Reckless (48 page)

Sienna gave Kellan an adoring smile. “Can I come in?”

Kellan stepped back, swishing his arm to indicate that she could. When Sienna walked by him in the doorway, she paused. “Thank you,” she murmured, batting her eyelashes.

Kellan kept his face neutral as he closed the door on the crowd of prying eyes. The fans shouted out comments and questions the entire time until the door seal drowned them out.
How long
have you been together? Are you getting married? We love you guys! Kell-Sex forever!
Hearing that, I couldn’t contain my eye rolling. How one imaginary relationship had become such a
focal point for some people was beyond me.

As Sienna entered the lounge area of the bus, she smiled brightly at me, like none of that had just happened. “Kiera! Lovely to see you.”

“You too,” I muttered, not really meaning it.

Coming up behind her, Kellan asked, “What is it?” He said it slowly, like he was sure she had a hidden motive for being here. I was sure too, but with all those pictures that had
just been snapped, I think she’d already accomplished it.

Sienna twisted to him, a coy smile on her face. “Can’t a girl drop in on her friends? I’m used to having people around me, but this tour it’s just been my security and me
on the bus. Gets a little lonely.” Thinking of something, her face lit up. “Would you two like to ride the next leg of the tour with me?”

Kellan opened his mouth, but I beat him to it. “No, it’s all right, we’re fine here.” The tabloids would proclaim Sienna to be pregnant by the next venue if she and
Kellan shared a bus.

Sienna pouted like she was crestfallen. “Well, the offer stands if you change your mind.” Her dark eyes flicked around our home-away-from-home. “My bus really is much nicer
than this one.”

Walking past her, Kellan scooped my laptop off of the table, then twisted to Sienna. “I was actually going to rest a little bit before the show. Hope you don’t mind.” Sienna
shrugged as she shook her head. Kellan turned to me. “You okay?” He discreetly indicated Sienna, and I knew what he meant—
Are you okay being alone with her?

I nodded. Feeling those butterflies return, I touched the laptop with my finger. “I’m more worried about you reading this.”

Kellan kissed my cheek, then breathed in my ear, “It won’t change how I feel about you.” His breath on my skin raised the hairs on my neck.

As Kellan started walking toward the back, I turned to face Sienna. She was watching him leave with a small smile on her lips. “Kind of weird, wasn’t it?” I asked her.

She tore her gaze away from Kellan’s backside to look at me. “What, love?”

I smiled at her as genuinely as I could, but it felt fake to me. “All those photographers waiting at the club when we arrived?”

Sienna’s perfectly painted lips curved into a smirk. “Not really. My location seems to be leaked on a daily basis. I can barely use the bathroom without a witness.” She
indicated the empty bus with her hand. “It makes me a little jealous to watch how easily the group of you can come and go. I mean, your sister is shopping at a mall right now, isn’t
she?” I nodded, and Sienna sighed. “I can’t even step inside a mall without being mobbed.”

As I considered what her life was like, what Kellan’s life was quickly becoming, I told her, “You could give it all up, move somewhere remote?”

Sienna laughed as she twirled a dark lock around her finger. “Give up the stage? Sure, I could, but what’s the point of life if you’re not doing what makes you the happiest?
And even though it has its setbacks, the perks far outweigh them. I’m on top of the world right now, and I wouldn’t change that for anything. I like where I am.”

Her eyes drifted back to where Kellan was hiding away and I thought there was
one
thing Sienna would change if she could—Kellan would be right beside her on her throne as she
ruled the world.

Sienna stayed and visited with me for about an hour. She glanced back at the cubbies a handful of times, but Kellan never reemerged. Perhaps bored, perhaps disappointed, Sienna frowned and said,
“See you at the show,” loud enough for Kellan to hear. If he did, he didn’t respond. Slapping on a flawless smile, Sienna proudly left the bus.

After Sienna left, curiosity got the better of me and I went to go check on Kellan. He had closed the curtain to the sleeping area behind him when he’d gone in there. I tentatively pulled
it aside and stuck my head in. The light was on in our cubby, and the privacy curtain was open. Kellan was on his side, staring at the laptop. His expression was intense, absorbed.

Quietly walking toward him, I murmured, “Sienna left.”

He started and peeked up at me. “I didn’t hear you come in. You scared the piss out of me.”

I smiled at his comment and sat on the edge of our bed. Chewing my lip, I pointed at the computer. “Do you hate me?” I whispered.

