Page 119 of Perfect Order
A ping from the tablet pulls me from the temptation of yanking Kane down on top of me. Groaning, I hope it’s not Thorn interrupting us as he’s prone to do. I tear my lips from Kane’s before I reach for the offending device. Then my heart softens. “It’s Becks.”
“What does he have to say?” Kane sits up and pulls me into his lap.
I read the message aloud. “We’re here for whatever you need, kid—and that’s from Mick, Carly, Paigey, Austin, and me. Screw the press—are you ready to kick ass on stage again?” Meeting my fiancé’s eyes when I lift them from the screen, I say huskily, “You know that day everything went to shit? The day I ran when you refused to listen with me? When everything came out with Becks?”
Kane winces. “Yes?” Despite his continuing his sessions with the trauma therapist, that day sent him spiraling—reminding him all too clearly of the events with Gene. My getting shot didn’t lighten his guilt.
I press my lips against his before admitting, “He’s a royal pain in the ass, but he deserves your loyalty. Just next time, choose your target better before you ready, fire, aim, baby.”
Kane throws his head back and laughs, tugging my hips against his. “I promise to practice my target practice at your earliest convenience.”
“Better yet, why don’t you just show me?” I deliberately fall backward so we both go tumbling. And for a long while, we forget about everyone and everything. And I’m grateful that everything in our lives remains in perfect order for just a little while so we don’t have any interruptions, electronic or otherwise.
“Those boots are pure Kylie,” Carys declares.
I stretch out my leg and admire the sparkly Betsey Johnson ankle boots gracing my feet. “I know. They’re totally something she would have worn.” They look completely atrocious with the black, silver-studded, cape-sleeve sheath dress I have on. And I completely don’t give a shit. “They’re going to be perfect for the show.”
“I completely agree,” Paige concurs.
“Glitter!” Ben yells as he races by.
As we lounge around Beckett and Paige’s penthouse, I recall all the moments that led me to right now. And I say a prayer of thanks for being loved the way I know I always will be—by both Kylie and Kane. Paige immediately picks up on my mood change. “What are you thinking about so hard over there?”
“The capriciousness of fate. A sequence of unstoppable events that led me to right now.”
“I’d say your motivation had a hand in guiding a lot of them.”
“I was determined not to let her be forgotten.”
Carys holds out a hand over her pregnant stomach, which I immediately take. She squeezes my fingers. “And because of you, she won’t be. Not by her fans, not by her family, and certainly never by you.”
I think back to the relationships that have been repaired over the last two years. I listened to Paige and went to see my own specialist to deal with the trauma of losing half of myself—my identical twin. And I’ve dragged my parents along with me. “It’s still so difficult for my parents. Dad is still shaken by the lengths by which I went to keep my promise to Lee. But Mom? Even though she’s the one who couldn’t bear the sight of me for so long, I think it’s her abject grief that I understand the most. There’s a fierceness in her eyes when they fall upon me now, an understanding.
Everything I did was worth it to help us heal.
“You’ll understand why, one day,” Paige assures me.
I shoot her a lazy grin. “Oh, I hope so.” I catch Carys’s son, Ben, as he races around the table and dive-bombs onto his mother. Lifting him up in the air, I blow kisses onto his exposed tummy.
All three of us burst out laughing along with him. “Eager to get started?” Carys drawls.
“I certainly wouldn’t be upset by it.”
“Kane will make a good father,” Paige agrees.
My smile is wicked. “And I’m going to be an awful influence as a mother.”
Carys frowns. “Why do you say that?”
I reach into my bag and pull out a sealed folder before handing it to her. “You’re going to want this later.”
She frowns at it. “Am I going to get spanked by my husband for having it?”
I shrug. “Unlikely. Unless that’s your thing. Then maybe you’ll enjoy it.”
The three of us are still howling when we hear a faint ping and footsteps on the marble floors. I hear Kane’s beleaguered sigh. “You gave it to her?”
I beam as I tip my head back over the sofa in Beckett and Paige’s condo to await Kane’s kiss. “Of course I did. Back so soon?” I ask curiously.
