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“Shit. Here she comes. Be good, Giselle,” muttered Blaze, who stepped back.
Asher all but turned and ran when the girl in question came swishing up through the meet-and-greet line, skipping everyone without so much as a hiccup. People let her through, splitting a path for her like she was royalty. As she got closer, Giselle thought she looked familiar, but she couldn’t place her name. The girl was about her age, and absolutely beautiful. She stood out like a flamingo among pigeons, with her platinum-blonde hair streaked with bubblegum pink, her pastel pink minidress, and glittery makeup. She strutted up to the front of the line and leaned down, her flawless hair falling around her rosy cheeks. As she passed by, people whispered, wide-eyed with excitement, nudging each other and occasionally even snapping a furtive cell phone photo.
The young woman gave Giselle a glittering smile as she reached the front of the line. She batted her long lashes and held out a shiny, clearly new copy of the first Tortured Hearts album.
“Funny running into each other like this,” the girl said in a sweet voice.
“I’m sorry, have we met?” Giselle asked, confused.
The girl giggled. “We have now. I’m Jade,” she said, sticking out her hand.
Giselle reluctantly shook it, still trying to figure out how they knew each other.
“Giselle Kingston,” she said.
“Oh, I know. Everyone here knows who you are, clearly! Nothing like hearing a crowd chant your lyrics back to you, am I right?” Jade gushed.
“Are you a musician, too?” Giselle asked innocently.
Jade beamed at her, that thousand-watt smile never leaving her face.
“Oh yes! I guess you haven’t heard of me, but I’ve definitely heard of you,” said Jade. “And I bet the whole world will know your name now that you’re working with Asher Tate.”
“Asher?” she repeated. “How do you know each other?”
“Let’s just say we made some really beautiful music together,” said the pink-haired girl. “Anyway, I just wanted to congratulate you in person on your exceptional performance and your new partnership! Asher was such a big help to me in writing my last album, and I’ve heard good things about that Blaze Norton guy, too.”
“Oh. Wow. Well, thank you,” Giselle said, stunned.
How did she know about all that?
“We ladies have to look out for each other in this industry. Too many wolves in sheep’s clothing out there trying to take advantage of a pretty girl’s time and talent,” Jade remarked. “If you ever want to chat about music or vent about stupid boys and stuff, you can find me. We can chat, you know, lady to lady.”
“Well, that’s very kind of you. Thanks, Jade. It was wonderful getting to meet you tonight,” said Giselle with a big smile. She signed the album with a flourish and handed it back to Jade, who continued to grin at her.
“It was my pleasure, totally. And hey, I meant what I said. Even the strongest woman needs a confidante. I’m really good at keeping secrets. You can tell me anything,” said Jade.
“I appreciate that. Good to know,” Giselle answered a little awkwardly.
Jade clutched the signed album to her chest and gave Giselle a little wave. “Anywho… I’ll get out of your hair so these lovely folks can get a signed copy, too. Good luck with the new songwriters! I’m sure you’ll really hit it off.”
“Thanks!” Giselle called after her. Jade flounced away through the crowd just as gracefully as she arrived. She resumed signing autographs as Asher and Blaze reappeared beside her, looking very concerned.
“How’d it go?” asked Blaze.
“What did she say to you?” demanded Asher.
Giselle gave them a bemused look. “Uh, she was extremely sweet and normal. Unlike you guys, who are acting like she’s some kind of secret agent sent to annihilate me. Which is extra crazy, since she just told me how great you guys are.”
Asher frowned. “Wait. She said that?”
“Yeah, I was just as surprised as you are,” Giselle quipped.
Blaze sighed. “Crisis averted.”
Giselle laughed. “Boys, if you’re this worked up over an innocent girl with pink hair, I have no idea how you’re supposed to handle me.”
Blaze smirked. “I think we’ll figure it out.”
“You can sure try,” said Giselle, giving them the faintest of approvals. She had been just about ready to tell the guys to screw off and let her do her thing. But Jade’s encouragement had swayed her mind, at least for now. If they were half as useful as Jade made them sound, maybe it was worth giving them a shot.
Still, she thought with glee, she was not going to make it easy for them.
