Troublemaker (Songbird #6)

by Melissa Pearl

  “What!” I chased after her.

  “Kelly, don’t raise your voice like that, it makes you sound immature.” Mom tipped her head as she assessed the arrangements on the table.

  “I’m not going to that wedding.”

  “Yes, you are. You’re not humiliating this family, or yourself, by being a no-show. You are going to turn up to that wedding looking like a goddess, and Fletcher is going to spend the entire ceremony wishing you were standing in Evangeline’s place.”

  “Mom—”

  “I’m not going to argue with you!” she snapped, her eyes nailing me with a look that told me I would lose. “You will walk into that cathedral with your head held high.”

  I had no rebuttal against her tone or stance. Fighting with my mother was always a waste of breath. It was just easier to sneak out and do my own thing. That’s why she never knew about the dancing and why she’d only met Scarlett and Isla briefly at my high school graduation. If she’d known how much time I was spending with those girls, she probably would have pulled me out and shoved me in some snooty private school.

  I’d gotten away with it for so long, secretly living out my guilty pleasures behind her back. But it only worked if I did what she wanted, and I had no freaking idea how I would ever wrangle my way out of attending Fletcher’s wedding.

  The doorbell rang and I backed out of the room, figuring I’d set up position on the far side of the party room until my mother shot me her evil eye and I was forced to circulate.

  Mom bustled for the entrance while I shimmied through the opposite archway.

  “Hey, Aunt Imogen.” A perky voice that always made me grin greeted my mother. Then came the loud kiss. I could picture my mother’s face scrunching as her least-favorite niece gave her a kiss on the cheek.

  “Hello, Charlene.” My mother’s reply was demure and polite.

  I giggled on the inside, my eyes sparkling as I spotted my favorite cousin loping through the dining room. She glanced at the finger food, and her tongue peeked out the side of her mouth as she stole an appetizer off the tray. She popped it into her mouth then made a face, spitting it into her hand before hiding it in one of the potted plants.

  I made a mental note to retrieve it later.

  My cousin noticed me laughing at her and flushed, creeping into the spacious room with a giggle. “Hey, sexy thing.”

  “Hey, Charlie.” I wrapped my arms around her and kissed the top of her head.

  She stood back and looked me up and down. “Well, you’re looking particularly hot tonight.”

  “Thank you.” I dipped my hip and put on a show.

  Like Scarlett and Isla did, Charlie had the ability to bring out my crazy. That girl knew how to party. Luckily for her, she was actually allowed to. My mother and her sister were like Egyptian cotton versus hessian. I’m sure Mom wanted to pretend her older sibling didn’t exist, but that would only make her look cold and heartless. The media would be all over a headline like that, so whenever it came to a large function, Mom always scribbled down her sister’s name at the end of the list. She sent the invite last-minute and crossed her fingers. Bummer for her that her sister lived a far quieter lifestyle and was always available to attend.

  “So, how’s it going?” I tugged Charlie’s straight brown pigtail. She got away with the cute look considering she was eighteen. She’d dressed up for the occasion…well, Charlie dressed-up. She wore a denim miniskirt and black, knee-high boots. Beneath her leather jacket was a fitted, pale pink shirt with sparkling writing on it. Her glossy pink lips matched perfectly, and she was even wearing mascara. It made her big blue eyes look even bigger, making me think of Rapunzel from Tangled.

  “Yeah, not bad.” She brushed the bangs out of her eyes. “Less than six months of high school to go. If I can survive the dreaded SATs, I may come out with my brain still intact.” She grimaced and poked out her tongue.

  I chuckled. “You’ll survive…and then you have all of summer to look forward to, right?”

  “Totally.” Her eyes lit up. “Nix and I are going camping in Yosemite. I’m hoping to get some really decent shots up there.”

  Charlie was an amazing photographer. She’d always been fascinated by light and colors. I was surprised she wasn’t born with a camera in her hands. I spotted the bag over her shoulder and guessed she had her favored Canon EOS 600D in there. That was the only reason Mom tolerated her at these things. She spent most of the time behind a lens, taking flattering photos Mom could post online, giving her world’s best hostess status.

