Chapter 9

Delia chuggedan entire glass of water with lemon, then sat down at the table and stared at the string of headlines on her phone. Mary had helped her set up a browser extension to notify her whenever her name or song titles appeared on the World Wide Web. That morning she'd woken up to twenty-two hundred notifications.

Offstage: Delia Melise turns heads with Harrison

Hope for Harrison's sake Delia"s love isn"t as fleeting as her last hit single. ????

Someone tell Jack Harrison he's supposed to dodge the pucks, not date them. #DeliaMelise

Did they or didn't they? Delia Melise caught doing more than dinner with NHL Star Jack Harrison!

Delia groaned. Let the circus begin.

"Everything okay?" Her mother swooped into the kitchen and grabbed a Tupperware from the fridge with a salad she"d prepped for herself over the weekend.

Delia nodded. "Yeah." It was better than okay, which didn"t explain why she needed to chew an antacid. A media explosion was exactly what they'd been hoping for, wasn't it?

Her phone buzzed.

Mary

Check out these streams ??

Mary had included a screenshot of her Spotify dashboard. Jack"s butt in the window had definitely made the impact they"d all hoped for. Scrolling through her social media feeds she"d already come across four different reels with captions like, OMG the way he kept her for himself or Bu-bye bodyguard, hello Jack Harrison.

Delia, of course, knew that every one of those stories about him being protective of her was false. Jack was a nice guy. And he felt strongly about tacos. Or not wasting food. Possibly a combination of both. Still, she found a small part of herself wondering what it would be like to have a guy who would put himself between her and the cameras.

"Delia, is that a picture of you?" Her mother leaned over her shoulder.

Delia dropped the phone on the table. "It—yeah. From the show last night."

"That didn"t look like your venue."

Her cheeks flushed, and she reached for a banana from the fruit bowl. "Mary and I went out for dinner after."

Her mother raised an eyebrow. "I know how to Google too, you know."

Delia pressed her thumbnail into the peel and snapped the stem back. "There may have been a hockey player there. Tony thinks it would be good to have a bit of a public relationship."

"Since when do you know hockey players?" Her mother looked either affronted or impressed.

"Since Friday night." She peeled the banana and took a bite.

Her mother"s hand lifted to the neckline of her sweater. She looked far too pleased about this turn of events. "So . . . you met him on Friday and now you"re in a relationship?"

"It"s not real, Mom. It"s just for exposure. For both of us." The media headlines had been a surprise, but the biggest shock? The message from Tony saying that Jack had signed the contract the night before without any additions or changes.

After he"d left abruptly from the restaurant the other night, she thought it was dead in the water. It was all so confusing. They'd seemed to get along just fine, which was best-case scenario. Most of the hockey players she"d known growing up were arrogant assholes, though that could"ve had more to do with the fact that they were sixteen and obsessed with their newfound abs and biceps. Maybe the problem had been her?

"Would I know him?"

Delia raised her eyebrows. "I thought you already saw the headlines?"

"I saw the pictures. I didn't have time to read about them."

Delia finished the banana, then stood to throw the peel in the trash. "Do you follow hockey?"

Her mother scoffed. "I"m Canadian, aren"t I?"

"Not officially." Delia grinned. Her mother had her test scheduled in April to gain Canadian citizenship in addition to her French, but until then, Delia was going to take every opportunity to rub in her immigrant status.

Her mom didn't look impressed. "Name, please."

Delia pursed her lips. "Jack Harrison."

Her mother"s eyes widened. "Jack Harrison? As in the man who played one night for the Blizzard last month?"

Delia nodded. "He signed an official contract for the rest of the season."

"Aurelia has his face as the background on her phone."

"Aurelia? Your manager? Isn"t she, like, fifty?"

Her mother laughed. "I"m fifty!"

"Are you thirsting after thirty year old men?"

"No, that"s your job." She booped Delia"s nose. "I love this, Delia. You need to let loose. Live a little. None of this publicity stuff, have a real affair?—"

"Mom!" She groaned as her mom walked toward the front entry.

