Текст книги "The Song Remains the Same"

Автор книги: Kelli Jean

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Текущая страница: 9 (всего у книги 28 страниц)

I groaned. “You didn’t.”

“Fuck yeah, I did. Why wouldn’t I? It’s the truth!”

“At one point, she opened her home to you, shared her life with you, and for you to say something like that kind of blows.”

“So, what? Now, you’re mad at me for hurtin’ her feelings?”

“No, I’m not mad about that. It’s just…I don’t even know.”

“What did you and Devon talk about?”

“A lot of things actually. We were out in the open where everyone could see how incredibly platonic our conversation was, leaving no doubt in anyone’s mind that there was absolutely nothing going on between us.”

“Oh, ha-ha.”

“I wouldn’t let him on our bus because I knew it would upset you. Instead, I chose a public place to engage in conversation—”

“Yeah, I get it. Look, I’m sorry about that. I wasn’t even on his bus for more than ten minutes. She changed into decent jeans and grabbed some stuff, and then we headed out. That’s it.”

“Did you watch her change?” That thought had me feeling ill and angry.

“Fuck no! Now, what did Devon say to you?”

“You’re going to have to talk with him about that. I’m not at liberty to say.”

“What? What the fuck does that even mean?”

“It means, you need to talk to him. I think you’ll find that what he has to say, at the very least, is interesting. Maybe it’ll change how you see him, how you feel about him.”

Something flashed in Phil’s eyes, a mix of sadness and anger. It hit me that he had loved Devon just as much as Devon loved him. Phil’s decision to cut ties with the guitarist had not been easy for him. It had hurt.

“Just talk to him.”

Phil closed his eyes and shook his head. “I can’t.”

Last night, I’d done something that I found to be more heartbreaking than anything I’d ever done. I’d taken off the engagement ring. Digging into my pocket, I pulled it out, and the shock on Phil’s face as I did so shattered my heart all over again.

“Phil, there are things in your past that you need to address before we move forward and have any sort of future together. I think, once you speak with Devon, you’ll be able to heal. Until then…I’m putting my promise on hold—”

“You can’t!” he choked.

Placing the ring on the table, I slid it over to him where he stared at it in horror.

“I am. I love you, Phil. My feelings for you haven’t changed. But until you put aside your pride and hear Devon out—”

“Pride?” he echoed. “You think it’s pride that is keeping me from talking to him?”

“Yes. I think you are too stubborn to sit down with him and have a rational conversation. He’s been reaching out to you for a while now. Things aren’t what they seem. I need you to find it in your heart to just hear him out. Until then, our engagement is on hold. Maybe our whole relationship. The only thing I can promise you right now is that I’m hurting just as much as you are, and I want it to stop. So, you need to make a choice—”

“You’re puttin’ him between us?”

“I suppose that’s one way of looking at it.”

“You believe him? Whatever bullshit he said got to you then.”

“It’s not bullshit. It makes sense. Yes, I believe him, and when you speak to him, you will, too. He’s clean and sober, Phil. He doesn’t share the tour bus with the rest of the band. You need to talk to him.”

“I can’t.”

“Then, it looks like we’ll be sleeping apart.”

Reaching out, his fingers brushed over the ring I’d hardly ever taken off. My finger ached to have it back on. I fought and lost the battle with the tears filling my eyes. Phil’s eyes were brimming, too.

“Kenna…” He swallowed thickly. “Why does it feel like my soul is bein’ crushed here? There’s no way we’re finished.”

“Like you said, we’ll never be finished. But that doesn’t mean this is supposed to be easy. I told you what I need from you for us to continue. Once you do that…I think you’ll see that I am right.”

“Please put it back on,” he whispered.

“One day soon…I hope I can.”

Phil

I can’t even…

She’s hurtin’, and I feel it on top of the hurt I already feel.

Kenna stood up and headed to the back of the bus. All I could do was stare at the ring she’d given back to me. My chest felt as though it were shrinking in on itself. I couldn’t breathe. My throat had closed up.

Jason came out and stared at me staring at the ring.

“Hey,” he said.

I saw his pity. Right then, I didn’t even care.

