Page 33 of The Temptation of Truth

Kat. Another email from my lawyer. Now this fight with Sav. I’m already exhausted, and it’s only the first show of the tour. I adjust my transmitter and put in my ear monitors, and while I don’t miss a single beat through sound check, I’ve mentally checked out.

God, I hope I don’t feel like this for the entire fucking tour.

8

MABEL

“I’m sorry.”

Instead of following Sav toward the dressing rooms, I slow to a stop and turn to face Aurora. I thought I’d have to hunt her down, but she came to me. I arch a brow, and she lets out a cute little huff of laughter.

“Iamsorry,” she insists. “I didn’t mean to eavesdrop.”

I nod slowly. “I was wondering if you heard anything.”

“Not a whole lot. I think it was just the end bit—just a few words—and not enough to really know anything. I just wanted to tell you that. I didn’t hear a lot, and I didn’t try to. I just want you to know that.”

I lean my shoulder on the wall and watch her expression as she rambles. The worry I feel of being overheard is dulled by just how entertaining I find her. She really, truly has no poker face, and it makes her far too fun to play with. She wears every emotion on her lips, in her eyes, in the rise and fall of her brows and cheeks, in the tightening of her jaw and the quiver of her chin. And that blush? It’s so fucking cute. It makes me want to draw more from her. To make her feel everything so I canobserve the way it transforms her expression. It takes effort to keep myself from teasing her even now.

“You didn’t do anything wrong. You have no reason to apologize.”

“But...When you saw me, you looked so...Angry? Concerned, I guess? I don’t know. I just...I just want to make sure it’s not because of me, or that I’m at least not adding to it. Whatever it is.”

“I’m not angry with you,” I reassure, then I lean in a little closer. “I would like to know exactly what you heard, though.”

She drops her gaze to the floor. “I heard Sav say something about how you deserve to be a priority...”

She pauses and brings her eyes back to meet mine.

“And...?” I press, noting how her brows slant as she whispers her next words.

“And...I heard you sayshe can’t right now.” Her eyes bounce between mine. “Were you talking about your girlfriend?”

The question feels wrong, for some reason, and I hesitate to answer.

Maybe it’s the hint of disappointment I hear laced throughout her curiosity. Maybe it’s the loyalty I feel toward Kat. Or maybe it’s something else. Something being stirred up inside my chest by those wide, hazel green eyes and that pretty face that reads like a flashing neon sign.

I don’t want to think about it, so I smirk and deflect.

“More personal questions, Roar?”

Her flush deepens, and she drops her eyes to the floor again. This time, though, it’s not from shyness, and I immediately feel terrible. Teasing is one thing, but causing her to feel shame or regret? That’s the opposite of what I want to do. Even before she can open her mouth to apologizeagain, I rush to fix it.

“Hey, I was just kidding. You didn’t do anything wrong. I’m sorry.”

She blinks a few times, her hand reaching to grasp the pendant of her necklace as she tries to collect herself. Then she forces a breathy laugh before looking at me through her lashes.

“So you can apologize, but I can’t?”

I smile. “The last thing I want to do is make you uncomfortable, Aurora. You didn’t do anything wrong, so if something I said made you doubt that, then I’m sorry for it.”

“You didn’t.”

I tilt my head to the side. “Foundation of truth, remember?”

She sighs. “Okay, fine, you did. But I deserved it.”

“Hard disagree.” I lean back against the wall and scan her face again. The flush is fading, but the little lines between her eyebrows are still present. “It’s instinctual for you, isn’t it?”