In Her Sights (The Thousand Words Series Book 2) (7 page)

“That could have been worse,” he said with a smile, hoping to encourage a smile.

“I didn’t want to tell you like that,” Paige said softly. “I didn’t really mean to get you involved.”

“Then why did you call me over on the boat? Why am I here tonight? What’s your plan, Paige?”

She hesitated, and Kenny noticed again she was taller. It didn’t bother him, not really. He was five-ten, but so was she and she was wearing heels. Jess would have been a better match with his taller frame. Dev was tall, but too thin to truly show her off.

Of course neither could handle Paige. Could he? Clearly not, she still hadn’t answered him.

“Just tell me. You’d be surprised at how reasonable I can be. Don’t try to play me, I’ll figure it out sooner rather than later,” he prompted. “On the cruise, you were panicking. I was what? Your backup plan?”

Kenny could almost hear his heart break when she nodded.

“I heard the commotion, then saw Jess and Dev. I knew you were with them. And Bryan of course.”

“But he’s married so you wouldn’t spare him a thought. Why not Jess or Dev? Jess would have been easy.”

“He is who he is, but not what I want. I knew Dev was smart, but something about him seemed wrong somehow. I couldn’t put my finger on it.”

“Better not to risk it,” Kenny agreed.

“There isn’t as much information on you,” Paige said. “Most of what I knew was more of a guess, I think. Indirect observations from interviews, how you interact more than what you said.”

“What did you think you knew?”

“You’re smart. You’re the one who’s really in charge. You proved both of those theories before we met, so I guess it wasn’t just indirect observations anymore. You seemed content to be in the background. I don’t understand that.”

“Jess loves the fans and the media, the attention is like a drug to him. It’s toxic to Dev. He’s shy and can only handle small doses before he needs to escape. Bryan and I are in the middle. We don’t draw the attention Jess and Dev do, so it’s easier for us. We still sign autographs, get followed, get our pictures taken, all that nonsense. We see what it does to Dev and I think it keeps us from being jealous of the attention Jess gets.”

Kenny held Paige and walked her over to a large mirror on the wall. She caught her reflection and immediately leaned forward to inspect her makeup.

He was torn. He wanted her, although he suspected it was mostly a physical attraction. They were both driven, what else did they have in common? She needed him for something.

“You chose me as your backup on the cruise,” Kenny prompted. Paige stiffened. In the mirror, her eyes met his as he continued. “We talked and you were going to let the Miss North America title go. I can’t help with that and you’re unlikely to lose your Miss Great Lakes crown. At least that’s how it seemed after I got you to calm down and really think about it. Did something change?”

“Other than Hale being out for blood? No.” She turned to face him, Kenny appreciated the courtesy and the courage it took for her to do so. “I think if I talk to Alastair, I can diffuse that situation.”

“He went crying to his father,” Kenny reminded her.

Paige looked away uncomfortably for a moment before facing Kenny again. “Alastair isn’t your problem.”

Kenny remained silent, encouraging her to continue.

“We kind of grew up together. He’s still growing up. To be honest, ‘Miss Great Lakes’ is only part of the reason I couldn’t have that baby.”

“Alastair as a father would have been that bad?”

“Long story short? Yes. Being tied to Hale would have been as bad in its own right. Not from the baby’s point of view, not for a decade at least. Eventually though. Almost immediately for me. People don’t think about that. Yes, there’s a baby to consider, but there’s also the extra family or pseudo-family you’re gaining that you’ll never be rid of.”

“Paige, you don’t have to defend yourself to me. I do want to know where I come into it now, however.”

“We met and I got to know you a little before you convinced me I didn’t need a backup plan. Or at least it wasn’t an emergency. I don’t have plans for you so much as I wanted to spend more time with you.”

Kenny stepped closer and turned Paige to face the mirror again. Looking at their reflection in the mirror, he wanted her more. She attracted attention, she craved it. The paparazzi would have an even bigger reason to chase him with her on his arm, and he was happy to let them take her picture. Paige belonged in his world. He had a while to decide if she belonged with him. For now, he could just roll with it.

“I can think of worse things to do with my time. Unofficially, I assume?”

Paige blushed.

“Preston mentioned something about you needing to be subtle.”

“It’s the ‘Miss’ part of my title. Partially it’s because of my job and the board, partially it’s because of Francois, my coach. I’m afraid you won’t be meeting him any time soon.”

“Fair enough. Now look,” Kenny gestured to their image.

“I can wear shorter heels,” Paige offered immediately.

Kenny shook his head. “I’m not worried about that. You’re courting the press now, but it’ll be different. Right now Jess and Dev are badgered almost constantly, Bryan and I to a lesser extent. With you beside me, I suspect we’ll be a popular target. More photogenic. It means you have to be camera-ready everywhere we go.”