“You know this is gonna work itself out, right? It’s gonna be okay.”

“Then, why does it feel like I’ve just lost my reason for livin’?”

“Because it sucks, man. But maybe it’ll help you see Kenna for what she really is.”

That got me fired up. “Oh, yeah? And what is she really?”

“Human,” he replied simply. “You want some coffee?”

I nodded, and he went and made a pot before bringing me a cup. It wasn’t as good as when Alys or Kenna made it.

“She’s just hurtin’, Phil. We all know that you would never do anythin’ with another woman. She knows it, too. But…I think she’s onto somethin’ with the whole Devon thing. There’s shit between you two that needs to be hashed out. I think you blame yourself as much as you blame him.”

“You didn’t see what he did, Jace.”

“Not many people did. Camryn should’ve taken it to the police. She chose not to. She ran away from you the second you suggested it. She was on a plane back to California with a chunk of your cash before you even had the chance to say good-bye. You don’t think that was weird?”

“I don’t know. I don’t think I know much of anythin’ anymore. My whole life feels…fucked.”

“Just think about it though. You know Kenna will come back even if you can’t bring yourself to talk to him. She loves you as hard as you love her. But I also think that the shit that happened in the hotel with Devon and Brigid, combined with you goin’ to lunch with the bitch, left Kenna feelin’ insecure. Havin’ you talk it out with Devon just might be a diversion tactic to let her lick her fuckin’ wounds.”

“Maybe,” I said, taking her ring and slipping it into my pocket. It wasn’t leaving my side. I was gonna keep it on me at all times until it was back where it belonged.

“You know…this might be a good thing,” Jason said, keeping his voice low.

“Yeah? Why’s that?”

“Because, when the two of you finally hooked up, it was all wham, bam, commitment, ma’am. You really didn’t have to do anythin’ to win her heart. She sort of just handed it over to you. You should take the time now to build up her confidence, show her that you think about her in ways she never expected.”

There was no help for it. I fuckin’ stared at Jason in shock. “Who the fuck are you, man? What have you done with Jason?”

With a slight grin, he replied, “I blame my woman. She leaves her magazines by the shitter, and that’s all I get to read when I have to take a dump.”

Chest easing up, I was feelin’ some hope through this fucked-up situation. Jason was right. Kenna deserved to be wooed. I’d never really given her that.

Challenge fuckin’ accepted.

Kenna

Life had become a living hell, and it all had begun and would end with Brigid Von Deitrich.

We’d just arrived in Jacksonville, Florida. The blazing sun was out, making me sweat. I was grimy and feeling lousy after my early morning talk with Phil. I was digging in the cargo hold of the bus, looking for Lewis’s mega mixer, the day after the whole lunch date had gone down.

Since she couldn’t convince Phil to come back to her, Brigid had taken it upon herself to unexpectedly pop up to verbally whittle me down. My ego bruised easily under her vindictiveness. I was so soul-weary already.

“Look, you should just do both of us a favor and bow out gracefully. You know he’s a million miles out of your league. Why not make a dignified exit back into the common world? You’re smart, and you’re not that unattractive. You’ll find someone who’s better suited to your lifestyle.”

Yeah.

She’d said that to me.

This was not something I needed to be subjected to, especially when she looked so adorably put together without any pores or sweat glands.

Lewis stepped off the bus just then and called out, “Did you find it?”

“Not yet,” I called back, dismissing Brigid Von Bitchiness.

“Hey! Lewis, right?” said Brigid in her slightly accented sweet voice. “You’re the fusion chef?”

“Yeah.”

“I love that show you’re on—”

“Get out of here, skank!” Lili shouted. “All the guys on this bus are spoken for! Take your Euro-trash ass back to the fool who doesn’t mind you spreading your legs for—”

“That’s enough, Pygmy.” Phil’s voice, accompanied by his steps, came off the bus.

I scurried farther into the hold.

“Eat shit, taint worm!” shouted Lili before scampering back onto the bus.

Phil sighed, his steps coming closer. “What are you doing here, Brigid?”

