One Condition (The Lust List: Kaidan Stone #1) (6 page)

“Uh-oh,” Char says. “Is Peyton here?”

I hold my breath and dart a glance at the cast. I don’t see her.

“Nope. Not here,” Levi says, too loud.

“But… Ooo,” Char gushes, “Liam Hart and Cole Hudson are.”

“Yum,” Levi says.

I glance where they’re both looking. “I don’t know who—”

“Werewolf Chronicles!” Levi says. “They co-star.”

“I take it they play werewolves?”

“You seriously don’t know?”

“Should I?”

“Liam and Cole play two hot cousins, warring over territory in a small southern town… while claiming females for their pack, of course.”

“Of course.”

“Damn,” Char says, smoothing lipstick on while staring at them. “They can claim me any day.”

“Guys. Please.” There’s a note of desperation in my voice. I’m not looking at the cast of The Werewolf Chronicles anymore. I’m looking at Kaidan as he talks to the drummer of Cylon Smash. The curve of his jaw, his sexy five o’clock shadow. I want to be next to him so bad it hurts. Why’d he just blow me off?

“What happened with you two? Spill it,” Levi says.

“No,” I say and sip my drink.

“You know,” Levi says, sounding irritated. “You remind me of—”

“The babe.”

“Huh? What babe?” Char asks.

“The babe with the power.” My drink’s got the power, and my buzz is wearing off.

“What pow—”

“Shh. Don’t say it.” I take a giant swig of my power alcohol for some liquid courage. I’m not gonna let Kaidan just kiss me and blow me off like this. “I haven’t been watching any werewolf shows lately. If you two want to go talk to the cast, do it. I dare you both.”

Levi exchanges confused looks with Char, and I’m off, resolutely walking over to Kaidan. He’s got his arms crossed over his chest, and he’s listening to the drummer ramble. He doesn’t even acknowledge me.

The lead singer, Ender, catches my gaze, and he shoves the pretty girl off his lap. “Tell the bartender we want more drinks,” he says to her.

The girl gives me a dirty look and then tosses her head and walks off toward the bar.

Ender crosses one leg over his knee and appraises me. I sip my drink and pretend I don’t see him.

“You look kinda familiar. Have we met?” Ender leans toward me, giving me a smile. The guy’s got a face to make a girl want to drop her panties on the spot, but I’ve seen that obnoxiously cocky look before. On my
dad
’s face. I shiver and look at Kaidan, but he’s ignoring me.

“Nope.”

“What’s your name?”

“Hayley. Hayley Wade.”

The guy’s pierced eyebrow goes up, and he pats the cushion beside him. “Come sit next to me, Hayley,” His face softens, like he’s truly sorry for me, but it can’t hide the lust and drunk still shining in his eyes. “You know, I was a huge fan of Seventh Inferno. If you want to talk about—”

Kaidan drops whatever conversation he’s having and steps between Ender and I, wrapping one strong arm around my back. My breath catches.

“Come on.” He guides me away from Ender, leading me toward an empty couch along the other wall. My lower back is tingling where his hand is resting on it.

“Thanks,” I say.

“No problem. Trust me, you want to stay far away from Ender Varrone. I’m surprised your friends aren’t looking out for you.”

“Maybe I don’t need protecting.”

Kaidan narrows his eyes and looks toward my friends. “So how do you know that guy you came with?”

I giggle. I’m sliding from buzzed to drunk. Does he think I’m
with
Levi? I meet Kaidan’s eyes, and in my most serious voice, I say, “I think you need to get your gaydar checked.”

“Ah.” Kaidan presses his lips together, like he’s trying not to laugh, and clinks his glass to mine. “I better have that looked at.”

The earlier electricity between us has faded slightly, but heat spreads in my chest the longer I stand beside him, and I get excited again. The night has just begun. Who knows what will happen between us?

I search the room for Char and Levi and see them hanging around the outskirts of Bia, the Werewolf cast, and the rest of Bia’s little entourage. Maybe this is awkward. My friends don’t know any of these people.
I
don’t really know any of these people.

“So do you…” I trail off as I notice Kaidan’s gaze moving to some spot behind me. His eyes are bright, and he sweeps a hand through his hair. I glance behind me, and my stomach drops.

