Reckless (18 page)

Sienna nodded. “Something new . . . fresh.”

“We’ve been looking for a collaboration that would blend well with her unique style.” Nick brought his hands around to Kellan, his smile wide. “And that’s where you
come in.”

Kellan blinked. “Me?”

Nick clapped his shoulder. “Yes. Your sound is exactly what Sienna’s been looking for. And we have the perfect song for you—‘Regretfully.’ Sienna’s already
recorded her half of it.” He shrugged. “We just need you.”

Kellan stared at him a moment, then looked back at Matt and Evan. “You mean all of us, right?”

Sienna gave him a sweet smile. “Of course.”

Matt and Evan tried to keep their composure, but I could tell they were bursting with excitement. A song with the hottest person on the charts—they’d be an instant sensation. My
heart dropped as Kellan looked back at me. I always knew he’d be big one day, but I thought I’d have years to get used to it all. This would practically guarantee him stardom
overnight.

Almost like he was reading my mind, Kellan chewed on his lip. After a few seconds, he looked back to Nick. “Our styles are very different. Can I hear the song first, make sure it’s a
good match . . . for us?”

Nick pursed his lips, clearly just wanting Kellan to do whatever he asked him to do. Smile tight, he told him, “Absolutely.”

“Come, I’ll play it for you.” Sienna grabbed Kellan’s hand and pulled him toward a piano in the back of the room. I tried to not be irritated with how comfortable she was
touching him, or how little effort he made to get away. I also tried to ignore how much of her body was visible through her diaphanous cover-up. Shouldn’t business meetings be conducted fully
clothed? Not if you’re a world-famous pop star, I guess.

Excited over a private performance, Anna giggled and grabbed my hand. Sienna sat down at the piano while Kellan stood beside it, arms folded over his chest. As Sienna began to play, Matt and
Evan made their way over to Kellan. I reluctantly followed, not really wanting to hear how fabulously talented this provocative, beautiful woman was. But then her voice filled the air and I
couldn’t deny it—she was incredible. She was clear and powerful, sweet and sassy, all at the same time. The rhythm of the song was beautiful, not quite a ballad, not quite up-tempo. The
lyrics were similar to something Kellan would have written. They were good, really good. Haunting, soulful, a touch profound, and . . . romantic. “Regretfully” was a song of loss. Of
having everything with somebody, and then losing it all and trying to pick up the pieces.

Evan started tapping out a melody on the top of the piano, and Matt was nodding to a beat only he could hear. Kellan tilted his head, absorbing how the two styles would blend together. I could
almost hear the D-Bags accompanying Sienna in my head, and the imaginary sound was incredible. The real sound would be unbelievable.

When the song was finished, Matt and Evan looked sold. Kellan still seemed unsure. Lana put a hand on his back and he twisted to her. “This is one of those once-in-a-lifetime moments that
we talked about, Kellan. I would say yes, if I were you.”

Kellan smiled and nodded at Lana, appreciating her advice. Being in this room, with people who knew Kellan in ways I didn’t, made me suddenly feel very small and insignificant. Pushing
back the feeling, I reminded myself that I wasn’t. I had a voice, and it was an important one. To Kellan, at least. Looping my arm around his waist, I asked, “What do you
think?”

“I don’t know. What do you think?”

Not sure if I was telling him the right thing or not, I gave him my honest, impartial opinion of the song. “I think it’s incredible. I think it would be a waste of your talent to say
no.”
And I’m afraid I’ll lose you if you say yes.

I didn’t tell him that last part, though.

Kellan smiled at me, then looked over at Nick. “I guess we’ll get to work on it first thing.”

Nick smiled, clearly expecting that end result. Sienna squealed with delight and started playing another song on the piano. Surprisingly enough, she was playing a D-Bags song—she really
was a fan. Even before she started singing, I recognized it as one of my favorites. It was the one that had first made me notice Kellan; it held a special place in my heart.

Halfway through the first verse, she told us, “This is my favorite of yours. I may have to cover it someday, with your permission, of course.” She winked at Kellan. His corresponding
grin was massive.

Holding me tight, he told Sienna, “That’s Kiera’s favorite too.”

Sienna turned her radiance to me. “Well, don’t we have a lot in common?” As her eyes drifted back to Kellan, I thought the two of us had more in common than I cared for.

