Griffin sniffed and tucked his pale, chin-length hair behind his ears. “Did you think it would?”
After the laughter died down, Kellan looked at each band member in turn. Seeing his expression, Evan and Matt gave him their complete attention. Matt smacked Griffin to get him to stop goofing off. Once they were all looking at him, Kellan said, “Tomorrow morning, we’re going to a radio station to perform. We’re scheduled to play two songs, pimp the album and the concert, and leave. I don’t want to do that. I don’t want to sing.” Still bouncing Gibson, he looked over at me. “I want to talk, and I want to tell them everything.”
I swallowed as my nerves spiked. “You want to go on air, behind Sienna and Nick’s back, and tell the world what they did? How they manipulated you?”
Kellan nodded. “And I want to tell them exactly who you are to me.”
A smile crept onto my lips at the same time that my stomach rose into my throat. “Then I’ll talk with you. We’ll do this interview together.”
Kellan lifted an eyebrow. “Are you sure? It’s one of the largest radio stations on the east coast.”
My smile shifted to a frown as I thought of speaking into a microphone that would be heard by thousands of people. “Yes, I’m sure. If you’re going to do something as reckless as throw your record label and the biggest pop star on the planet under the bus, then I’m going to be right beside you.” I lifted my wrist to show him the tattoo of his name branded on my skin. “I’m done hiding. And now I have to go throw up.”
Kellan laughed at me as he leaned over and kissed me. After we pulled apart, Kellan turned to the guys. “This affects you too. If I tell everyone what we did to boost sales, it could hurt us. Sienna was right about that—the stigma could follow us for years. Are you guys okay with that?”
I watched the other band members carefully. Kellan was right, this affected the entire band, and Kellan didn’t want to see them suffer. That was one of the reasons Kellan had played along in the first place.
Walking over, Evan picked me up and squeezed the life out of me. “I hated hearing all that Kell-Sex crap, so I’m thrilled it’s about to be over.”
Kellan nodded, then looked over at Matt. Matt wasn’t always as easygoing as the others, and he took the D-Bags’ career very seriously. As much as I hated to admit it, Kellan and I were about to wrap the band in a scandal that could end up really harming them.
Matt held Kellan’s eye, but didn’t speak. Feeling the tension, Kellan shrugged, and told him, “I’m sorry, Matt. I really didn’t expect any of this . . . and I won’t come clean if everyone’s not onboard.”
Smiling, Matt slugged Kellan’s shoulder. “You’re doing the right thing, man. Don’t worry about it.” He pointed at every D-Bag. “We just have to make sure the next album rocks so freaking hard that all of this doesn’t mean a damn thing.”
Kellan clapped his arm. “Deal.”
Chapter 26
Coming Clean
On the car ride over to the radio station the next day, my nerves were ablaze and anxiety sizzled every cell in my body. I was used to being in the background. I was comfortable there. Being shoved into the spotlight was going to burn a little. But I had to do this. It may not change the way some people thought of me, but I had to stand by my husband’s side while he put himself out on a limb. If it broke, at least we’d both fall together.
The boys checked out the sights as we drove through the packed streets of the Big Apple. We’d briefly been here before during the promo tour, and one thing I’d never get used to about New York City was how many cars and taxis filled the busy streets. The city teemed with life. There was movement everywhere—the roads, sidewalks, buildings, even the windows. It was so active it gave me a little buzz. I felt like I had suddenly developed restless leg syndrome; I couldn’t be still. Of course, that could just be my nerves flaring up.
Kellan watched me in the car, amusement in his eyes. I wanted to tell Mr. No Nerves to stow it, but I had a frog in my throat and couldn’t speak at all . . . yet. Reaching into his pocket, Kellan grabbed something, then handed it to me. Curious, I looked down and saw a fuchsia rose petal in my hand. In Sharpie he’d written You are a and drawn a tiny star. I glanced up at him, confused. He pointed at the petal. “I finished your book. It’s amazing, Kiera. You really should get it published.”
Smiling, I looked back at the silky petal in my fingers. “Thank you. I wasn’t sure how you’d feel about it after you read it all.”
His arm wrapped around me. “I didn’t think it was possible, but I’m pretty sure I love you even more. How you see me . . . I never thought anyone would ever . . .” His voice trailed off as his throat tightened with emotion.
Understanding, I looked back up at him. “That’s because you don’t see yourself as clearly as I see you.”