Laughing, he pulled me tight. “God, we really are peas in a pod, aren’t we?”
My nerves not quite so bad, I nestled into his side. While he played with my wedding ring, I again marveled at his ability to turn my emotions around. And at his ability to constantly surprise me. Looking back up at him, I asked, “Where the hell do you keep getting these petals?”
Eyes mischievous, he murmured, “I’m a man of many mysteries, Mrs. Kyle.” Then he started laughing again.
When we arrived at the radio station, the crowd was massive. How people found us everywhere we went, I’d never understand; it was almost like there was a D-Bag warning alert that went off in every town we visited.
Some of the people in the crowd around the station had handmade signs proclaiming their love for their favorite D-Bag. There were a lot of signs for Kellan, but the other boys were being loved on too. It was surreal to see people I knew being idolized at this level. I mean, some of the girls were sobbing as they waited for a glimpse of the band—red-faced, snotty-nosed sobbing. I was pretty sure that if the girl holding the sign that read—Marry me, Griffin—actually knew Griffin, she probably wouldn’t be shaking like a leaf. Or asking for his hand. Well, maybe with the new, calmer, gentler Griffin. He wasn’t so bad. But pre-Gibson Griffin? No way.
The car let us out right in front of the crowd huddling around the front doors. Tory was with us, of course, and tried to immediately steer the boys into the station. They didn’t go in right away, though. Evan warmly met fans by the front door, signing autographs and even hugging a couple of them. Matt stood a bit behind him, looking a little uncomfortable by the size of the crowd, but happy to shake a couple hands. Griffin took off down the street. When he got to the end of the fans, he turned around and headed back to the front. He lifted his arms as he ran, encouraging the crowd to do the same. Screaming, they mimicked him, and that’s when I realized what he was doing—he was making the fans do the wave. Dork.
Kellan laughed at Griffin’s antics as he waited for me by the car. When we were together, he held my hand and pulled me over to the fans. I was hesitant to go for several different reasons: one, this was his job, not mine, and it felt intrusive to be included in it; and two, I didn’t want to get attacked before I’d even had the chance to say my peace.
The fans didn’t know how to react to my presence. They were so excited to be near Kellan that they were hollering, crying, and shaking. But somehow they still managed to give me dirty looks. I hoped none of them were brave enough to say anything to me with Kellan a foot away from them. He would most definitely lose his temper if that happened.
Kellan let go of my hand to sign a few autographs. I held my ground and watched Kellan with a prideful smile on my face. He really was so great at it. He made a point of saying hello and making eye contact with every person who handed him something. He was warm and open. He joked with them, and even made remarks that were just on the edge of being suggestive. Surprisingly, that didn’t bother me in the slightest. I understood why he crooked a grin and told a tiny strawberry blond girl that he “was thrilled to see her too.” He wasn’t saying it in the hopes of hooking up with her later, he was saying it for her. He was giving her a memory that she could hold on to, making her day. The mild flirting was actually sort of sweet.
Only one person had the guts to ask him about me. Proudly wearing her Kell-Sex shirt, the frowning fan jerked her thumb at me. “Why is she here with you?” Somehow she made the word “she” sound profane.
Kellan kept his expression as neutral as possible. I didn’t think he was going to respond, but in a calm voice, he told her, “She’s my wife. She goes where I go.”
With that, he grabbed my hand and walked away. The sound of a handful of people gasping simultaneously was the last thing I heard before we darted inside the building. He’d never called me that in public before. Kellan smiled at me once we were in the lobby. “It felt really good to say that.”
My heart plummeting now that we were even closer to disclosing our private life, I grumbled, “Just think how good it will feel to say it to millions of people in a few minutes.”
Seeing my nerves, Kellan wrapped his arm around me. “It’s not millions.” He pursed his lips. “I’m pretty sure it’s not millions.”