A Wicked Song - Lisa Renee Jones Page 0,79
the door and both of us suck in air. “It’s Savage,” Kace says. “Again.”
“He has really bad timing,” I say.
“Yes, he does.” He cups my face. “And I really—too.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
“Rock and roll, people,” Savage orders, snapping his fingers. “Pronto.”
“Sometimes you’re a pain in the ass, Savage,” Kace says.
“My wife agrees.” He opens the door and says nothing more.
Kace settles a velvet cape around me that I’ve never seen before. “You had to have something to match the dress.”
“I do,” I say, lifting my arm and the bracelet.
“You do,” he says with a smile, and the man really does have a devastating smile.
Once we’re loaded up in an SUV and on our way to the event, Savage pumps up Kace’s pre-event music, quite literally with the old-school “Pump Up the Jam,” followed by Prince’s “Purple Rain.” We’re all singing and laughing when we pull up to the event and it’s a madhouse, the front entrance to the museum is literally packed with people, including press, cameras, and a few obvious movie stars. “This is much bigger than the Riptide event,” I say, nerves assailing me. “I’m so glad you talked me into this dress. Not that you had to try hard, but you know what I mean.”
“It’s Chris’s home city,” he says, “and we both called in some favors from some big names. We want the last US event to be huge.”
“It’s like a red-carpet event.”
“Don’t be nervous,” he says, kissing my hand. “You’re going to steal the show in that dress.” He leans in and kisses my neck. The door beside him opens and he starts to get out. I catch his arm. “We’re going to be photographed.”
“Own it, baby. I talked to Blake about this. Act like you have nothing to hide. Whoever knows who you are, already knows. And I promise you every Hollywood star here has something to hide. Or we can go around back and sneak in.”
Sneak in, I repeat in my mind.
Hide.
No.
“No,” I say. “Let’s go.”
He smiles his approval before he exits the vehicle and helps me out. Flashes go off immediately and Kace’s hand settles at my hip, fitting me snuggly to his side. We start walking and Savage and Adrian are right beside us, leaving the SUV for someone else to deal with. Microphones are shoved at Kace and questions asked about me, but he doesn’t respond to anyone.
Once we’re inside the building, calmness ensues. We check our coats, and Kace is left in his T-shirt and tattoos. We start walking a grand hall with arched ceilings, and walls covered in historic paintings, and I tease him about his rock star image. He slides an arm around me. “I’m wearing a tuxedo in Paris.”
“Really? Now I have to go.”
“That’s what I want to hear.”
“Let’s find the food, baby,” Kace says. “I know I said I wasn’t hungry earlier, but I changed my mind.”
“Me, too,” I say, “but I don’t think real humans eat food around movie stars.”
“It’s the movie stars that don’t eat, at least not if they plan to keep it down.”
I crinkle my nose. “That was a bad joke.”
“Bad jokes are good jokes,” he says with a wink as we step into a room with a domed ceiling etched in ancient images. Fancy dresses and tuxedos dot our path as do waiters with food trays. Kace grabs an egg salad sandwich for both of us and I wave him off. I just can’t eat here, but he sure can. He inhales both. “You were smart to pass,” he says after he swallows the last bite. “They sucked, they were tiny, and I need energy. Look for the chocolate and you’ll find Chris and Sara. Well Sara, but where Sara is, Chris is.”
We both start scanning the room and sure enough, I find a chocolate fountain and Sara is there. “And there she is,” I say, pointing.
“And there’s Chris, right by her side.”
And just like Kace, he’s in jeans and a T-shirt with boots. Two rebels in a crowd of tuxedos. I kind of love it.
“Come,” Kace says, attaching my hand to his elbow as we start maneuvering through the more densely populated areas of the room to make our way to Chris and Sara. Every time Kace reaches for another snack, which is often, someone is in front of him, trying to talk to him. People love him and I can’t help but feel pride. We are finally just this close to Chris and Sara when a distinguished elderly man