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  Kate felt herself deflate. “No.”

  Over the last week, Doreen had made two more appearances on prime-time gossip shows, tugging on America’s heartstrings as she threw her only child to the wolves. Voting for the Fans Voice Awards was well underway, and current polls showed Kate trailing considerably in each of the categories she was nominated.

  “Harrington Grove is new on DVD. Let’s rekindle those rumors about you and Ted,” Vero said. “He’s huge right now after War Days. Like it or not, he’s good publicity. Go, Katie.”

  “Fine.” Kate hung up the phone and dropped it into her bag.

  She took a drink of water and walked back onto the stage. A thrill of excitement ran through her every time she gazed out over the rows of empty seats, imagining them filled with thousands of screaming, adoring fans.

  So soon.

  Jenn sat up front, snapping photos to share on social media.

  With any luck, the tour would be just the momentum she needed to overcome all the negative press. She refused to consider the alternative.

  “Ready, Kate?” Jorge called from the sound booth.

  She stepped into position in front of the dancers, the microphone solid in her right hand, and nodded at Jorge. Music poured from the speakers. Her body moved to the rhythm of steps she’d perfected over the past month.

  “I wish, I didn’t feel so down…but I know, I’m going to be all right…” She stepped onto the catwalk with six dancers at her heels, all moving in unison.

  They ran through the moves for the third time that afternoon. She and the dancers arrived at the end of the catwalk, and she leaned back. Brandon, her lead dancer, gripped her waist and hoisted her to his shoulders for the finish.

  “I wish!” She punched one hand to the sky and lost her balance, swaying left. Brandon shifted beneath her, pulling them back in line. The music roared straight into “Promises.” They turned while the lights took a dizzying surge, spinning out over the empty arena. Brandon dipped and spun her to the ground, where she reached for the microphone stand a sound tech placed in front of her.

  By six o’clock, she was dead on her feet, exhausted after eight hours on the stage. She headed home for a quick dinner and much-needed shower. At nine, she stood surveying herself in the mirror. She wore a slinky silver dress that covered very little, her hair long and straight, her eyes dark and smoky. Tired as she was, part of her was looking forward to a night out on the town. It had been a long time since she’d partied with her peers.

  Ted arrived at her door a fashionable thirty minutes late. His sun-kissed hair hung in a tousled mess that had probably taken as long to style as her own. His handsome face was tanned to a striking contrast with his blue eyes. He was, by any definition of the word, gorgeous. And yet, as he greeted her with a kiss on the cheek, his hand resting against the bare skin of her back, she felt absolutely nothing other than a faint annoyance for his tardiness.

  The party was in full swing when they arrived. A flurry of paparazzi outside the club shouted questions and blinded them with flashbulbs. Kate flashed them a smile and paused to let them get their money shot.

  Inside, the music was loud, and the lights were low. Velvet was a sultry place with a crowded bar at one end and a lounge on the other side filled with oversized stuffed chairs, sofas, and tables. A dance floor occupied the back, sparkling beneath the large disco ball suspended from the ceiling.

  The crowd resembled an award show after-party. Kate recognized nearly every face in attendance, although many of them barely looked old enough to drink. Mark Bolinger had just won a Golden Globe, and Marin Starr had taken the Grammy for Best New Artist earlier in the year.

  Ted swiped a sparkly pink drink from a passing waiter and pressed it into Kate’s hand. “Cosmic martini?”

  “Thanks.” She took a sip. The drink went down fast and smooth. It tasted like peaches and champagne, but filled her with the warmth of hard liquor, something she rarely drank. “What’s in that?”

  “No idea. It’s the house drink tonight. Want another?”

  “Sure.” Maybe she deserved to relax and have a little fun tonight.

  “Katherine Hayes! What a surprise to see you here. I’m such a fan.” Marin Starr stood before her, her bleach-blonde hair streaked with hot pink and styled in a pixie cut with bangs that hung over her left eye.

  “Thank you,” Kate said. Either she’d become paranoid, or there was something slightly predatory about Marin’s smile.