  I nudged her with my elbow. “So, is he your boyfriend yet?”

  Charlie rolled her eyes and looked away from me, but I didn’t miss the red tinge on her cheeks. “We’re just friends. I mean, he’s cute and everything, but I don’t want to complicate what we’ve got. Nixon’s the guy you hang out with, not the one you make out with. You know what I mean?”

  She didn’t believe a word she was saying, and for the first time in my life I understood exactly how she felt.

  My brows dipped together. “Well, I guess you better get clicking. I’m going to go grab a drink.”

  “Coolio.” She slid the bag off her shoulder and crouched down to get her camera ready.

  My legs felt like driftwood as I walked into the dining area. Waitstaff were wandering the room with drinks, and I snatched a flute off the tray. It was tempting to gulp the lot, but I sipped the champagne the way my mother taught me while I watched high-class people wander the room, smiling plastic smiles at each other and talking nonsense.

  My mother’s face was radiant as she lavished the attention. My father stood beside her, his hand on her lower back as they played the role of loving couple. I remembered Marcus’s hand on my lower back as he led me into Disneyland, trying to introduce me to his world.

  I’d loved it.

  I couldn’t imagine him feeling the same way about mine.

  He didn’t belong beside me, so why did I want him there?

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Marcus

  I couldn’t stop thinking about Kelly. She’d felt so damn good in my arms—the way her body moved against mine as she danced, the sound of her laughter as I spun her, the wet heat of her tongue…

  “Marcus, it’s your turn.” My kid sister, Felicity, slapped me on the back of the head. She was five years younger than me, but we became close when Griffin moved to Seattle. I stayed at home while I was studying at USC, and we hung out a lot.

  “Fliss,” Mom warned. “Stop beating on your brother.”

  “He can handle it.” She winked at me. “I’m just trying to knock those fairies out of his head.”

  I gave her a dry glare, which she giggled at. The sound reminded me of Kelly. I wrinkled my nose and reached for the dice.

  “You are pretty distracted today.” Dad smirked. “You’re not in love or anything, are you?”

  My whole family leaned forward to study me. Thank God Griffin wasn’t there. I snatched the Coke-bottle playing piece and thumped it around the board. I landed on Spotify.

  “Oh, that’s me.” Fliss jumped in her seat. She always got excited when we played Monopoly Empire, because she always frickin’ won. “That’ll be five hundred thousand, please.” Her smile was toothy, and if I didn’t love her so much, I’d find it damn irritating.

  I handed over the money and slumped back in my seat.

  “Drinks break.” Dad slapped the table with both his hands and stood. “Scruff, can you help me, please?”

  I stood from the table and followed him into the well-lit kitchen. Sun sparkled off the stainless steel sink. I squinted and looked to my dad as he opened the fridge and pulled out the pineapple juice. I collected four glasses from the cupboard above the counter.

  “So, what’s got you so quiet today?”

  “Nothing.” I shrugged, placing the glasses down beside my dad.

  He snickered. “Liar.”

  I rested my butt on the edge of the counter and crossed my arms with a
sigh. “Do you remember Kelly DeMarco?”

  Dad stopped pouring to look at me. “She’s a hard girl to forget. Particularly for you.”

  “Yeah.” I winced and rubbed my eyes. “She works for me now.”

  The juice carton wobbled in Dad’s hand, and he ended up spilling a great blob over the edge of the glass. It pooled on the counter and started dribbling down to the floor. I snatched a cloth and wiped it up.

  “Since when?” Dad stared down at me as I crouched on the floor and cleaned.

  “Since…November.”

  “That’s nearly three months, why didn’t you tell us?”

  I stood and rinsed out the cloth, refusing to make eye contact. “I don’t like to talk work when I’m hanging out here.”

  “Excuses, excuses,” Dad muttered. “The way you were gone for her, I thought you’d be tripping over yourself to tell us.”

