Page 68 of Hard Rock Temptation
“So that’s it,” I scoffed, realizing what game she was now playing. “You’ve been hitting Kay up for money for years, and now you’re coming to me. Did she finally tell you to fuck off?” I asked archly.
“Let me just say this,” she hissed. “If you don’t play along, I’m going to tell everyone what I know. I’m going to tell your record company exactly what Kaylee did, exactly how much she screwed over your band.”
I couldn’t stop the anger from boiling over.
“What are you trying to blame Kay for now?” I said growled.
“Ha!” she said triumphantly “I knew she never told you. Well, of course she wouldn’t. She wouldn’t want anyone to know.”
I paused, wondering if I should believe her. If I should humor her. But now I was burning with curiosity.
“Why?” I asked warily. “What could Kay have done that could possibly hurt the band?”
The next words out of Susan’s mouth were so smug, so full of obvious delight, that she must have truly believed what she said next.
“What that girl did will cost you everything.”
TWENTY-NINE
KAYLEE
Iwas in my bedroom sewing together the last few pieces of my repurposed dress when the doorbell rang. My heart spiked with nerves. I put down the fabric, attempting to avoid pricking my finger on the needle and failing. I winced at the sharp jab, both in my finger and my chest.
I’d known it was coming. As much as the band had tried to keep our address a secret (no one wanted crazed fans showing up on their doorstep), I’d known that my mom would somehow figure out where I lived. I’d had a feeling she would show up on my doorstep the moment I’d hung up on her. I’d just hoped it wouldn’t be this soon.
I heaved myself off the bed and padded downstairs on bare feet, squaring my shoulders and putting on an impassive face before I opened the front door.
My heart, which had dropped to my toes, began to soar.
“Micah!” I cried joyfully, wrapping my arms around his middle and snuggling my face into his chest. “I missed you.” It had only been a week, but our separation, and the subsequent radiosilence, had felt like months, and this unexpected visit lifted my spirits like nothing else could. He must have been ready to talk.
I pulled back from his arms and looked up at him.
“I’m happy you’re here, but why didn’t you text that you were coming over?” I asked.
Micah was looking straight forward at a spot above my head. His arms stayed at his sides, not returning my hug. His face was as impassive as I’d tried to make mine before I’d opened the door. My soaring heart plummeted back down to the ground.
Had he changed his mind about staying together? Had he thought things through and decided he couldn’t get over our disagreement after all?
I slowly eased back from our one-sided embrace.
If Micah didn’t want to be in a relationship with me anymore… and if the band broke up for good…
Despair threatening to pull me down like quicksand, but before I could flounder Micah spoke.
“I got a call from your mom,” he said flatly.
My eyes grew wide. Oh crap. What had my mom done now? Had she decided to go after Micah, now that I’d cut her off? That was just the kind of thing she would do.
“Micah, I’m sorry,” I told him sincerely. “I told my mom off and hung up on her. I knew she was going to be mad, but I didn’t think she would start harassing you next.”
“Is that why you’re sorry?” Micah asked. He finally met my gaze. “Because your mom is harassing me?”
The look in his dark eyes scared me more than any conversation I’d ever had with my mom. They were full of anger, pain and disbelief. What had my mom said to him, to turn those usually so loving eyes into this maelstrom?
Then it hit me.
My mom had told him.
