Aria turns to the crowd and talks with miraculous ease. “I didn’t have a chance to meet Griffin before the show, but I’ve been looking forward to it ever since I saw the video. So, what’s the final verdict?Areyou my number one fan?”
She reaches out a hand to bridge the gap between them and dances her fingertips down his shoulder. A shiver runs down his arm, and Aria’s glow eclipses the crowd behind her.
Griffin holds her stare, and his smile grows. After a beat,he looks away and laughs, and it surprises him when he hears it broadcast across the venue. “Guilty as charged.” He grips his chin, massaging it bashfully as he sneaks another close-up look at her. “And thank you all for having me. You can trust me when I say backstage is not for the faint of heart.”
Aria throws her head back and laughs, and her fans join her. Griffin cannot take his eyes from her; she’s magnetic.
“Well, well, you should take a spin in my hair and makeup chair, Mr. Hayes.”
Honestly, in the middle of this moment that feels very much like being under a spell, he might be convinced.
Eventually he finds his wherewithal. “Only if you play Sunday’s game against the Panthers.”
Aria puts a finger to her cheek and taps playfully as if she’s mulling it over. “No thanks! I’ll keep the sparkles and the blisters from these killer boots.”
The crowd goes wild.
“You do it well, so I can’t imagine you wanting to change course.”
Aria fans herself playfully. “Well, thank you, I might just have to invite you to every concert to keep my spirits high.”
Griffin extends an arm to acknowledge the crowd, and when Aria slips under it and pulls him into an embrace, he’s covered in warmth. She looks up and holds his eye, and Griffin’s breath catches. Stage fright, nerves of being called out unexpectedly, most likely. Definitely not the effects of this enchanting woman he’s so lucky to have become entwined with.
Aria slips away from his side and turns back to her fans.
Griffin feels the heat of his face as his pulse picks up, and he seizes the moment to bow out.
“Thank you so much, Aria. And all of you.” He waves to the crowd, then turns and ducks back into the wings.
He unclips the mic and hands it off to the waiting stagehand as quickly as he can manage.One and done, Griffin tells himself. And it wasn’t all that bad—or it won’t be once his flaming red cheeks cool off.
Chapter 4
Aria
Only five songs remain in the show after “Glass Heart,” but Aria is surprised by the energy that thrums through her. Every dance step has an extra bounce and every note a perfect roundness to it. Perfection is always her goal, so pulling a professional football player onstage during her down-to-the-minute planned show was a gamble she wouldn’t usually entertain. But after all the online chatter, the crowd would’ve been disappointed if Griffin didn’t make an appearance—onstage or on a big screen—and Aria didn’t want to let them down. Nevertheless, she’d worried about him coming out straight-faced and rigid like an athlete trained to buckle down for battle when the lights go on in the stadium. Sunday football games might be a performance, but they certainly weren’t the type she put on.
Despite a few audible gulps and the flush that filled his cheeks, Griffin had been charming when he stumbled onstage.The postgame interviews were probably good training for the moment—reporters tossing hardball questions his way after hours of pushing his body to the limits.
As the final song ends, a great applause erupts and Aria lets the microphone drop to her side. She beams at her fans, her chest rising and falling quickly from the exertion of dancing and singing at a rapid pace. As the cheers quiet, she lifts the microphone once more.
“Thank you, Chicago! You are always a safe bet for a good night.”
The crowd cheers.
Aria turns to the wings. “And thanks again to Griffin Hayes for being such a good sport. Good luck tomorrow. Go Wardens!”
Aria gives one final big wave as she turns and marches off the stage and into the wings. Backstage she greets the staff and calls out, “Great job, guys! It went off without a hitch, as usual!” Aria high-fives the audio tech closest to her and gives the lead a wink. She is only as good as the team around her, and even though it’s her name in the headlines, Aria understands how many good people it takes to pull off productions of this quality. It’s one of the reasons she’s known as a generous bonus giver in the industry.
Aria ducks into her dressing room, closes the door behind her, and lets out a tired sigh.
Bailey looks up from her phone screen, where she sits on a rolling desk chair in the corner. “Another great show, big sis.”
Aria drops into a chair that matches Bailey’s and starts pulling off her boots. “Thanks. I didn’t love ‘After the Storm.’ I couldn’t get the power behind it.”
“I didn’t notice a difference.” Bailey gets up to open themini fridge. She stops at Aria’s side with a bottle of water and cracks it.
Aria groans. “Thanks. You’re a godsend.”
