Page 24 of Follow the Rhythm
“Are you alright?” he asked when he reached us. His strawberry and mint scent was refreshing and, annoyingly, helped clear my mind a bit more. I glared at him.
“Panic attack,” Grace said, patting me on the shoulder.
“Seriously? Don’t tellhimthat,” I snapped at her.
Kieran looked at me carefully. “You seem fine now.”
“I am fine. I just got overwhelmed by the work. But don’t worry, I’m not going to mess things up for you. I was just about to tell Ursula I’m backing out of the contract,” I said.
“Don’t be daft. Your illustrations are great. Is this about Ellis? How do you know each other?” Kieran’s voice had just a tinge of jealousy.
“Oh, they totally -” Grace started, but I jabbed her in the diaphragm so she’d shut up. I did not need Kieran Walsh knowing I had a schoolgirl crush on his bandmate.
I sighed and gave him the short, sanitized version: friends in high school who lost touch, etc. “I swear I’m not a stalker,” I said when Kieran just looked at me with an unreadable expression.
“I don’t think you’re a stalker, Jess,” he rumbled. “And it’s your choice, of course, but don’t quit because of that. Your work is brilliant. It reminds me a lot of this.” Kieran started pulling up one side of his shirt, revealing taut, muscled skin. My stomach clenched with a mixture of panic and delight that made my head spin. I remembered to breathe, and sucked in a huge gulp of his scent. He kept pulling up that damn shirt until he revealed his ribcage.
A black and white tattoo of a woman stretched across his upper ribs. She was in profile, her hair adorned with delicate flowers, and two antlers curved up and away from her face. It was in a different style from my illustrations, but the symbolism was the same. A wild woman.
I reached out without thinking to trace one of her horns, my heart suddenly pounding. Kieran’s skin jumped under my fingertips.
“It’s beautiful,” I whispered, before remembering we were in public. I took a big step back. Kieran dropped his shirt.
I met his gaze and was struck again by how pretty his eyes were. They were a mix of green, blue, and gold that looked turquoise in the sunlight.
“Don’t decide today,” Kieran said, his voice like gravel. A shudder traveled up my spine.
“Don’t tell me what to do,” I said, but it came out so half-heartedly it sounded more like a question. Kieran’s eyes brightened, and he turned to go.
“Forget Ellis. You should fuckhim,” Grace said in a low voice, and it took me a moment too long to respond.
“I’m not fucking anyone.” But then I remembered Charlie and groaned. Thankfully, Grace seemed to have forgotten about his reaction to me in all the excitement. That was another mess I’d have to handle if I wanted to keep this contract. For the firsttime since I’d moved out, I missed my uncomplicated life at the Omega Center. It was boring, but at least it wasn’t this messy.
Chapter 7 - Charlie
Iescaped from Ursula as soon as I could, but when I left the label office and headed back to my apartment, I realized I had no idea what to do.
I thought about showing up at Jess’s place, begging my way in, and letting her use me in any way she wanted, but that didn’t seem like the smartest move.
Instead, I sent her a text:Can we talk?
I covered the two blocks back to the condo building in record time. As I reached the front door and buzzed myself in, a black town car pulled up behind me. Ellis Fox stepped out.
He was wearing a soft gray button-down shirt, unbuttoned to the middle of his chest, and a pair of dark aviators. I held the door open for him, and he did a double-take.
“Charlie the tour manager. Fancy seeing you here.”
“Yep. You live in this building too?” I asked.
“The label owns a bunch of flats here. I haven’t moved out of the one they put me up in when we moved here.” His brows furrowed a bit. I cursed myself for being nosy.
We walked toward the elevator, through the lush stillness of the building’s lobby. Ellis removed his sunglasses and looked at me carefully.
“You look familiar,” he said finally.
I smiled. “I’d hope so, since we were in the same room a couple of hours ago.”
“You know what I mean.”
