“Thank you guys for all the questions. So excited to see you all at the show.” Leonidas stands and waves.
Following his lead, I nod with a small smile.
“Hope you love the show!” Amelia waves as we all walk offstage.
Two out of the three of us are nervous while I’m bustling with anger.
Levi stands backstage with Stella, showing her something on her tablet.
“Where is Fay?”
He jumps at the urgency in my voice.
“Last time I saw her, she was in the catering room?—”
I don’t let him finish as I stride to her, wanting an explanation as to why she didn’t ensure our privacy was respected.
I hear Leonidas whisper-yell behind me, probably informing Levi on what happened.
“He has a right to be fucking mad. I would be too,” Levi simply states.
“Fay, we need to talk,” I declare, bursting through the door and finding her eating and chatting with the lady of the hour, Lily.
Both of them startle and turn with accusing glares.
“Damn it, Elijah. Don’t you know to give a lady a warning before your alpha male comes out?” Placing her plate down on the counter where all the buffet platters are, Fay makes her way toward me.
Lily stays in place, eating a mozzarella stick with newfound curiosity.
“The questions that fans submit for the Q and A—are they reviewed before we get them?” I raise a brow when she looks confused.
“Of course they are. Did something happen that I’m not aware of?”
I shove the slip of paper into her palm, and she reads it. I know she understands why I’m so frustrated when her brows furrow.
“This is unacceptable.” I leave no room for argument. “I don’t know how this passed the inspection, but we need to work on this or else I won’t be participating in another Q and A.”
“I’m going to get to the bottom of this. I’m so sorry.” She places a comforting arm on my tense shoulder before rushing out of the door. Leaving Lily and me alone.
Why is my heart doing this ridiculous fluttering thing? She’s just looking at me, damn it.
“What’s got your panties in a twist?” Lily teases, looking too beautiful for this harsh world.
“Oh, you know, just rock-star things,” I say, walking farther into the room and leaning on the table beside her.
Last thing I want to do is worry her with people’s bullshit. One of the things that was holding her back from accepting Levi’s job offer was being in the public eye. She has never liked attention on her, not even positive. From the age of five, Lily would rather be invisible than seen … and that hurtme.
What would happen if I confessed that people were already starting to notice her? That they were making up all sorts of speculations? How a hashtag was created for her and it was trending on every social media platform?
Selfishly, I don’t want her to know because she might leave. I would never admit this out loud, but having her with me for these last three weeks has made me braver.
I watch her grab another mozzarella stick. Not sure if it’s the sight of her now-greasy lips or the gooey cheese, but I block out every logical thought from my brain when I lean forward and break her satisfying cheese pull by biting the stringy cheese. The salty, warm cheese explodes on my tongue, causing a deep groan in my throat. With my head between her frozen fingers, holding half the stick, and her shocked face, I nearly bite her when I take the rest.
Her lips are so close to mine, but I force myself to step back.
Licking the grease off my lips, I send her a smirk. “Thanks for the snack.”
I turn my back to her and leave.
