Denny laughed at her comment; Kellan was still floored. I was just . . . confused. “Why would you do that?”
Sienna took a moment before answering. “Because I wronged you—both of you. And I’m trying to make it up to you. I’ve been stewing about this for days, but I’m going to give a public apology. I’m going to confess my part in what was done to Kellan.”
Sitting on the edge of the bed, I stared at the phone, shocked. “You’ll lose fans. They’ll turn on you. Your career . . . ?”
“I’ll bounce back. I always do.” Her tone was so sure that I believed it.
“Well, thank you for helping us,” I murmured.
In a quiet voice, she confessed, “If you knew everything I did to hurt the two of you, love, you may take that back.”
I shook my head. “It’s probably better that you never tell me, then.”
A throaty laugh escaped her. “Agreed. But I give you my word that I will completely leave your relationship alone from now on.”
Kellan frowned at Denny, and I knew the two boys were wondering what I’d already wondered. Had she orchestrated every seemingly random event that had led us to where we were now? I didn’t want to give her that much credit, but I knew she was behind a lot more than she’d led us to believe. I highly doubted that any of those photographers who had randomly found us were really random.
As the room processed that, Sienna said, “Is your book done, Kiera? May I give it to my agent?”
I bit my lip. That was a really big question. One I’d been pondering during my brief moments of peace when I could think about my life and what I wanted to do with it. Did I want help from Sienna? She probably could get me places, and it was all about who you know, after all. But, like before, I wondered if that would bite me in the ass. She said the games were over, and she wasn’t playing us anymore, but for how long? Walking away from her help felt like the right thing to do. Like Kellan, I wanted to succeed or fail on my own merits. With a knot in my stomach that was surely causing internal damage, I told her, “It’s finished, but I, uh . . . I want to do it on my own.”
Kellan and Denny both beamed at me. Sienna seemed genuinely shocked. “Really? You think you’ll get anywhere that way?”
Happy with my decision, I laughed and said, “I don’t know . . . guess we’ll see.” Maybe I was making a mistake by not letting her crack open a door for me, maybe not. But either way, success or failure, at least I would feel good about the journey.
Clearly not understanding why I would turn down her help, she murmured, “All right then. Well, if you change your mind . . .”
“I know where to find you,” I finished for her.
Still clearly mystified, she said, “Good luck, Kiera.”
“Yeah, you too.”
She said her goodbye to Kellan, then he disconnected the call. Smiling at me, Kellan murmured, “Look at you, turning down an offer from one of the biggest stars on the planet.”
My stomach felt so tight I was sure I’d never be able to eat again. “Crap, did I just make a huge mistake?” I looked between the two men whose opinions I valued the most.
They both glanced at each other, then simultaneously said, “No.”
Kellan laughed once then sucked in a quick, pained breath and bit his lip. Denny gave him a sympathetic smile, then turned to me. “You’ll get there your own way, Kiera, and you’ll feel great about how you did it. I may not have read your story yet, but I’ve read your papers, and you’re brilliant. I know you’ll get there.”
I gave him a soft smile. I’d need to let Denny read it before I did anything with it. It was too personal for both of us to not get his permission before I published it. But just having his support meant the world. “Thank you. That means a lot to me.”
When the room quieted, a sense of expectancy filled the air. Kellan and I looked at each other, then looked over at Denny. He’d wanted to say something before Sienna’s interruption, and by the look on his face, I was pretty sure he still wanted to say it.
Releasing Abby’s hand, he leaned forward on his knees and clasped his palms together. For a second, he reminded me of how Nick looked when he’d made us an “offer of a lifetime.” Unlike that moment, though, I had no qualms or terrors in my stomach. Not when it came to Denny. Aside from Kellan, he was the one person I wholeheartedly trusted.
Denny’s dark brown eyes took in Kellan and me sitting very closely together on the bed. “Abby and I have been discussing something recently. We’ve been discussing it a lot actually.”
Brows knitted, I tried to read Denny’s expression for some clue as to what he was thinking about. I had no idea. I couldn’t read him anymore. “Discussing what?” Kellan asked.