Chapter 15
Kelsey
“Thanks.” I sigh as I hang up on yet another dead end in our cake dilemma. We’ve moved on from cake designers to wedding bakers to bakeries, and the answer continues to be we’re out of time.
“Kelsey.” Adira waves me over.
“No luck.” I tell him as I slide my phone into my back pocket. “I suspect it’s time to accept defeat.”
“You might be right.” He shakes his head. “I am literally the queen who can get you anything. But apparently that does not extend to a three-tier wedding cake delivered to nowhere Kansas in under twenty-four hours.”
“Not so literally then.” I offer him a sympathetic smile and a pat on the shoulder. My phone starts ringing. Carmine’s name comes up on the screen.
He knows we’re out of touch this weekend, so I don’t bother answering. If it’s important, he will leave a message.
“Thanks for your help.” Adira covers my hand with his. “Can you do me another favor and go see how Riot is doing with the sound system. And let him know his brothers are looking for him. He should be in the barn.”
“No problem.” I was planning on finding him anyway.
“You need to find yourself a new bodyguard,” Tex’s raised voice grabs our attention, drawing us from the sitting room and through the house to stand at the railing next to Summer.
“Why?” Rochelle stares up at Tex with confusion.
“Why?” He says it like he can’t believe it’s not clear to everyone from the wedding crew to the guests gathering to see what the noise is about. He throws his arms out jerkily. “Why?”
“Yes, why?” She folds her arms across her chest tightly but sticks her chin out.
“Because…” He turns away from her, walking a tight circle before returning. “I can’t keep pretending.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she says.
Movement at the barn catches my attention. Mainly because Rebel was looking for Riot and Adira said to check the barn.
My heart dips as Riot and Sonatina both exit the barn together. She has straw in her hair, and she adjusts her skirt as she makes eye contact with me. A satisfied smirk curves her mouth and sends red hot fire to my brain.
“I’m talking about the conversation you had with Riot Maddox yesterday.”
That catches my notice. Reminds me that wasn’t the only important conversation last night. I promised Riot my trust. Giving it to him has never been an issue before so it shouldn’t be now.
It’s just that girl is sending me out of my mind.
“And then what happened today…” Tex shuffles a hand through his shaggy hair.
“I don’t want to talk about this anymore.” Ro turns her back on him to walk off.
“Fuck it.” He captures her wrist, spins her back to him, and claims a kiss that demands all our attention.
Only Rochelle isn’t moved. At least not at first.
Riot picks up on the awkwardness before anyone else. He runs toward them.
Rebel and West rush toward them too.
“Oh my,” Adira says in a hushed tone.
“Tex is in so much freaking trouble,” Summer says.
I can’t imagine what he… no, that he was thinking at all with Rochelle’s history.
Except Rochelle reaches her hands up to twine behind his nape. For a split second she kisses him back.
“Get the fuck off her.” Riot puts his shoulder into shoving Tex away from her.
Tex staggers under the force, but I don’t think it’s the force Riot used so much as the shock of what he’s done.
“What were you thinking, man?” Riot shoves him again. He hasn’t registered that Rochelle’s shock turned into something more consenting before he pushed between them.
Hell, with the horrified look on Tex’s face, I’m not sure he registered she kissed him back either.
But with the way she’s touching her mouth with her fingertips, Rochelle has probably realized.
Riot turns his back on Tex to go to Rochelle. He searches her face with concern. “Ro, are you okay?”
“I…” She ducks her head, probably to hide the heat that stains her neck and face.
“Rochelle?” Tex looks gutted.
Her gaze snaps to him. She steps around Riot and slaps the bodyguard across the face.
There’s a collective gasp from those of us gathered as the sharp sound seems to echo across the open land.
He wasn’t expecting the handprint she’d leave either.
“You’re fired,” she snaps.
“Rochelle.” He extends an arm, reaching for her as she backs up until Riot is at her back. She jumps from the shock of another man in her space.
“Ro, you okay?” He handles her gently with as little touch as possible.
She shakes her head, before glancing over her shoulder at Tex one more time. “I want to be alone. I need… a moment.”
“Yeah. Okay.” He gets out of her way.
Rochelle rushes off.
“Rochelle.” Tex goes to follow her, but Rebel and West have joined them at this point, and they get in his way.
“You heard her. You’re fired,” Rebel says with far more restraint than I would have expected from him given the situation. It’s kind of weird.
Tex jerks his chin and stalks off in the opposite direction to Rochelle.
Rebel puts a hand on Riot’s shoulder to stop him when he tries to follow her. “She’ll be okay. We’re in the middle of nowhere.”
“But…” Riot lowers his voice and I’m unable to hear the rest of their conversation. As is everyone else.
They disperse quickly, but now with more gossip to discuss. Did the bride and groom go to Vegas? Does Rochelle Kitt want to fuck her bodyguard? Has Rebel Maddox finally learned restraint?
