Page 87 of This Side of Beautiful

I squeezed the hand he still held. “The studio is not that far from here. We can stay longer.”

Landon pulled his hat down farther. “Appetizers are all I’ll have. I’m not that hungry.”

Mrs. Hayes pleaded, “Can we just have a nice meal together?”

Landon tilted his head. “I don’t know. Can we?”

Two waitstaff stood nearby, and I whispered, “People are watching us.”

“You sound like them,” he scoffed.

Ignoring his barb, I tried to ease the tension. “This is hard for Landon, but I wanted to try to bring us together. Families are important.”

“Are you engaged or something?” his mother asked with a slight lip curl.

“Not yet,” Landon answered. “We’ve been deciding when would be a good time.”

I nodded, though I wanted to give him the side-eye.

His father smiled. “The timing couldn’t be more perfect. A hit record and an engagement.”

“Of course that’s all you care about,” Landon practically snarled.

Whew. And I thought I was bad when Ispoke with my mother.

“Do youlike‘Fallen Star’?” Landon suddenly asked.

His father averted his gaze.

His mother smiled at me. “I can see the appeal. You have a beautiful voice. You have a range perfect for jazz, or even the blues.”

“Thank you, I’ve been told that. I just prefer hip-hop and soul.”

“A shame that we don’t have more voices like yours in our world. We need the type of attention you’d bring. Imagine what you could do if you remixed one of your songs to make it more jazz.” Her smile finally seemed genuine. She may not like me as her son’s woman, but she respected my talent.

“I never really tried to sing like that,” I admitted.

“Then you should come to one of my classes, and I can show you how you can play around with your voice. My students would be so excited.” She nodded expectantly.

“I would love that. Having one of the greats teach me anything about music would be an honor,” I replied sincerely. Maybe we could bond over music.

“Janae doesn’t live here,” Landon reminded her.

“I’m sure she knows how to catch a plane back here if she chose,” Mrs. Hayes bit back as the waiter returned with chicken wings, fried salmon bites, mac and cheese, collard greens, and cornbread. “Yes… the food is here in the nick of time.”

Landon would explode soon if I didn’t get him out of there. I would protect him even if his parents didn’t warrant his rude behavior. I touched his thigh reassuringly under the table. “Listen, let’s just eat this delicious food, smile for the cameras and people trying to sneak and watch us, and we can talk about me visiting your classes later.”

Mr. Hayes finally spoke again, “I think that’s best.” He picked up his glass, half full with an amber liquor.

“You’re being quiet. That must be your first.” Landon gestured at his glass.

His mother’s hazel eyes shone brightly as she hissed, “Stop it now. You’re our only son. We’re trying. You have to try, too.”

“What exactly are you trying? Dad hasn’t even listened to the song. At least you did.”

“I’ve been busy with my students. I planned to listen to it.” Mr. Hayes waved his hand dismissively. “You don’t care if I listen to it or not. What I say has never mattered to you.”

Landon huffed again. “If you’re really trying, then you would’ve listened and then actually said you were proud of me or something.”

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