She shot him a look where he was still barking into his phone. Or did he?
She tried to stop her mind from going back to the night of his album release party. The night when Carmen had taken their performance a bit too far.
The night when Aria had run into Adam.
Adam.
She sighed when her stomach twisted again, beginning to dread that sickly swirl, which seemed to come faster and harder every day. She could still hear Adam’s words that night. The pain in his voice. The honesty.
“Once they have their claws in him deep enough, he won’t have a single person left when the curtain finally closes. Not even you.”
Not even her? Her heart ached as her eyes fell back to the pile of magazines in her lap. Since the moment Adam had taken her and Yoshi under his wing, saving them from a life of degradation and nothingness, Aria had trusted him with her whole heart. To the core of her very being she’d trusted Adam. He was the smartest, kindest, most gentle man she’d never known. He’d managed to be that kind of man while still being honest to an absolute fault. Never had a word left Adam Brand’s mouth that was meant to hurt her or Yoshi. Only help them. Protect them.
Somehow, she knew the night of the album release party was no exception.
Her heart went into overdrive.
“Ladies and gentleman, as soon as we’re done deplaning and the flight attendants have completed their preflight checks, we’ll begin our boarding process…”
Aria was thankful when the gate agent began speaking behind the podium, desperate for any distraction. From her mind. Her heart. That miserable stack of magazines. Why the hell had she bought them anyway? She threw them down on the seat next to her and leaned on the arm of her chair, cutting a look at Yoshi.
His cheeks were more hollow than she’d ever seen them. It made his dimples a little less visible when he smiled. The blond tips in his hair seemed to get blonder every day, until even the dark roots were flirting with a brown tone instead of his natural black. His body remained muscled and long, but leaner than she’d ever seen it. She ached to walk across the terminal to Burger King and order him half the menu, forcing it down his throat. She wondered if he knew she woke up in the middle of the night to the empty sheets on his side of the bed. That she’d sneak up to the second level of their home and peek inside his studio, watching him cringing down at his notepad, scribbling inside it with a distressed line between his eyebrows so deep it seemed strong enough to become permanent.
That line was there now, deeper than ever, as he continued speaking. “There is only one person alive who has access to that video footage, who would even know it exists. I need to know who on Marissa Ball’s production staff found it, where they found it, and how they found it by the time my plane lands in LA two days from now. Is that understood?”
Aria rubbed Yoshi’s back, waiting for him to hang up the phone.
Once he did, he buried his head in his hands, groaning. The groan moved into a scream, muffled in his palms. He yanked the hat off his hand and crumpled it in a fist. It reminded her of the many sheets he’d torn out of his notebook in his studio in the dead of night, crushing them in his palm before tossing them across the room.
She didn’t speak, knowing there was nothing she could say to ease his stress. Not only did he have a number one album to promote and a schedule that, after their short vacation, Simon and Gus had filled to the gills, but the debacle at The Marissa Ball Show that morning had shaken him to the core. Aria could see it plain as day.
His hair came undone from where his forehead was buried in the heel of his palms, falling forward.
Aria pushed it back, making sure to rake her nails against his scalp the way she knew he liked it.
“Hell of a way to start our first vacation together, huh?” He lifted his head, took her hand, and entwined their fingers. He brought their clasped hands to his lips and kissed the back of hers, still staring ahead.
As the arriving passengers finished deplaning, Yoshi kept her hand in a death grip, leaning back in his seat with his legs bopping against the blue carpet. He stared off into space, jaw tight, shaking his head in disgust every now and again.
“He’s out there,” Yoshi whispered. “He’s out there somewhere, watching me. Probably sold that video for a crack rock, hoarding the rest for a rainy day. But he doesn’t have the stones to face me. Fucking coward.”
Aria tightened her fingers around his.
He finally shot her a look from the corner of his eye. “I’m about to ruin this. I’m about to ruin the only two days we’ll have alone together for the next year.”
