Effortless (Thoughtless, #2)(35)

Kellan cleared his throat and ran a hand through his hair and all of their eyes shifted back to him. Exhaling in a long, controlled way, he took a moment to gather himself, then locked eyes with Matt. “I’m in,” was all he told him.





97


Matt jumped up from beside the table as a chorus of excitement erupted from the guys. Throwing an arm around Kellan’s shoulder, the blond’s slim face was ear-to-ear smiles. “This is gonna be great, Kell.

You’ll see.” He nodded enthusiastically as Evan and Griffin stood and swarmed around Kellan.

After that there was playful shoving and elbow ribbing. Evan grabbed Kellan’s head and rumpled his hair as he laughed. Griffin stepped in-between Kellan and I, jarring us loose as he slugged him in the shoulder.

As all of them animatedly talked about their upcoming adventure, I found myself forced back a few steps, watching them from a distance.

Kellan looked back at me for a split-second, but his attention was quickly diverted back to one of the guys. Sighing, I twisted and left them to their moment of glory. I had to go back to work anyway.

As I meandered over to a couple that had just sat down, I listened to the band in the back corner. Their laughter was loud, their voices gleeful.

Several regulars asked me what was going on and I morosely told them.

“They’re going on tour. They’re going to spread their talent over the nation and some record label is going to notice and sign them up. After that, they’ll be played on the radio every five minutes, headline a solo tour in every major city in the world, and be swarmed by people nonstop. They’ll be booked on every talk show, play at every award show, and Kellan will end up on every magazine’s “Hottest Guys” list. After that, he’ll receive invitations from groupies and celebrities alike. Eventually he’ll give in to an A-list starlet and they’ll be the talk of every tabloid in creation. And I’ll be here…pouring you your drink and reminiscing about the rock star that I used to date.”

Well, okay, I may have only told the customers that very first sentence, but the rest of the speech echoed in my head on a never-ending loop.

Kellan and I could try and trust each other, sure, but that only meant he wouldn’t sneak around behind my back. There were no guarantees that he’d stay with me once he was exposed to…well, literally, everyone.

All of the customers had an excited reaction to the news, several walking over to the guys’ table to slap them on the back in congratulations, or in the girls’ cases, to give them appreciative hugs. Surprisingly, the only 98



person who seemed as un-thrilled over this development as me was Rita.

She sulked as much as I did as I approached the bar to get yet another round that someone had bought for the foursome.

Her collagen-injected lips puckered into as much of a scowl as she could make as she arranged their shots. “I can’t believe he’s leaving,” she murmured over the noise in the bar. Glancing up at me, she narrowed her eyes. “Aren’t you going to stop this? Put your foot down?” Looking back at Kellan smiling and shaking Sam’s hand, finally looking happy about the idea of singing across the country, I sighed and shook my head. “No, he deserves this. I’m not going to try and keep him from fulfilling a dream.”

Rita reached across the bar and smacked me on the shoulder. I glared back at her as she adjusted the deeply plunging neckline of her altered Pete’s shirt. “Then you’re an idiot.” She pointed over to Kellan and the guys and crassly verbalized every fear I had. “He’s going to get famous after this little stint. Then he’s going to realize that he’s famous, and gorgeous, and can screw just about any woman in the world. You think he’s going to stay with an ordinary nobody after that?” Harshly grabbing my tray of shots, a good quarter of the drinks splashing over the edge, I raised my chin to her. With a confidence that I wasn’t sure I really felt, I shook my head. “You don’t know Kellan, not like I do. He’s not like that. He’s not interested in the fame, in the power, or in the women.” Lowering my chin, I shrugged. “He’s interested in me.”

Rita folded her arms across her chest and smirked at me. “Right. And he wouldn’t dare cheat on you, because he’s such a…moral guy.” She eyed me up and down and I flushed all over. By the tone in her voice I knew what she was referring to when she questioned his morality. The affair Kellan and I’d had was never openly admitted by anyone who knew, but with the public fights Kellan and I had shared, followed by Kellan’s beating—that we still claimed was a mugging—most people had put the pieces together. Especially after Denny had fled the country.





99


Not wanting to talk about my life with Rita anymore, since Kellan had once been immoral with her too, I muttered, “You don’t know him,” and stormed off to their table.

After another couple of free rounds, the guys finally had to leave for a show at another bar. Kellan lingered after the other guys exited to a spat-tering of cheers and whistles. Before he left, Griffin paused at the door, exclaiming, “Thank you all, my loyal subjects. And don’t worry, I won’t ever forget you when I’m famous, I’ll only refuse to acknowledge your existence!”

Most of the bar laughed at that, maybe thinking he was joking. Knowing Griffin probably meant it wholeheartedly, I rolled my eyes and shook my head. Jackass. Someday I was going to have to stage an intervention for Anna. She could do so much better. Well, she certainly couldn’t do any worse.