“Just thought I’d stop by and say hi to everyone. It’s been a long time. We were all friends.”

“Yeah, don’t think that’s too brilliant of an idea.”

“Why not?”

“I think if Sheri actually sees you sniffin’ around, she’s gonna go ballistic on you.”

“Sheri’s my friend.”

“Sheri ain’t your friend, Brigid. She don’t like you. Come to think of it, I don’t think she ever did. Now, if you could just go away, you’d be doin’ everyone else, plus yourself, a huge fuckin’ favor.”

“But—”

“Bye-bye.”

Holding my breath and straining to hear their conversation, I was frozen in the cargo hold.

“GianFranco’s parked right next to the fuckin’ crew bus,” Phil huffed to himself.

Maybe he didn’t know I was down here, and I kept quiet in the hopes that he’d just go back inside.

Crouching down, he poked his head into the hold. “You need some help?”

“No,” I snapped, resuming my search.

He climbed in.

“Damn it, Phil. Go away.”

“What are you lookin’ for?”

Witty comebacks that will stump a piece of pretty Euro-trash. “A mixer.”

Sifting through some boxes of kitchenware, I spotted the mixer and pulled it out. Phil reached out to help, and his hand closed over mine.

Time stopped.

Electricity zinged up my arm with his touch. By the sound of his sharp inhalation, he felt it, too.

“Baby Girrrl…” he purred.

Damn, his voice just melted all my insides.

Before I knew it, we were all over each other. His mouth was on mine, our tongues fencing violently. I clung to him in desperation, and he crushed me to his body, moaning deep when our chests collided. He tasted like heaven and felt like home, and I wanted nothing more than to crawl inside him and stay there forever. It would be so easy and so natural and so very, very wonderful to do so. I wanted him and he knew it. He could feel it in me.

“Stop,” I gasped, pulling back.

He made a noise halfway between frustration and pain. As he pressed his Third Eye to mine, I could feel all of that and so much more. He was scared, so scared, that he was losing me. He couldn’t bear the thought. It wasn’t as paralyzing as it had been when I was blown up, but it was close.

“You know that this isn’t how it’s going to get fixed, babe,” I told him.

He relaxed a little, hearing the endearment.

“I know,” he replied. His hand came up and pressed against my sweaty face. “I can’t lose you, Baby Girl.”

“My back is starting to cramp,” I said, hoping to avoid having to respond. The thought of not being with Phil filled me with the same terror he had shown was living in him.

Easing up on his death grip, he let me twist out of his embrace, and I shimmied back out into the fresh air. For a moment, Florida felt cool and clean as it caressed over my sweat-slicked body. Phil followed, dragging the mixer box with him.

“Did she say anythin’ to you?” he asked as he stood, holding the box to his chest like a shield.

“Nothing worth repeating. Why?”

“I don’t want you takin’ shit from her, Kenna.”

“I don’t want to take shit from her either.”

“No matter what, you’re the only one I want to be with. Ever. She can’t hold a fuckin’ candle to you.”

Keeping myself busy, I was able to stay focused. My besties and I went and checked out the two lesser stages, and I thought a couple of the bands were noteworthy.

On the way back to the bus, we ran into Brigid, and she sneered down—or, in my case, up—her Swiss nose at us. She wasn’t so keen to exchange pleasantries when I wasn’t on my own.

The bitch looked fabulous in her miniskirt and knee-high leather boots as she made her way to the security point. Devon wasn’t too far behind her, and he smiled at us.

“Lovely seeing you again, ladies,” he drawled.

The three of us chorused greetings in return.

Back on the bus, Lewis and I readied dinner—steak fajitas, one of Phil’s favorites. When it came time to eat, I took the seat next to Connor, who heartily slapped me on the back and dropped a kiss on top of my head.

“You doin’ good?” he asked.

“Mmm,” I replied.

Phil plopped down in the seat directly in front of me and stared at me throughout the whole fucking meal. He also brushed his bare feet over mine, grinning wickedly. Between scowling at him and trying my damnedest not to laugh, dinner was long and torturous.

