Chapter 23 #2
Naiomi laughed. “Oh, don’t let flies in your mouth, babe. I approve.”
“It’s—”
“Not real?” Nai challenged with a lipstick in her hand. “Temporary? An ‘arrangement’? Yeah, Phoenix tried telling me that once, too, and I didn’t believe him then, and I sure as hell don’t believe it now.”
“Naiomi…”
“Deny it all you want, Adalyn Whitlock, but to anyone watching from the outside, it is as obvious as the nose on your face. Or should I say big gold sign linking the two of you together?”
“The ‘big gold’ what?” Addie’s stomach dropped.
“Golden link. Neon sign. Whatever you want to call it,” Nai continued, not registering the slight panic her words elicited.
“There’s never been any two people better suited for each other than you and my brother—except for myself and East, obviously.
Stop with the freaking fauxmance nonsense already.
The only people you’re fooling at this point are yourselves. ”
Crap. Was she right?
Did part of Addie know it and that’s why the words, the denial, failed to come out of her mouth? She couldn’t argue that Phoenix had become a big part of her every day. To keep up their fauxmance and perform as his Muse, it had been necessary.
But now?
He nearly had a complete song—one he seemed extremely proud of—and there hadn’t been an article written by Evelyn Sinclair in days or a social media post from Karleigh. For the first time in ages, the HEF phones rang for something other than cancellations and refund requests.
Both Phoenix and Addie seemed to have gotten what they’d set out to get, and yet she hadn’t once tried to bring an end to the FAMA.
At some point, everything had started blurring. Maybe it was triggered by the first kiss, or the first article of clothing being shed. And maybe it had started the second she banged on his apartment door and he answered wearing nothing more than a low-slung pair of pants and a wicked grin.
The large bathroom shrank inch by inch, walls slowly closing in around her as she looked for an exit. “I’ll meet you right outside,” Addie said, hustling from the bathroom and struggling not to hyperventilate.
Her head screamed for her to run, but her heart begged her to stay.
With Phoenix.
Addie leaned against the wall, her eyes closed, and slogged through all the unfamiliar emotions getting in her way of making a well-informed decision.
Someone joined her.
Her eyes opened and she immediately recognized Karleigh Kinkaid’s father.
His typical high-end suit fit his large body like a glove. His expensive watch flashed in the club’s lighting as he fixed his tie and tucked his hands casually into his pockets. But Addie knew better. There wasn’t a casual bone in the man’s body.
He didn’t say a word, and Addie took that as a sign to do the same, hoping luck was on her side and he wouldn’t recognize her as the woman who had “ruined” his daughter’s magical day. She briefly considered firing off an SOS to Phoenix, but thought better of it.
He didn’t deserve to be dragged into her messes.
“They look every bit the rock stars, don’t they?” Mr. Kinkaid broke the blessed silence.
“Excuse me?” She instantly regretted acknowledging him as he shifted his attention toward the center of the room where Phoenix laughed and talked to East, Xavier, and Gavin.
“Yes, they do.” She kept it short and agreeable, her eyes trained on Phoenix as he chuckled at something Easton said.
“Now they just need to get with the rest of the program and act like it.”
Addie looked his way reflexively as unease curled in her stomach. “Sorry?”
“But now that you’ve uncorked whatever it was that was wrong with our Nix, things will head in the right direction.
” He turned with a fake smile plastered on his face.
“That was brave of you to take on the role of his Muse, Miss Whitlock. Most people with your views on love and attachments wouldn’t even dare risk it. ”
There was a lot in the man’s words for her to unpack and it took a little extra time for her to put two and two together.
Mr. Kinkaid was the music executive, the label owner who put constant pressure on Phoenix to come up with the next panty party song.
“My views on love and attachment?” Addie parroted him as she digested the second half of his statement. “What exactly do you mean by that?”
“Come now, Miss Whitlock. You don’t have to pretend to be something you’re not.
At least not now that you’ve fixed our Nix and your little arrangement has come to an end.
” He paused, head tilted innocently, but on him, looked anything but.
“I mean, your arrangement has ended, right? It’s been quite some time since I’ve had contact with a Muse, but I vaguely remember that the shorter the involvement, the best for both parties.
Something about codependency and blurred lines. ”
Addie’s breath stalled.
It was obvious Kinkaid was trying to play her right now. She wasn’t stupid and he wasn’t exactly tactful.
But he wasn’t wrong, either …
It was why Muses had contract limitations. If one Muse couldn’t get the job done in a matter of weeks, another filled the position. The line kept moving until someone completed the assignment.
A cold sweat peppered Addie’s brow and her stomach churned, sick with the realization that Naiomi was wrong. She and Phoenix didn’t have a link.
What they had was Muse Sickness.
It explained everything.
What had started as an intense physical attraction had slowly morphed as they spent more time together, thanks to their FAMA. Throwing intimacy into the mix upped the stakes, and then Muse Sickness did the rest.
It formed a bond.
Intensified feelings.
Hell, it could alter their brain chemistry and have them thinking—and doing—things that they wouldn’t normally do … like actually contemplate the existence of love. Hell, maybe that’s why she’d started seeing gold toga ropes all over the damn place.
Addie’s stomach lurched. “Excuse me…”
She sprinted back toward the bathroom, pushing past Naiomi as she exited.
Alarm widened the brunette’s eyes. “Addie, are you—”
Addie barely made it to the toilet before the first wave hit. Naiomi was by her side in a second, holding her hair away from her face as she heaved her throat raw.
“Are you okay?” Naiomi handed her a wet napkin what felt like hours later, watching her with heavy concern.
As Addie thought about what she had to do, the nausea returned, tilting her stomach over again and again because only one thing cured Muse Sickness.
The total separation between Muse and Musician.
Addie needed to walk away.
Because if she didn’t, she’d lose Phoenix for good.