“Don’t worry about our two days,” she whispered. “Not the first two days we’ve ever had alone together, and won’t be the last.”
“It’s our first vacation as a couple. I’ve been looking forward to…” His eyes fell to the deep dip in her long-sleeved white top, and they darkened. He lifted them to hers, ripe with intent. “I’m going to ruin everything.”
“Then it’s ruined.” She leaned in. “I’ll take two ruined days with you over two perfect days with anyone else, anytime.”
His eyebrows pulled together and he was across the seat in seconds, taking the back of her head and kissing her passionately.
She breathed in deep as his kiss stole her breath, unable to stop herself from teasing his lips with her tongue, groaning when he opened for her, her mind instantly going to all the other places she yearned to open for him. She thought of the lingerie waiting in her suitcase, which she’d spent an entire afternoon picking out with Kimmy. She couldn’t wait to see the look in his eyes when he saw her in the red teddy… Or maybe the sheer black garter set… Or perhaps the crotchless panties….
Kimmy had given her plenty of options.
“You never did tell me the whole story about him,” she said, the moment they pulled back from their kiss. “I think it’s the only thing in the world I don’t know about you.”
His eyes fluttered closed, long black lashes tickling his cheeks. He pressed his forehead to hers and shook his head. “I’d never taint your ears with stories of him.”
“Taint me,” she whispered, catching his breathy laugh in a soft kiss, taking his white T-shirt in two fists. “Taint me. Ruin me.”
“The only thing I plan on ruining is the bedsheets in our suite tonight.”
“Ooh…” She frowned, feigning pain. “Promises, promises.”
Yoshi’s eyes fluttered open and met hers, dipping his fingers into her thick hair.
“I love you,” he whispered, a frown immediately following his words, making his hazel eyes grow vulnerable in hers. “I love you so much, Aria.”
Aria took a trembling breath, taking his hand under her quaking fingers. Everything—Marissa Ball, Adam’s words, Carmen’s existence—all of it ebbed into nothing, until all that remained was her whispered response. “I love you too.”
He leaned in and kissed her again, just as a throat cleared before them.
Yoshi and Aria broke apart, both stunned that they’d broken the ‘no touching in public’ rule, again.
They looked up and, still cupping each other’s faces, their mouths fell open.
In a pair of cutoff black booty shorts and a Run-DMC crop top, her blonde hair pulled into a messy bun at the top of her head, Carmen smirked down at them with a muscled leg jutting out. She tapped her gold stiletto sandal against the blue carpet, one eyebrow lifting over the lenses of her aviator sunglasses. Every man in the area made it no secret as they drank in her beauty, their hungry eyes finding her from every angle in the terminal.
“The hell…” Yoshi couldn’t even finish.
“Now, now.” Carmen popped the wad of gum she was chewing as she shook her head, making her large hoop earrings swing. “None of that, you disgusting lovebirds. We’re in public, and in public, you—” she stabbed a finger towards Yoshi, then herself “—are my bitch,” before moving to the seats.
“Carmen, what the hell are you doing here?” Yoshi
asked, his words cut off when she nudged his leg with her stiletto. He held his arms out and, giving Aria a look of disbelief, moved one seat over, letting Carmen take the chair between them. He leaned over and caught Aria’s gaze as Carmen took her Chanel purse off her shoulder with a heavy sigh.
Aria didn’t look at Yoshi, even though she felt him trying to catch her gaze. Arms crossed tight, she pushed her eyes closed.
“Look,” Carmen said, staring at Aria. “I hope I didn’t upset you at the release party the other night. I thought it was understood that we were going to make this as authentic as possible.”
Aria blinked rapidly. “No. It’s fine. I get it.”
“You just seemed upset about it, that’s all,” Carmen said. “It’s not like I enjoyed it. I was screaming internally the whole time. It was like kissing my little brother!”