  “I didn’t want to pin my hopes on anything.”

  Dad’s smile was sad when I turned to face him. “Probably for the best, I suppose. She wasn’t really into you in high school.”

  “Thanks for the honesty,” I scoffed and crossed my arms again.

  “I love you, Scruff. Of course I’m going to be honest with you.” He patted my shoulder. “Now, you be honest with me.”

  I swallowed. “I took her out on a date…to Disneyland.”

  Dad’s face lit like a Christmas tree. “Smart move.” He held up his fist and I pounded it. “She must have loved that.”

  “She did…eventually.” I grinned. “Thing is, I think she might like me, but…”

  “Who wouldn’t?” Dad shrugged.

  I rolled my eyes. My parents were proof that love was blind.

  “She kissed me last night and it was…” I shook my head, feeling the heat rise as I remembered it.

  Dad laughed and waggled his eyebrows.

  “I screwed it up.” I cringed. “I just…I want more. I want…real, and when she asked to come back to my place, I felt like it was too good to be true. And then I started thinking that maybe she didn’t mean it, so I told her I wasn’t after a one-night stand.”

  “I take it from the look on your face that it didn’t go down too well.”

  I pinched the bridge of my nose. “I’m such a freaking idiot.”

  “You know what?” Dad’s hand landed on my shoulder, and he gave it a firm squeeze. “I’m proud of you.”

  “You’re always proud of me,” I muttered.

  “No, listen. You really care about this girl, and you showed her by not taking advantage. Not many guys would do that.”

  “You didn’t see her face, Dad. I totally humiliated her and then gave her the perfect chance to show me just how unserious she is about me. She doesn’t want more! I was a night out, that’s it!”

  “You have to tell her the truth.”

  I let out a breathy laugh. “I did, and then missed out on taking her to bed.”

  Dad tipped his head and pierced me with a stern glare. “If you’d had sex with her and then she’d scurried out of your house all shame-faced, how do you think you’d be feeling right now?”

  I opened my mouth, but he pointed at me and cut off my reply.

  “Don’t you dare say satisfied, because you know that’s a lie. She’s more than just a body to you, she always has been. Have you ever told her that?”

  “I…” I tutted and sighed. “I tried and I scared her off. I just have to let her go.”

  “No, you need to trust yourself and call her on her bullshit. You took her to freaking Disneyland and she enjoyed it. The girl is obviously in denial.”

  “She’s not…”

  Dad pointed at me. “Don’t you wimp out on this. You think you would have gotten the job at Torrence Records if you hadn’t walked in there with a confident swagger and shown them what you’re really capable of? You are the man, and you have proved yourself time and time again. Nothing beats you, Marcus. Don’t shy away from this Kelly thing. Go for it. Be strong. Be courageous.” Dad put on his macho voice and started flexing his muscles.

  “Okay.” I patted his shoulder.

  He bared his teeth and growled.

  I winced. “You can stop doing that now.”

  In true Grant Chapman style, he kept going, making it impossible not to crack a smile. I did my best to ignore him and carried the drinks back to the family room, but he followed me in there, chanting, “You da man. You da man.”

  Mom beamed and laughed at her silly husband while Fliss and I bulged our eyes at each other. Yes, Dad was embarrassing, but when I took my seat and spotted the look on Mom’s face, I got why he did it. He was right—making your lady laugh was a beautiful thing.

  I’d made Kelly laugh by being honest, and I wanted to make her do it again…and again…and again. I just needed to figure out how to get her to trust me.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Kelly

  Monday morning came way too quickly. I shuffled into the elevator and rode to the exec floor, praying Marcus would be out of the office for the day.

  He wasn’t.

  I spotted him as I walked to my desk. He caught my eye, and I couldn’t look away from his soft smile. I responded with an icy glare that I hoped would put him off.

  It didn’t.

  He called me into his office five seconds after I placed my bag on the floor. Snatching the iPad out of my drawer, I strutted into his office and was all business.

