He seemed to not hear me at first, his face pale before he blinked and glanced down at me. “What?”
“Water, would you like some?”
He rubbed at the stubble on his jaw, his voice rough when he responded, “Uh, yes, thank you.”
“Come on, we’ll go ask the bartender.”
Sliding my arm through his, I slowly led him to the small bar at the far end of the gallery. “A glass of water, please,” I said to the woman, and she nodded before handing me a plastic cup. I then handed it to Jace, and he took an absentminded gulp, shooting me a look of thanks.
“So, you’ve really never met that woman before?” I asked him.
He shook his head. “Never. I have no idea what’s going on.”
I knew by his response that he was telling the truth. I’d known him long enough to tell when he was lying. “Well, Astro obviously has a lot of very obsessed superfans. Nowadays, people can develop parasocial relationships with celebrities. Perhaps she really believes she knows you, but it’s all in her head.”
Jace frowned, silent for a long moment before he spoke. “She said she’d been talking to me online for a year. That’s not parasocial, someone’s been …”
“Impersonating you?” I finished for him as concern cinched around my chest.
His head fell back, bumping against the wall behind him. “Fuck, this is bad. There could be others like her.”
Recognising his tension and how shaken he seemed, I took the water and set it down on the bar. “You don’t know that yet. Your dad will get all the details. You know how good he is at interviewing people. Plus, he’ll be the best person to decide whether or not she’s lying.” Jace’s dad had a lot of practice reading people from his work as an illusionist. He also had a natural ability to figure people out.
Jace nodded, staying quiet, and I felt the odd need to comfort him somehow. Reaching out, I took his hand in mine and gave it a gentle squeeze.
At my touch his hazel gaze lifted to me, searching, as if he were trying to read my thoughts. Heat rushed up my arm from where our hands met, his palm warm, his fingertips rough with callouses. He got them from the hours he spent coaxing melodies from his guitar. The contrast to my soft skin sent a sharp, surprising thrill through me.
It had been years since we’d touched like this, and I wasn’t prepared for the way the world seemed to narrow to that single point of contact. Electricity skated across my skin as his fingers shifted against mine, his thumb brushing the inside of my wrist in a slow, unthinking sweep that made my breath catch. For a heartbeat, I was locked in his stare, anchored there by …Something.
That was when Matilda approached. I jerked my hand back as if burned and turned quickly to face Jace’s mother, hoping she hadn’t noticed the flush warming my cheeks.
“What’s happening?” Jace asked, desperate.
“Your dad’s still talking with her, but it looks like someone’s been pretending to be you online and doing a pretty good job of it. Whoever they are, they’ve been carrying out a relationship with this woman. She was very confused at first because shetruly believed you were the one she was speaking to, but Jay has helped her realise it wasn’t real. This impersonator has been making up all sorts of outlandish reasons as to why you can’t meet in person, and the most recent excuse was a car accident in Japan that left you injured.”
Jace raked a hand through his hair. “Right, but how did she know to comehere? It’s not widely known that Roan is my cousin. I mean, everyone online only knows him by his artist name, and it’s never been made public that Elias is his brother.”
“Right, that is cause for concern, and something your dad will get to the bottom of.”
I was about to ask if the impersonator had been requesting money since that was normally a part of these sort of catfishing scams, but then Jace’s other bandmates, Angus and Kami, joined us. I stepped back to let Jace and his mam explain what was going on, not keen on interacting with these two since they’d always disliked me.
Angus and I’d had a certain rivalry that dated back to when we were teenagers. The Fields house was my safe place, but then when Jace and Angus became friends at school, it had become quickly apparent that Angus’ parents were abusive and neglectful. Jay and Matilda had let him stay with them whenever he’d needed, and eventually, he’d ended up moving in with them for a time. I’d been jealous that he got to live with them while I had to return to the cold mausoleum next door every night. Angus had thought I was spoiled and didn’t need to be at Jace’s house so often because my parents were rich, and I lived in luxury, while his mother and father had actively abused him.
Looking back, I understood why he’d felt that way. From the outside, I must have seemed like a girl who had everything. In reality, I’d been a lonely girl longing for someone to love me.
Anyway, as we’d grown older, that rivalry faded, only to be replaced with a new kind of resentment, at least on Angus’ part.I personally had no problem with him or Kami; however, they saw me as a sort of “Yoko” figure, even though I’d never done anything to try and interfere with the band. Unfortunately, in their eyes, divorcing Jace was my cardinal sin.
Jace must’ve noticed me trying to leave because suddenly he called, “Shannon?”
“I just need the bathroom. I’ll be right back.”
He studied me a long moment, clearly not believing that I wasn’t trying to flee. I mean, he had his family and his bandmates here. He didn’t need me.
“All right, but don’t leave, okay?”
“I’m not leaving,” I said, feeling guilty because that was exactly what I’d been trying to do. Instead, I went to the bathroom because I actually did need to go. When I returned, Jace’s dad had reappeared, and behind him, I saw his Aunt Lille assisting the redheaded woman outside and into a waiting car. Alison turned back to the gallery, her eyes desperately searching for Jace, but he had his head down, talking seriously with his father. Something uncomfortable unfurled within me. I didn’t like this woman believing she and Jace were in love, but more than that, I was angry that some faceless person was going about impersonating him without his knowledge.
Jay ran a hand down his face. “Let’s go sit down in private so we can talk properly.”
