Page 6 of This Side of Beautiful

I scanned the room before asking, “What people? You just walked in, and if I’m not mistaken, it looked like you were about to leave.”

“Can you give me a break? I’m not quite myself,” she muttered, no longer able to look at me.

Mad at myself for letting her invade my thoughts when I’d made no impression on her, I snapped, “No, I can’t. At the bare minimum, you should remember my damn name. I had to give the final okay for you to perform with us tomorrow night.”

“Cash Black did that.” She lifted her head haughtily. “Don’t change the narrative to prove a point. You don’t have that kind of power.”

“I have no reason to lie.Wewere the invited headliners, and Del and Cash Black asked for you. We didn’t. We’re not the inconsequential band that you can discard and drop on a whim like you did before.” It took a lot to get a rise out of me. And the more she spoke, the more my pulse pounded. She thought she was better than us.

“Did you follow me to brag about Hollow Bones? Put me in my place?” She pointed her finger at me. “Very convenient that the moment I turn around, you’re waiting to pounce.”

I bit back my urge to raise my voice. “You weren’t watching where you were going. I was actually concerned. I only got mad when you couldn’t bother to learn my name.” Her body trembled while I held her hands. “Are you high or something? You’re all jittery.”

“No. I’m not,” Janae said firmly as she touched a coin that nestled on her chest. A coin I recognized as proof of sobriety. My father had one that he no longer carried.

We locked eyes, and I saw the earnestness in her almond-shaped ones.

I relented. “Make sure it stays that way. Or I’ll drop you from the tour.”

“We don’t have to do shit together,” she retorted.

For some insane reason, her stubborn attitude appealed to me, or maybe it was her flowery scent. I wanted to grab and kiss her.

Instead, I shoved my hands in my pockets and hurled more words at her. “You’re right, we don’t. Thanks for reminding me why I didn’t want to work with your flaky ass in the first place. You cost us money the last time we were foolish enough to work with you.”

Janae’s arched brows gathered so deeply that I braced for whatever insult she planned to spew. She had a mouth on her and had no problem using it. She could cut a person with her words. I’d witnessed her verbal abuse in the studio about four years ago, when she yelled at one of the background singers who started off in the wrong key. And I’d watched the videos of her going off at the media when they questioned her wild behavior with married and taken men.

A man brushed up against her on his way to a table, and I reached out to steady her without thought. The alluring scent of her perfume caressed my nose, and I quickly dropped my hands when she looked over her shoulders and then back at me. The scowl disappeared, and her shoulders drooped.

“Look at me.” She unflinchingly stared, moving so close to me that I leaned away to see her face. “I’m not the same MILA. I’m just Janae.”

The determination in her chin and the softness in her eyes unsettled me. I had to look away before I became entrapped in her web. Still doubtful I could trust her, I asked, “Are you sure? Not bothering to know the names of the people you’ll be working and traveling with seems like MILA to me.”

“The old Janae wouldn’t explain shit to you.” The unexpected feel of her hand on my arm scorched me, and I had to maintain my attention on the people behind her to focus on her words. “Everything happened so fast. Del reached out to me, telling me he believed in me and wanted to work with me six months ago. He told me about you and Hollow Bones and already had dates set before talking to me a couple of weeks ago. I needed the gigs, so I went with the flow. Hell, he could’ve told me I was going on tour with Elmo, and I would’ve jumped at the chance.”

Her genuine humor slipped past my guarded heart, which was already becoming unhinged by her beauty and talent.

“But he offered me the opportunity of a lifetime because I love your music, and I want another chance. Can we start over?” She begged with those soulful, pretty eyes that could change between seductive and innocent with a blink.

I gazed down into her alluring face. “Say my name, and I’ll think about it.”

Janae’s eyes darkened, and she seemed drawn to me the way I’d been since I’d caught her hands.

“Landon?” An unrecognizable woman’s voice from my right side called my name, and Janae grinned victoriously.

I didn’t look away from her, hoping the woman would get the hint that she’d interrupted something.

“I was beginning to think that Cedrick lied when he said you were here. I’ve been waiting for this moment for so long. I’ve been following Hollow Bones for years.”

“Hey, Mr. Landon Hayes. Good to see you again.” Janae gave me an impish smile, and I couldn’t tell if she’d known my name all along or if she’d figured out the rest. She shimmied her shoulders. “I guess we’re starting over.”

I didn’t want our conversation to end now that I knew she recognized me and was possibly attracted to me. Janae moved slightly from one foot to the other, watching me as I was pulled into an unwanted embrace by my fan, the chairwoman of the entertainment committee. She held tight like I was her favorite pillow, and I limply responded. I wasn’t the hugging type at all, which this woman didn’t get as she squeezed me. In my mind, I pleaded with a now-smirking Janae to rescue me.

As politely as I could, I pulled back and pushed down the chairwoman’s arms. “You’ll have to excuse me. We were discussing tomorrow’s show. I was in the middle of talking to—”

“No… no… You go ahead…Landon Hayes.” Janae started backing away as I shook my head. “Landon Hayes, we’ll chop it up later. I see your hands are full,Landon Hayes.” She gave me an exaggerated wink and added an extra sway to her hips as she turned around.

“Hey. We still need to talk about tomorrow.” I hated that my voice squeaked as I called after her. “Janae?”

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