When Rielle had flung open the door to the gym and saw Jake, she nearly did a complete three-sixty and exited the way she’d come in. He’d glanced over, but he didn’t seem to register anything other than general awareness of another person in the room.
If she stayed in front of him and didn’t speak, she could probably get away with it. He wouldn’t place her without her armour: without the hairpieces, her prosthetic front teeth, the coloured contacts and the makeup. And with her blonde hair slicked back, and the sweatband plus a simple ring, her tattoos were hidden.
No one but Rand ever saw her without her armour. The fact she could step out of being Rielle Mainline, rock star, and become someone else was her sanity. The whole being recognised thing never bothered Rand, and he could slip back to his old hair colour and go underground if he wanted to. Rand didn’t need armour, that’s what he called her look, but she couldn’t face the world without it.
Ten minutes into her workout, when the handles of the cross trainer beside her started to swing, things got tricky. What did he think he was doing? There were five cross trainers and no reason why he would need to choose the one right next to hers unless he intended to do something more than work out. He was definitely creeping her out. She was about to bark at him to back off when he said, “Hey, we’ve met before.”
Without looking at him she said, “No.”
“Yeah, we have. In the gym. At the Adelaide Hilton.”
Rielle fiddled with her ear bud, hoping it would give the impression she couldn’t hear him.
He said, “Are you stalking me?” and laughed, letting go the handle closest and angling his body to look at her. Surprised, she glanced at him, catching his warm brown eyes as they swept over her face, full of mischief. “Oh yeah, we’ve definitely met before. I wasn’t likely to forget you.”
“You’re wrong.”
“Nope. I always remember girls who nearly kill me.”
Rielle pressed her lips together to stop herself laughing. There was that line again, if only he knew. She tucked her head down and picked up her pace. She knew she couldn’t outrun him on the stationary machine but she could try to rob him of the breath to talk.
Jake saw the blonde kick down harder and he went with her, running in sync. Who was this girl? What were the chances of her being in Adelaide and Brisbane at the same time as he was, staying in the same hotel? Then it came to him. It was either a wild coincidence, or she was following the band.
Despite the fact this was a business class hotel, she didn’t exactly look like the corporate type. He thought he could see the edge of some ink in her sweaty hairline. And for most professionals the work day had already begun, so he didn’t think she was a highly paid banker or a consultant on interstate business.
He bet on groupie and he wanted to collect.
“Are you a fan of Ice Queen or Problem Children?” he said, over the whirr of their machines. He knew she heard him because the suggestion of a smile pulled at the side of her mouth, but she ignored him. Pity, if she played nice, he’d give her a backstage pass, although with a host of rock stars as competition, it would mean he’d have no chance of capturing her attention for himself.
That thought brought him back to earth. If she was a serious groupie, there was no way she’d be interested in him under any circumstances. Unless it was to use him, and that simply wasn’t his scene, no matter how much it might make for a good distraction from the annoying allure of Rielle.
He slowed up, let her power on and stepped off the cross trainer. He towelled himself off and collected his water bottle and room card. His enthusiasm for a longer workout killed off by his fumble with the girl.
From where he stood he could see her reflection in a mirrored wall. No mistaking it. She was definitely the girl from Adelaide and she was as fascinating to watch then as now. She had a slight but athletic build, long lean muscles and the look of a gymnast in her movements. She reminded him of Rielle. Rielle, if she’d been blonde, had freckles, green eyes and a gap in her front teeth. It