Kaidan’s ex-girlfriend, and my so-called doppleganger, Peyton Mackenzie, has just walked through the door.

Peyton’s like a walking magazine cover. She’s wearing a low-cut, blue dress that barely covers her underwear and reveals miles of perfectly shaped legs. Her blond hair shines beneath the low lights in here, falling over her perky breasts in soft waves. How is it possible for someone in real life to look so airbrushed?

She smiles at something one of her equally gorgeous friends says and casts a confident gaze over the room. I think it rests on Kaidan and me for an extra split second, but it’s hard to tell, and her expression doesn’t change.

A tall, dark-skinned girl looks at us and whispers something in Peyton’s ear. They laugh, and she and her friends walk over to join the rest of The Werewolf Chronicles cast.

I might be the daughter of a rock star, but I have the sick feeling I’m out of my element here, missing cues other people get, but I don’t. This feels like the major leagues, and I’m still playing tee ball.

I waver on my feet and feel Kaidan’s hand on my arm.

“Want another drink?” he asks.

I look down into my glass. Fuck you, empty glass. Fuck you, melty ice cubes. I don’t want him walking away right now, but I check his glass, and it’s empty, too. Not gonna act pathetic.

“Yeah, sure. I’d love another drink.” Am I slurring? I need to slow down.

He heads over to the bar, which puts him about five feet away from Peyton. I open up my clutch and pretend to look for something.

I sneak another glance at Kaidan, and I feel like puking. Peyton is standing next to him. She weaves her arm through his and says something in his ear.

“Hey.”

I jerk my head to the side to find Peyton’s friend, the one who whispered in her ear, standing next to me.

“Hi.”

The girl smiles at me, flashing perfect, straight white teeth. “I’m Jessa Ali. Are you—?”

“Hayley Wade.” I desperately want to sip my drink, but it’s empty.

She takes a step closer to me and looks around like she wants to make sure no one’s listening to us. Her gaze lands on Kaidan and Peyton at the bar. Peyton’s still hanging off him. My stomach turns.

“They are so cute together aren’t they?”

“Um.”

“Don’t feel bad. He does this all the time,” she says, spreading her arms wide to emphasize “all the time”.

“What does he do?”

“You know—Pey dumps him, he mopes, he finds a rebound blonde to replace her, then Pey accepts him back, and he drops the new girl.”

Jessa’s face blurs before me, and I look back at Kaidan. He’s moved away from the bar, two drinks in hand, but Peyton’s got him against the wall, and she’s saying something in his ear again. He smiles and doesn’t even spare a look for me. My throat thickens.

“Gosh, Hayley,” Jessa says, mock concern in her voice. “So sorry. I didn’t mean to make you cry. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve seen this.”

I’ve definitely had too much to drink. So I can get away with what I’m about to do.

“Gosh, Jessa. Thank you so much for the warning.” I go to rest my hand on her arm, but “miss”, and stumble into her instead. The melty ice cubes in my glass fly through the air and drench the front of Jessa’s stupid, filmy, sparkly shirt.

She shrieks and backs away from me.

I drop the empty glass on a table and stalk past her, my head held high. I don’t look back.

“Bitch,” I hear her say.

I’m out the VIP door and back into the pounding bass of the main club before Char catches up to me.

“What the hell just happened?” She shouts over the music. “You just dumped your drink on
Jessa Ali
. She plays the witch on Werewolf!”

“Well, that explains it.”

“What happened?”

“What? I thought she needed a cold shower.” My voice cracks. I’m fighting to keep the tears brimming in my eyes from ruining my makeup, but a few fall anyway.

“Oh, Hay. What did she say to you?” Char’s face falls, and she digs a tissue out of her clutch and hands it to me. “Your mascara’s running.”

I wipe at my eyes. “I just want to go home now. Can your driver take me?”

Char looks back at the VIP door with longing, but then she nods. “I’m not letting you leave on your own. Let me text Levi.”

I stand there like an idiot as she texts him and waits for his response.

“He’s staying,” she says. “Come on. I’ll call my driver to come around and get us.”

Char’s driver picks us up, and on the ride home I lean into the heated leather seats of the car and tell Char everything.