Next to Carmen, Yoshi held his hands out with his eyes wide.
Aria squinted at him, noting the offended look on his face. But why was he offended? Why did he care?
“It was like… Ew. Just no.” Carmen set a hand on Aria’s arm, reclaiming her attention. “Listen. I understand this is uncomfortable. Fuck, it’s uncomfortable for me too, okay? But this is just business. On top of that, once this little donut—” she jabbed a finger towards Yoshi “—blows up, I’m going to catch a lot of heat that would’ve otherwise been directed at you. To his die-hard fans, I’ll be public enemy number one. They will hate everything about me. They will pray for my death. All while you, the real love of his life, get to screw his brains out safely in the background. I’m not here to ruin your vacation with your man. I’m here to make sure that we keep up appearances. Once we land in Asia, I go Casper.” She snapped a finger. “Invisible. Unless you come down to the pool or the spa, then I can’t promise you won’t find me, because I love baking in the sun and getting pampered. Otherwise, I’m out of your hair the moment we land, so you two can violate each other to your hearts’ content, all right?”
Aria’s eyes searched Carmen’s, and she nodded softly.
“How did you even know we were here?” Yoshi demanded.
Aria let out a secret breath of relief. So he hadn’t told Carmen they were flying to the Maldives.
Carmen turned to him, still smacking her gum. “The travel agent Simon referred you to let him know you and Aria were on your way to the Maldives, so Simon bought me a ticket too. And thank God for that…” Carmen pointed across the terminal at a pair of teenagers who were taking photos of them, none too candidly, from behind a postcard rack in the gift shop across the hall. “Those two dumplings over there got photos of you guys making out. Thankfully, I was able to bribe them with free tickets to your first concert in LA in exchange for deleting the photos. And yes, I deleted them myself, just to make sure they weren’t playing me.” She shot Yoshi a look. “You’re welcome.”
Yoshi cursed under his breath, covering his face with his hands and laughing.
“So, you’re really coming to the Maldives with us?” Aria asked.
“Like I said.” Carmen met her eyes. “Just for appearances. I show up on Yoshi’s arm, just in case there are any more snot-nosed, camera-happy brats lingering in the Asian gift shops. He’s big here, but he’s bigger overseas. Europe especially. I have no doubt he’ll be recognized, possibly even mauled.” She turned back to Yoshi. “I can’t believe you don’t have a security team together yet. Horny teenaged girls are dangerous.”
Yoshi shrugged. “Haven’t really thought about it.”
“Well, after that performance on Marissa Ball, you will be. Every girl in the country just fell in love with you this morning.” Carmen winked. “I have a feeling you’ll see what I mean when we touch down in Asia.” She slapped her hands on her knees, and then her eyes caught sight of the stack of magazines on the other side of Aria. She yelped and leaned over the seats, using Aria’s leg as leverage as she snatched a magazine from the top of the pile, wiggling her full ass in Yoshi’s face.
Yoshi and Aria shared a horrified look between the seats, just before Carmen plopped back down.
“I’m invisible,” she said, waving a hand in the air in front of her face, as if that made it so, before leaning back and flipping open the magazine.
Aria let those words sink in, but somehow, they didn’t make her feel better.
Carmen had been promising to be invisible since the moment they’d met.
But she had yet to follow through.
--
Aria couldn’t enjoy the unrivaled views of Palm Island and the Burg Al Arab when their plane landed in Dubai. She couldn’t enjoy the pastel-hued skyscrapers packed tight on the island of Male, the capital of the Maldives. She couldn’t even enjoy the scenic boat ride to The Jumeirah Dhevanafushi, the island resort where she and Yoshi would spend the next two days.
Correction—where she, Yoshi, and Carmen would be spending the next two days.