Kellan stared at me a long, silent moment. His face was still blank. Aside from that brief moment of surprise, I had no idea what he thought. Had he read about my feelings for Denny? God, had he
read our sex scenes? I shouldn’t have let him read the full manuscript. I should have edited. How did he feel about it? Not knowing anything that was going on in his head was killing me, but
I waited for him to be ready to speak. When he sighed and closed the computer screen, I braced myself for the worst.

Climbing out of the hole we slept in, he moved to sit beside me on the edge of the mattress. Our heads rested against the bunk above us. Face softening into sadness, he finally whispered,
“I’m so sorry . . . for all the pain I put you through.”

My eyes watered. “For all the pain you put
me
through? I’m the one that cut out your heart, then handed it back to you in pieces.”

Kellan smirked. “I haven’t gotten that far in the story yet. I’m still at the part where I’m an asshole.”

Smiling, I bumped his shoulder with mine. “I kind of like it when you’re an asshole.”

Kellan smiled at the ground. “I’ll keep that in mind.” He looked up at me again. “But I mean it. I really am sorry. I should have just been honest with you. I wanted to
tell you how I felt . . . I just . . . couldn’t. It was too hard.”

Swallowing, I nodded. “I know. But you don’t have to apologize. What I did to you was so much worse. Sorry isn’t a big enough word to cover it.” Kellan didn’t argue
with me. He just gave me a sad smile and wiped a tear off of my cheek with his fingers. Needing to say it now, while we were knee-deep in regrets, I added, “I’m so sorry about the
scenes with Denny. I shouldn’t have let you read those.”

Knowing which scenes I was referring to, Kellan put his finger over my lips. “Don’t. I understand. I knew going into this that a story about us was also going to be a story about the
two of you. And it should be. He was a big part of your life, and I’m okay with your history. It made you who you are. And I happen to be in love with who you are.” I gaped at him,
amazed at the depth of his empathy. He laughed a little. “I couldn’t read about it, though. I, uh, skimmed a few parts. I hope you don’t mind.”

Shaking my head, I threw my arms around him. No, of course I didn’t mind. Clutching his shirt in my hands, I buried my head in his neck. God, he was amazing. Holding him tight, I released
a few final tears of guilt and remorse. Once the feeling was gone, I kissed his neck. “I love you, you know?”

Holding me tight to him, rubbing my back, Kellan murmured, “I know you love my hair.” I pulled back to look at his amused face; he could barely contain his smile. “I mean you
really
love my hair . . . almost obsessively so. I had no idea.” His grin turned bright and boyish. “And my abs.” He cocked an eyebrow at me. “Would you like to try
etching them with a marker? I’ll let you. Although, edible paint is a lot more fun.”

Pushing his chest away from me, I stood up. Jackass. Laughing, Kellan grabbed my hips and pulled me onto his lap. I giggled as I crashed into his arms. Tangling my fingers into his remarkable
hair, I husked out, “I’ll etch you if you etch me.”

Kellan twisted me around so I was straddling him. His eyes were bright with excitement as he brought his lips toward mine. “Deal,” he mumbled before our mouths touched. Then his
fingers darted under my shirt, like he was going to start the art project right now.

His fingers danced along my skin, tickling me as much as caressing me. I was laughing in between our playful kisses and wishing that we could somehow sneak off of this bus and escape into a
private hotel room.

“Well, this is familiar,” said a voice from behind me.

I broke apart from Kellan’s lips to glance at the now-open bus curtain. Being walked in on didn’t startle me as much as it used to, but it still wasn’t something I enjoyed.
When I saw who was here, shock washed through me. “Jenny?”

My blond best friend giggled as she bounced on her toes. “Surprise!”

I squealed in Kellan’s ear and shot up off of his lap. I collided with Jenny and held her tight as new tears stung my eyes. It had only been a couple of months, but it felt like forever
since I’d last seen her. After our exuberant greeting, I noticed who was behind her. “Kate? Rachel? Cheyenne?”

Seeing all of my favorite people from Seattle here in D.C. was beyond odd. They seemed stranger to me than all the hoopla surrounding Kellan and another woman. Jenny laughed at the look on my
face as I twisted between my girlfriends and Kellan; a small, knowing smile was plastered on Kellan’s face, so I figured he knew what was up. “What’s going on?”

