by Rachel Lacey
Kate’s voice rang out over the park, strong and clear, and not for the first time, Jenn was awed by the enormity of her talent. Kate was the total package: singer, songwriter, dancer, a consummate professional, and a pleasure to work with. A rarity in this business.
Cole’s voice broke in as he began to sing, deep and throaty, the perfect pairing to Kate’s light and breezy vocals. He had a reputation as difficult to work with. He partied too hard, slept with too many fans, and sometimes showed up late or drunk. But Jenn hadn’t known him to be any of those things. Maybe the rumors weren’t true. Maybe he was turning over a new leaf this year.
Or maybe he was just putting on a show to go along with their marriage.
Was that a scream of joy, or…? Ice flooded her stomach, spreading through her veins as she looked around for the source of the disruption. Cole had walked to the front of the stage and was singing directly to the crowd. Women screamed, reaching for him, trying desperately to grab his hands.
Everything was fine. Happy screams.
Jenn took a step backward, letting the shadows behind the stage swallow her whole.
11
As soon as Cole got out of his stage gear, he went across the hall to Kate’s dressing room while Jorja called for the car, hoping he could convince Jenn to leave with him. He knocked, only to be told by one of the network heavyweights that Kate and her crew had already left.
Dammit.
Frustrated, he went home alone. He’d had barely a glimpse of Jenn since her panic attack—or whatever it had been—during their rehearsal that morning, since she’d told him what happened to her in Las Vegas. He needed to see her, to make sure she was okay. Kate seemed concerned about her too, but Jenn was her employee. Would she really put Jenn’s interests ahead of her own when it came to something like this?
As the hours passed and Jenn didn’t come home, he decided the answer was no. Because he’d rushed straight home and stayed put all afternoon to be here for Jenn when she got off work, but Kate had apparently kept Jenn around for the full day despite her scare earlier. And he felt irrationally possessive and pissed about it, to the point where he almost called and demanded that she send Jenn home.
Instead, he went downstairs to the studio and paced around, attempting to create new music and failing miserably. Finally, he went up to fix himself a snack and stumbled across the page of lyrics Jenn had left on the piano in the den. The song she’d sung for him, that they’d sung together. Inspired, he took the sheet and went back down to his studio.
Lost.
He placed the page of lyrics on the music stand and picked up his guitar. The haunting notes of her piano piece echoed in his ears as he strummed a few chords, getting a feel for the song. He couldn’t remember exactly how her version had gone, but after some experimentation, he found a rhythm he liked. Feeling inspired, he hit the button to record and played the full song into his system.
It would sound better accompanied by Jenn on piano—and he planned to ask her to bring her keyboard and do just that the next time they came down here together—but for now, he was really fucking pleased with what he’d just recorded. He didn’t often sing songs he’d had no part of writing, but this one appealed to him on a soul-deep level, and he couldn’t wait to sit down with her and try to create new music together.
As he walked upstairs, he was surprised to see that it was already past seven. He’d spent hours in the studio, and Jenn still wasn’t home. Pissed off and starving, he pulled one of the prepared meals out of the fridge that Beverly, his housekeeper, kept stocked for him. Since Jenn moved in, he’d had Beverly stock portions for two, but it looked like he might be eating chicken piccata alone tonight.
He scooped out one serving and popped it in the microwave, too hungry and impatient to wait for the oven to warm up. Just as he was sitting down to eat, he heard keys in the back door. Relief loosened in his chest. Jenn came in through the kitchen, still wearing the blue dress she’d had on that morning, a black bag slung over her shoulder. She looked exhausted.
“Hey,” he said, finding himself suddenly at a loss for words. He wanted to pull her into his arms and hold her tight, but would she want that?
“Hi.” She set her bag down and gave him a small smile. “That smells delicious, whatever it is. Is there enough for both of us?”
He nodded. “I was hoping you’d make it home in time to eat with me.”
“Great. Let me go change, and I’ll join you.” She headed down the hall to her bedroom.