Fifteen minutes later, we were back on the second floor. Matt, Evan, and Anna were all flipping out over the upcoming collaboration. Griffin was pissy, scowling as he sat by himself in the
corner. Anna eventually cheered him up by sitting on his lap and nibbling on his ear. I guess meeting her “idol” had obliterated her irritation with Griffin. Of course, she never stayed
mad at him for very long. Kellan was deep in thought as he sat beside me on the couch, stroking my hand with his thumb. I wasn’t sure where his mind was, but I was pretty sure he was thinking
about Sienna. I wanted to disrupt his train of thought, but I couldn’t think of anything to say.

In the end, I decided to get out my notebook and work on my story. I would let Kellan keep thinking about . . . whatever he was thinking about. I wanted to be the supportive and encouraging type
of person that he often was. Kellan would sort out whatever he was sorting out, and we’d be fine, because we trusted each other. Even though my head was spinning with a multitude of horrible
scenarios, I wouldn’t give them power over me by dwelling on them.

Sienna stayed at the house the entire holiday weekend. A group surrounded her wherever she went; I don’t think I ever saw her by herself. It didn’t take my sister
long to become a member of her entourage. When Sienna came down to the main pool Saturday afternoon, my sister tossed on a bikini and joined her. And I swear, only my statuesque sister could pull
off pairing a pregnant belly with polka dots.

Sienna continually struck up conversations with Kellan. Whenever he went out back to lay in the sun or take a dip in the pool, she was right there, telling him how great their single was going
to be. I tried to ignore the light in her dark eyes when she talked to him. I tried not to notice how casually he carried on a conversation with her. And I really tried not to think about how much
they had in common. Kellan and Sienna seemed cut from the same cloth, and I had to imagine that if I had never come into Kellan’s life, he would have dated the superstar in a heartbeat.

But he never said or did anything inappropriate when he was around her. In fact, he was usually touching me in some way when he was talking to her—a hand on my thigh, his knee glued to
mine, our bare arms brushing together. Some tiny bit of contact was almost always between us, like he was subconsciously letting me know that I had nothing to worry about.

On my sister’s last day in California, Kellan and I were enjoying some sunshine by the pool. Most of the houseguests had gone home last night after the fireworks, and for once, Kellan and
I were completely alone. He was relaxing in a lounge chair, wearing black swim shorts and nothing else. I was in the chair next to him, my left hand entwined with his right. Eyes closed, he played
with my wedding ring while I gazed at the tattoo above his heart. I was in a near trance as I mentally traced the scripted letters of my name when my sister’s irritated voice broke through my
peaceful fog. So much for being alone.

“No, it’s not a good thing. I wanted a girl!”

Anna passed through my field of vision and I followed her with my eyes. She stormed over to a table and set her juice down so hard she spilled some. Griffin followed her. Like Kellan, he was
only wearing swim shorts. While Griffin was fit and could definitely pull off the look, he wasn’t quite as well defined as Kellan.

“Well, I’m cool with a boy. I think it’s awesome. Instead of Myrtle, we can call him Myrt or Mort . . . Mortimus.” He paused for a minute while my sister made a face. I
did too.
Mortimus?
I could
not
call a baby that. Suddenly, Griffin raised a finger into the air. “Maximus!” he exclaimed.

I looked over at Kellan and we both smiled and shrugged. Maximus was a heck of a lot better than Mortimus. My sister snorted, and I looked back at her. A wry smile on her lips, she shoved
Griffin’s shoulder back. “Maximus . . . like the gladiator?”

Griffin smiled and brought his hands to his hips. “Well, he will be a slayer.” He thrust his hips forward and I stopped smiling. Anna laughed and trailed her hand down
Griffin’s chest. She tugged on his shorts, pulling him into her bare stomach. His lips were instantly attached to her neck, his hands immediately slipping down the backside of her bikini
bottoms. I turned back to Kellan. I really hoped they didn’t try to make another baby while they were ten feet away from me.

Kellan watched them for a minute more, then closed his eyes and laid his head back on the chair. Sienna’s toned legs appeared on the other side of him. Shirking off her sheer robe, she
frowned as she watched my sister being mauled by the D-Bags’ bassist. “Are those two really a couple? He’s hit on me about a dozen times.”