She couldn’t help the resentment burning in her stomach. It was a hell of a view, but she couldn’t enjoy it. She knew the crystal-clear turquoise waters—so untarnished by the hands of man one could see straight to the white sand at the bottom—the lush palm trees, and the private hut villas that awaited them in the distance were a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. She knew the sky would never be as clear again as it was right then, nor the air as crisp. She knew she should breathe it in now, before they made it back to the poisonous air of Los Angeles, but she couldn’t. She couldn’t breathe at all.
Every ounce of self-control she had, including the control it took to inhale and exhale normally, had been focused squarely on stopping herself from blowing up on Carmen.
Or Yoshi.
She couldn’t decide. It changed every two seconds.
Aria shot Carmen a look across the old ferry carrying them to their destination, a line of adorable villas connected in the shape of an oval, calling out to them from the distance.
In the seat directly across from Aria, leaning in to Yoshi with a hand slung on his shoulder, Carmen crossed her toned legs, holding her wide-brimmed sunhat on her head while pointing at something in the water.
Yoshi followed Carmen’s finger, shooting her a smile after he caught sight of the reef shark she’d been pointing to. His eyes crossed the boat to Aria, as if he were excited to clue her in, but the smile disappeared from his face the moment he got a look at her.
He shrugged his shoulder with an exasperated look. He’d assured her that, by the time their first flight landed in Dubai, Carmen would surely ease up. Who the hell would recognize Yoshi in Dubai anyway?
Turns out, everyone.
Everyone had recognized Yoshi in Dubai.
Carmen had warned him that he was bigger in Asia than America, but it hadn’t computed for either of them until Yoshi had stepped into the terminal of Dubai International Airport and was almost immediately accosted by a handful of screaming fans. They’d huddled around him in seconds, their excitement spawning more curious stares and recognition until Yoshi had been so ensconced in admirers clawing for autographs and photos that airport security had eventually been forced to step in.
They’d spent the remainder of their layover in a private waiting room just outside the main gates. Carmen, of course, had latched onto his arm with leech-like suction, mugging for every pair of amazed eyes and every camera lens directed at Yoshi, giving a little extra hip action to every strut she made.
Aria had lagged behind, barely able to swallow back her irritation. On their way into the private room, one of the airport security guards had actually blocked Aria’s way inside, insisting it was a private area. By the time Yoshi had stepped in, correcting the security guard’s mistake as graciously as he could, Aria’s blood had come to a boil.
And Adam’s words were back in her head like a rocket, making the four-hour flight to Male, and the twenty-minute boat ride she endured right then, seem like nothing short of torture.
Thankfully, the two other couples who were sharing the ferry with them to the resort hadn
’t recognized Yoshi. Nor had the driver of the boat, or any of the people who’d been in Male’s small airport.
Still, Carmen had insisted she and Yoshi stay booed up until they made it to the island.
Just to be safe.
That didn’t stop Yoshi from raising his eyes at Aria across the boat. “How beautiful is this, Bo? So fucking excited.”
Carmen, still holding her hat to her head, smiled at Aria. “Why does he call you Bo?”
“It’s an inside joke from when we were kids. It’s short for Anne Boleyn,” Aria explained, before responding to the vacant pout on Carmen’s perfectly pink lips. “King Henry’s second wife?”
Carmen’s lips poked out further. She shook her head.
“That movie with Scarlett Johansen and Natalie Portman,” Yoshi said.
Clearly, Yoshi spoke ‘Carmen’, because her green eyes lit up. “Oh, shit! I remember that one. With the two sisters, fighting over the king? That movie was good as hell!”
Then it hit Aria like a rocket.
She really was Anne Boleyn.
Just like Anne Boleyn, she was ensconced in a threesome she didn’t want to be in. And she knew, just as it had for Anne Boleyn, this story couldn’t end any other way but tragically.
Off with her head.
10
An hour later, their private villa went dead silent, save for the calm lap of ocean waves that permeated through the double doors, open and inviting in the calm evening breeze.
Encore (Stereo Hearts Book 2) Page 13