We decided we’d all go to the set together, and Phil walked right beside me. I knew he wanted to hold my hand as much as I wanted him to, but he restrained himself. It sucked, being torn like this. On the one hand, I was determined to make my point while, on the other, I was disappointed for actually making it. In the end, I was more furious with myself than anything else.

With Lili off taking photos of the performance and Alys being called away on an errand, Viv and I were left to watch the show on a couple of crates on the sidelines. Out of nowhere, Brigid magically appeared, sliding up next to me. Her perfume was so heavy that I nearly choked on its pungent fumes.

“It’s been a while since I’ve watched them. I’ve forgotten how talented Phil is,” she said.

I jerked my head in a noncommittal sort of agreement.

“He used to love getting head right before going on stage. Used to relax him, so he’d get over his nervousness, you know? I guess he doesn’t really need it anymore.”

My lips flattened, refusing to let her engage me in any sort of intimate talk. Next to me, Viv’s face showed repugnance over the nerve of the woman.

“He’d take me to all their shows, and I’d suck him off in whatever spare room was available. It’s the little things, you know?”

Viv’s jaw dropped. “Who the fuck are you?”

Brigid gave her a wide-eyed, innocent look. “Hi! Ha-ha! I’m Brigid. I’m, um…friends with Phil.”

“I’m sure you are,” sneered Viv. “As Phil’s, um, friend, you must know that this is his fiancée, Kenna.”

Brigid turned startled eyes back to me. “Really? Where’s your ring? Phil wouldn’t ask without a ring.”

Slowly, I turned my face to her. Feeling the force of my fury, Brigid tentatively retreated a step, finally looking concerned for her welfare. I opened my mouth, about to tell her to shove her knowledge of Phil where the sun didn’t shine, when we heard Sheri shriek in outrage.

“What the fuck are you doing here?”

As it was between songs—and worse, the current bit was an instrumental jam—Phil had also heard Sheri and looked over to see us. His eyes widened, and he walked off the stage toward us.

“I have a fucking pass! I’m allowed to be here!”

Sheri tossed her clipboard to the floor and charged toward Brigid, tackling the lesser girl to the ground.

“Damn!” gasped Viv.

Sheri started beating on Brigid—as in, closed fists pummeling. Screeching and screaming ensued. Brigid was clearly getting her ass handed to her, and I knew I would have to step in and do something before Wonder Sheri killed the bitch. Jumping off the crate, I grabbed Sheri around her middle and pulled her off Brigid, who had curled up into the fetal position, arms covering her head. Sheri was still determined to do more damage, and Viv joined in with the restraining party, wrapping her arms around Sheri from the front. I noticed a clump of long blonde hair clasped in Sheri’s fist.

Phil stormed over. “What the fuck?”

“Tell security to get that fucking bitch out of here!” screamed Sheri.

Phil looked down at Brigid and then back at us with the meanest, most furious look on his face. “Why? Look at her! She’s no match for any of you!”

“Get her out! Now!” Sheri roared.

Bending down, Phil scooped Brigid up into his arms, holding her to his chest, as he went to…I didn’t know. Find someone to take care of her, I supposed. She buried her face in his neck but not before shooting us an evil glance, letting us know she’d gotten exactly what she’d wanted.

Sheri fought to get free. “Oh, hells fuck no!”

“Sheri! Just calm down! You’re playing right into her hands!” shouted Viv.

“That fucking bitch!” she raged.

It took a few minutes before the tension left Sheri.

“You good?” I asked, easing up on my hold.

“I ran into her today, and she told me she was coming to collect from Phil, that he owed her two inches.”

“Two inches?” Viv repeated, perplexed.

Sheri gave me a knowing look, and yeah, I fucking got it.

Sheri was setting herself to rights and picking up her clipboard when Phil came storming back up. The jam was about halfway through at this point, so he had maybe four minutes before heading back on stage.

“That was fuckin’ uncalled for!” he shouted at Sheri.

“Trust me, Phil. It was completely called for,” snapped Vivian, giving him a black look. “She had no business being here, and the shit she was saying to—” She caught my eye and stopped speaking.

“What?” snapped Phil.

“Nothing. But that woman had it coming,” was all Viv said before plopping her ass back down.

