Page 63 of Edge of Heaven

“Hi.” I frown as he leans over and gently kisses me.

“Hey, beautiful. Congratulations.” Callum being charming is always dangerous. I can tell by the brightness of his eyes he’s high, and when he’s doing cocaine, you never know what’s going to happen.

“Thank you.” I accept the flowers because I have no choice. “What are you doing here?”

“Did you think I wouldn’t be here for my girl’s big runway debut?”

Of all the bad luck, the band has the night off tonight. It never occurred to me he would fly out for the evening, but now he’s here and my good mood evaporates.

“Taryn!” Alexa comes over to hug me. “Thank you so much for an amazing show. You were incredible out there!”

“Thank you.” My voice sounds weird even to me, and I catch the look of concern on her face.

“This must be your boyfriend.”

I clear my throat. “Yes. Callum Yates, Alexa Humboldt.”

He takes her hand and kisses it—something I’ve never seen him do before. “I’m incredibly grateful to you for giving Taryn a chance.”

“She’s talented and beautiful—why wouldn’t I?” Alexa smiles. “We’ll talk soon, Taryn.” She moves off to someone else, leaving me with Callum.

“You ready to go party?” he asks me.

“I can’t party,” I protest. “I have an early flight back to L.A. in the morning. I have to see Toby and?—”

He rolls his eyes and shakes his head. “We’re in Vegas and I have the day off. We’re going to party. End of story.”

He stops talking as Cheyenne approaches, a tall, broad-shouldered man behind her. “Taryn, I want you to meet my husband, Ivan. Ivan Rochenko, Taryn Blakely.” She turns to Callum politely. “And you are?”

“Callum Yates.” He pulls the same move on Chey as he did with Alexa, kissing her hand. “And you’re the incredible Cheyenne.”

“I am.” She smiles politely, but it doesn’t reach her eyes.

“Nice to meet you.” Ivan holds out his hand to Callum, and Callum slowly shakes it.

“You’re that guy from the Phantoms,” he says. “Seen you on TV.”

“I am.” Ivan seems to be assessing him, and Callum straightens up to his full six-foot-five-inch height. As if that somehow gives him an advantage since Ivan is a couple of inches shorter.

“We’re going to a late dinner,” Cheyenne says. “I thought you might like to join us.”

I know better than to answer for us, so I look to Callum. His eyes gleam as he nods. “Absolutely. Let’s party!”

Cheyenne and I exchange a look, and I give a tiny shake of my head, praying she doesn’t say anything that will get me into trouble. Thankfully, she doesn’t.

“We have a limo,” is all she says. “Marty, Stevie, and Alexa are all coming along. We’ll see you outside in fifteen.”

“Now this is cool,” Callum says after she walks away. “You’re finally pulling your weight around here.”

I don’t say anything, because there’s no point.

He’s ruined the evening for me, and I have a feeling he’s going to make a major nuisance of himself for the night.

I just hope he doesn’t ruin my relationships with Alexa, Stevie, and Chey. He doesn’t like for me to have friendships with strong, successful women, which is why he doesn’t let me spend time with Ryleigh, but this might be different if he thinks he can use them to somehow further his career.

I have to find Stevie and warn her, so this whole thing doesn’t blow up in my face.

“I have to use the bathroom,” I tell him. “Go mingle. There are lots of interesting people here.”

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