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“Hell no.”
“I’ve done this a million times.”
“Oh yeah? I don’t see a sewing kit.”
“If you stop moving, then I’ll cut straight. Legs—perfect legs, remember?”
Chloe slammed her eyes shut and stopped breathing as Jinx went around her with the scissors. She could actually hear the snip of the cloth. When air kissed her legs well above her knees, she was terrified to open her eyes. “It was ombré, now it’s just going to be blue.”
“Nope. Open your eyes and look.”
“If you ruined this skirt, I’ll skin you and steal your pants. Why you get to wear pants and I have to go with three quarter of my legs hanging out seems beyond unfair.”
“Assets. I have long legs and skirts don’t fit me right. You’ve got a rocking body you hide under mom jeans and khakis. We are not letting you hide tonight.”
“Right. No hiding.” Chloe opened her eyes and lightly swayed. The skirt belled around her thighs and fell in a floaty little sigh.
“I’m right.”
“Shut up.”
“I’ll take it.” Jinx stood up and hugged her. “We’re going to have fun tonight.”
Chloe hugged her back. “Yes, we are.”
By the time they got back down to the main level where the House of Blues was, music was pumping out of the mouth of the entrance. They showed their laminated passes and were handed off to the next checkpoint.
Black walls, a black stage, and a steel support system crammed with twirling lights offered the perfect ambience. Huge screens packed each avai
lable corner to make sure no one had a bad seat. The iconic heart was flushed with purple and red flames. House of Blues—every musician's dream, no matter how famous.
She didn’t have a musical bone in her body, but the heady power of the building itself was enough to send her pulse skittering. Her blood heated and fizzed the deeper they moved into the venue.
The place was packed. Now that they were inside, voices overpowered the piped-in music. Heat from too many bodies packed together made her suddenly very thankful she was wearing practically nothing. They were passed along to another staff member who looked over their passes and checked a clipboard.
Jinx and Ivy squealed when they moved down yet another section. The stage was right there. They’d be eye level with the series of instruments set up along the stage’s edge. A gorgeous pink guitar was anchored into a stand. She recognized the Takamine, the Les Paul, the Gibson, the Jackson, the Stratocaster, and the gleaming polish of the drum set. Scarves flirted around a microphone stand, catching the breeze from the fans working overtime above.
The murmur of conversation crashed around her as they found their seats. The front row was dotted with people, but this wasn’t the main event. Warning Sign was the opener and still very new to the scene with only a few hits under their belts.
The VIP section would fill up as the night wore on. Local radio winners, along with ones from Sirius XM’s contest would add still more people to the section. The high rollers who forever seemed to have access to the best that the hotel could offer would take over more than a few seats as well. This was Vegas. The big time that her fiancé had longed for.
He’d never quite made it.
The lights flickered. Dejá vu kicked hard.
The stage had been part of her life for so long. This was a helluva lot bigger than the dives that Snake had played in, but the feel was the same.
That sense of anticipation, the hum of energy in the audience. Everyone was waiting for those opening chords.
Including her. For the first time in a long time, she couldn’t wait for the show to begin.
Chapter 7
Michael tugged at the vintage KISS T-shirt he’d paired with worn jeans and combat boots and scanned the backstage area one last time.
It wasn’t looking good. Not for Malachi showing up, and not for him making amends anytime soon with Lila.
Oh, he knew eventually she’d forgive him. Their relationship was built too strong to be blown apart by the careless words he’d thrown out when he’d still been smarting from the Tabitha situation and Ryan’s injury. But she was going to make him sweat for a while.