  “What do you need?” I tapped the screen and pulled up my notes page. My gaze was glued to the device in my hand, and I wasn’t budging it. I didn’t want to notice the way his mussed hair looked particularly cute or the way his hazel gaze caressed my face like a soft kiss.

  “I just want to go through our week. I’m heading out with Chaos next Thursday and I’ll be gone for a week, maybe a little longer, so I want to make sure you have everything you need to handle Caris and Dion while I’m away. We also have some last-minute tour plans to finalize. I need the schedule for Vegas locked down before we leave. We’ve got eight working days to make this perfect.”

  “Okay.” I nodded, doing that head-bobbing thing I do when I’m nervous. I kept it up the entire time he was talking, taking notes and bob-bob-bobbing.

  “And, I think that’s pretty much it.”

  “Okay.” I spun on my heel and made for the door, but his soft call stopped me. “Kelly.” He sighed my name like it smelled sweet and tasted delicious.

  I was tempted to keep walking, but my body had other ideas, spinning toward the sound, hungry for another taste of it.

  Our gazes locked across the room, and I couldn’t tear my eyes from his sweet expression.

  “I’m sorry,” he murmured. “I didn’t mean to embarrass you…or hurt you the other night. I just…” He smiled. “You’re so amazing, you know? You, on the dance floor and your smile and just…when you let yourself go, you shine. I can’t even explain how intoxicating you are. There are no words sufficient in the English language to describe the effect you have on me.”

  I swallowed, my heart doing this weird thrumming thing.

  “We have fun together. We make each other laugh, and being with you when you’re not trying to impress anybody is the best thing ever. I love it. I love spending time with you. And kissing you was like…whoa, and then you offer me this chance and damn, I wanted to take it. I wanted you so bad on Friday night.” His voice became soft and croaky, his brows dipping with remorse, regret maybe, but the look faded and was replaced with this confident beam that was, well, sexy.

  “Thing is, Kel, as much as I wanted you, I want an us more. I don’t want one night, I want every night and then every morning.”

  I scoffed and looked away from him, trying to hide the glistening tears in my eyes. “You’re talking like you’re in love with me.”

  “Maybe I am.”

  “You’re not!” I snapped, terrified by the very idea. “I’m not right for you. I don’t want to be in love with you,” I whispered the last thre
e words. “It’s too hard and complicated and it wouldn’t work. Don’t waste your time, Marcus. You did the right thing the other night, okay? I’m…I’m grateful.” I shot out of the door before he could say anything else to me. I didn’t want him to see how rattled I was.

  In love with Marcus Chapman. Honestly! That could never happen.

  I’d been in love once, and I didn’t fancy going through that again. Besides, it was absurd. Marcus wasn’t my type.

  I thumped into my chair and yanked it into position.

  “Good morning.” Marcia gave me a puzzled grin.

  I nodded at her, turning on my computer and waiting for it to come to life. I opened my mail and clicked on my new messages without even thinking. “She’s Not Afraid” by One Direction blasted out of my speakers. I secretly loved the band and recognized the song before the lyrics even kicked in.

  I scrambled for the speakers and knocked my coffee mug over. I hadn’t seen Marcia bring me a fresh cup.

  “Damn it!” I pulled tissues free of the box and began mopping it up while the music played loudly through the reception area. Marcia started giggling, which didn’t help because all I could hear was the song.

  Marcus’s morning selection was abundantly clear, and I wasn’t about to let him get away with it. Standing tall, I slammed my finger on the space bar to shut the song up before straightening my skirt and storming back into Marcus’s office.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Marcus

  Kelly barreled through the door, not even bothering to knock. Her flushed cheeks and wild eyes made my crotch stir. She looked ready to tear shreds off me, and I couldn’t help a nervous chuckle.

  “You think this is funny?” She stopped at my desk, her chest heaving. “If you’re going to send me shit like that, then I’m not going to open any more of your emails.”

  “Kelly,” I chided. “It was just the morning song.”