Reckless (Thoughtless, #3)(77)

Besides the D-Bags and Avoiding Redemption, there were three other bands on the tour. The first one started off the show and the music reverberated through the walls. The crowd loitering backstage didn’t lessen any now that the concert was in progress. If anything, it ramped the party up a notch—some people in the center of the room even started dancing as they lifted their drinks in the air.

While I watched Kellan from across the room, smiling and talking to a fan in bright red pigtails, I listened to the people around me. Most of them were talking about Kellan’s looks. “Holy crap, he’s hot! How the hell does he look even better in person?” “Fuck, look at that body. You can tell he’s cut . . . but we should go rip off his shirt, just to be sure. Research, you know.”

I snorted into my drink after hearing that line, and subtly turned away from the girl who had said it. He was cut, but hell if I was going to let her strip him. Her “research” would just have to be imaginary. Walking away from the girl who thoroughly wanted to examine my husband, I started picking up conversations that I found a lot less amusing. “He’s dating Sienna, right?” “I don’t know, I heard he said he wasn’t in an interview.” “They always say that, it just means they don’t want to talk about it.” “They’re such a hot couple, have you seen the video?” “So jealous, but they’re perfect together!”

I heard that sentiment repeated about three dozen times as I worked my way over to Kellan. When I finally got to him, I was already sick of Sienna . . . and she wasn’t even here. Grinning at me, Kellan leaned down to kiss my cheek. “Thanks,” he muttered in my ear as he stole my beer from my fingers.

I glared at him as I watched him tip it back. “Just so you know, I totally backwashed.”

Kellan paused mid-gulp, then shrugged. Smiling wide once he was finished, he husked, “That’s all right . . . I like your fluids.”

Justin was staring at us with his nose crinkled. Lightly smacking Kellan in the stomach, I muttered, “You’ve been hanging out with Griffin too much.” Kellan just chuckled and continued drinking my beer.

Justin laughed at our banter, then turned to face a fan when she stepped right in front of him and let out an ear-piercing squeal. It drowned out the music pounding around the room. “I love you, Justin!” she screamed.

Justin’s expression shifted into the courteous, professional one that Kellan’s often did when he talked to fans. “You’re so sweet, thank you.” She squealed again and forcefully shoved a CD case into his hands; she almost made him spill his beer. Not at all fazed by the outpouring of excitement in front of him, Justin nimbly signed his name across the hard plastic.

The girl fanned herself, then glanced over at Kellan. Her eyes practically popped out of her head. “Oh my God, Kellan Kyle! I am your biggest fan!” Justin looked offended for a minute, then laughed as he rolled his eyes behind her back.

Kellan’s biggest fan plowed past Justin to get to her favorite rock star. I bit my lip to contain my grin; the girl was shaking. Kellan gave her a polite smile as he smoothly told her, “Thank you, I appreciate that.”

Whipping out another CD case, she shoved Kellan’s album in front of him. I glanced at the cover of the D-Bags’ CD as she held it in her trembling fingers. The picture the label had ended up using was one that had all of the guys standing in a line, Kellan slightly in front of the others. Kellan’s head was down and he was looking up at the camera with a seductive half-smile. It was an incredibly hot shot, but it conveniently cut off Kellan’s hands so you couldn’t see his wedding ring. The lengths Nick would go to to create the illusion that Kellan was single were as amusing as they were annoying.

“Can you sign this, To the girl of my dreams?” She sighed after she said it. Justin sniggered, then walked away.

Kellan covertly looked my way as he answered her. Lip in an amused curl, he said, “I don’t think my girl would appreciate that.” I hid my smile. Even though we were married in our hearts, Kellan was respecting my wishes by not publicly clarifying our relationship. He usually just said he was “seeing somebody,” or he “had a girl in his life.”

Fan-girl waved her hand. “Oh, I know you’re with Sienna, and I don’t really have a shot, but—” She giggled. “—it’s fun to pretend.”

Kellan snapped his gaze to the fan. “I’m not with Sienna. She’s not my girlfriend. We only worked together on an album . . . and a music video.” Remembering the video, he frowned. I subtly put my hand on his back.

The fan smiled and nodded, but it was obvious that she didn’t believe a word he’d just said. Kellan flicked a glance my way and opened his mouth. Knowing what he was about to do, I pinched his back. While Kellan was being obscure about me to the masses, he probably wouldn’t think twice about explaining things to fans on a one-on-one basis. I’d rather he didn’t, though. When it came to his job, I’d rather be as anonymous as possible.

Kellan flinched and snapped his mouth shut. Just signing his name to the album, Kellan handed the CD back to the uber fan. She held it to her chest, cradling it like a baby. Even though the moment was over, she didn’t move away. I thought she might hang out with us for the remainder of the concert, but she spotted Griffin emerging from the bathrooms and dashed off yelling, “Griffin! I love you!”