Sheri totally ignored him, spun on her heel, and headed in the opposite direction, so that left only me.

“What was that all about?” Phil asked me, his eyes still fueled with anger. “How could you let that happen?”

That was fucking it. “Fuck you! Let that happen? What am I? Fucking psychic now? It’s not my fault that the skanks you’ve banged have the personalities of a dishrag dipped in poison. I pulled Sheri off before she did some serious damage—”

“You’re back on, Phil,” Sheri called out.

I turned back toward the crates, and he gently grabbed my arm, but I could shake him off, if I wanted to. Instead, I turned back to him.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean—”

“Piss off, Phil.”

Shooting me one last look, he headed back on stage.

Grabbing my bag, I headed for the exit. I didn’t need that sort of blame. It wasn’t up to me to control his fucking road manager.

As if I could! How dare he? Ugh!

Once out back, I made my way toward the buses, running into Devon along the way.

“Kenna? What happened? I just got a call—”

“Sheri fucking jumped your Super Slut. Word to the wise, keep that bitch away from me and my friends because I refuse to be held accountable for the condition she’ll fucking end up in!”

“Hey, hey, hey,” he said softly, putting a consoling hand on my shoulder. “What did she do?”

I was shaking, close to hysterics, and it showed. Sucking in my cheeks, I bit down hard, hoping the pain would give me a sense of control over myself. Closing my eyes, all I could see was Phil shooting me the stink eye before scooping Brigid up into his arms.

I clapped my hands over my face. I didn’t want Devon to see me lose it. My whole body convulsed with the effort it took for me to hold in my sobs. It was useless. The moment he drew me into his arms, I broke down.

“Shh,” he whispered. “It’s going to be okay, Kenna.”

He smelled really nice. Freshly showered, his scent was light and manly. It reminded me of Connor. As my episode ebbed, Devon pulled back, helping to thumb off a few tears.

“Do you want to tell me about it?”

“Not particularly. But I will tell you that you have deplorable taste in women.”

“Yeah, sorry about that,” he said with a self-deprecating grin. “But it’s not like I’m looking for love or anything.”

“That’s too bad.” I gave him a watery chuckle. “You could use some, I think.”

His smile turned sweet, and he leaned forward…and kissed my brow. “Try to have a better evening,” he said softly.

I nodded. “You, too.”

Mack was sitting outside the bus, eating a chicken salad sandwich.

“Hey, Pretty Hot ’n’ Temptin’,” he said as I approached.

That was his nickname for me. It drove Phil bonkers.

“Hey, Mack. Did you sleep well?”

He nodded, munching and swallowing. “You make this sandwich?”

I smiled. “Just for you.”

“I knew it! You’re crushin’ on me, ain’t ya?”

“Yeah, but don’t tell Phil,” I joked.

“Hell no. He’d fire my ass right quick if he thought I stood a chance of takin’ his Baby Girl.”

Laughing, I told him, “Well, I’m going to hit the shower.”

“Oh, I don’t know if you know, but Phil packed up your clothes and put ’em in that foxhole of yours.”

Crushing weight squeezed my chest in a viselike grip. All I could manage was a nod.

The lock had been fixed on the sliding panel, too. Tears pouring down my face, I slid it open, looking for my overnight bag. It was tucked into the cupboard. I also found the bunk had been nicely made with a single white lotus blossom sitting on a fat green leaf in the middle of my pillow.

“Oh…” I breathed, reaching for the perfect blossom.

Beneath it was an envelope addressed to My Other Half. With shaking fingers, I flipped it open and pulled out the note. For a dude, Phil had some seriously beautiful handwriting.

My Other Half.

You complete me in ways I did not foresee.

Never have I known you’d create the breath in me,

That you would be the Light that guides

Or the Voice of Reason in my mind.

For how long have we traveled this road together?

As long as I’m with you, I hope to travel it forever.

When forever’s path comes to its end,

I will call upon Eternity for the next journey to begin.

My promise to you is to travel by your side, too,

Spiraling through space and time

As two halves of one soul must do.

