“Relax,” Paisley laughed as I tugged on the bow tie for the millionth time. “I promise, men wear these all the time and they don’t get strangled.”

“They’re crazy,” I said, digging my finger under the collar to scratch the persistent itch. “Who designed these things?”

“Men who wanted to look good on the arm of a classy lady,” she teased.

Paisley certainly looked the part. Her dress matched the color of her skin and was covered in tiny sparkles. I thought she was going to fall out of it every time she moved; the neckline was more of a ribcage line, and her pillowy breasts seemed to be wrestling for center position. With her hair and makeup, Paisley had transformed from the comfortable country girl I had gotten to know into the pop-country diva I had lusted after from a distance.

As the limo pulled up to the crowded venue, she winked at me. “Ready for this, sugar?”

“I was born ready, darlin’.”

My dry throat fought against the words, but I thought I was convincing enough.

The driver opened the door, and as instructed, I stepped out first, holding Paisley’s hand as she exited in an explosion of flashbulbs. She flirted shamelessly with the cameras as she rested her hand on my arm, utterly at ease. This was her world. It sure as hell wasn’t mine.

The last time I could remember being in the center of so many gasping onlookers and flashing cameras was the night I fought Billy. I barely noticed it then, but it made me nervous now. Each step I took up the red carpet felt like concrete on my feet. I felt like an ogre escorting an ethereal fairy. I couldn’t wait for her to get her material girl on and get out as fast as possible.

She stopped in front of a wall, patting my arm. “Pictures,” she murmured to me. “And questions. Won’t take long.” She winked at me, and I managed a smile.

“Paisley! Paisley! Who are you wearing?”

Who are you wearing? Are they talking about me? Harsh. But she answered the question with some French-sounding name. My brain caught up with the moment just in time for me to realize that they were talking about designers.

“Paisley! Who’s that on your arm? Is this handsome hunk your new boyfriend?”

She blushed, and flashed me a look from beneath her lashes. Perfect! She’d be putty in my hands before the night was over. Then lights, camera, action…payday.

Dan’s houseboat idea was pretty decent. I thought I might look into that once I got Billy and Jeanne taken care of. Opportunity for travel, sandy beaches, women in bikinis…

We were moving, then, as Paisley threw kisses at the paparazzi. I hadn’t heard her response to the question, but it didn’t matter. I would be…for a moment. Then I’d be long gone.

“Paisley, dollface.” A portly man in a shiny purple tuxedo sauntered up to us, puffing on a cigar and peering over circular purple sunglasses. “Who’ve you got there?”

He kissed her cheeks and rested a hand on her hip.

I tensed immediately, checking Paisley’s face for a response. She seemed comfortable. I wasn’t.

“Jude! This is Tyler, my…” She dropped her voice and glanced around exaggeratedly. “Bodyguard.”

“And what a body to guard, huh?” Jude raised his brows conspiratorially as he shook my hand in a bone-crushing grip. “You lucky bastard. Bet you get real protective when the sun goes down, huh?” His laugh was etched with smoke and his clumsy paws were nudging and patting like a drunken uncle’s.

I managed a tight smile. “You’re the manager?”

“Yes sir, yes sir! Why, you got a single you want to get out there? I’m much too busy for that, my boy, but if you can convince dollface here to do a duet with your group, why, I might consider picking you up! Oh, there’s Christina! Paisley, baby, good to see you, have fun!” He rolled off in his lazy stroll, and I resisted the urge to belt him in the back of his shiny, stupid head.

“Why do you work with him?” I hissed under my breath.

She shrugged. “He was the first who offered to represent me,” she said, almost apologetically. “He’s really good, everybody says he’s the best in the business. And my contract isn’t up for another year. Besides…it’s a biz thing, you know? They’re all like that.”

“They can’t all be like that,” I objected.

“Paisley! There’s the best-looking singer on two legs! When are you going to leave Jude and come play with me?” A skinny, over-coiffed guy in an outrageous white tux held her hands and flashed his glittering black eyes at her.

“Nice to see you, Seth. You know my contract isn’t up yet.”

“Contract, schmontract. I’ll buy you out,” Seth said with a wave of his hand.

“You can take that up with Jude,” Paisley said, managing to make it sound flirtatious. “He went that way.”

“I’m on the chase! Good luck tonight, girl.” He sashayed away, leaving me lost somewhere between stunned and furious.

“See what I mean?” she said with a wry smile. “They’ve all got one thing on their minds.”

“Sex?” I asked doubtfully, still struck by Seth’s wiggling walk.

“No,” she laughed. “Money. Power. I am but a means to an end.”

“You’re an artist and a genius,” I objected, hearing the heat in my voice before I could stop myself.

She grinned at me, her face lighting up in that honest, natural way which seemed so foreign around these people. “I’ll accept those compliments from you because I think you mean them,” she said with a laugh. “If you were a manager, I’d be looking at you sideways.”

“I’m already looking at them sideways. Do any of them dress like normal people?”

“Oh, honey, they are all utterly terrified of appearing normal,” she said with a wink. “I think if Jude ever lost his glasses, he’d shatter into a million pieces.”

“Paisley, dahling,” a pumped-up blonde with a painted-on face snatched Paisley away from me, squishing her into a hug. It was quite the squish, too; there were so many feminine curves wrapped in skin-tight glitter, I didn’t know where to look.

“Hi, Betty,” Paisley greeted her warmly. “Good luck tonight!”

“Thanks, baby, but I don’t need it. I’ve got half a dozen of these collecting dust. I’m just here for the connections.”

The older woman tossed her hair, which didn’t stray from its perfect heart shape around her head. She dripped money and smelled of wanton neediness.

As I scanned the room, I saw more Bettys and Judes than I ever thought existed. Like savage animals wrapped in shimmer, they stalked each other through the room, baiting with reputations and closing with empty promises. I ached to burst the bubble.

“Let’s sit down,” Paisley murmured in my ear after Betty had wandered away.

We found our seats, and Paisley immediately kicked off her heels and crossed her legs beneath the table. I couldn’t help but laugh.

“What’s so funny?” she asked, her eyes twinkling.

“You are,” I said. “How do you do it?”

“Do what?”

“Stay so…normal, when you’re surrounded by these people and this…stuff all the time?”

“It’s not all the time,” she objected. “I spend most of my time at home.”

“In your enormous mansion?” I teased.

She laughed. “It’s smaller than what a lot of people have.” She paused, playing with the tablecloth. “It is really big though, isn’t it?”

“Well, yeah,” I said with a shrug. “My whole apartment could fit in your piano room.”

“It could not!”

“Could too,” I teased. “You’ve lost touch with the little people, princess.”

“You’d have to be little to make that assertion with any authority,” she said, waggling her eyebrows.

“Who says I’m not?”

Risky move, boy.

“Oh, shut up,” she laughed. “You think I don’t know what you got? More grappling lessons, please.”

“Whenever you like, darlin’,” I returned with a grin. “Right here, right now? Make all these puffed-up penguins faint from shock?”

“Oh, we wouldn’t want that,” she declined gracefully. “We’d be sued by the entire industry!”

“We’ll pay them off with royalties from the viral videos,” I winked.

She laughed, but my gut twisted just enough to hurt. I had forgotten for a moment. If I wasn’t careful, I was going to start caring about her and her reputation.

Jude caught my eye and winked at me again, and the twist became a persistent ache. I saw my own slimy ambitions reflected in his devious expression.

Champagne was served. I was never more relieved to see booze.