Page 8 of Forbidden Heart

When she sees me, her eyes widen. She looks from me—cheeks still hot and lips swollen from JJ’s kisses—to my Knight in Shining Armor and back again. Then, her smile turns into a knowing grin.

“Roonie, your masseuse is here,” JJ tells me, as if I can’t see for myself. I think he means it as an invitation for Angela to come in, but she doesn’t cross the threshold.

“I’m Angela,” she says. “Are you Charles?”

“No. I’m JJ.” He glances at me curiously, and I can’t quite meet his eyes.

“I could come back another time,” Angela says, looking between us. “I’m happy to reschedule to an hour from now.” She gives JJ an assessing gaze. “Or maybe two.”

My cheeks flush at the obvious implication, but JJ shakes his head.

“We’ve got our audition in...” He pulls out his phone and checks the time. “An hour, actually. And I know how much you enjoyed your last massage, Roonie.”

“You do?” My cheeks flush, because that’s the furthest thing from the truth. I didn’t even get a massage last time Angela was here.

“Tate told me.” JJ shrugs. “So why don’t you relax and enjoy it? I’ll head down early, see if the guys and I can run through the song one more time. And I’ll text you the room number so you know where to find us,” he adds. “See you in an hour?”

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

“Good.” JJ pulls on his grass-stained sneakers. I can’t help the twinge of disappointment when he heads for the elevator.

“It was nice meeting you,” Angela calls after him and then steps inside, shuts the door, and wiggles her eyebrows. “So... what did I interrupt?”

“Nothing.” I flush. “I didn’t know you were coming over.”

“Tate booked you another massage. I texted you as soon as I found out.” Angela shakes her head. “I thought you were going to talk to him? I mean, I could really use the extra money... but it doesn’t feel right, you know?”

“I never got around to it. And I left my phone on JJ’s nightstand.” Angela’s eyes twinkle, and I quickly shake my head. “It wasn’t like that! He slept on the couch!”

“But it was like that just now,” Angela tells me. “I know what I saw, and there was definitely something going on.”

“Maybe...” I blush and quickly look away, but not before I catch Angela’s grin.

“Okay, let me set this up in case any of the guys come back, and then we can talk.” Angela snaps the massage table open and sets out her oils while I make coffee. Then the two of us settle at the kitchen bar.

I cue the suite’s music system, and Charles’s classical music rings through the air, loud enough to feel the rhythm but quiet enough to chat.

“You got anything else?” Angela asks. “Every time I hear that piece I feel like I need to practice my pirouettes.”

“You can change it if you want. It’s connected to Charles’s tablet, but it’s Bluetooth.”

It takes us a few minutes to get Angela’s phone set up, and she cues up some Latin music before turning to me. “So, JJ, huh?” she grins.

“Maybe.” I think back to the way he asked me to kiss him, and my cheeks flush.

“Does that mean Tate and Charles are fair game? Not that I’ve met Charles, but the way you described him...”

A huge wave of jealousy hits me, and Angela must see the look on my face because she starts to laugh. “I was just kidding, Roonie. First of all, I would never date a friend’s ex. Or exes. And second, between all my shifts at work and taking care of my sister, I don’t have time to date.”

“They’re not my exes,” I say quickly.

“Then what are they?” Angela asks. “Because honestly, with the way you described Tate and Charles last time I saw you, I wasn’t sure how you’d ever be able to choose... I guess picking JJ was the smart move.”

“I didn’t pick JJ!” I deny and then feel a little sick. “Unless he thinks I picked him.”

“Because you made out?” Angela asks.

“Yeah.” I don’t bother denying it. “But I told him I kissed Tate and Charles. What if he thinks this means I don’t like them anymore? That I picked him?”