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“What about you, Chloe? I saw on CNN that you were going to be performing a concert in Berlin tonight, is this the sort of place you come to wind down?”
“I came off stage not long ago, but I didn’t want to come here, they did.” She gestured in the direction of her entourage. “I much prefer to go back to my hotel and watch TV after a concert, but you have to give the touring party their little perks.”
There was nothing worse than touring with a group of unhappy assistants. Getting them through the front door of Berghain and straight to a full service booth was one way to keep the peace.
Her show at the Mercedes Benz arena had been an instant sell out. Foster, her longtime manager had pressured her to announce a second show, but Chloe had held firm. This was a limited tour. Starting later in the year, after she had her brand new album released, she would embark on a grueling world tour. There wouldn’t be a corner of the planet where she didn’t perform.
As soon as I get home I need to get back into the studio and finish laying down more tracks. This album is taking forever to write and record.
Thoughts of her pressing commitments could wait—tonight she wanted to sit and share a drink or two with the hot guy she had just met.
“Was it a good show, I mean the crowd?” he asked.
“Oh yes. The Germans really know how to go off at a concert. Security was getting worried at one point when Chloe’s Garden just cut loose.”
“Chloe’s Garden?”
“That’s what my diehard fans call themselves. Though since they are mostly young women, the crowd is usually well behaved— they don’t even like to mosh all that much. My fans are into hugs and being nice to one another.”
Another artist might be offended at someone not knowing the lexicon of their fanbase, but Chloe didn’t mind. If Jordan didn’t know about Chloe’s Garden, then he wasn’t a fanboy.Thank god.Over the years, she’d encountered her fair share of fanboys all hoping to use their inner knowledge of Chloe’s world as the means to flatter their way into her bed. Many had tried, none had succeeded.
He picked up a fresh glass from his selection of drinks and took a sip. “I can’t remember the last time I went to a concert, but I hear yours are amazing. And Chloe’s Garden sounds lovely.” Her gaze followed his glass as Jordan set it down.
Is he staying off the alcohol so he can do drugs?
It pained her, but she had to ask “Jordan. Are you avoiding alcohol because you intend to do pills?”
His face blanched. A muscle twitched in his suddenly tight jaw. “Absolutely not.”
“I ask, because I have a reputation I need to protect. I can’t be linked to a user.”
With his fingers balling on his thighs, he avoided her gaze. “I’m not a user.”
Huh. Then what is his deal?
“So, would you like a glass of champagne or perhaps some vodka? We just opened a couple of new bottles.”
He shook his head. “No, thank you. I don’t touch the booze.” There was a sense of finality in his words. A subtle warning for her not to ask anything else about why he wasn’t drinking alcohol.
Since coming to sit with her, Chloe had noted that Jordan was polite but guarded. It could have just been an act, a way of getting her attention. Some guys liked to play the mysterious hunk, but he just appeared a touch uneasy. His all American swagger had somehow disappeared. In its place she got a sense of him actually being genuine. What she was seeing was the real Jordan.
Surprising.
“You don’t like this place all that much, do you?” she ventured.
There I said it. He’s here under sufferance, just like me.
He gave her a tight smile. “Sorry. I don’t mean to be a downer, but if I’m being completely honest, I hate it. I’m not exactly dressed for a nightclub, which is why I’m slugging my drink down. It’s unbearably hot in here and the air smells of sweat. The only reason I haven’t already abandoned this concrete cavern is you, Chloe.” A laugh escaped his lips. “God, that didn’t half sound like a well-used pick up line, did it? But I mean it. You are the nicest thing here.”
Chloe brushed the tips of her fingers along Jordan’s thigh. “It’s not my scene either, but I don’t see those three leaving anytime soon.” She nodded in the direction of her team. None of them acknowledged the move—they were too busy fighting over the drinks menu and deciding what bottle they would order next.There are going to be some very ugly heads in the morning.
She moved a little closer to him. “What would you say to us ditching my people. I mean we could go somewhere quiet and have a bite to eat. Just the two of us. I don’t know about you but I’m starving.”
Am I really doing this?It had been a long time since she’d spent any real time away from Marta and the others.I just want a few hours with someone else.
Jordan curled his hand around hers, the pads of his fingers brushing seductively against the skin of her palm. It sent a spark of lust racing straight to her core. Then to her surprise and distress, he set her hand aside and got to his feet. “I apologize if my compliment implied something I didn’t intend. It was lovely to meet you, Chloe. I wish you all the success in your future, you are an incredible talent. Enjoy the rest of your evening.” Jordan began to move away.
What? He’s brushing me off. How did I misjudge this?
