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“Please,” she pouted, sticking out her bottom lip. “It’ll be so fun.”
Ugh.
“Okay, okay.” I finally gave in, swaying to the music with her. She giggled with delight, and we made a spectacle—one big enough to grab the attention of a camera. I kept my attention on Aliyah, just letting myself enjoy the moment.
And it worked.
Relief rolled through my shoulders as I genuinely laughed, enjoying the beat—and ignoring the fact that Jackson was watching.
Let him watch. Let him see that he doesn’t get to me.
And once I took that to heart, I found myself belting out the words to all the songs I loved with Aliyah, enjoying the evening…especially noticing that Jackson kept staring.
That felt really good.
“So, we’re going to play one more song this evening,” Jackson said after a thirty-minute set. “However, I thought it might be fun to have some help. Who wants to come up and join me?”
Aliyah bounced up and down, screaming and raising her hand. “Me, me, me!”
I laughed, and Jackson waved to her.
“Come on, you look like you have some fierce energy.”
“I do!” Aliyah shouted as she ran up to the stage and took Jackson’s hand. “What are we gonna sing?”
“Your choice,” he said to her, grabbing a microphone. “What do you want to sing?”
“Um…I want to sing…Elsa!”
His brow furrowed. “Elsa?”
“Let it go,” I called out to the stage, and Jackson whipped his head around to me. “The song,” I clarified, giving him a half-hearted smile.
He held my eyes just long enough for my heart to stumble over itself. “Thanks, Miss Harris.” Jackson turned back to Aliyah. “All right, let’s sing some Elsa.”
She jumped up and down as the band began the Disney power hit. Jackson actually knew the freaking song—and he belted it with her.
All the while, dancing with her on stage.
And I hated how cute it was.
My heart was in a million pieces the entire time, and for the first time, I was seeing a side of Jackson I never knew existed. He was great with kids…
Ugh. Why can’t he just be a horrible asshole?
As the song came to a close, my lips stayed in a flat line. Jackson kneeled down, and Aliyah gave him a huge hug.
“Thanks for singing with me,” he said to her, his smile so genuine it hurt to see. “You’ve got great pipes.”
She blushed, handing him back the microphone. “Thanks. But I like it better when you and Miss Harris sing songs together.”
He chuckled but didn’t say anything else as she skipped down the steps.
And he didn’t look at me for the rest of the night, either.
14
JACKSON