  “You were my inspiration when I was growing up, and now here I am partying with you and competing for the same awards. How surreal is that?”

  Kate laughed. “You make me feel old, but thank you very much.” At twenty-nine, she was very much aware that this new crop of pop stars threatened her popularity with her young fans. Marin currently topped her in the Fans Voice polls for Favorite Female Artist, but Kate wasn’t ready to give up her crown without a fight.

  “Hey, Freda and I were going to go dance. Want to join us?” Marin gestured to the dance floor.

  Kate glanced around for Ted and spotted him at the bar chatting with a couple of other actors. She followed Marin and her friend Freda, whom she vaguely recognized from a reality television show.

  Truthfully, the last thing she wanted to do right now was dance, after a full day spent doing just that. Her feet hurt, and her muscles ached, but she could shake out a few tunes until Ted came to reclaim her. She might be older than these girls, but she could damn well dance their socks off.

  Kate found a spot at the center of the dance floor and shimmied to the beat as the disco ball above cast silvered flecks across her skin. She spun with a smile, not missing the admiring looks she got from several men in the room.

  Marin glanced over, and again, Kate got the feeling Marin wished she would fall flat on her face. This was a cutthroat business, and Marin was the hottest up-and-coming pop star in America right now. She’d probably planned on being the biggest name here tonight.

  Too damn bad. Kate winked at her as she kicked it up a notch, adding a little of the hip action she’d perfected in her flamenco lessons. The crowd whistled and cheered. Marin’s smile was pure ice.

  Kate tossed her head and laughed. If the girl was arrogant enough to choose Starr as her stage name (as if she just happened to be born with that last name), then she’d better be prepared to fight for the title.

  “There you are.” Ted placed a hand on Kate’s waist as he joined her on the dance floor. They finished out the next song together.

  Marin walked by with a Cosmic martini in each hand. “I’ve lost Freda. Need a refresher?” She held a glass out to Kate.

  “Sure, thanks.” Kate took the drink, downed it, and kept dancing, intoxicated by the beat of the music and the pulsing lights of the dance floor. Song after song passed, and her mood lightened with each one until she felt like reaching for the stars.

  Ted spun her. She dipped, staggering as she righted herself. Why couldn’t she feel her feet? She leaned against Ted and squeezed her eyes shut. Now that she wasn’t moving, the room tilted and spun dangerously. “I need to sit down.”

  “Sure thing.” He guided her to the lounge and settled next to her in an oversized chaise. The lights were even dimmer here, and the room thumped with the rhythm of the dance floor. Ted pulled her in closer, then turned her head to his for a kiss.

  Wait a minute.

  She braced her hands against his chest, swearing under her breath as one of her shoes fell off and clattered to the floor.

  He laughed. “You are completely trashed, aren’t you?”

  Was she? She tightened her grip on his shirt to keep from tumbling onto the floor alongside her shoe. How many drinks had she had? She closed her eyes, and his lips brushed hers.

  No, no, wait…

  An image of Josh’s face flashed through her mind as she shoved Ted away. She lurched to her feet, but the floor tipped beneath her, and she nearly fell flat on her ass. “I, um, I think I need to go home.”


  “Sure thing, baby.” Ted hooked his arm through hers. “Your place or mine?”

  “Mine, but…” Her stomach heaved. She pressed a hand over her mouth and turned away. “Alone.”

  “Aw, now, don’t be a tease…” Ted’s arm tightened around her waist. “I’ve waited a long time for the chance to take you home.”

  “It’s not nice to be a tease, Katelyn.” His grip tightened, pulling her up against his body. She could smell his sweat and the whiskey on his breath.

  Panic zipped up her spine. She clawed at his arm, thrashing wildly until she’d broken free. She staggered backward, dizzy and confused.

  “What the fuck.” Ted was staring at her like she’d lost her mind.

  She wrapped her arms around herself, staring at the floor. “I’m sorry. I don’t feel well.”

  He nodded. “I’ll take you home.”

