laughter just as a waitress arrives with our appetizers, and the conversation continues through dinner. I drink plenty, keeping up with Seb, and I know I’m drunk by the time we’re finishing dessert.

“I’ll hold her while you eat,” Seb says to Lita, holding his arms out to take Mira while she fusses.

“You’re drunk, Seb,” she chides him.

He grins at her. “Maybe, but I can hold her long enough for you to eat your ice cream.”

She hands Mira over, and he bounces her gently in her arms while singing to her in Italian.

“You must be drunk, Seb. You never sing in Italian,” I point out.

He finishes the song before he smiles at me. “My nonna used to sing it to me when I was a child.”

I get a pang of envy over the life he has. I can imagine singing my abuela’s Mexican nursery rhymes to my own child one day, and I wish I could be in his shoes. The thoughts plague me as we travel back upstairs, and I pull out my phone to text Blake back, wanting to defend myself from his earlier accusation. Atthe same time, I know that a small part of me wishes the future Mrs. Vega was here with us tonight, so was he really wrong when he accused me of being in love with her?

I watch her as inconspicuously as I can while we have another drink before Seb sets up a poker game at the dining table in his suite. Tati hovers at the edge of the room, and the other bodyguards are over near the entrance as usual, so I smile at her when she catches my eye.

“Are you going to play with me, Tati?” I ask while recognizing that I’m slurring my words.

She shakes her head. “No. It’s all good. You’re safe here, so I can just stand by and watch.”

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