He hustled to heat up the rest of the chicken piccata. He’d just placed her plate on the table when she walked into the kitchen, this time wearing black leggings and an oversized T-shirt, her hair loose around her shoulders.
“How was the rest of your day?” he asked as they sat.
“Busy,” she answered as she speared a big forkful of chicken. “This is delicious.”
“Yeah.” He chewed and swallowed a bite, then reached for her hand across the table. “You know, I kind of suck at finding the right words, but if there’s anything I can do to help, I’m a great listener, and I can be a pretty damn good friend too.”
She smiled, her gaze flitting to his for a moment before returning to her plate. “I really appreciate that, Cole, and I’ll take you up on it sometime, I promise. I’m just all talked out for today.”
“Totally cool.” He took another bite of his chicken. “But my door’s always open, you know, metaphorically speaking.”
“Thanks.” She was quiet while she ate, and as soon as the dishes had been cleared, she gave him a weary smile. “I’m turning in early tonight. Thanks again for everything.”
“Any time.” He watched her walk away, disappointment warring with frustration inside him. He’d spent all damn day waiting for her, to be here for her, and it turned out she didn’t need him at all. And he didn’t like it one fucking bit.
Jenn woke the next morning refreshed and rejuvenated, if still mortified about the way she’d frozen onstage yesterday. Therefore, she was not at all sorry that she’d be spending most of her Saturday working with Kate, even if she knew that Kate would be checking up on her just as much as Cole no doubt wanted to. The thing was, she’d known Kate a long time and knew Kate understood what she was going through, so maybe that made it easier to take Kate’s concern than Cole’s. Because she and Cole weren’t supposed to mean anything to each other beyond their business agreement.
Yesterday, after they’d gotten back to Kate’s condo, she’d insisted that Jenn call her therapist right away. After talking on the phone, her therapist had squeezed Jenn in for a session at the end of the day. Jenn had made an appointment for next week too, because she intended to build her career in this business, and concerts would always be a big part of her life. There was no way a deranged man was going to rob her of one of the things she enjoyed most in life.
She showered, dressed, and slipped out the door before Cole was out of bed. Outside, the weather was crisp and warm for late April. She headed down the street to grab a cappuccino and a bagel before work, deciding to eat at the coffee shop so that she didn’t have to drink her cappuccino in front of Kate, who’d given up caffeine during her pregnancy.
Jenn found an empty table by the window and sat. Taking her first sip, she tapped her phone to life and started thumbing through her notifications. An email from her mom, a text from Farrah asking if she wanted to see a movie that afternoon, and one from Kate begging for hot chocolate so that she could pretend it was a cappuccino. Jenn smiled. To make it better, she’d even swing by Olive’s, Kate’s favorite coffee shop. It had been weird seeing Kate without an Olive’s cup in hand these last few months.
Definitely, she replied to Farrah.
And But of course to Kate.
Speaking of Kate, she pulled up her Headtalker app and scanned the morning’s headlines. It looked good, lots of mentions of Kate’s recent performances and speculation about baby names, but one headline near the bottom of the list snagged her attent
ion.
A Baby on the Way for Colton Nix and His New Bride?
Jenn blew out a breath. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she’d expected these rumors to start. Even her friends had wondered if she was pregnant to explain her hasty marriage. But this article referenced her “dizzy spell” on the Good Morning America stage yesterday and was accompanied by a photo of Cole with his arm around her, supporting her, as Kate rushed toward them, explaining why this article had shown up in the notifications for Kate’s name.
Jenn did not like seeing herself like that. It left her feeling raw and vulnerable and gave her a whole new appreciation for the things Kate had endured over the years. Jenn didn’t like being the topic of conversation, period, but she would have to suck it up and deal with a few paparazzi photos over the next few months. It was inevitable, and she was a big girl. She could handle it.
