Page 86 of Cadence
She’s the muse I wasn’t looking for, in every line I haven’t written yet.
Paige is my chaos, but also my cadence. The part that makes it all make sense.
I splash water on my face and drag my hands through my hair, staring into the mirror. The guy looking back at me isn’t who I used to be.
This could ruin everything, the band, the future, the dream. All the reasons why this is a disaster waiting to happen, surrounded by big flashing lights.
Only, all I see are reasons not to stop.
Not yet.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Paige
“Iswear,themorecrowds we play, the rowdier they get,” I say as we step into the wings, the evidence following us in the roar of Madison Square Garden still screaming our name.
“Sick, isn’t it?” Eli grins, wiping sweat off his forehead. “I could get used to this.”
“This is nothing,” Reign says, cool as hell, as he hooks a mic pack around his waist.
A stylist mists hairspray over his head, fussing with his curls, flattening one while tweaking another, trying to give him that effortless bedhead look. He lets her work until she steps back, satisfied, only for him to rake a hand through it with a cheeky grin, undoing the whole thing. She laughs, shaking her head as she walks away, before he turns to me.
“Wait till we hit LA for the final show before the break,” he says as he takes the earpiece from a stagehand and slides it in. “SoFi Stadium holds seventy thousand, easy.”
My eyes widen, jaw dropping as he smirks.
“Seventy-thou… Oh my god,” I breathe out, a torrent of nerves flooding my stomach. I knew it was big; I just didn’t think it wasthatbig.
Reign chuckles as he grabs his guitar. “Don’t worry. Once that roar hits you and the adrenaline kicks in, you’ll be hooked for life.”
“Reign, you’re up.”
He tosses me a wink, heading to the stage and stepping out to thunder, swallowed by flashing lights and the strum of his first chord pulses along the floor, vibrating through my body. Beau and Eli drift toward the side of the stage, towels slung over their shoulders. Beau pulls out his phone, filming Reign while Eli grabs a water bottle and slumps onto an equipment case, whistling loudly as Reign starts to sing.
I hover near the curtain, adrenaline still coursing in my veins, my pulse not ready to settle, unable to wipe the smile from my lips. I place a hand over my chest, letting the thud-thump of my heartbeat pound against my palm.
“That was the best city yet,” I say to myself more than anyone.
Behind me, Maddox snorts. I turn around, finding him leaning against a speaker, half hidden in shadows, arms crossed, shirt damp with sweat and his hair still a mess from our show.
“Chicago was better.”
Narrowing my eyes, I shift a step toward him. “Are you serious? They lost their minds to ‘Stay With Me.’”
“They screamed louder for ‘Crash.’”
I shake my head, part disbelief, part heat crawling up my neck. “Are we really debating crowd reactions right now?”
“Not debating,” he says, voice lower now. “Just stating facts.”
“You’re such an ass.”
I glance behind me, checking that Eli and Beau are still watching Reign’s set, laughing and talking, no clue what’s happening five feet away.
I turn back and step toward Maddox, lowering my voice, seduction lacing into my tone. “You love doing this, don’t you? Trying to get under my skin. Poking at me just to see how far I’ll go.”
His mouth curves, slow and dangerous, not saying a single word. One look and I’m stripped bare, his eyes daring me, taunting me the way they’ve been doing recently, making everything in me tighten.