“Jessa’s a bitch, but—Kaidan Stone
kissed
you!” Her voice is so high-pitched, I wince.

“Yeah. I’m the rebound girl. We’ve established that.”

“No. We should have stayed. Peyton probably sent her over just to intimidate you.”

“Really? Did you see Peyton and Kaidan together by the bar? He went to get me a drink and…”

“Do you want to go back?”

I let out a harsh laugh. “Absolutely not.”

She sighs. “What was it like? When he kissed you?”

My eyes start burning again. “Can we… Can I tell you later?”

“Sorry. Yeah.”

I stare out the tinted windows at the LA nightlife, at the people drunkenly walking down the street from bar to bar.

“Just so you know, you’re way prettier than her. And have a way better personality. Trust me. She’s dumber than a box of rocks.”

“Right.”

“It’s true. And screw Kaidan if he doesn’t see that.”

“Thanks,” I mumble. I sniff and pull out my phone.

“Can we have the radio?” Char says to her driver.

Low indie music pipes through the sound system. Cylon Smash. Ugh. It would be, wouldn’t it? I totally should have sat down with Ender. Screw Kaidan.

Alcohol makes me way too emotional. I angle my phone away from Char’s seat so she can’t see what I’m looking up.
ScandalLust
’s long page of headlines about Kaidan and Peyton MacKenzie makes me sick all over again.

Record Label Heir Caught Kissing Actress—Are Kaidan Stone and Peyton Mackenzie an Item?

KaiPey: Are Kaidan and PeyMac Over?

Kaidan Finds New Love With PeyMac Look-A-like Actress

KaiPey: They’re Official Again!

Trouble in KaiPey Land

Record Label Hunk Kaidan Stone’s a Bachelor… and #1 on
The Lust List
.

Is Hayley Wade PeyMac’s New Look-A-Like Rebound?

I want to throw my phone out the window. It’s all true. I’m just a PeyMac doppleganger—a pale imitation, like Jessa said.

“So… I need some new clothes,” Char says, breaking our silence. “Wanna go shopping on Rodeo with me this week?”

Char doesn’t know. No one knows I’m broke. Now I really want to cry. Dead dad, drug dealers, no money, no love. Pretty soon I’ll be complaining about having no house and no job. I’m about to fall far, fast. Will Char still be my friend when I do? I like to think she will, but… money and status are everything in this city. No one’s immune to their siren call.

“So you wanna go?” she asks again, looking down at her phone.

“Maybe.”

I look up Serena Lynn next on
ScandalLust
’s site. I don’t know what I’m hoping to achieve. I can’t buy the necklace off her, and she’s not going to just give it back to me.

Holy shit.

Pop Star Sensation Serena Lynn Robs The Grave… Again

Twenty-four year old Serena Lynn has done it again! She’s robbed the grave for a second time, this time falling for a man who qualifies for the senior citizen discount.

Last week, she was sighted moving into the Stone Mansion.

We’d hoped it meant she’d finally snagged someone her own age—maybe one of the supersexy Stone brothers.

But that’s not Serena’s style. She likes the granddaddies. She’s dating sixty-five-year-old Calvin Stone, founder of Stone Records. No ring on her finger yet, and she’s still wearing the massive diamond necklace she snagged during her brief engagement to another man who could’ve been her father—recently deceased Seventh Inferno singer, Razor Wade.

But, hey, at least that’s great news for the rest of us.
Lust List
hunks Devon and Kaidan Stone are still on the market.

I want to swear off Kaidan for good… But the answer to all my problems is living in his mansion.

When I wake up the next day, the black SUV is gone. Have the dealers given up, or is this a trick? I wait an hour, checking out the window constantly, but the SUV never appears.

I feel antsy stuck in my dad’s empty penthouse. I’m running out of the frozen dinners he left behind, and I’ve only been out once in four days, when I went to the club last night.

I called my insurance, but they need a co-pay to fix the window on my Mercedes. So, for now, I’m leaving it in the garage. My lawyer isn’t answering my calls, and I’m starting to worry something has happened to Rowan, because he hasn’t returned my calls either. We may not be close, but Rowan’s the only family I have left.