I Can’t Make You Love Me

Chapter One

Pretty people are so ugly inside, Jared said to himself, leaning against the wall and looking out at the sea of people that filled the ballroom. Bass and synth pounded throughout the space, combining with the scent of sweat and alcohol to make the perfect party scene. Beautiful celebrities packed the room, intermingling with a few sheep who had stupidly wormed their way in among the wolves.

“Jared, aren’t you going to dance?” Paris asked, sidling up to his side and laughing shrilly. Her cheeks were flushed from dancing and drinking and her mass of blonde hair piled on top of her head was starting to come loose. She still looked gorgeous, although two years of dating her had taught Jared that the beauty was definitely skin-deep in her case.

“No, I think I’ll just watch for now,” he answered, taking a small sip of seven-and-seven and allowing his eyes to drift over the crowd. The stage, at the far end of the room, was being set up for the performer – a new face on the Hollywood scene, a woman who went by the mononym Jaelyn. She hadn’t released any notable singles herself yet, but she had done some pretty noteworthy covers. In fact, he was supposed to join her in a duet tonight, although their respective agents had cancelled on every rehearsal they’d scheduled.

Jared spared Jaelyn about five more seconds of thought, then moved on to observing the crowd once more. He recalled her again occasionally, usually when a new instrument or piece of equipment was moved onto the stage.

Some time later, Jared pushed himself away from the wall and braved the crowd, nudging his way between bodies on his way to the bar. He ignored the many hands that shamelessly grabbed at him, though he took care to orient his groin area away from the rougher hands. At the bar, he swapped his empty glass for a water with lemon. He had barely taken his first sip when a soft keyboard sound began to push through the speakers, gradually growing louder. Then a voice began to softly serenade—

Tell me something I need to know
Then take my breath and never let it go
If you just let me invade your space
I’ll take the pleasure
Take it with the pain

And if in the moment I bite my lip
Baby, in that moment you’ll know this is
Something bigger than us and beyond bliss
Give me a reason to believe it


Jared choked on his water, and not just because he’d realized he was supposed to be onstage in about thirty seconds.

It was that voice. It was captivating. Jared turned as if possessed, his eyes seeking the owner of the voice and his mind already knowing who it had to be. Despite the distance, he seemed to see every detail about her – she wore a little black dress which, combined with her violently red hair, made her skin seem white enough to glow. Her full lips were pulled into a smile even when she was singing.

Realizing there was virtually no way he would get to the stage on time, but determined to try anyway, he shoved his drink back toward the bartender and hurried forward, attempting to keep to the edge of the crowd. Jaelyn’s voice pounded in his ears as he moved –

Cuz if you want to keep me
You gotta, gotta, gotta, gotta, got to
Love me harder
Baby, love me harder

Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh
Love me, love me, love me
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh
Harder, harder, harder


At the edge of the stage, a tech grabbed Jared’s arm, quickly clipped a box to the back of his belt, and shoved an earpiece painfully into his ear, all while giving him an irritated look for having taken so long to arrive. Ignoring the tech’s glare, Jared snatched his microphone and took the three steps onto the stage already singing—

I know your motives and you know mine
The ones that love me I tend to leave behind
If you know about me and choose to stay
Then take this pleasure and take it with the pain

And if in the moment you bite your lip
When I get you moaning you know it’s real
Can you feel the pressure between your hips?
I’ll make it feel like the first time


She looked at him while he sang, smiling as she swung her hips. Acting, they both knew, although Jared’s heart sped up a little as she began to sing and he harmonized. Her eyes were a unique shade of steely gray and his eyes kept straying to a small freckle at the top of her right breast, just visible above the neckline of her dress.

They sang back and forth at times, together at others. They both danced when they weren’t singing and Jared even took her hand and twirled her once just before the song ended. As the music faded, he pulled her into a friendly hug, like the crowd would doubtlessly expect him to. Jaelyn returned the hug, squeezing his side ever so softly, then pulled away.

“Pretty good for no rehearsal,” Jared said teasingly.

Jaelyn blinked her painted lashes at him and gave him an almost-smile. “I practiced.” Then she turned away from him, her hair whipping his chin as she did so. Feeling snubbed, Jared left the stage, offering the exuberant crowd a small wave. He hoped they couldn’t tell that she had just blown him off, but he seriously doubted it had gone unnoticed.

Paris was waiting for him at the bar, stirring her drink absentmindedly. Her full attention was on him as he approached. “So,” she said casually, “the famous Jared doesn’t win over all the ladies.”

“Please,” said Jared dismissively. “If I wanted her, I’d have made a much better effort than that.”

“I doubt it’d matter,” Paris trilled. “Don’t you know anything? Jaelyn doesn’t date.”

Jared had, in fact, heard this information before. He followed the Hollywood gossip religiously. However, he let Paris continue chattering.

“I don’t know if she’s a lesbian or she’s just uber picky, but she’s turned down tons of super-hot guys.” Paris looked up at Jared then, a coy sort of smile on her bright red lips, and she leaned into his chest as she purred, “Still think you’d be able to win her over? There are easier targets, you know.”

“Yeah,” Jared said, allowing himself a moment to appreciate the vulnerable position Paris had put herself into. Her chest was pressed into him, the thin halter straps of her dress hardly covering anything, and her body pinning one of his arms between his chest and her breasts.

But Jared had been there before and wasn’t exactly eager to go back. Pulling his attention away from Paris’ cleavage, Jared used his pinned arm to maneuver her body away from his. “So, what’s her story? Your circle always seems to have more information than anyone.”

Paris rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, making her cleavage more apparent than ever. Jared looked pointedly away and Paris huffed. “From what I hear, she’s a country bumpkin. She made a few CDs as a country artist, disappeared for a few years, then showed up in Hollywood with a new name and dyed hair.”

“You have a problem with dyed hair?” Jared asked with a smirk, knowing fully well that Paris had her dishwater blonde hair routinely bleached and low-lighted.

“Of course not,” she snapped. This conversation obviously wasn’t going the way she’d hoped it would. “I just don’t think it’s right.”

“What isn’t right?”

“That she obviously has some secrets that she’s trying to hide from everyone. I mean, why else would she have completely changed how she looks and come all the way across the country? The public has the right to know who they’re supporting.”

“An excellent point,” Jared said. “And when are you releasing the photos of yourself before your, ahem, implants?”

“Oh, forget it!” Paris exclaimed, throwing up her hands. “Joke all you want, but there’s something weird about that girl and I can guarantee you’ll never hook up with her in a million years.”

Jared looked toward the stage, where Jaelyn was strutting from one end to the other, mid-song. He smiled thoughtfully and said, “We’ll see.”

“Wanna bet on it?”

“She’s a person, Paris, not a card game,” he said irritably. Paris, obviously accepting their exchange as a lost cause, plucked her purse from the bar and stormed off. Jared hoisted himself onto a bar stool and propped his elbow on the bar, leaning his chin in his hand and sighing. He had refused Paris’ bet, but he knew that in another circumstance, he might have. And he would have bet on himself getting under Jaelyn’s skin, no matter what it took.