After finishing off the pot of coffee, Arabella felt more energized. "Okay, let's get this show on the road. You guys ready?"
"I was born ready," Jesse said. "And first," he said to Jimmy.
"Yeah, because you probably shoved me out of the way," Jimmy countered.
Chairs were scooted back, and they walked over to the center of the room.
"Don't let them complain and ask for break after break," Oliver said to Arabella. "Especially Jesse."
"I don't complain," Jesse said.
"You're already complaining about not complaining," Oliver said. "How does that even happen?"
"I have a bum knee," Jesse explained to Arabella. "But I'm working through the pain. I'm badass like that."
"You're a pain in the ass is what you are," Oliver said.
"Oh, right, you blew out your knee when you fell off the stage." Arabella remembered the incident in London.
"To be clear, I was actually tugged off the stage by an adoring fan. Can I help it that girls love me?"
"Right." Jimmy rolled his eyes and then grinned at Arabella. "Some things never change."
"Yeah, girls still love me," Jesse said. "I was voted the cutest."
"No." Jimmy shook his head. "You were voted the funniest because you did dumb shit all the time like falling off stages."
"Well, still better than being the mysterious one. What does that even mean?" Jesse asked.
"It means I'm cool," Jimmy replied.
Arabella smiled at their banter and then risked a glance at Grady. His dark head was bent over the notes she'd passed out, but she knew he was listening to everything. Although his face remained passive, she longed to know what he was thinking. He might have broken her heart, but it only took her one look at him to know that she still loved him. But she wasn't about to allow her feelings to interfere with her work, so she'd keep her distance and remain friendly but reserved.
Oliver walked over to the sound system and started turning knobs. Even when he was younger, Oliver had always taken a keen interest in the mechanics of the shows. He'd also been the best at dancing and had come up with moves that defied gravity. Arabella had been with Heartbeat for two of the four years they'd been an international sensation. Even though they'd had arguments on occasion, the guys usually got along. Despite their grueling schedule, they'd also managed to have fun along the way to stardom. Grady said they'd stayed grounded for the most part because they performed for the love of music and not for money or fame, and she had believed him.
Arabella had spent the first year fighting her attraction to Grady, knowing that mixing her career with romance might not be the best of decisions. Sure enough, being the girlfriend of a heartthrob wasn't easy and, as it turned out, wasn't smart. But she simply couldn't contain her feelings, and that first kiss had been nothing short of magical, and so she'd let down her guard and put her trust in love.
Arabella glanced at Grady and caught him looking back at her, but he immediately glanced away, almost as if he was angry with her. Sadness and hurt pushed hard against her attraction but hit a brick wall and slithered down it like a cartoon character. She couldn't deny that simply looking at Grady made her hot and bothered.
Well, he'd expressed a desire to keep things between them one hundred percent professional this time around. Come hell or high water, Arabella had every intention of upholding her end of the bargain.
"Okay, guys, time to stretch," she said in her best strict-instructor voice. "We don't want any pulled muscles." But then she made the mistake of looking over at Grady just as he raised his arms over his head, revealing a few inches of tanned skin . . . and her heart skittered around in her chest.
Damn, this wasn't going to be easy.
CHAPTER SEVEN
I NEED YOU TONIGHT
Arabella's rehearsals were sheer torture and Grady grew grumpier with each passing day. They were two weeks in now, and when he wasn't working with Arabella, he was thinking about her. She continued to invade his dreams and she messed with his head at the worst possible times. He'd also casually asked if she was sleeping in the master bedroom at the beach house, and imagining her in his bed drove him insane. And while he knew that tights and tank tops were regular fitness clothes that he'd find women wearing at any gym, seeing her in them, especially doing dance moves, distracted him to the point where he screwed up the routines more than Jimmy, which was damned difficult to do. Seriously, she'd had a rockin' body years ago, but now she had curves that he wanted to explore with his hands and mouth and . . .
Stop looking at her!
"Grady!" Oliver shouted. "You're supposed to slide right and then spin to the left and then do a simple jazz square. Damn, get your head out of your ass."