Fangs And Fame (18 page)

Aurora

THE NEXT DAY BROUGHT with it another flight to Florida. I was meeting Kacie at The Waking Moon to go over everything I had to sort out during my short trip back. What I didn’t expect as I rounded the corner was to see Trey, Jonas, O’Shea’s and Chase’s faces staring back at me from giant cardboard cutouts in the front window. I laughed out loud and then went around to the back, opening the door.

“
Kace?” I called, knowing she was somewhere inside.

“
Here!” she answered as she made her way back to meet me. She hugged me and said, “Welcome back.”

“
Thanks,” I said. “Tell me the Catalyst cutouts are just part of the welcome party.”

“
They’re great, aren’t they?” she asked, grinning.

“
Sure,” I said, smiling back. “I’m just not sure they belong in my gallery.”

“
Oh, come on.”

“
I’m learning to love the fact that Catalyst fans are coming in to The Waking Moon, but I don’t want to blatantly use the guys to draw attention to my work. The magazine spread and the media have done enough of that already.”

“
Yeah, okay.” Kacie pouted for a second, but then led the way to the window up front to help me take them down. I lifted the cardboard O’Shea from the window and held it out in front of me, doing my best O’Shea voice. “Take me home, Kacie.”

She laughed and said,
“Okay. You talked me into it. Just don’t tell O’Shea.”

“
Remind me to tell you about the time Trey saw a Catalyst poster in my room,” I said, laughing.

“
A giant cardboard cutout might just trump a poster,” she added. She had a point. “I’d love to be able to watch O’Shea perform every night.” The show I got to watch in Orlando when the tour started was amazing, but being there on tour.... I can only imagine.

I heard everything she wasn
’t saying, and I realized that I had the power to make that happen for her. Her feelings for O’Shea were no less real than mine for Trey. In fact, things had started to get pretty serious between them before the tour had started, and O’Shea had been whisked away. Unlike me, Kacie had been left behind. It really wasn’t fair to her, but that was something I could help out with.

“
I’ll tell you what,” I said. “Let’s catch up on some work tonight and get that charity auction checked off the list for tomorrow and then I’ll fly you back out with me tomorrow night.”

Kacie
’s eyes got so wide I thought they might pop out of her head. “Are you serious?” she demanded, her voice rising in pitch in that typical way girls’ voices do.

“
Why not? I don’t think closing up shop for a few days will do too much damage. Besides, it’ll be worth it just to see the look on O’Shea’s face when he sees I’ve brought you along. You can surprise him.”

“
Where do we start?” Kacie exclaimed, hugging the cardboard O’Shea cutout. We took the rest of the cutouts to the back room, but not before Kacie took a shot of me pretending to kiss the Trey cutout so I could send it to him. His response came only a few minutes later, and included a picture of him pretending to kiss the shot of me painting from the
Rolling Stone
article. 

“
You two and your famous faces,” Kacie teased as she took my phone to see Trey’s message.

“
Ha ha,” I quipped. “What time is the charity auction tomorrow?” I asked.

“
One,” she said.

“
Do you know what you’re going to wear?”

“
You mean I’m coming with you?”

“
You didn’t think I was going to leave you behind?” I grinned at her and her whole face lit up. Then it fell just as suddenly.

“
I don’t own anything to wear to a place like that.”

“
Well, I’m not going alone. Guess we’d better give ourselves a few hours in the morning to go shopping,” I said.

There was that hyper smile of hers again. Kacie and I worked until ten and then I sent her home, insisting that tomorrow was going to be a big day. The prospect of seeing O
’Shea tomorrow had her so excited that she didn’t argue, but thanked me and headed out the door. I went up into the loft and considered having a drink, but then I decided to send Mark a quick text first.

I
’m back in town for a night. Are you and Hana busy? I’m at The Waking Moon and the drinks are on me.

His response came a few minutes later.
Your timing is impeccable. Just got off work. Hana says she could use a drink. We’ll be there in twenty.

I grinned and closed my phone. I double-checked the piece that Kacie and I were taking with us to the charity auction called Trey while I spent a few minutes rearranging the layout of the paintings on one wall downstairs.

“Hey,” he said when he answered. “I miss you.”

“
I miss you, too.”

“
It does my heart good just to hear you say that,” he said. Then I heard a bunch of exaggerated kissy-type noises in the background. Trey laughed and added, “The guys say hello.”

“
Tell them I hope they’re getting their fill of male bonding in,” I said. “I want you all to myself when I get back.”

“
I can’t wait,” he said.

“
How was the show tonight?”

“
Long and dull without you there,” he said.

“
I highly doubt that,” I said with a laugh. “But you’re sweet for saying so.”

“
How’s work coming along?”

“
Meh. It’s work.”

“
How’s Kacie?”

“
She’s going a little nuts here without O’Shea,” I told him. “Maybe it’s good I’m keeping her so busy.”

“
I think he feels the same way,” Trey added.

“
Has he said anything?” I asked.

