Page 24 of Mending Hearts

I crossed my arms and absorbed the energy from the crowd, the stage, the night itself. There was no way this feeling could ever become routine. Did Mia feed off this the same way I was? After almost two hours, I couldn’t believe the amount of energy she was still exuding on stage.Every dance step was precise. She adjusted the notes to the songs higher or lower based on her breath control, which she’d told me the night I fixed her costume. She’d been unbelievable that night, too, but on a much smaller, more intimate, scale.

“Incredible, right?” Laura’s lips were a hair’s breadth from my ear.

“That’s one word.” I didn’t turn my head, content to watch Mia dazzle the crowd, dazzle me.

“Was Sarah Telling’s show this good?”

“She was great. Not like this. But great.” The lie sprang out with no conscious thought. Vague. Complimentary. If Laura brought out details of Sarah’s tour, whichever one I supposedly worked on, I’d be screwed. There was only so much I could fake.

The lights went out, and the crowd burst into applause and whistles. I made out Mia’s shape as she appeared beside me. On her toes, her lips brushed my ear.

“A bucket or a lollipop. My stomach is fucking rioting.”

Out of my pocket, I produced the lemon-ginger one she favored and ripped off the wrapper in one quick motion. Her sigh was audible as she popped it into her mouth.

“Is that a lollipop?” Laura’s frown was clear in her voice.

“Yep! Sugar, Mom. Can you believe it?” Mia drew a finger down her cheek. “I can feel a line forming on my face already from the toxic effects.”

“Empty calories.”

“I got news for you, Mom. I’m going to be consuming more empty calories at the bar later. You know, the appearance you arranged for me? Gotta decompress somehow.”

“A bar?” I frowned and scanned Mia’s face. That sounded like the last place she needed to be.

“Sure. After about—” She grabbed my wrist to check the time. “Two or three hours of meet and greets. They paid out the ass for a photo and a few minutes of my time. Right, Mom?”

Through clenched teeth, Laura pushed out, “You told me yesterday you wanted a break. I’m not a magician. When you cancel, you disappoint. Let’s just get through the tour as it is, and we’ll go from there.”

I rocked back on my heels, surprised Mia had already broached the break with Laura. I opened my mouth to say something, to support Mia, but I couldn’t. We weren’t supposed to know each other. Truthfully, we didn’t know each other, despite our deal.

“Clasp all that money a little tighter. A dollar might slip out.” Mia mocked.

“Take care of the dollars, and the millions take care of themselves.” Laura’s reply was breezy.

Not quite how that phrase went. But I supposed they were beyond counting pennies. They’d have lots of money, wouldn’t they? I couldn’t understand why her mother would be so worried.

Laura turned to me. “I know you need to sort out everything here and repair that snagged costume. Though, I think we have like six of them somewhere for when this happens. Anyway, when you’re organized, did you want to grab a coffee?” Her voice went up at the end, full of hope, the opposite of the bold bitterness running between her and Mia.

“He can’t.” Mia took the lollipop out of her cheek, went pale, and stuck it back in. “He’s coming with me.”

“Excuse me?” Laura frowned and crossed her arms.

“It’s his first night on the tour. I’m going to take him out, show him the sites. He’s thirty-five, not thirty-nine. He’s not going to want to goon a coffee date at midnight when he can mingle with hot dancers and do body shots in the VIP area.”

Her mother flushed. “He doesn’t exactly seem like the body shot type.” She gestured toward me, flustered.

Mia raised one eyebrow. “Which means he’s not likely to be your type.” She shifted her weight in my direction. We both knew I had no problem with body shots. I’d done some off of her the night we’d slept together. “Did you want to fuck my mother, Tyler? Cause that’s where we’re heading here.”

I rubbed my hand down my face, trying to decide if I was angry, annoyed, or amused by this pissing contest. I’d never seen a mother-daughter relationship like this.

“Mia, don’t be rude.” Laura grabbed her daughter’s upper arm and practically dragged her along with her toward the dressing rooms. “We need to get started on the meet and greets.”

“Two hours, Pretty Boy,” Mia called over her shoulder.

As soon as Mia was at the top of the stairs dressed in a sparkly blue mini dress, her exhaustion was palpable. It was almost two o’clock in the morning, and I’d had to have coffee at midnight by myself to keep from falling asleep. The last thing I wanted to do was go to a club for body shots.

“You got your good underwear on? I’m pretty sure I can get you laid.” She crossed her arms and cocked out a hip, another lollipop lodged in her cheek.

---