“We can take as many of these as you want, sweetheart.” Ella joked, throwing her arms around the guys. “This is the most action I’ve had in at least a decade.”
“I’ll take it for you,” Cash offered, eyeing me as he reached for the phone. He was clearly clued into my batshit crazy behavior.
“Thanks, man,” I said casually. With that, I pulled Liv into my chest and folded my arms around her. She smelled delicious, like citrus and champagne, and all I wanted was to get drunk on her. I felt her relax in my arms as Cash counted us down and took the photos.
“Alright, everybody.” Cash handed my phone back to me and clasped his hands together. “It’s showtime.” Assistants entered the room in a flurry of movement along with Brady, who began herding us all toward the door.
“It was nice meeting you guys,” Ella exclaimed, giving Luca and Dallas another hug.
“The pleasure was entirely ours,” Dallas insisted, shaking his hair down from its ponytail and fist-bumping Grace. “You ladies are welcome to stowaway on our bus anytime.”
“Don’t encourage her, Dallas,” Liv warned with a laugh. “I don’t have that kind of bail money.”
“Y’all are the best,” Grace drawled, as Derek enveloped her in another hug.
Liv turned to me, chewing her bottom lip. I wanted to know what those lips tasted like. They looked soft and inviting as they curled into a sweet smile. “Seriously, thank you. And... you know you don’t have to… I don’t expect you to...” She stumbled over her words, and it was the cutest thing I’d ever seen. I already wanted to call her even though she was standing right in front of me. “It was really great meeting you, Jaxon.”
“You can call me Jax.”
“Jax.” She stuck her hand out to shake mine. “Thanks again.”
I took her slender hand and held onto it a little longer than I probably should have. “Cash, will you take these lovely ladies to watch the show from the stage please?”
With that, Cash whisked them away. Before they turned the corner toward the stage, I saw her look back at me, and I could swear, she smiled.
Chapter 3
Liv
“You ladies are getting theVIP treatment tonight.” Cash wound us through the backstage area where people bounced back and forth like pinballs moving equipment behind the scenes. The opening act was still playing, and the closer we got to the front of the side stage area, the more the sounds of the crowd swelled around us.
“Thank you for this,” I said, catching up to him. “Does this happen often? Fans getting chosen to watch the show backstage?” Though I was sure this had to be a regular occurrence, there was a certain innocence in the way Jax looked at me that made me question it.
“Honestly? No,” he admitted, running a hand through his whiskey-colored hair. “The only people that have ever been invited to watch the show from the stage are family members and maybe a few close friends. You guys must have made quite the impression.”
Ella’s eyes widened, and she elbowed me swiftly in the side. I felt Grace tug on my jacket.
“Antoni!” Cash caught the attention of a gorgeous man wearing a headset and carrying a clipboard, who at the sound of his name, fell into stride beside us. He wore a sharp black suit with purple sparkles on the lapel and exuded the confidence of a man that could be running this joint. His dark hair was gelled to perfection, and his five o’clock shadow was meticulously groomed. “This is Liv, Ella, and her daughter Grace. They’re going to be hanging out stage right tonight. Would you mind getting them something to drink? A couple of glasses of champagne and let’s see if we can get a virgin cocktail for Miss Grace. I want you to load them up with some merch too.”
“On it, boss,” Antoni said before practically vanishing into thin air.
“You really don’t have to do that.” Ella tried to stop Antoni, but he disappeared before she could even finish her sentence.
“Nonsense. We want to,” Cash insisted, bringing us all to a stop. “Here we are. Best seat in the house.”
Grace squealed with delight, her eyes sparkling. When I turned toward the stage and my eyes adjusted to the lights, I saw exactly why. We had a perfect view of Sam Corbyn’s mop of red hair. He and his band were in the middle of an upbeat performance with a heavy bass drum. I shifted my gaze to look out into the crowd and felt my heart catch in my throat. The fans were on their feet, clapping along and singing the lyrics back as Sam pointed his microphone toward them. Their energy was palpable and so damn happy. I detected something that felt a lot like regret bubbling deep inside me.
I felt Jax’s perfect hand on my shoulder before I heard him. “What do you think?” He leaned in so I could hear him over the crowd. His velvet voice was so close I could feel the warmth of his breath on my ear. I turned to face him, and butterflies swirled around in my stomach as I gazed up into his soulful, stormy eyes. His expression was so sweet and excited as he awaited my response that my heart was ready to swan dive right onto his black Chuck Taylors.
“This is really amazing.” I glanced back at Grace who was dancing as Ella chatted with Cash. “Thank you so much. You seriously made Grace’s night.”
“And what about you?” He flashed me that dazzling grin, making my heart flutter.
“Seeing her happy makes me happy.” I loved Grace as if she were my own, and seeing her so overjoyed and animated made me happy.
“Well, that won’t do.”
“Wait. What?”