  She stumbled as they stepped through the front door. Her legs felt disconnected from her body. What the hell was the matter with her? She sagged against Ted. He swept her into his arms and carried her down the stairs to the waiting limo. She was vaguely aware of the flashing of cameras but too drunk to think about the consequences.

  “Are you okay?” he asked as the car pulled away from the curb.

  Only then did she realize her face was streaked with tears.

  * * *

  Don’t believe everything you read.

  Josh stared at the message from Kate on his phone. Unsure what it meant, he googled her name. His screen filled with photos of her hanging all over that damned actor, wearing a scrap of a dress, stumbling out of a nightclub as he held her up.

  She was a drunken mess.

  The headlines accused her of everything from a drinking problem to a hot and heavy affair with the actor. He doubted Kate had suddenly developed a drinking problem, but was she sleeping with Ted Wilhelm? The very idea made him want to punch something, preferably the actor’s smug face.

  Josh’s hands clenched. He shoved out of the chair and raked his fingers through his hair as he paced before the window. She’d moved on. It was time for him to do the same. Time to end this charade of photos sent between them, the illusion of something more when they’d said goodbye almost a month ago.

  He walked to the bookshelf and sat on the floor. He slid a brown leather album from the bottom shelf and flipped it open, staring at the photos inside. Noelia had been a fanatic about photo albums. Here were all the highlights of their life together, neatly placed and labeled in her scratchy print.

  A feeling of heaviness came over him. What would their lives be like now, celebrating their second anniversary as husband and wife? Would they have started a family or still be enjoying life as newlyweds?

  With a deep sigh, he turned the pages of the album. This was the first summer he and Noelia had spent together in Spain. They looked so young, so in love. They had rented an apartment over a shoe store in Valencia. He remembered marveling at having to light the pilot every time they needed hot water for a shower and the tiny washing machine in the kitchen.

  They’d gone to the beach every afternoon when he was finished with classes. After a swim, they would lie on their beach towels, hands entwined as they dreamed of the future. There was a little café up the street where they had often gone for sangria and paella in the evenings. This year, he’d noticed it was gone, replaced with a bar.

  He closed his eyes. They’d shared so many good times, so many laughs. What did Noelia’s laugh sound like? Her voice? When he tried to imagine it, it was Kate’s laugh that filled his head, Kate’s silky hair spilling across his chest, Kate’s lips pressed against his.

  His eyes popped open. How could he have forgotten Noelia’s laugh? For so long, these photo albums left him feeling overwhelmed and miserable, swamped with grief. Today, he just felt…empty. It was as though someone had added an extra layer of plastic separating him from the memories contained inside.

  Noelia was gone. He couldn’t bring her back.

  Now, it was Kate he pined for, Kate whose absence burned a hole in his chest.

  And there wasn’t a damn thing he could do about it.

  Part III

  FALLING FROM GRACE?

  November 1 - #1 Celebrity News Source

  Katherine Hayes can’t catch a break. In the wake of her drunken debacle with Ted Wilhelm at Velvet, a source close to the star has suggested she has an ongoing problem with alcohol. It’s the latest in a series of unflattering media reports that have plagued the singer this year.

  * * *

  The new year isn’t looking any better, with a rumored tell-all book from her mother in the works. Has America’s Sweetheart fallen from grace?

  15

  Kate sat with her eyes closed, savoring a moment of silence to collect her thoughts and steady her nerves. Tonight was her first of three sold-out shows at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Pride welled inside her to be performing again here in her adopted hometown.

  She was two weeks into the tour, and so far, it was fantastic. October had been long, lonely, and downright painful as she was forced to sit back and let her mother take center stage. But it was Kate’s turn now. She was back in the spotlight, and the fans were showing their love despite all the negative press.

  A knock at the door interrupted her solitude. Jenn stuck her head inside. She wore a headset and carried her iPad, all she needed to keep things running smooth as silk. “Just wanted to let you know security is bringing Josh down.” She winked, then withdrew her head and closed the door.

  Kate lurched upright, her cheeks flushed with warmth.

  Josh is here.

