CHAPTER 1
TARA
“Over there,” my manager says, practically shoving me toward the VIP section where tonight’s star holds court.
At Manhattan’s Taboo Club, it’s always the same scene. A star surrounded by his entourage of managers and publicists. And of course, a carefully curated collection of stunning women.
The star and his entourage have only been here a short time. Yet already, delicate glassware balances on armrests, lies abandoned on tables, and teeters on ledges.
As a “glassy,” my job is simple: collect the used glasses and retreat. My plain black uniform ensures I blend into the background like stage crew during an intermission.
I weave through the controlled club chaos with my silver tray in hand, the bone-deep thrum of the bass vibrating through the soles of my shoes. I keep my eyes downcast, trying to collect glasses without drawing attention. That’s when I see him.
Cameron Crow.
The rockstar who captured my heart when I was thirteen. His songs about love and truth shaped my ideas about the man I wanted to share my life with.
He sits in his plush VIP booth, oblivious to the surrounding action. Instead, he scribbles into a worn leather notebook.Odd.Mostmen can't keep their eyes off our club's famously ravishing servers, the Taboo Dolls.
“Don’t even think about it,” whispers a passing glassy, sensing my attraction to Cameron.
“Think about what?”
“Getting close to a VIP. The bosses are watching like hawks tonight. A glassy got fired last night. The Taboo Dolls thought she was poaching their VIP client.”
Despite her warning, I edge closer to Cameron.
He’s been famous for decades. Twenty years of platinum albums and sold-out stadiums. Now, up close, I can’t believe I’m seeing him in person. That gorgeous face that’s looked at me from so many magazine covers.
His strong jawline. The way his fingers move across his notebook page with the same intensity I’ve watched him play guitar.
The gold locket resting in the hollow of my neck seems to warm in response to his proximity.
I’m reaching for a glass near his feet when a glint of bronze catches the light. It’s a ring, wedged deep in the leather seating. I crouch low by his chair to retrieve the simple, worn bronze band.
“Sir?” I ask softly. “Is this your ring?”
Cameron looks up from his notebook, and the world tilts. Those famous cobalt eyes lock with mine. I feel lightning strike. There’s genuine surprise in his gaze as it drops to his bare ring finger, then back to my face.
“Yes,” he says, his voice even more velvet-smooth in person. “Thank you.”
When his fingers brush mine to take the ring, heat jolts straight through me, sharp and instant. It's like touching a live wire. A Taboo Doll hovering nearby steps closer, her smile as sharp as her stilettos.
“Grab your glasses and go.” She gives me a small but firm shove toward my abandoned tray.
Cameron turns to me, but the Doll leans forward, obscuring him from my view. And just like that, I’m invisible again.
My skin still vibrates from Cameron’s touch as I weave through the crowd toward the kitchen.Get it together, Tara.He’s Cameron Crow. You’re a broke scholarship student and a glassy.
End of story.
But I can still feel him watching me as I disappear into the chaos of Taboo’s kitchen.
Or more likely, it’s just my wishful thinking.
Magda looks up from the large industrial sink as I approach with my loaded tray. “There’s my girl. You look flushed, honey. Everything okay out there?”
“Cameron Crow’s in the VIP room.”