“I already am.”

He smiled. Of course she was.

Paige turned to look at him and Kenny faced her. “You really don’t mind? What I did, I mean.”

“Abortion?” Kenny asked. “Pro-life, pro-choice, I haven’t really had a reason to think about it either way. It hasn’t come up in my life before now. It wasn’t something my parents talked about, we didn’t observe any religion when I was still living at home. Sorry to disappoint, but that’s just not a subject on my radar. Politics usually is, if for no other reason than to argue with Dev, but that subject just never came up.”

“Maybe because you’re not a woman.”

He cocked his head in concession of the point. “Maybe. Although I better come up with a better answer if this
does
go public, and my relationship with you does as well. I may be asked about it.”

Paige frowned. “I thought you said your fans won’t care.”

“They won’t. But at the moment we have a high parental approval rating and I’d like to keep that. It’s a hot topic, some people
will
care. Don’t tell your brother. And don’t worry about it, I’ll handle it.”

“Kenny?” she asked, stepping closer and slightly breathless.

“Hmm?”

Paige’s soft lips brushed his cheek as she spoke softly. “Will you call on your tour?”

“Sure.” He turned toward her lips and wrapped his arms around her as his lips pressed against hers.

The fullness of her lips was something almost exotic to Kenny. Ripe and moist, they gave when he pressed his own lips to hers. His tongue sought hers and deepened the kiss, claiming her as his own.

Paige cooperated in every way, but too soon she separated from Kenny with tender, darting kisses. It was just enough to tease him.

“Will you be back in time for the pageant?” she asked.

“I can arrange that,” Kenny agreed. He’d bribe Jess into catching pneumonia if needed. It was clearly the right answer, in evidence was Paige’s brilliant smile.

“If I get you tickets, will you come?” she asked, breathless once again.

His initial response was to simply agree. If he was going to be there, what if he did something more useful than simply cross his fingers or cheer from the audience?

Kenny smiled. “At the very least,” he told her and leaned in to partake of the lushness of her mouth one more time. He held her tight, feeling the length of her body against his and not letting her pull away again. Not that she tried.

The European tour was torture for Kenny. At first he spent almost all his free time keeping Dev and Jess in line. Alec helped him peek over their individual shoulders for some clue as to what they planned for each other on stage to determine if intervention would be needed. Sometimes they even had to enroll Bryan’s help because Dev was just too good at keeping his plans under wraps. Bryan had the ultimate method of discovering Dev’s mischief: he asked. Unfortunately then he refused to tell Kenny, only whether it would be a problem.

If it wasn’t trouble on stage, it was the off-stage mischief that filled Kenny’s time. Jess and Dev
after
the show was almost as bad as
during
the show, although Kenny was getting used to it by the second week. At that point, their opening act started to become more interesting themselves.

Saison der Liebe wasn’t Kenny’s first choice as an opening band, but their label insisted it was a good fit. A Thousand Words had a following in Europe, as did Saison der Liebe, or Season of Love, and their styles were similar. Kenny even acknowledged the unofficial implication that both bands’ lead singers were promiscuous partiers.

Season of Love hadn’t burst onto the world market yet, their popularity was still limited to Europe. Kenny knew their label hoped the bands association would help Season make that final leap. It might work, he thought. Or choosing an opening act consisting exclusively of homosexual or bisexual men might reignite rumors that Dev was gay. Kenny preferred not to cause needless stress for the high-strung youngest member of his band.

It was too late to do anything about it now, he shook his head as he finished his latest meeting on the subject with Alec. None of them were homophobic, not even Dev yet, thank god. Kenny wasn’t counting on that lasting much longer. Not with Season’s lead singer staring at the kid all the time.

Speak of the horny little devil, Kenny thought as he caught sight of Gere Krüger down the hall. They were nearly three weeks into the tour with only two left to go. The end was in sight and Kenny could just let it go, wait it out. In two weeks, A Thousand Words could say goodbye to Season of Love and never see them again.

Except maybe for Dev. Alec just informed Kenny that Dev took a few hours today to visit a company he invested in several months ago, and Gere joined him. Bryan invited himself along too, so Dev was chaperoned, but Alec thought Kenny should know. It meant Gere was done settling for hungry looks. This needed to be addressed.

“Hey, Gere!” Kenny called, stopping Gere before he knocked on someone’s door. From this distance, Kenny wasn’t sure whose room it was, and he was mildly concerned it was Dev’s. “A word?”

Gere shrugged and walked on toward Kenny.

Kenny didn’t want to have this conversation in the hall and stopped in front of his own room, waiting for Gere to come to him.