"I"m just saying. If not with Jack Harrison, you need to have a strong, capable man sweep you off your feet."

Delia sighed. "I don"t think that"s a thing anymore. Guys now just lie about their stats online and ask for topless pics before your first date."

Her mother set her Tupperware of vegetable soup on the stairs and pulled on her coat. "It might require you to meet men in real life."

"Perfect. I"ll get right on that. It"ll be super easy to find someone while I"m being swarmed by photographers."

"I think paparazzi were waiting outside our gates the other day." Her mother slipped on her runners.

"I"m sure they were. Christian said they"re working with the HOA to beef up the security."

Her mother motioned for Delia to meet her at the door. "I know this is strange. We"ll navigate this together, mon chou. But please, eat more bread and don"t give up on romance." She wrapped Delia in a hug.

Delia breathed her in. Her soft floral perfume, the clean scent of the lotion she'd always used on her face. She pulled back and met her mother's eyes. "Have you? Given up?"

Sadness tinged the edges of her mother"s expression as she put a hand on Delia's cheek. "Never."

_____

Delia walked into the studio after shielding her face from the dozen photographers camped out past the security guards. She didn"t mind it most of the time, but that morning felt more abrasive than usual. Probably because she hadn"t been able to escape blurry pictures of her next to Jack"s all morning.

She"d seen pictures of herself waving through the restaurant window. Her profile obscured by Jack"s shoulders. The back of her head as she listened to Mary chastise her. But the one that she"d looked at the longest showed half her face looking up at him squinched with laughter. She"d legitimately laughed Friday night. With someone other than Mary. She"d eaten tacos. In public.

"Delia, my love, are you ready to make magic?" Finn Gallagher grinned as she dropped her purse in the chair against the wall of the booth. Why did everything sound sexy in his Irish accent?

She blew out a breath. "Not going to lie, I"m a little distracted this afternoon."

"Does that have anything to do with a certain hockey star?" Finn waggled an eyebrow. And there it was. Of course Finn had seen everything. Delia was about to blow him off when she remembered that Tony, Kels, and Mary were the only people on her team who would be privy to the knowledge that her relationship with Jack wasn"t a true burgeoning romance. Well, and her mother. She hadn"t officially gotten permission from Tony for that breach, but he had to know by now that she told her mother everything.

Delia plastered a smile on her face. "More like the media frenzy that came along with him."

"You threw chum in the water, love. What did you expect?" Finn grinned and swivelled on his chair. "How did you and Jack meet?"

Delia took a drink from her water bottle. "He came to the Calgary pop-up. His sister"s a big fan." Not him, though. She stifled a grin remembering the flush of his cheeks when Clara announced he didn"t know who she was.

"Convenient." Finn tapped his fingers on the edge of the mixing board. "You had a good time?"

"I . . . had tacos."

Finn nodded. "A good start."

Delia pulled out her tablet and cleared her throat. "Is there anything in particular you want me to pay attention to with this song?" She opened the sheet music to a bubbly pop number titled "Heartbeat on the Dance Floor." It was penned by a well-known songwriter named Jessie Harlow, and IndieLake had it poised to be Delia"s next single. She scanned the lyrics.

"In the club, our eyes lock,

Magic in the air, tick-tock,

Feel the bass, let"s rock,

With your heartbeat on the dance floor."

Delia sighed inwardly. A night club encounter. So hot right now. And so far from reality. Her lyrics definitely would've included lying about hair plugs and venereal diseases.

Finn fiddled with settings on the soundboard. "Let"s play around and see what we get. You listened to the backing track?"

Delia nodded. "It"s a little synth heavy."

"It is a dance track."

"Right."

Finn smirked. "You don"t have to pretend it"s your favourite."

"Good, because I wasn"t going to." Delia glanced at the clock hanging on the wall above Finn"s head. "Mary should be here soon, but we don"t need to wait for her." She stood and took her tablet with her into the recording booth.

"Please, your enthusiasm is staggering." Finn"s voice piped in through the speaker.