We’ll come full circle, you and me,

Once more to begin anew.

“For the love of all that’s holy…” I whispered, my vision blurring with this new wave of tears. “That fucking poet!”

Not wanting to ruin the paper by sobbing and snotting all over it, I slipped it back into the envelope and tucked it under my pillow. I pushed the lotus blossom into the far corner, so it wouldn’t be crushed when I got in. Grabbing some clothes, I hurried to the bathroom and took a blessedly cold fast shower.

Whatever walls I’d been trying to put up, Phil was effectively tearing them down. Not even the memory of him carrying a howling Brigid to safety from the Big, Bad Amazons could dampen the spark that poem had ignited within my heart.

Yeah, but he wrote that before he watched Sheri beat the crap out of that smarmy cunt. He actually tried to shovel a heap of blame on me, like I had anything to do with that!

He did apologize for that though.

But the fact that he blamed me at all is enough for me to hide that fucking wonderfully brilliant piece of written love and try to pretend I’d never read it!

Out of the shower and tucked into my foxhole, I popped in my iPod, put on Houses of the Holy, and attempted to commit the poem to memory. I cried some more. I cried a lot more. I sparked a spliff and slipped the poem back into the envelope.

Outside the bunks, I could feel, more than hear, the movement of people thumping around. Houses of the Holy had finished, and now, I was listening to Led Zeppelin IV. “The Battle of Evermore” sang sweetly in my ears as I desperately forced myself not to open the panel and see who was out there.

More time passed.

Mack fired up the bus.

My eyes, chest, heart, and soul ached. Salty hot tears leaked out from the corners of my eyes, running into my hair and behind my ears as I stared blindly up at the ceiling.

A soft knock penetrated through the foxhole just as “Kashmir” started. Quickly wiping the wetness from my face with the heels of my hands, I sniffled.

In a soggy broken voice that made me wince, I called out, “It’s open.”

Phil stood there, shirtless, his chest a blaze of color. He looked so damn fine and smelled so fucking heavenly that I wanted to rail against the gods for this little slap of injustice.

“Hey,” he said.

I yanked the earbuds out, and then his face turned painful.

“Baby…why are you cryin’?”

“Why wouldn’t I be crying, Phil?” I whispered, not wanting to incriminate him with Connor possibly lurking below in his crusty sock-filled foxhole. “Today completely sucked.”

Reaching in, he stroked his thumb along the side of my nose, collecting a fat tear and bringing it to his mouth before sucking it off. “Then, let me make it better. Why are you puttin’ us through this? You know it’s killin’ both of us.”

Swallowing thickly, I couldn’t for the life of me think of a single reason I was willingly doing this. Instead, I asked, “Do you still feel that way? When you wrote the poem, I mean.”

“Always.”

Laughing, Jason and Sheri tripped down the hall. Phil moved closer to me to let them pass. They trampled up the ladder, and Phil saw the question in my expression.

“I ain’t sleepin’ up there without you. It was made for us.”

“Where are you sleeping then?”

He jerked his thumb to the foxhole right across from the one I was in. “Figured if I couldn’t sleep next to you in the same bed, I could at least sleep in the bed next to yours.”

“I didn’t let that happen to Brigid,” I choked out.

“I know that. I was just pissed, and I said somethin’ stupid.”

“How was the rest of the show?”

He shrugged. “Fine. The people were happy.”

I nodded. “That’s good.”

“Kenna…”

“Yeah?”

“Can I please kiss you good night?” he asked so sweetly. His voice was so low that I almost couldn’t hear him.

Wanting nothing more, I nodded and leaned forward. He poked his head inside, and our lips brushed. It wasn’t enough for either of us, and we went back for more. Phil slid his arms around me and pulled me into him. My arms snaked around his shoulders and held on tight. My tongue traced the seam of his lips, and his mouth opened, inviting me inside.

Gods above, he tasted wonderful. My hand fisted in his hair, and he growled at me. The kiss turned feverish, leaving me aching all over for more. I was starting to wonder if he could fit in here with me when he broke the kiss, pulling back.

“Will you do somethin’ for me?” he whispered.

