Unstoppable (Fierce) Read Online Free PDF

could possibly get. Their faces would fall as they stepped back away from the intruding female, who was so pretty she was physically intimidating.
    Unfortunately, I did not have the same effect. When I tried to come to his rescue, the girls would overlook me entirely. Apparently I wasn’t as threatening. They would look me up and down in the same dismissive way so many of my schoolmates had whenever I was standing next to Eddie who, in Oswen High terms, was the closest they were going to come to a celebrity. Some would even edge between us, turning their back to me as if I was nothing more than a piece of furniture in the room.
    I brought the phenomenon up to Shelby later that evening when we were in the makeup chairs, preparing for the show. “For being a fat girl, I sure go invisible,” I muttered as I thought about the earlier Meet and Greet, when my unexpected powers of invisibility had emerged yet again.
    She brushed it off with the wave of her hand. “Oh please. It’s just because you’ re married. They know you can’t stake a claim to Jace so they don’t really feel threatened by your presence. I’m a single woman near the target of their affections. It’s a matter of accessibility; it has nothing to do with the way I look. Most of these groupies are way hotter than me anyway. And they certainly dress to get his attention.”
    I had to laugh. She was right on that point. There was as much legally permissible bare female skin as far as the eye could see. Unlike Shelby, who was insecure about her perceived flaws and hated wearing revealing clothing, these girls were confident in the wares they had on display.
    “Besides,” Shelby went on, “the one they really have to worry about is Amy.”
    My eyes shot to hers in the mirror. She was referring to Jace’s ex-fiance, who had left him after he returned from Iraq an amputee. As far as I knew he hadn’t spoken to her since the Fierce finale, when she had been flown in with his family to support his potential (and, turned out, his inevitable) victory. She had been the love of his life, a high school sweetheart, and I knew his mother wanted to play matchmaker and reunite the young lovers. From what I could tell, he made it clear when they spoke that he wasn’t interested in resuming a relationship with the stunning brunette.
    Needless to say, Shelby’s comment got my attention. “Why do you say that?” I asked as casually as I could.
    Shelby shrugged. “You saw her at the finale. She’s gorgeous. And she wants him back.”
    “How do you know that?”
    “You could totally see it in her eyes,” she replied. She leaned toward me. “And have you noticed that Jace isn’t wearing his dad’s wedding ring around his neck anymore? He sings like a man in love. And who else, if not her?”
    I glanced down at the ring on my left hand. Who, indeed?
    She leaned toward the mirror to put the finishing touches on her makeup. “But the way I figure it, if he hasn’t made it public knowledge, then he’s still on the market.” She gave me a big smile. “It’s every girl for herself.”
    I nodded as I watched her prance away backstage, waiting for her number to begin.
    I turned back to the mirror, my eyes skimming over my appearance. I noticed how my hips met the edges of the seat on which I sat, dumping much of my body weight into rolling waves around my middle and my rump. I wore a tank top, which showed off the tattoos on either arm, but all I could see was flabby skin that looked like it was battling to escape my clothing.
    Then there was my face. I was overly made up to compensate for the bright lights on stage, and it was like looking into a funhouse mirror as I took in the dark, smoky eyes and the pouty dark lips that seemed to meet in the middle of my round face. I even had to stick out my jaw to disguise the double chin, subtle tricks I had learned over the past few months as I posed for endless photographs for the press.
    Yet no matter how far I had come