Since she needed to stop at Olive’s on her way to Kate’s, she decided to finish her cappuccino on the go. As she slid her phone back into her bag, she noticed a woman at the next table. Her phone was propped up in front of her, aimed in Jenn’s direction as she tapped away on the screen.
And Jenn had been in this business long enough to know when someone was taking covert photos. She’d become something of an expert at spotting the sneaky would-be paps and getting Kate out of their line of fire.
Except, they’d never been taking pictures of Jenn before.
Swearing under her breath, she gathered her things and headed for the door, acutely aware that her loose knit dress would probably appear on some celebrity gossip blog later today amid more baby-on-the-way speculation. Frowning, she tapped her middle finger against the coffee cup, hoping the subtle gesture made it into the photos because it pretty much summed up her opinion of the entire situation.
By Monday, Jenn was ready to flip off the entire world. Photos of her at the coffee shop had indeed hit the web—along with more speculation about a possible pregnancy—and she was fed up with it. She shut herself in her office at Kate’s condo and settled in for her usual Monday routine of weeding through fan mail, sorting out the legitimate letters and cards to pass on to Kate, scheduling social media posts, and a whole host of other weekly tasks.
About noon, Kate poked her head in, wearing a huge smile and holding up her phone. “I never thought I’d see the day when you’d upstage me on Celebrity Gossip News.”
Jenn covered her eyes with her hand. “Ugh. I don’t even want to know.”
“Don’t worry,” Kate said with a sympathetic look. “They’re excited about you right now because you married one of their favorite rock stars, but they’ll move on soon enough.”
“I know.” Jenn blew a strand of hair off her face. “What are you in the mood for for lunch?”
Kate shrugged. “It’s one of those days where nothing sounds particularly appetizing. Whatever you want to order is okay.”
“What about soup and fresh bread from that place over on Sixth that you like?”
Kate nodded. “That sounds perfect.”
“Okay. I’ll let you know when it gets here.”
Kate gestured to the pile of fan mail on the desk. “Go ahead and give me what you’ve got, and I’ll get started.”
Jenn handed her a stack of letters and pulled up the app on her phone to order their lunch. Forty-five minutes later, she was setting food on the table by the window. “We have our Skype call with Harry at two,” Jenn told her as Kate joined her at the table. “These next few weeks are going to be hella busy.”
Kate nodded. “I have a love-hate relationship with promo tours.”
“Well, I know Josh has already told you this, but if it gets to be too much…”
Kate’s eyes narrowed as she scooted the container of broccoli cheddar soup closer to herself. “Being pregnant isn’t a handicap. There’s absolutely no reason I can’t keep up my current schedule.”
“And no reason you should either,” Jenn countered. “Just be careful you don’t overdo it, okay?”
“Just because I have—at times—overworked myself in the past, doesn’t mean I’m doing it now.” Kate spooned soup into a bowl, but there was a tenseness—a defensiveness—in her demeanor that made Jenn suspect she was doing just that. Kate tended to work too hard when she was stressed, and while things were generally awesome in her life right now, Jenn couldn’t help feeling that impending motherhood would be stressful for anyone but especially for someone like Kate, who’d had such a troubled childhood.
“We’re too much alike that way,” Jenn said, pouring herself a bowl of creamy chicken with wild rice soup. “We both like to stay busy, especially when we’re worrying about something.”
“You’re not still worried about what happened on Friday, are you?” Kate asked, carefully steering the conversation away from herself.
Jenn pulled off a chunk of fresh bread and dipped it in her soup. “I am. It pisses me off. I don’t like making headlines, and especially not for something like this.”
“I’m sorry,” Kate murmured. “I’m the one who brought you out onstage.”
Jenn waved off her apology. “You were just trying to create a moment for us. I wouldn’t have come out if I didn’t want to.”
“How are things with you and Cole?” she asked, taking a spoonful of soup.
Jenn shrugged. “Fine. We get along well as roommates, which is lucky, I guess.”
Kate cocked an eyebrow. “And is that all you are?”