“What’s that?”

“Will you keep the panel open, so I can watch you sleep? I just…I miss you so fuckin’ much. I couldn’t sleep last night without you next to me.” He sucked in a deep breath and closed his eyes.

“Okay,” I whispered back.

Nodding, he opened his eyes, and mine filled up again, seeing just what it was I had been doing to him, to us.

He knows he fucked up. Why am I still punishing him? He’s truly sorry for what happened, for needlessly hurting me, for creating doubt within me. This is hurting me just as much!

Yes, but it would all be worth it when he finally broke down and spoke with Devon. Phil needed to hear the truth, and it wouldn’t be the same coming from me. By keeping my distance, I was making him see that there were far worse things than being forced to talk to the man who had once been his best friend.

“I love you,” he said softly.

“I love you, too. And thank you for the poem. It…I loved it.”

I watched him crawl into the foxhole across from mine. Once under the covers, he turned on his side, so we could see each other.

“How much longer?” he asked in a hushed tone.

“That really all depends on you,” I replied.

I didn’t know when it happened or how long it took, but finally, I fell asleep, putting a really difficult day behind me.

Phil wasn’t in his foxhole when I opened my eyes the following day. The scent of omelets, bacon, and dark roast hazelnut coffee wafted down the corridor.

Orlando, Florida, was hotter and brighter than Jacksonville.

Pulling myself out of the bunk, I headed into the bathroom for the usual morning ritual, and I got dressed for the day.

When I went into the kitchen, Alys, Lili, and Viv were enjoying Lewis’s fine cuisine.

“Where are the guys?”

“Out and about. I think X and Phil went shopping,” replied Alys.

Lili gave me a strange look but said nothing.

It was already ten o’clock. I’d slept pretty late and really, really well.

For the rest of the morning, I helped Lewis prep for dinner—spinach, bacon, and parmesan tortellini, salad, and garlic bread—while Lili snapped photos of our progress.

Then, I gathered my crap and headed out to check if there was any new talent. Alys opted to stay behind, having slacked on her duties the night before, but Lili happily traipsed next to me as we headed toward the security checkpoint.

Not far from the bus, Phil, X, Flipper, and Sheri stood together, looking like they were having a heated discussion. X and Phil had shopping bags in their hands.

“I know you don’t like—” Phil was saying, but he shut his mouth when he spotted Lili and me.

The rest of them followed suit.

“Hey, Baby Girl!”

His cheerful demeanor halted my steps for a beat, but then Lili and I continued on, giving them a wave.

Handing over his bags to Sheri, Phil came up to us. “Where are you goin’?”

“To work, like I do every day when there’s a festival,” I replied.

“Can I walk with you?”

Lili snorted back a snicker.

“I got a chaperone already. Thanks,” I replied tartly.

“What? Pygmy? What’s she gonna do?”

“How are your shins?” she asked sweetly.

“Still bruised. Thanks for asking,” he replied just as sweetly. “Can I hold your hand while I walk with you?”

“No,” I retorted, fighting a case of twitchy lip.

“How about a finger? Come on. Just the little one?” He hooked his pinkie with mine. “See? Can I do this?”

My threatening grin broke loose, and his dimples responded in full force.

“Sweet,” he stated happily. “Are you guys gonna be gone for long?”

Lili shrugged.

“Long enough to do our jobs,” I replied.

“You’ll be back to have dinner with us?”

“Yeah. Why?”

“Just wonderin’. Will you sit next to me?”

“No.”

“Across from me?”

Halting my stride, I turned to face him, and his smiling face had me cracking up.

“What are you up to?”

“I just wanna be with my Baby Girl as much as I can. How is that so wrong?”

Lili laughed outright and moved off toward the checkpoint.

“You know why,” I said.

“I can’t have you forgettin’ that I absolutely adore you, Kenna, or that I love you more than anythin’ else in the whole world. Just because you won’t let me shag you into a good mood doesn’t mean I’m givin’ up on makin’ you happy.”

“Good luck with that.”

“Thanks. It seems I’ll need all the luck I can get. You’re a stubborn little shit when you wanna be, you know that?”