Anna went to bed that night with Zoe’s warning ringing in her mind, but she fell asleep remembering the way Eden had looked in her purple hoodie, the joy in those ocean-blue eyes as she rubbed Nelle, and the sparks that had lit Anna up like a packed arena on opening night when their arms brushed in the kitchen.
The next morning, she gave herself a stern lecture in the bathroom mirror before she headed to the studio for rehearsals. Eden was off limits for so many reasons. It wouldn’t be easy to ignore the sparks, but if Anna could move past her crush, there was a good chance they could be friends, and she wanted that. Friendship with Eden sounded amazing, and to be honest, Eden seemed like she could use a friend.
It sounded ludicrous to imagine someone as rich and famous as Eden needing a friend, but Anna had been in the business long enoughto realize that sometimes the richest, most successful people wereexactlythe ones most in need of honest, no-strings friendship.
At the studio, Anna checked in with Kyrie. She would be working on choreography again after lunch, but she’d come in early because ... well, she was enthusiastic about rehearsing for her first tour.
She spotted Eden in the room that had been set up as her rehearsal space, an outline of the stage layout marked on the floor in bright-red tape. Eden stood with her back to the door, wearing what Anna was starting to think of as her rehearsal uniform: black skinny jeans paired with an athletic tank top, neatly tucked in. Today’s tank was a soft shade of blue.
Eden’s hair was down, landing halfway down her back, and she stood with her feet planted about a foot apart, both hands on the microphone stand. Anna slipped through the door and sat cross-legged in the back corner to watch. Eden was working on the arrangement for “Alone,” and for the next fifteen minutes, Anna listened to her belt out those powerful lyrics. Her voice filled the room, making goose bumps rise on Anna’s arms.
Eden had tweaked the arrangement for the tour, and it was so beautiful, especially in the more haunting portions of the song when she lamented having no one to warm her bed or hold her when she cried. What kind of place must Eden have been in when she wrote it? Probably a dark one. It had been released not long after her divorce.
“I’m never alone, because I have myself to keep me company,” Eden finished, bowing her head before she turned and faced the rear of the stage. Her eyes found Anna, and Anna felt a jolt in the pit of her stomach as their gazes locked.
The ghost of a smile touched Eden’s lips before she turned to face her team. “How was that?” she called out. “I think the new inflection at the end of the second chorus really helps to maximize the impact of the strings.”
“I agree,” a man who’d been sitting in front of the stage said. “Very strong, perhaps a bit more vibrato at the end, but I think you nailed it.”
Eden nodded. They spoke for a few more minutes, and Anna wondered if he was Eden’s vocal coach. If so, they had a much more respectful relationship than Anna had had with Camille. It had taken her years to realize that Camille’s criticisms weren’t the constructive kind.
“Lunch is ready in the break room,” Paris called from the doorway.
Wow, Eden’s people ran a tight ship. Everything was so organized. Anna had thought her team had it together, but lunch so far had involved her and Kyrie heading out to find a nearby vegan-friendly drive-through.
Eden set her microphone in the stand and walked toward Anna. She extended her hands, and Anna gripped them, letting Eden pull her to her feet. “So what did you think?” Eden asked.
“Amazing, and that’s not just a blind compliment because I love your music. The changes you’ve made to the song really elevate it. You gave me shivers.” She held up her arms to show Eden the goose bumps that hadn’t quite faded.
Eden’s smile lit up her whole face. “Thank you. That means a lot. Have lunch with me?”
“Um, sure, but—”
Eden waved a hand. “Paris always orders too much, and there will be something vegan friendly, I’m sure. We can talk about our duet if you want to call it a working lunch.”
“I’m happy to call it a casual lunch between friends,” Anna said, “but I do want to talk about that duet.”
“Great.” Eden led the way out of the studio and down the hall to a room Anna hadn’t been in yet. It looked more like a boardroom than a break room, with a long oval table taking up most of the space. The counter in back was laden with food. Anna saw platters of various Mediterranean dishes: black bean salad, tabbouleh, stuffed grapeleaves, kebobs, rice, and several other things she couldn’t identify by sight.
She and Eden filled plates and grabbed bottles of water, and then Eden led her down another hall and out a door. Anna found herself on a small patio overlooking a pond behind the building. There was a glass table ringed by metal chairs at the center and two lounge chairs at the edge of the patio.
“Shh, don’t tell anyone, but I kind of pulled a diva move and claimed this space for myself,” Eden told her with a smug smile.
“Well, if anyone here is entitled to pull a diva move, it’s you.”
Eden’s smile faltered slightly. “If the media’s going to call me a bitch, I might as well act like one, right?”
Anna scoffed as she set her plate on the table. “That’s not what I meant. I haven’t known you long, but I’ve never seen you act like a bitch. You are, however, the woman who’s footing the bill for all of this, so if you want to sit outside and claim a few minutes of peace and quiet during a demanding day, I’d call that self-care.”
“You’re good for my self-esteem, you know that?” Eden sat across from her, unscrewed the cap on her water, and took a long drink.
Anna forced herself not to watch Eden’s throat as she swallowed. “I’d say I can’t imagine how a woman in your position could possibly need a boost to her self-esteem, but this industry can be harsh, especially on unapologetically successful women.”
“Tell me about it.” Eden set down the bottle, which was now half-empty. “I barely look at social media, but somehow I still see it and internalize it.”
“It’s hard not to.”
“Hey, slightly off topic, but speaking of public image, I was just thinking ...” Eden hesitated, spinning her water bottle between her fingers.