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Ayla glanced over and grinned when she saw all of the members of Contagious. Since they had performed much earlier than her, she had wondered if they would stick around to the end of the concert. She was glad they had so she could share her good news with them.
She took Zenix’s hand in hers and said, “Yes! I found my keeper.”
“Congrats, that’s amazing!” Sebastian moved forward as if to hug her, then the singer shot a tentative glance over at Zenix before taking a step back. He laughed nervously. “You’re that security guy, right?”
“Zenix is the Chief of Security here on Evo,” she corrected.
“So, I guess that means this is the official end to our tour together,” Nolan Dovico said with a sad smile.
“Don’t worry. I didn’t forget about your new song. I promise to take a look at it before you leave,” she assured the guitar player.
“We’re really going to miss traveling with you,” Holland Beckett said as he wiped a fake tear from his eye. He was in charge of keyboards and electronics and often had trouble sleeping, so she’d spent a lot of late nights chatting with him during the tour.
“You’re just going to miss my space cruiser,” she teased.
Evan Krasse, the bass player of the group, laughed. “Well, that, too.”
“I’m going to miss you guys, too. But this is only the beginning of your journey. Now, you get to enjoy every minute of it together and pave your own path forward.”
“What about letting us play a few shows with you here once you get your residency set up?” Mike Cheval, the drummer, asked with a wide grin.
“Of course,” she readily agreed. “That would be fun.”
“Ayla, we have to go,”Zenix said, squeezing her hand.“You still have to get ready for the afterparty.”
“We’ve got to go, but you guys are going on the VIP cruise later, right?” she asked as she started backing away, trusting Zenix to keep her on her feet. “I’ll see you there.”
As they made their way toward her dressing room, they kept getting stopped every few seconds by someone who wanted to praise her performance or ask about the new show. When Zenix had finally had enough, he simply lifted her into his arms and bulldozed his way toward her dressing room.
Once they were safely inside the quiet room, he set her back down on her feet. She turned around to blast him for being so impatient, but the words got trapped in her throat. Alarm swept through her when she finally noticed his expression.
“What is it?” she asked, gripping his hand tight. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m not exactly sure…” he began carefully.
“Tell me.”
“I just got a premonition,” he said ominously. “My skin is tingling with energy, but I’m not sure what it means yet or where the threat is coming from. Until I figure out what is going on, I’m not letting you out of my sight.”
Chapter Eight
Keeping Ayla closeto him turned out to be easier said than done.
As Zenix leaned against the railing on the upper deck of the large luxury boat that the VIP party was being held on, he obsessively watched his mate’s every move. He was relegated to tracking her from across the room since he had been banished to the sidelines before the boat had even left the dock.
After his fierce scowl and brooding manners had scared away several of the sponsors she’d been trying to charm, Anissa had taken over accompanying Ayla around the party. While she should be safe enough on the boat since she was away from the masses, he still didn’t like being so far away from her. Watching his mate smile at other males was akin to torture, but Zenix knew she was just being her friendly self.
That didn’t mean he had to like it, though.
In fact, he’d hated every minute of the damn party since they had stepped on board, and he wished he had tried to convince his mate to skip the event. Not that it would have done much good. She was there for business purposes, not to have fun. And her attendance wasn’t just to benefit herself, but to promote the entire Evo project as a whole.
That was something he had to keep reminding himself.
Truthfully, he’d never really considered everything that went into being a professional singer. It wasn’t just about picking up a guitar and singing. Sure, that was part of it, but there was so much more. Most people saw her as a songwriter and singer, but she was also a businessperson. She promoted herself and her brand by doing interviews, livestreams, advertisements, and by going to parties like the cruise they were currently attending.
And that was on top of performing at all her concerts.
Ayla was involved in every aspect of her shows, from the costume designs to the choreography. She spent countless hours rehearsing and gave it her all during a concert. But she didn’t just do it for herself. A lot of people counted on her for their livelihoods, and she did her best to make them all proud. It was all physically and mentally exhausting, but she never complained about any of it.
