Page 83 of Hard Rock Temptation
“Fame and fortune, my friend,” Kaylee said, attempting to sling her arm around his broad shoulders, and failing due to the vast difference in height. “One usually comes with the other.”
“I suppose it’s too late to pull off the ‘reclusive, secretive artiste’thing, huh?” Chris joked with a chuckle.
“Our faces have been plastered on every magazine, we’re all over social media, and we’ve been on every talk show,” I replied. “Can’t put the genie back in the bottle.”
Everyone groaned.
“Stoooop with the clichés,” Finn moaned.
“I don’t know, I’m kind of growing fond of them,” Kaylee said with a cheeky grin. “I’ve learned to accept my loved one’s foibles and flaws.”
“What, you’re not the ‘I can fix him’type?” Zain jumped in with a snort and a laugh.
“There’s nothing to fix,” Kaylee said, looking up at me with adoring eyes, the kind that made me want to squeeze her to my chest, and also rip off all her clothes. Speaking of clothes…
“Hey Kaylee,” Anya said in a light, breezy tone. Asuspiciouslylight and breezy tone. “Isn’t that Micah’s old t-shirt you’re wearing?” she continued loudly, drawing the attention of the group. “It was all worn out, wasn’t it? Seems like you’ve found a use for it.”
Kaylee’s cheeks turned pink, but she lifted her chin smugly.
“Thank you for noticing, Anya,” she said, just as loudly. “Yes, I took that ratty old thing and made this minidress. Cute, right?” She did a little spin, showing off her new outfit.
“Supercute,” Anya replied. “Boys, don’t you think Kaylee’s new dress is cute?”
Zain, Finn and Chris got that deer-in-the-headlights look.
“Uh. Yeah?” Zain said, sounding hesitant. Then he lowered his voice and tilted his head toward me. “I’m allowed to comment on your girl’s appearance, right? You won’t kill me, right?”
“She’s her own person,” I reminded him. “I don’t own her. But if you perv on Kay, I will end you,” I added.
“You made it yourself, yeah?” Chris interjected. “That’s pretty cool.” His look of pride was the same look I knew I had on myface. Good. The others should recognize her many talents just as much as I did.
Kaylee beamed, expression glowing. Then her gaze shifted to the distance, and her smile dipped. I turned my head to the direction she was staring at and saw a familiar car turning into the parking lot.
“Here she comes,” Kay said with a quiet sigh. She took my hand in hers and turned to the others. “Do you guys mind going on ahead? Micah and I need some time alone.”
Finn got a mischievous look on his face as he opened his mouth, no doubt about to make some sort of innuendo or comment about what we were going to get up to alone together. Anya covered his face with her palm and gave him a little push backwards.
“Sure thing,” Anya said. “We’ll see you back at the mansion later.” She hooked her arms in the crook of Finn and Zain’s elbows and dragged them into the waiting limo. Chris followed easily, folding his large body into an empty seat with a knowing smile aimed at the two of us, and then they were off.
“Are you ready?” I murmured to Kay as we watched her mom step out of her car, close the door with a slam, and stomp over.
Kay paused, giving herself time to think over the question instead of giving me an automatic answer.
“Yes,” she finally said. “I’m ready.” She straightened her back, her shoulders squaring. “I can do this,” she continued, voice steady. In fact, from her furrowed brow I could tell she was working herself up, steeling herself for a fight.
“You’ve been a hard one to track down,” Susan snarked as she approached, looking directly at Kaylee and ignoring me completely, not even throwing a dirty look my way.
“What, have you been staking out the building or something?” Kay said, equally snarky, and not a little impatiently. “I thought you would have gotten the hint. I told you, I don’t want to see you. I don’t want to hear from you. I want you out of my life, for good.”
I’d known Kay had told her mother off before, but seeing it myself brought me more joy than was probably reasonable. After all the years of watching Kay just accept her mother’s awful behavior toward her, it was a relief and a pleasure to watch this confrontation.
“I thought you knew better than that,” her mom said in an angry huff. “Don’t forget, I know what you did.”
“If you were going to tell anyone, you would have done it before now,” Kay threw back at her mother as she narrowed her eyes. “But you don’t want to lose your cash cow, isn’t that right?”
Her mother’s face twisted in ire.
“But unfortunately for you, I’ve solved that little problem,” Kay said confidently. “You can’t threaten me anymore.”