Griffin and Anna were back from their shopping excursion. Anna was standing behind Cheyenne, her expression joyful. Griffin was loaded down with shopping bags and dramatically collapsed into a
chair; a sea of colorful bags fell around him, and a couple of blue onesies fell to the floor.

Looping her arm around Rachel, Anna handed me the only thing that she was carrying—a completely black plastic bag. A little nervous, I gingerly removed it from her hand and peeked inside.
There were a plethora of things in the bag, but a giant penis staring me in the face was the thing that really got my attention. Cinching the bag closed, my eyes snapped to Kellan’s.
“Okay, seriously, what the hell is going on?”

Kellan laughed as he stood and put an arm around me. “We’re officially getting married next month, and Anna and Griffin just tied the knot, so we”—he pointed at Anna and
himself—“decided a little celebration was in order.”

Anna held her belly while she bounced on her toes. “Dual bachelorette party, Kiera!”

I looked over all of my friends, shocked. They had all flown across the country with hardly any notice to help Anna and I celebrate our weddings? And, I suppose, in Jenny and Rachel’s
case, to visit with their boyfriends.

After hugging each friend in turn, I looked back at Kellan. “You arranged all of this?”

He smiled and shrugged. “Our lives are crazy. When moments to remember happen, you have to pause a second to appreciate them. Otherwise none of this”—he indicted the
bus—“is worth it. And getting married to you is definitely a moment to remember.”

I heard a dreamy sigh escape Kate’s lips as my eyes misted. Griffin intruded on my romantic moment by doing what he did best. He opened his mouth. “And while you guys are drooling
over dudes, we’ll be swimming in a sea of half-naked babes.”

Anna elbowed him in the stomach, but she laughed. I looked back at Kellan. He shook his head. “We’re just going to a bar after the show tonight.”

Griffin pouted. “I said I wanted a strip club.”

Kellan gave him a flat look. “And I said I wanted a bar. If you want to do separate bachelor parties, then by all means, go to a strip club tonight. But I don’t feel like celebrating
my marriage with overpriced alcohol and glitter.”

Griffin rolled his eyes and made a sound like a whip being cracked. Kellan only smiled at him. I faced my sister. “And what exactly are
we
doing tonight?”

Anna gave me a wide smile. “Oh, don’t you worry about the details. I’ve got everything under control.”

Hours later, I was staring at myself in the mirror contemplating whether I should kiss my sister or deck her. Her master plan to celebrate our nuptials was to dress all of us girls in matching
outfits that were half Robert Palmer video chick and half Muppet. We were all wearing skintight, short, long-sleeved dresses. Jenny and Anna had done everyone’s makeup—bright red
lipstick and smoky eyes—and Cheyenne and Kate had pulled everyone’s hair back into long, sleek ponytails. I thought we were going to leave the dressing up at resembling “Addicted
to Love” fill-ins, but I should have known that wasn’t flashy enough for my sister. Once we were all uniformly dressed, she’d pulled out the coup de grace—an assortment of
neon colored wigs.

As I fingered the bright pink hair in my reflection, Anna joined me. Giggling at her own mass of electric blue hair, she exclaimed, “We look fucking hot!”

Turning around, I examined my sister’s outfit. Even with a belly large enough to house
two
small children, she looked good. I had no doubts she would be hit on at some point.
“I feel ridiculous, Anna.”

Making a dismissive noise, Anna smoothed my short, pink bob. “Well, you look amazing.”

“Do I really have to wear this?” I pointed down the bus, to where Kellan and the guys were waiting to see us before heading out for their show. “Kellan got a say in his night.
Don’t I get a say in mine?”

Smiling, Anna shook her head, a neon strand of blue hair stuck to her lip. “No.” When I grimaced, Anna turned me back around to face the bathroom mirror. “Tonight, you are not
Kiera.” She leaned in so that our faces were side-by-side, and for the first time, I noticed something I really never had before—my sister and I looked a lot alike. “Tonight, you
are Kiki, sex goddess!”

I groaned, but then immediately laughed. Sure, why not. I needed a short break from my life anyway. “Okay, Anna, you win.”

She smacked my butt as she walked away. “Don’t I always, Kiera?” She smirked at me over her shoulder. “I mean Kiki.”

Feeling like we were about to film a live-action version of
Fraggle Rock,
the girls and I stepped into the main portion of the bus. Griffin let out an earsplitting catcall. Matt’s
face flushed with color, while Evan’s broke into a wide grin. And Kellan, well, let’s just say I was getting thoroughly examined, and he appeared to like what he saw.