Reckless (Thoughtless, #3)(109)

Sienna blinked, her long, fake eyelashes nearly brushing her cheeks. “I don’t have time for love . . .” The way her voice trailed off, I highly doubted her answer.

Feeling like I had something to work with, I took a tentative step toward her. “Well, Kellan and I are in love, deeply in love. We’ve been through a lot together, and he’s been through a lot alone. And this ‘relationship’ that’s been produced between the two of you is very unsettling. He loves what he does. He adores the fans and the music. But this hoopla is making him miserable. Don’t you care that he’s unhappy?”

Sienna stared at me impassively. I couldn’t gauge whether she cared about Kellan’s well-being or not. I liked to believe that she did. After all, they were friends sort of. Finally, she raised a cool eyebrow. “I’m not hurting him in any way, nor have I crossed his line about kissing him on the lips.”

I sighed. She was going to make this difficult.

When I opened my mouth to speak, Sienna beat me to it. “I respect you for coming in here. I do genuinely like you and Kellan, but make no mistake about it: My career comes first, and I will do whatever it takes to stay on top, even harmlessly flirt with a married man.” She rolled her eyes. I wasn’t sure if that was because of the harmless part, or the married part. Both concepts seemed ridiculous to her.

I grit my jaw and prepared myself to storm out of the room. I knew that talking to her wasn’t a viable option. She didn’t care if Kellan felt manipulated and used. She cared that her album hit number one. It had been released just a few weeks before Kellan’s, and had yet to reach that elusive goal.

“I’m sorry I’ve wasted your time. I just wanted to have a civil conversation with you about Kellan. Maybe come up with a solution so that everyone can be happy, since you did say you wanted this arrangement to work. But I see that you only care about what he can do for you, so I’ll leave you alone so you can bask in your own glory.”

I spun on my heel and Sienna grabbed my elbow. Her dark eyes bored into me. “You’re both overreacting,” she snapped. “It’s the reality of being in the public eye. At least I’m trying to help Kellan’s career as well as my own. If I were truly as selfish as you believe me to be, than Kellan would be in my bed right now, not yours. But I haven’t made a play for him because I respect your relationship.”

I scowled at her, hating that she thought she could win him so easily. She couldn’t. Kellan’s heart was fixed on me.

Releasing my arm, she relaxed and her tone softened. I found myself relaxing as well. “This media circus that he hates so much is going to happen regardless of my interference.” She smiled, and a trace of warmth finally appeared on her face. “In case you haven’t noticed, Kellan is very attractive. And on top of his looks, he’s also very talented. That combination has the uncanny ability of reducing the most sophisticated woman into a trembling teenager. I think even a happily married woman would consider shucking it all for one night with him.”

A soft laugh escaped me. Yeah, I had to agree with that one. Kellan was just . . . desirable.

Sienna put her hand on my arm, almost in comfort. “Get used to it now, while he’s safely in my hands, because he’s going to be linked with every female that he comes in contact with from here on out. It’s just how the business works.”

My heart sank, but I knew she was right. “But it’s different with your fans. More intense. They’ve turned you into a power couple . . . Kell-Sex.”

Sienna rolled her eyes. “God, that nickname. It’s awful, isn’t it?”

I smiled, feeling relieved for the first time. Since I felt we were being honest, I told her, “I’m afraid to touch him when we’re around other people. I’m afraid we’ll be discovered, and the fans will turn on me.” Sighing, I asked her, “What do you think they would do if they knew about me?”

She shrugged, not too worried. “Bitch, moan, and crucify you online. I seriously doubt they would come after you with pitchforks or anything.” Her expression turned thoughtful and a knot formed in my stomach. With a wave of her hand, she told me, “I doubt it would affect your relationship as negatively as you think.” Rubbing my arm, she gave me a best-friend smile. “The fans would get over it. They love Kellan too much to dwell for long.”

She winked at me and then twisted to walk over to a vanity that had been set up for her. Picking up a tube of lipstick from the table, she leaned over and stared at her reflection. “I’ll ease up on the cuddling, if it really bothers you that much.” She looked at me in the mirror, her gaze questioning.

“We would appreciate it . . . thank you.” She was consenting to our wishes, but it didn’t feel like a victory. I hesitated, then decided to ask her what I really wanted to ask her. “Will you please say something to your fans? Tell them that Kellan is in a relationship? Don’t mention my name or anything,” I quickly added, “just help us try and stop the rumor mill?”

Sienna took an inordinately long time applying a layer of deep red around her plump lips. When she was finished, she rubbed her lips together. “Sure thing, love.”

Thinking our meeting was over, I turned to leave as she gave herself one last look over. Her voice stopped me, though. “I’ve seen you writing backstage. How is your book coming?”