Page 61 of Wild

"What's wrong?" the journalist asked.

The doctor took the hand Lexie had pressed between her thighs and moved it aside, then filled her lungs with a slow, unsteady breath.

"I can't, Lexie," she whispered, and drew another sharp breath because her pulse was all over the place and she was still struggling to find a normal rhythm.

"Okay, of course." The journalist stepped back a couple of paces, dragging a hand over her face to clear her head. "This isn't a great spot anyway. Sorry."

"It's not that." Lexie's eyes watched her with a mix of curiosity and confusion. "I just can't right now. There's a lot going on in my head."

After a brief pause while the journalist absorbed the fact that she wouldn't be going back to the hotel with Erin Dooley tonight, Lexie pulled herself together.

"Don't worry about it. This is supposed to be fun, not stressful for either of us." She curved her lips into a small smile, and Erin gave her a grateful one back. "You have my number. If you change your mind, call me—my hotel isn't far from yours, and I promise I'll knock next time," she added with a grin as she moved toward the door.

Erin raised a hand to wave goodbye, then sat for a few minutes on the table, gripping the edge hard while she quietly congratulated herself for having been able to stop when all she'd wanted was to come.

Five minutes later she left the room and headed for Mia's dressing room, but when she reached the door she stopped dead, because it was ajar again, and the memory of the singer being devoured by that woman hit her without warning, feeling like she'd walked straight into a wall.

"Is she alone?" she asked the bodyguard at the door.

"Yes, go ahead."

The man gestured, and Erin, slightly dazed, pushed the door open and went in, finding Mia still in her show clothes with her hair plastered to her forehead with sweat.

"You haven't showered yet?" she asked, closing the door behind her.

Mia fanned herself with her hand and smiled.

"Couldn't. I had to sit through Jude practically glowing while he walked me through the concert numbers. He just left."

"Okay. Let me take your vitals and then I'll leave you alone for the night."

Erin took her hand and, while she held her wrist and counted the beats, Mia watched her steadily. The doctor didn't look up from the watch until she was done, and when she did, she found the singer's crooked smile, and then Mia suddenly moved in until she was almost pressed against her.

"I'd kiss you right now if you'd let me, Dooley," she whispered—but she stepped back before Erin could say anything. "I'm going to shower. I promise I'll eat something after."

Mia disappeared through the door to the private bathroom, and Erin noticed her own hand was shaking as she wrote down the pulse. She stepped out into the hallway and jotted it down before she forgot, then took her own out of sheer curiosity, because after hearing Mia whisper to her, it had gone through the roof.

Mia's was ninety-four. Erin's was one hundred and three.

Chapter 23

Erin steps out of the bathroom wearing only the boxer briefs she sleeps in, pulling on a t-shirt in a hurry before grabbing her phone, which she heard ring while she was in the shower after getting back from the concert. Her sister's name is on the screen, and she sighs, because her first thought is always the same—that Brooke is calling to ask for something—and that makes her so sad lately that her throat tightens before she even answers.

"Hey, Brooke, how are you?"

"Oh my God, Erin," her sister says, breathless. "You're touring with Mia Wilder and you never told me?"

The doctor frowns, caught off guard.

"How do you know I'm with her?"

"Because you showed up in a couple of photos people posted after tonight's concert."

None of this surprises Erin, and she doesn't really care about being spotted in the press as part of Mia's team—it's temporary, after all. What bothers her is that Brooke is calling because of this.

"I tried to explain when I told you I'd been offered a position, but you weren't listening."

"That's not true, I always listen," her sister shoots back, leaving Erin stunned. "Erin, you have to make it happen so I can meet her," she pleads.