Sienna seemed as confused by Anna and Griffin’s relationship as I sometimes was. As I tried not to gape at the perfection of her sculpted body, Kellan looked over and smirked. “That
depends on your definition of ‘couple.’” Returning his eyes to my sister, he added, “We’re all still trying to figure them out.”

Sienna smiled; the brilliance of her white teeth nearly blinded me. “They’re not as exclusive as the two of you then?” Her eyes drifted over Kellan’s tattoo before
shifting to my wedding ring.

Kellan smiled at her as he brought my ring to his lips. “No, definitely not.”

Sienna smiled politely as she watched him. If she was disappointed over Kellan’s commitment to me, I couldn’t see it. But then again, she was a performer, and acting was a big part
of that. As her entourage spread out around the pool, Sienna flipped onto her stomach. Her backside was impossibly perky, and I discretely adjusted the bottom of my modest tankini.

Pulling the sheet of dark hair off of her shoulders, Sienna unhooked her top. Resting her head on her arms, she told us, “I’ll be heading back to London in the morning. Would the two
of you like to have dinner with me tonight?”

Kellan was silent, leaving the answer entirely up to me. Not able to pass up a meal with number ten on the “Most Influential People in the World” list, I shrugged and nodded.
“Yeah, sure . . . sounds great.”

Closing her eyes, Sienna murmured, “Fabulous.” I wanted to agree, but I wasn’t entirely sure that I hadn’t just made a horrible mistake.

Anna was upset that she wasn’t invited to go to dinner with her new BFF. Griffin was too. His eyes barely left Sienna’s body the entire time she sunbathed half-naked by the pool. His
rapt attention didn’t seem to bother my sister. She really didn’t seem to care what Griffin did, so long as he was attentive to her and respectful to me. Honestly, I had no idea how
those two were going to be as parents.

Standing in front of a full length mirror in the bathroom later, I debated if I looked good enough to be seen with Sienna Sexton. I hadn’t planned on fancy dinners out while I’d been
packing, and the only semi-dressy thing I had with me was a long, simple black dress made of soft cotton that swirled down to my ankles. It had wide straps, a v-neckline, and an empire waist. It
was more comfortable than sexy, but it was all I had. Sighing, I ran my fingers along a wavy strand of my hair; I’d thought to offset the plainness of the dress with big, bouncy curls, but
I’d only managed wavy.

Coming up behind me, Kellan kissed my bare shoulder. “You look incredible.”

I looked at the reflection of him over my shoulder. He was wearing a fitted blue dress shirt worn loose over dark blue jeans. The color of his shirt brought out the depth of his eyes. He was
stunning. As always.

A part of me wanted to tell him that I wouldn’t look incredible standing next to a bombshell like Sienna, but I knew he wouldn’t agree, so I didn’t say it. Looking back at my
reflection, I tried to see what Kellan saw when he looked at me. My eyes were “expressive,” meaning they were large. They were generally a seaweed brown shade, but in this light, the
green was a little more apparent. With the simple layer of mascara I had on, I’d say they were even pretty. I had nice cheek bones, a cute nose, full lips. Maybe my chin was just a tad too
pointy, but all in all, I was well proportioned and symmetrical. I wasn’t gorgeous, but . . . maybe I was beautiful.

Smiling at him, I pulled out my lip gloss and applied a coat of light pink. “Thank you.”

Kellan blinked, surprised. “You’re not going to argue with me? Make me convince you that you’re attractive?” I shook my head and his lips curved into a small approving
smile. “Well, that’s new. I like it. Confidence is sexy on you.” He flashed me a wicked grin.

I felt my cheeks heating as his bedroom eyes locked with mine in the mirror. God, we’d never make it to dinner if he kept looking at me
that
way. Twirling him around, I shoved him
out the door. Kellan chuckled to himself while I gathered the rest of my things, then we headed out to the sitting area, where the rest of the band was lounging.

Evan came over and wrapped a tattooed arm around me. “You’re a doll, Kiera.”

I smiled up at him, then remembered the favor Jenny had asked me to do days ago. Embarrassed that I’d forgotten, I hurried back to my room and dug through my bag until I found the
flattened candy box. Smiling in apology, I handed it to Evan. “Jenny says she misses you, wishes she could be with you, and asked me to give you this.”

As Evan took it, I swear his cheeks flushed with color. Peeking up at me with his warm brown eyes he asked, “Did she tell you what this was?”