“This might be the craziest wedding any of us have ever been to.” Adira laughs awkwardly into his hand. He might actually be finally losing it. “If you’ll excuse me, this queen needs a tequila.”
He pushes away from the railing and stalks back inside.
“If the media were to get hold of any of this…” Summer shakes her head. “They would have a field day. Thank God they don’t know where we are, and everyone who isn’t a friend or family has a non-disclosure clause in their contract.”
Almost everyone. Except for that she-devil Sonatina, because she just randomly showed up.
She heads toward the group of guests that have gathered on the lawn to do damage control.
Rebel and Riot follow Tex’s path toward the front gates of the property and the security hub. They’re probably making sure the fired bodyguard leaves the premises.
West prowls off in the same direction Rochelle went.
I no longer need to go to the barn to find Riot, not after seeing him and Sonatina come out right before he jumped into the middle of Rochelle and Tex’s argu—kiss. Tequila sounds like a pretty good plan. Or it would if I weren’t pregnant.
“Hey, Katie.” Sonatina is waiting for me when I turn around to go find the queen and his tequila. She snuck up on me and now inspects me down the length of her nose.
Bitch. She knows my name. I walk past her without responding.
She trails the deck after me. “Did daddy talk to you? He said he would?”
“No.” I leave out the part where he called, and I let him go to voicemail. I don’t care if she wants to wave her relationship with Carmine in my face, it’s not going to change anything. Carmine doesn’t have a say in our personal relationship. “I need to go help Adira.”
I walk faster.
“I’m talking to you.” Catching up to me, she grabs my arm. Hard. Her nails dig into my skin.
I whip around so fast that her nails leave scratches on my bicep. “What is it, Sonatina?”
She smiles. “You should be careful not to be rude to me. My father won’t like it.”
I swallow down my harsh retort. She’s not wrong. The nicer I am to her the less trouble I’ll have with Carmine. And I did promise Riot that I wouldn’t make waves. I’m not going to make it easy for her to sink her claws into my man. “Sorry, Sonatina. What can I do for you?”
“Riot asked me to sing a duet with him at the wedding.” She smiles smugly as she plays with the ends of the thick golden braid hanging over her shoulder.
“He came to listen to me rehearse and said we had to perform together.
He suggested my voice would be perfect for turning 'Chokehold' into a duet.”
“Did he?” I ask sweet enough to give myself a toothache.
She pulls a piece of straw out of her hair and twirls it between her fingers. “How did that get in there?”
She pats her hair. “Do I have any more in my hair? You’d tell me, wouldn’t you, Katie?”
I swallow down the bitter retort that desperately wants to come up my throat. Deep breaths, Kelsey. Don’t let her get to you. Even if you did see her and Riot come out of the barn where there’s a good chance they were alone together. This is all a game to her. “No. Your hair is perfect.”
“Thank God.” She fakes wiping sweat off her brow. Between you and me, hay is not as fun a thing to take a tumble in as you would think it is. But that man is impulsive, isn’t he?”
“What the hell?” She’s lying, trying to get me to react. God, it’s hard not to react.
“Anyway.” There’s a gleam in her eyes. “You should check to see if daddy has called, because Riot made some changes to 'Chokehold' just for me, and we’re going to release tomorrow’s performance before L.A. Riot’s next concert.”
The hell he did. Riot told her 'Chokehold' was a no go. I was there. He wouldn’t change his mind… change the words… for her. Would he? “We’ll see about that.”
I light up my phone so I can listen to Carmine’s message. His daughter might be a spoiled brat who thinks she can manipulate her way into Riot’s life, but when it comes to his bottom line, Carmine doesn’t mess around.
“This new version of 'Chokehold' is pure platinum,” Carmine crows in his message. “Tell Riot we’ll be recording a studio version as soon as you get back. The fans are going to love it.”
“Riot didn’t tell me.” He doesn’t keep this stuff from me. Or at least he hasn’t before. Why is he starting now?
“Perhaps you aren’t as close as you think you are.” She gets in my personal space. “Now be the good assistant you’re paid to be and make sure you get a copy of those lyrics to my assistant in the next half hour. I want to practice until I’m perfect.”
“Manager,” I correct, though why I bother, considering she’s belittling me on purpose… I bite down on the inside of my cheek. Hard enough to make my eyes sting. The pain helps keep my temper at bay. “Yes, Sonatina.”
How the hell am I supposed to give her lyrics that I hadn’t known existed until she told me about them? My chest and stomach burn. I press a hand to my belly. Did Riot really write them for her to sing? He wouldn’t do that, would he?
“Thank you, Katie. I can see why Riot keeps you around. But don’t worry. I’ll make sure he doesn’t need you as much once he’s mine.” She flips her hair and flounces away.
It’s like she’s trying to take everything that’s mine. My style. My song. My man.
The burn in my stomach becomes full blown nausea. I cover my mouth with my hand and sprint inside for the bathroom. Morning sickness, my ass. It’s more like anytime sickness.
At least this baby is one thing she can’t try to take from me.