  Last week, she’d sent him a pair of tickets and backstage passes. She hadn’t heard from him since the fiasco at Velvet, which stung. She’d hoped he would know her better than to think she would sleep with Ted Wilhelm, at least not while she was still texting Josh every day. So, when he didn’t respond to her invitation to the show, she’d come to the painful conclusion that he wasn’t coming. That things between them were finally, irrevocably, over.

  But he was here.

  Adrenaline surged through her like she’d just stepped onstage, making her pulse jump and her skin tingle. She stood and surveyed her reflection in the mirror. Her stage makeup was already in place, exaggerated black mascara, iridescent eye shadow, false lashes, heaps of foundation, and candy-red lipstick. Her hair was pulled back into a sleek ponytail, accentuated with extensions that tumbled to her waist. A pink tank top and formfitting, floor-length black skirt showcased her sleeker, more toned physique. It was her reward for extra time spent at the gym and countless hours dancing in rehearsals.

  Doreen and her boyfriend, Fred, would be coming to the show tomorrow night, and Kate had been sick over the fact that they would be the only people she saw while she was in New York. Now her heart was bursting at the prospect of seeing Josh.

  There was another knock on the door, and she sank into the chair. She smoothed the fabric of her skirt before inviting him in.

  Josh stepped around the security guard, and their eyes locked. Her heart lurched, and her stomach gave a dizzying flip-flop. His hair was longer than she remembered, with a bounce of curl. He wore jeans and an emerald-green Henley shirt, the top button undone, and it took every ounce of her self-control not to fling herself in his arms and kiss him, touch him, lose herself in the lust and emotion currently raging inside her.

  But she couldn’t do that. Instead, she stood to plant a chaste kiss on his cheek, stopping in her tracks when she saw the woman at his side. Her breath whooshed out like she’d been sucker punched to the gut, and she suppressed the inappropriate urge to slap him for bringing a date to her dressing room, pasting on a smile instead. “Josh, I’m so glad you could make it.”

  His eyes held hers. “Kate.”

  “And who’s this?” she asked with what she hoped was casual interest as she turned her gaze on Josh’s date. She was pretty, a little bit on the young side, with shoulder-length brown hair.
/>   “I’m Lily,” she said, smiling widely. “I’m such a big fan of yours.”

  His date was a fan? Was that why he’d come? A hot flush crawled over her skin, and to her horror, tears pricked behind her eyes. “That’s great. It’s nice to meet you, Lily.”

  “This is so exciting! I’ve been begging Josh to introduce me to you since you guys met, but I think he was embarrassed.”

  And then it clicked. Relief left her weak-kneed. “Lily, of course! Josh’s sister.”

  Lily nodded. “That’s right.”

  Josh was quiet throughout the exchange.

  Kate’s smile was genuine this time. “Well, I’m so glad to finally meet you. I’m in town until Friday. Maybe we could all have lunch tomorrow?”

  “Oh my God. That would be awesome.”

  Josh looked at his sister and shook his head. “Now you see why I kept her under wraps.”

  “Whatever.” Lily gave him a playful shove. “Who would’ve thought, my brother at a pop concert? And backstage no less.”

  “It’s a minor miracle. I didn’t think he would come,” Kate agreed.

  “I’ve seen your show before. I caught the ‘Gravity’ tour a few years ago,” Lily said.

  “So you really are a fan.”

  Lily nodded enthusiastically. “Oh yes. That thing you did with the batons during ‘Promises’ was pretty fierce. Can you top it?”

  Kate slapped a hand to her mouth but couldn’t contain the laughter. “Josh, why didn’t you introduce us sooner?”

  He shook his head, shooting his sister a wary look. “I have no idea.”

  “I’m going to knock your socks off tonight, Lily,” Kate told her. “Tomorrow, you won’t even remember the thing with the batons.”

  Lily’s eyes widened.

  There was another knock at the door, and Jenn stuck her head in. “Two-minute warning for wardrobe. Hi, Josh, good to see you.”

  “You too, Jenn,” he said.

  “I’ll get in touch about lunch tomorrow, okay?” Kate gave them each a quick kiss on the cheek.