“What’s up?” Gere asked.

You’re not that stupid
, Kenny thought. He jerked his head as he opened the door, indicating should Gere follow.

Once inside, Kenny slid his key back in his pocket and led Gere to the small table in the corner. They sat and Gere watched Kenny, waiting.

Kenny sighed. “Dev’s not gay. If you haven’t figured that out by now, then you clearly need me to just tell you.”

Gere smiled and shook his head. Kenny couldn’t believe it, he was going to argue with him.

“Are you sure?” Gere asked in a tone that was more of a challenge than hopeful.

“Dev’s a friend. He’s smart, he’s shy, he’s a thorn in my side a lot of the time, but he’s like a little brother. Once upon a time it would have been a shock, a blow even. Now, it would probably be easier if he was gay. He plays the part well and I understand everyone’s confusion.

“We talked about it, openly and honestly, and he said he liked girls. That was back when they still scared him a hell of a lot more than they do now. He’s got a girlfriend now and if she hasn’t scared him to your side, it’s not in his DNA.”

Gere laughed. “Yeah, Dev mentioned you and Jess didn’t get on with Lindsay.”

Kenny didn’t like it that Dev was that open with a guy who was hitting on him. Then again, maybe it just meant he was being overprotective and Dev already told Gere he wasn’t interested. Maybe it was settled.

“So you know this isn’t going to happen?” Kenny asked, just to get Gere to admit it. He wanted confirmation this was over.

“The thing is, Kenny, you’re used to dealing with Jess. You look at me, and you see Jess,” Gere said. “I play the field, I get it. You don’t know me well enough to see the distinction.”

“Spell it out,” Kenny prompted.

“Jess likes sex. Hell, who doesn’t? But I’m not bouncing from one relationship to the next just looking for a good time. I like to have fun, don’t get me wrong. I’m looking though. I’m picky and I’m looking for someone special.

“Dev and I have a lot in common: we’re both meticulous about our appearance, we’re musicians but we don’t let our music consume us, we’re athletic, and we’re both of above average intelligence. I feel drawn to him because of where we’re opposites.”

“Your orientation,” Kenny suggested.

Gere laughed. “I’ve been with women, I just prefer men. I prefer their company. Women are beautiful, but their physical charms don’t outweigh the games they play. To put your mind at ease, I’m not playing with Dev.

“I’m outgoing where he’s private. He keeps secrets, I don’t. It’s not a game to him, that’s just what he feels he needs to do. I’d like him to tell me his secrets. We both feel deeply but Dev can’t hide his emotions as easily as I can. It bothers him that people read him, see everything. I’d love to teach him how to handle himself. It’s
adorable
that he blushes.

“I know Dev’s not interested in the same relationship I am. I also know that it wouldn’t matter because he’s not ready. It would be nice if he was adventurous enough to let me tempt him, but I’m not sure I would take him up on the offer right now even if he were. He would just be testing the water and I’d like something more. He has the potential to be special. I don’t have any other prospects, so I’ll be patient.”

Kenny stared at Gere a moment and processed that. He was in for the long game? With someone who wasn’t interested in even a trial run? That didn’t make sense. He shook his head. “In two weeks we’re gone. It’s not like you’re going to see him regularly to keep the offer alive in his mind.”

The man across from him simply shrugged. “We talked about Lindsay. Dev’s head over heels for her, that says something. That you and Jess dislike her as intensely and unreasonably as he described says more.”

“Unreasonably?”

“From his point of view. He loves her, he’s protective and biased. I think you know he’s headed for heartbreak,” Gere said and held Kenny’s eyes.

Kenny nodded. “And you plan to be there to pick up the pieces? No. We can handle him.”

“You’re not sympathetic.”

“Neither are you,” Kenny said, gaping at Gere’s audacity. “Jess and I don’t like Lindsay, but you’re trying to sleep with him. We’re
all
biased. It doesn’t matter anyway because when it happens he’ll lean on Bryan, and Bryan has
me
on his speed dial, not you. I assume you’ve figured that out by now.”

Gere nodded. “I know. It’s hard for him to make close friends. That’s why he’s stayed with the band. The thing is, Bryan’s still part of the band and he
isn’t
the only person Dev can turn to. Depending on where he is when it happens, he might turn to James or even Oskar. They’re out of your control. If Bryan starts towing the party line, Dev will reject his advice if anyone else is nearby. Consider that before you start interfering, Kenny.

“Dev’s sensitive. You know it, you cater to it. That’s why you called me in here,” Gere said and stood. “All of you try to shelter him, but you manipulate him too. At some point he’s going to catch on. I’ll be a friend for now because that’s what he can handle and that’s what he needs. You don’t get to play the overprotective big brother card when you’re setting him up with Erika Atlas knowing full well he doesn’t know what’s on her mind.” Gere shook his head and walked out before Kenny had a chance to respond.