“
He doesn’t have to. He knows I’m onto him. He’s just that obvious.”

“
Well,” I said, biting my lip. “Don’t say anything to him, but I’m bringing Kacie with me when I fly back out tomorrow. She needs a few days off, and she’s definitely earned it. She wants to surprise him.”

“
My lips are sealed,” he said.

But that just made me picture those perfect lips of his and miss him even more. I sensed Mark and Hana before they let themselves in the back door.

“I gotta go,” I told him. “Mark and Hana are here.”

“
Tell them hi for me,” Trey added. “Love you.”

“
Love you, too.”

“
Trey says hi,” I told Mark and Hana as I put my phone in my pocket and accepted a hug from Hana.

“
Quick trip, then?” Mark asked after we’d exchanged hellos.

“
Yeah. I’m on a plane again tomorrow night.”

“
I don’t know how you do it.” He shook his head, but he was grinning.

“
That sounds exhausting,” Hana said, sympathetically.

“
It’s not so bad,” I told her, shrugging. Then I followed Mark’s gaze over to the cardboard cutouts of Trey, Chase and Jonas. “Don’t ask,” I told him, laughing.

“
I won’t,” he said, letting out a chuckle.

I invited them up to the loft and they sat down while I poured a bottle of blood-laced wine into plastic cups for us.
“Don’t let the Solo cups fool you,” I said as I handed them each one. “It’s the good stuff.”

“
Thanks,” Hana said. “We should toast.”

“
To friends,” Mark said simply, raising his glass. It was short and sweet and genuine.

“
To friends,” Hana echoed.

“
I’ll drink to that,” I said, bumping each of their cups with my own. We all sipped the blood-laced wine and reveled in the initial taste of it. “What’s going on with you guys?” I asked after a moment. “How’s life at the hospital?”

“
Busy,” Mark said.

“
Nothing new about that,” Hana added. “It’s not their fault. Humans are just so ... fragile.”

“
I know a little something about that,” I said, agreeing with her.

“
How is Trey?” she asked, smiling at me.

“
Not so fragile,” I said, grinning. “He’s good. Also busy. The band is filming a music video in Vegas a few days from now.”

“
I’ve always wanted to go to Vegas,” Mark added. “Do you really think it’s like they make you believe on TV?”

“
I’ll have to get back to you on that one,” I told him.

“
We’ll go one day,” Hana said to him. “I’ve always been curious, too.”

“
I wonder if there’s more for vampires to do in a place like Vegas? It is the city that never sleeps, after all,” Mark added.

“
Could be,” I told him. “Or maybe having the humans up all night just puts a damper on things.”

He raised his eyebrows, contemplating my statement.
“You’ll have to scope the place out and let us know.”

“
Sure thing,” I said, grinning at him. “I’ll bring you back a brochure on the top vampire hot spots in Sin City.”

Hana laughed and smacked Mark on the knee, making him laugh, too.
“I wish you didn’t have to leave so soon,” Hana said.

“
Yeah. I may or may not have a small role in that music video I told you about. I guess I’d better show up for it.”

“
That sounds exciting,” she said, leaning forward in her chair. “I can’t wait to see it.”

“
If you’d told me a year ago you’d be staring in a music video I’d have laughed,” Mark said, swirling his drink in small circles.

“
That makes two of us,” I said. “Change is inevitable.”

“
I’ll drink to that,” Hana chirped, and we all took another sip from our cups.

“
So, does that change include hiring Tytus to follow you around?” Mark asked.

I bit my lip and looked at him. I knew he was going to broach the subject sooner or later. Might as well get it over with.

“He’s not so bad,” I told him. Mark looked like he highly doubted that. “He came to me,” I explained. “He apologized.”

“
And you believe him?”

I nodded.
“Yeah. I was skeptical at first, too, but Trey told me that Tytus was the one who helped him get me out of Club Sanguine after I went through the banister. He told Trey to call you because he knew you were the best shot at saving me. He claims he never meant for things to go that far with Malena. Long story short, I believe him.”

Mark considered me and took another sip of his drink.
“That’s good enough for me,” he said.

I smiled, glad that he
’d accepted my explanation. “When are you guys going to come out and see Trey and I on the tour?” I asked, changing the subject.

“
That sounds like fun,” Hana said. “Unfortunately I haven’t accrued much vacation time yet.” She looked at Mark then and said, “But you should totally go. You’ve been on the verge of burnout for weeks now, and I know you have vacation time just waiting to be used. You’re going to lose it at the end of the year if you don’t schedule it.” She turned to me and said, “He never takes vacation, but you already know that.”

Mark looked at me and I gazed back at him expectantly.
“So, when are you coming?”

He glanced at Hana again and then said,
“You know what? Maybe I will.”

“
Good. It’s settled then,” I said. I finished off the rest of my drink and set the empty cup down on the table by the wall. “I’m sure I don’t need to remind you, but hanging out with Trey and I is never much of a vacation. Consider yourself warned.”