Say You're Mine - Layla Hagen Page 0,95
the building. But the second he opened a narrow door, music filtered out from inside. It was distant at first, growing louder and louder as we went deeper inside the building. The backstage here was smaller than the one at the stadium but still large enough that the whole crew ran around without bumping into each other.
The music was booming, electrifying me. Twenty or so chairs were lined up along a wall next to a table of snacks. There were cords and boxes everywhere. I went straight to Sasha, who was sitting right next to the snack table with her iPad. She rolled her eyes at me but was smiling too.
“Okay, so you two are crazy. But he’ll be happy to see you.”
“I hope so too.” This wasn’t a big thing, but I wanted to show him that I meant it when I said I loved this life.
“How much time left until the break?” I asked.
Sasha tapped the tablet. “Twelve minutes.”
My heart was thundering in my chest. The floor was vibrating even more than it had in the stadium. The bass thrummed in my ears, along with my heartbeat, but I couldn’t really dance with my ankle. It was far less painful, but I still walked with a slight limp. Dancing would have to wait.
“How can you sit?” I asked her.
Sasha laughed, for once looking up from her iPad for longer than a few seconds. “I’ve been to so many of these that they’re all the same for me.”
I was counting down the minutes, and it was easier to do that if I just lost myself to music.
I heard Lars say to the fans, “All right, New York, time for the intermission. See you in a bit.”
The crowd went wild with screams, and their euphoria was so catchy that I was even more on edge than before.
Out of the corner of my eye, I counted how many people were in the room. Right... far too many to get away with a hot-as-hell kiss.
My smile was huge and my palms a little sweaty as I stood right in the center of the room so he’d see me immediately.
Lars came in first and actually did a double take.
He stepped to one side. Brayden was talking to Thomas, at least until Lars tapped his shoulder.
His expression changed from surprised to a full-on grin in a fraction of a second. He came to me and, taking my hand, led me to a corner of the room. They’d left the music and the bass on during the break, so it was incredibly loud. But in the corners, the acoustics were slightly better.
“What... how did you get here?” he asked.
“Coordinated everything with Flynn and Sasha. All the fans were already here, so there was no one at the hotel. It was easy. And I wanted to see you sooner than the gazillion hours it took until you came back.”
His grin widened. “You do realize there are three hours between now and the time I’ll be at the hotel.”
I nodded, bracing both hands on his chest. “Yes. That’s a gazillion. I wanted to see you sooner.”
“And why is that?”
“So you have no doubts about how much I love our crazy life.” I frowned. “Why are you not sweaty at all? I kind of found it sexy.”
He threw his head back, laughing. “We’re not outside. The AC is on, and I do mostly sit at the piano. But I’ll keep that in mind.”
I kissed his jaw, and my heart was so happy just being here with him. He wrapped his strong arms around me, keeping me flat against him.
“We only have three minutes left. You know, in case you want to get to the kissing,” Lars said loudly.
“There are too many people for a hot kiss.” My voice was barely above a whisper, but Brayden understood me perfectly.
“You counted?”
“Hell yes.”
Brayden laughed, looking around the room, coming to the same conclusion as me.
“Everyone, turn around and pretend you’re not here. I’m serious.” His voice dripped with authority. But surely no one would pay him attention?
To my astonishment, the team turned around. Everyone from the sound technicians, to the band, to Sasha!
“See? Problem solved,” he said in a low, seductive voice before capturing my mouth in a kiss so deep and dirty that my whole body hummed.
Oh yeah! Definitely hot as hell.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Five weeks later
Isabelle
“I can’t believe we’re back in New York. Nothing against the guys, but I don’t want to see their faces for the next two weeks,” Brayden