Risky Rockstar: A Hero Club Novel, стр. 85
We stare out at the ocean in silence, Emily quietly rubbing her belly, and I take another sip of my drink.
“Can I ask you to do something for me?”
“Sure,” I answer after I swallow.
“When I leave, please sit tight. Don’t do anything to Benji. Sam’s got everything coordinated so that the video goes live at the same time the cops do the arrest so he can’t skip out. I think that’s so much better than a broken jaw, if that’s what you were planning.” She winks.
“I won’t.” I smile at her. As appealing as the thought of watching Benji drink from a straw for months is, I’m happy to let justice take its course.
She blows out a breath. “Good. I wanted today to be about fresh starts.” She rubs her belly again. “When David comes into this world, I don’t want to be looking back anymore.”
“You have my word.”
She stands. “I better get back to Aster. He frets if I’m gone for too long now.”
I walk her to her car, and after she’s left, I call Keller to give him the update. He swears a blue streak down the phone, but I know Maddie’s there to calm him down. He says he’ll fill the guys in on what’s going on too. I end the call with Keller and call Hayley. Her number is out of service. Next, I try Sam, who tells me she’s flying back from South Africa.
Fuck, I guess I’ll have to wait till she gets back to talk to her.
The hours till she’s back are going to feel like days.
Chapter 44
Hayley
I’ve tried Kade’s place, the studio and, as a last resort, I’m here at Maddie’s bakery. I ask the Uber to wait; since Savannah took Kevin and me to the airport, I didn’t have a car, and traveling all over the place to try find Kade has been something of a challenge. I open the door to Sweetums and walk right into a display of PDA that put what Kade and I did on stage to shame. They’re both clothed. Maddie is on the counter with Keller between her legs, and if I’m not wrong, she’s right in the middle of an orgasm. She gasps and pulls back from Keller. I slap a hand over my eyes and start backing out the storefront. My back bumps against the glass door.
“Shit, I’m sorry, the door was open and…”
Maddie punches Keller in the chest. “You told me it was freaking locked.”
He winks. “But it’s more fun if there’s a possibility of getting caught.”
Maddie pulls her cupcake T-shirt down and straightens her hair while Keller readjusts himself through his jeans.
“Let me just run to the back real quick and freshen up and I’ll be right with you,” Maddie says as she heads to the back of the store.
She leaves me alone with Keller, which is incredibly uncomfortable since he was just making Maddie come.
“Hey.” I lift my hand in greeting. My cheeks turn pink as I realize what a dork I am.
He lifts a hand. “Hey. Wanna take a seat?” He points to one of the seats around a square table. The store is modern vintage and perfectly Maddie. Full of color and textures and has a homely feel. My stomach rumbles, which it shouldn’t since I ate on the plane, but it just smells so good in here.
“Uh…no, thank you. I can’t stay, I have an Uber waiting. I’m actually looking for Kade. Do you know where I can find him?”
Maddie skips into the room. She looks really relaxed for a girl who just had her orgasm cut short. “Oh, I know where he is. He’s at Pops’. Let the Uber go—Keller can take you. It’s a twenty-minute drive.”
Keller tilts his head and makes a weird face at Maddie, and I’m not sure if he’s uncomfortable with me knowing where Kade is or he wants to finish what he started. But either way, I’m sure I just messed up his day.
“That’s okay, I can see him another day. I’ll give him a call. I probably should’ve done that in the first place.”
Maddie waves her hands. “Psht, Keller can run you over real quick. This is not a conversation you want to have on the phone.”
My stomach twists. I wonder what Kade told Maddie.
She must read my mind because she bounds over and takes my hands. “Don’t worry, we don’t know anything other than he’s been a miserable sod for a while now.”
Maddie turns to Keller. “Think of this as an apology for lying to me about the door.” She winks. “Besides, you know I’ll more than make it up to you later.”
Keller grabs her around the waist and crushes his lips to hers. I turn away, heading to the door. I’ve seen enough of these guys’ PDAs for the day. I tip the driver and get my bags; Keller exits the store, and we head to the parking area next to Maddie’s bakery and get into his truck.
We don’t chitchat much. I’m too nervous, and Keller isn’t really a guy to waste words.
We arrive at Elphin Lodge, an assisted-living facility nestled in the hills of Laguna Beach where they run right down to the beach. The buildings are in a fold of the hillside, surrounded by dark green cypress trees, and there are pale roses and peach-colored bougainvillea blooming everywhere. The entrance is shrouded by a huge wisteria that probably drips on everyone when it rains, or when the fog rolls in off the Pacific in the mornings and evenings, which it does about three hundred days a year.
I get out of the truck and shake my hands out. Keller steps out of his side and walks