○ ○ ○

Kenny let the problem with Gere go in favor of trying to catch a quick nap before the show. It never worked. Pushing Dev out of his mind just left time for him to think about Paige. Normally that wouldn’t be undesirable, but as Preston pointed out, she came with baggage. He gave up trying to rest and got ready for the show on auto-pilot, still dwelling on her problem.

The problem was, in Paige’s mind it wasn’t a problem. She explained repeatedly about Miss North America being an ambassador and how the organization gave out scholarships and all that. Kenny honestly wasn’t paying attention to most of it because he couldn’t care less. She did something that a very vocal percent of the population didn’t like and that eliminated her from the running. Yeah, well, bigots are out there and that didn’t eliminate minorities from the competition. Kenny almost pointed that out but stopped himself, sensing he’d get slapped from half-way around the world. He wasn’t sure how Paige would manage it, just that she would.

“Get your head in the game,” Jess said, smacking the back of Kenny’s head as he walked by backstage. “We’re on soon.”

Kenny reached up to smooth his hair back into place, only to have one of the roadies place a guitar in that hand instead. Kenny smoothed his hair with his other hand and slipped on his guitar. He’d managed to get himself ready and to the arena without even paying much attention. For the next few hours, he’d be distracted by music, fans, and the antics of Jess and Dev; Kenny wouldn’t have time to worry about Paige. He suspected that was a good thing.

And then the show was over and his mind was free to wander again. Kenny left Jess in the hands of some capable fans to help him get the green goo washed off –where did Dev get
that
to materialize from? Kenny wondered. Dev retreated to his hotel room to either hide from Jess or call his demon girlfriend. Either way, Gere wasn’t with him. Bryan went to bed, and Kenny was happy to retreat to his own room.

He felt like he’d run a marathon and all he really wanted to do was fall into bed, but he had a routine. He’d sleep better if he had a shower first. Getting ready for a speed-shower, he remembered Paige had something planned tonight, so he was off the hook on telling her his rudimentary plan to ... something. He came up with something earlier, a vague plan. He couldn’t think now, he was too tired.

Shower over, Kenny put on shorts and crawled into bed. Banging on his door coincided with his head hitting the pillow.

“Kenny!” Dev’s voice sounded almost frantic, and it was the only thing that kept Kenny from sandwiching his ears between both pillows to ignore the assault on his door. Swearing, Kenny got up, switched on the lights and opened the door. Dev almost fell into the room.

“I had a message waiting from Cassie. It was cryptic. I just got off the phone with her. Kenny, we have to go home. There was a car accident –”

“Cassie?” Kenny asked. It couldn’t be. It just wasn’t possible. Didn’t Dev deserve a break?

“No. Tiff.”

Kenny exhaled. Not that it was much better. Dev knew Tiffany longer and better than the rest of them did. She and Cassie were best friends since they were little, they grew up together, so Dev grew up with her too by default.

He took Dev’s arm and led him to the bed, having to force him down to make him sit. Dev shook slightly with adrenaline, Kenny assumed. And he looked pale.

“How bad was it?” Kenny asked, leaving a hand on Dev’s shoulder.

“It was an auto-ped in New York. She died at the scene. Cassie was with her.” Dev looked at him asking for understanding, and he understood, but it was more than Dev’s needs that Kenny understood at that moment.

Sitting beside Dev, Kenny took a deep breath. “I assume the funeral will be in the next few days?”

Dev nodded. “We can make it. Cassie needs –”

“She’s your sister, Dev. She needs family with her. I get that. Now I want you to listen to me for a minute about Jess.”

“What about him?” Dev asked and Kenny couldn’t fail to catch the warning in Dev’s tone. First that, as much as they fought, Dev and Jess were friends. Second, Jess’s designs on Cassie were a taboo subject around the youngest of their band.

“He wouldn’t do anything to hurt her or take advantage while Cassie is grieving. You know that. But we don’t talk about Jess’s feelings for Cassie and there’s something you should know.”

Dev looked like he was going to protest, but seemed to think better of it. Not that he wouldn’t later.

“Shortly after Teri and Flynn got married, Jess and Cassie had a pivotal moment. Jess did anyway in that he was forced to acknowledge Cassie was going to live her life independent of him. He already knew he didn’t have a chance, or not much of one, but this was different. Jess realized someday she would get married, have kids, a dog, whatever. In short, she wasn’t going to choose him. It shook him up. It shook him enough to cause a problem that he admits to, but we’re keeping very quiet.”