Reckless (Thoughtless, #3)(107)

Anna rolled her eyes at him, but played along and pulled a small camera out of her bag. “I did come prepared,” she murmured.

Griffin raised his eyebrows at her in a suggestive way that used to make my skin crawl. “I bet you always come . . . prepared.”

Letting out a husky laugh, Anna rubbed her belly. “Except for one time.”

Griffin’s eyes softened as they shifted to his child. “Lucky f*cker, whoever the father is.”

With a snort, Anna told him, “He is a f*cker”—she shrugged nonchalantly—“but I love him.”

No one else in the crowd understood the enormity of what had just transpired but me. My heart was pounding in my chest as I watched my sister stare down Griffin. He met her gaze, swallowing uncomfortably. He was about to answer her when the fans behind Anna started getting restless. “Just take your damn picture!”

Shrugging, Anna sighed, handed me her camera, and stepped beside him. Griffin seemed a lot less cocky as he looked down at Anna. He didn’t even put his arm around her, or stick out his tongue and make devil’s horns, like he had with some of the other fans. He just gazed down at her, shocked into silence. I never thought I’d see the day.

I was still stunned by the time I got to Kellan. He was doing joint photographs with Sienna, which surprised me some. The pair weren’t touching, but Sienna gazed at Kellan while the fan squished between them beamed into the camera. Then, at the very last possible second, Sienna scooted over and laid her head on Kellan’s shoulder. Kellan jerked away immediately, but it was too late; the lucky fan had already captured the moment.

Stepping away from Sienna, Kellan let out a frustrated sigh. When he noticed that I was the next person in line, he blinked in surprise.“Hey,” he said, his expression playful. “Is there anything you’d like me to sign?”

Glancing at Sienna, I shook my head. Brow furrowed, Kellan told me, “A fan begged. I didn’t want to be rude.”

I nodded, understanding. These fans had been in line a long time and were being herded past the rock stars like cattle. Kellan was just being nice, and Sienna had used that to her advantage. Flicking a glance at Tory, who was busy ushering the fans that had completed the circuit out of the room, I motioned for Kellan to come closer. He leaned down to me, and I paused a moment to absorb his captivating scent. When we were close enough, I pointed out the fan who’d given me her special memento. She was a couple of spots behind me, giggling as Evan showed off some of his tattoos.

“She gave me something special. Can you thank her for me?”

He arched his brow in a delicious way. “What did she give you?”

“You’ll see later,” I answered with a smile.

Kellan nodded at me as I was pushed from behind by a rabid fan who had sneaked around my sister to get to Kellan. “I’ll see what I can do,” he murmured, his eyes brimming with intrigue as I walked away.

My grin faded as I stepped in front of Sienna. Her smile was wide and polite as she acknowledged me. “Kiera,” she laughed, “you don’t have to wait in the line to talk to me, you know.”

I know. And you don’t have to try and convince the world that you’re sleeping with my husband.

Even though I wanted to, I resisted the urge to say my thoughts out loud and instead smiled at her and politely left the room. I couldn’t talk to her. Not here anyway. Maybe if I could get her alone, I could talk to her about how we could all work together to turn down the fire on her imaginary romance with Kellan. What the public believed was beyond ridiculous, and her fans’ devotion to this fake relationship was nothing short of zealotry. If Sienna would just say something, I was sure the heat between them would start to dissipate. But both albums were soaring up the charts, so I knew she wouldn’t open her mouth. Wrong as it was, the gossip around them was financially benefitting them both, and Sienna was keeping her comments as ambiguous as possible: “He’s a remarkable man,” “I love spending time with him every day,” “I’m in awe of his art,” and “He’s the entire package—looks, brains, charisma, talent, and a body that would stop traffic.”

It was frustrating. I’d like to hold my husband’s hand in public without fear of some paparazzi person catching the moment and the fans going ballistic. I’d also like to feel good about Kellan wearing his ring everywhere he went. And I’d really like to not have to worry about some obsessed Kell-Sex fan crashing my wedding next month.





Chapter 19


Denial





After the meet-and-greet was over, Kellan pulled aside Underwear Fan and her friend. They both looked ready to pee their pants. Tory looked upset by the interruption to the flow in her scheduling, but then again, the statuesque blonde always seemed a little upset. Flashing her an I-don’t-care-if-you’re-mad smile, Kellan ignored Tory’s displeasure and treated the pair of fans to a private backstage tour.

Since I was Mr. Kyle’s “personal assistant” and had arranged this little tour, it would seem odd if I didn’t tag along, so I followed behind the fans. They were amusing to watch. As Kellan walked in front of them, highlighting different areas, instruments, and people, the pair of fans clutched at each other like life preservers. And every limb on them was shaking. I nearly expected one or both to drop to the ground in an overload of endorphins. Whenever Kellan looked at them directly, tiny squeaks escaped their lips, followed by a burst of uncontrollable giggles. Was I ever that nervous around Kellan? I didn’t think so.