Page 81 of Reckless
“I bet she’s been excited to hear about what you’ve been up to though, right?”
“Oh yes. And Millie keeps saying that her dream vacation is coming to New York.”
“Maybe she should.” I leaped on the idea like a saving grace.
Kelly chewed on her bottom lip. “I don’t know if she’d actually be able to come.”
The vision I had for this night wasn’t playing out as expected. Kelly didn’t look comfortable and seemed a little sad. Maybe I’d gone too far with the restaurant. It was possibly too impressive. “If you want, we don’t have to have dinner. We can leave, go somewhere else. Your choice.”
She shook her head. “I don’t mean to seem ungrateful, this is all just very…different.”
It was too over the top. I remembered when the band had begun doing well and the bands we opened for showered us with crazy gifts and expensive outings. I had been taken aback. “Let’s have another drink.” I poured more wine into her glass. “Then we can leave as soon as we’ve eaten.”
She took a delicate sip of her wine, smiling, her leg running up mine under the table. “That sounds good.”
After dinner, I escorted her to the car where I’d ordered my bodyguard to wait. On the sidewalk, the wine and the city lights and just being in the company of Kelly was swimming in my head, and before I could think, I bent down and kissed her. When she responded, taking the kiss deeper, I kissed her thoroughly then spun her around and dipped her backward.
“Stop it!” she gasped, laughing. “No PDA, remember? Public displays of affection lead to nothing but trouble when it comes to me and you.”
“Maybe when we’re trying to hide us, but now I want the whole world to know. I want to climb up onto that rooftop and yell that Kelly Cavendish is here, with me, so everyone knows.”
“You can’t!” She gripped my arm, pulling herself back up, her eyes wide. “Your manager hates me.”
“He doesn’t hate you. Ron just doesn’t like not being in control.”
“It feels like he wants me to leave you alone.”
“Well, don’t you dare listen to him. I don’t care what he wants.” I spun her again, toward the open car door and my bodyguard who stood waiting as I sang a silly tune with words that didn’t even make any sense, just so I could dance with her on the sidewalk. Just to make her smile. A few people passing by gave us odd looks, but if they recognized me, I didn’t care.
I spun her one more time, and dizzy, she stumbled, dropping her purse. It tipped out its contents on the sidewalk, a lipstick, her wallet, and a letter landing at my feet.
A letter with my mother’s handwriting.
I reached down and picked up the envelope as Kelly knelt and scooped up her belongings. How had Kelly…
Red-hot anger filled me. Since Mom went, I’d wondered about my father, mostly when I drank. I had to admit it was mildly reassuring to think there was someone else connected to me in the world. But I hadn’t changed my mind, didn’t want to meet him, and it infuriated me that Kelly had been carrying around the envelope that held his contact information. I half wished I’d taken the damn envelope from Mom and burned it.
Was this why Kelly was here? Out of some last-ditch effort that Mom put her up to?
“Where did you get this?” My voice was low and cool, so calm that her eyes flicked up to mine in alarm.
“You know where I got it. I know she tried to give it to you.” Her face flamed. “I only brought it—”
“You shouldn’t have. You should have minded your own business,” I snarled and moved past Kelly, but she grasped my arm.
“I don’t think it would be such a bad thing, to meet your father.” I glared down at her, and she glared back. “He’s left an empty spot your entire life, Gage, you should see who he is at least.”
I balled my fists by my sides. “Why would I all of a sudden want to meet the man who didn’t care enough to stick around? I don’t want to find him, Kelly, honestly. I didn’t want his information when Mom tried to give it to me so he would really and truly be out of my life.” But when I said it, I couldn’t meet her eyes.
“Gage, I—”
“The man deserted us,” I spat, revved up and unable to stop. “It doesn’t matter now, it’s done, and that’s the way I want it to stay. I don’t want him in my life.”
“It’s obviously something that’s affected you.” She assessed me with cool blue eyes that said so much more than her words.
I laughed nastily. “Affected me? And this is why you think I actually give a fuck and want to find him? Well, I don’t.”
“Okay,” she whispered.