Delia held up her middle finger, then smiled to make sure he knew she was joking. Finn had always been on her side. Yes, he worked for IndieLake and had to give them what they wanted, but he wasn"t a lackey. He owned their pandering fully and was more than willing to poke fun at the sellouts. Even when they were part of that group.

"From the top." Finn hit play, and the upbeat instrumental filled the room. Delia drew a deep breath and started to sing. She focused on her vocals. Her breath. Pretending she was singing something other than a cheesy pop anthem.

As the last notes faded, Finn rubbed his chin behind the glass. "Lovely. I know this was a warm up, but you"re holding back, darling. This song is about letting go, feeling sexy in the moment."

Delia snorted. "Right, I"ll just tap right into that energy."

"Delia, you're a sexy beast." Mary"s voice came over the speaker. "Do I need to force you into a club wearing a halter top this weekend so you can remember what it"s like to get your hair sweaty and leave with unexplained glitter on your neck?"

Delia shuddered. "Hi, Mary."

Mary waved and almost spilled her coffee. Finn looked horrified and forced her away from the sound equipment.

Delia stretched her arms over her head. "Okay, channeling horny club energy."

Finn laughed silently behind the glass then pressed the speaker button. "Excellent. Take two."

They ran through the song four more times with Finn adjusting levels and adding to the backing track. At four they took a break to eat. Mary had Cobb salads brought in, Delia"s favourite recording food. It didn"t make her mouth smacky but kept her stomach from grumbling.

Delia picked up her guitar while she waited for Mary and Finn to get back from the washroom. She plucked out the most recent melody she"d been working on. Meandering and dissonant. Decidedly nothing IndieLake would ever be interested in publishing. She whispered the lyrics under her breath.

"Underneath the willow tree,

Whispers of you come to me,

In the silence, I find peace,

Echoes of what used to be."

"Sounds a little sad for a club vibe." Finn winked at her from the booth. Delia set the guitar back in the stand. "You"ll be able to record that someday. You know that, right?"

Delia nodded. "When I"m old and grey."

Finn made a pouty face. "Are you feeling sorry for yourself, Ms. Melise?"

"Me?" She shot Finn a scandalized look. The idea that she could sit here with any complaints inside her head made her feel like the girl who was thrown down a walnut shoot in Willy Wonka. A year ago, all she"d wanted was a recording contract. Now she had it and still wasn"t satisfied?

She winced. "I"ll stop being a baby. Let"s go again."

Finn grinned and hit play.

By seven, they had plenty of vocals to work with, and Finn called it a wrap. Delia stepped out of the recording booth, massaging her jaw muscles.

Finn pulled one side of his headphones off. "Beautiful work, love. I"ll have a master to you by the weekend."

Mary yawned. "It sounded great. I think Christian is going to be obsessed with it."

Delia nodded and rifled in her bag for her phone. She paused when she saw a text message from an unknown number, then clicked on it.

Hey, this is Jack. Tony said I should reach out.

Looks like I"m coming out tomorrow night after practice

She read it twice, then turned the phone so Mary could see.

Mary"s eyes lit up. "Wow. That was fast."

"Whatever she told you, it isn"t true." Finn leaned back in his chair, and Delia rolled her eyes.

"Not everything"s about you, Gallagher."

"Most things are, though, eh, love?" He set the headphones on the desk.

Mary stood. "Delia might have more energy for our session on Wednesday. Or less. Depending on how tomorrow night goes."

Delia smacked her arm, and Finn"s eyes widened.

"Hockey player?"

Delia turned off her phone. "Looks like he"s coming out to Toronto."

Finn scrubbed his hand over his chin. "Do they have a game against the Leafs?"

Mary shook her head. "He only has one reason to be here."

"Damn, Delia. Those must have been some tacos."

Delia ignored her flaming cheeks and grabbed her coat and purse. "Thanks for making me sound good, Finn. Wednesday?"

"Bring Jacky boy. My sister'll be a narky hole if I get a picture with him before she does." Finn swivelled in his chair, his hands laced behind his head.

Delia laughed. "I highly doubt he"ll be interested in any of this."

Finn picked up the headphones and winked. "Well then, I"ll at least look forward to an explanation of the glitter on your neck."