“Roommates who sometimes fool around,” Jenn admitted, “but we both know that if we slept together, we’d wind up imploding before our six months is up.”
“That’s not necessarily a bad thing,” Kate commented. “It could make your breakup more authentic.”
“Yeah, that’s true, I guess. I just feel like it’ll all work out better if we can keep feelings out of it as much as possible.”
“And how possible is that?” Kate asked, looking amused.
“Totally possible.” Jenn took another bite of her soup. “We’re attracted to each other, and we’ll probably give in to it before our six months is up, but that’s all it is.”
The rest of the week passed in a blur. Kate kept Jenn too busy for either of them to have time to worry about their personal lives, and next week, they’d be heading to Los Angeles for yet more promo and to film music videos for the last two singles off Kate’s new album, Salvation. She’d decided to cram in all the video shoots before her belly got too big to hide.
“Then I can sit back and relax until the baby comes,” Kate said with a wide smile, although Jenn had her doubts that Kate would ever actually sit back and relax. Josh was a college professor, though, and he tended to successfully slow her down a bit during the summertime. Since the baby was due in September, the timing ought to be perfect this year.
On Sunday night, Jenn was in her bedroom packing for her flight to LA the following morning when Cole popped his head in. “A couple of buddies asked me to meet up at Tinderhooks for a few beers. Will you come?”
She opened her mouth to say no because she needed to get to bed early tonight before her flight tomorrow, but something in Cole’s expression stopped her. He looked eager—maybe something more than that—for her to say yes. “If you don’t mind being home by midnight.”
His brows drew together. “Yeah, I guess.”
“I have an early flight tomorrow, remember?”
He nodded. “Sure, that’s no problem. Be ready in half an hour?”
“Okay.” It took her only a few minutes to finish packing. She was an old pro by now. Plus, she kept several detailed lists handy on her phone that she could pull up at a moment’s notice, one for any of the typical travel scenarios she embarked on with Kate.
With her bag packed, she searched her closet for something to wear to the swanky club Cole and his friends were meeting at tonight. Given the current rumors about her, she decided on skinny jeans and a slinky black top—formfitting to avoid any illusions of a baby bump. She left her hair down and
touched up her makeup. Generally, she didn’t wear much, but for an occasion like this, she reapplied mascara and touched up her lipstick.
She found Cole in the den, texting on his phone.
He looked up, a smile playing about his lips. “You look…hot.”
“Thanks.” She could feel warmth spreading across her cheeks.
“Ready?”
She nodded, following him to the back door, where the car was already waiting. They slid onto the backseat together. “Who are we meeting tonight?”
“Trix is the bass player from Quentros,” he said.
“That’s your old band, right?” she asked, aware that as his wife, she ought to know these things. She needed to get it all straight before they arrived at the club.
He nodded. “We still keep in touch. He and his wife and a couple of other guys we’ve played with over the years—Tom Fawkes, Naveen Mallick, and Bryce Pendleton, plus whatever girls they might be seeing at the moment.”
“Trix, Tom, Naveen, and Bryce,” she repeated. “Anything in particular I ought to know about them?”
“Nah.” He glanced out the window as the buildings slid by outside, brightly illuminated against the night sky. “They’re good guys. Easygoing. You’ll fit right in.”
Ordinarily, she would have been confident that was true, but if there was one thing she’d learned from her experience so far as Cole’s wife, it was that working with celebrities was a different experience from being one of them.
Part II
THE KING OF…LULLABIES?
April 29 - #1 Celebrity News Source
Rumor has it a baby announcement will be forthcoming from Colton Nix and his new bride, Jennifer. We have to admit we were suspicious about the reason behind their shotgun wedding, especially given Colton’s usual skirt-chasing ways. Jennifer is said to have suffered a dizzy spell during his recent performance on Good Morning America and has been photographed on several occasions wearing loose clothing. Is a little Nix on the way? We’ll confirm the news as soon as we receive it!