Chart Toppers (Star Maker Book 3) (41 page)

She shook
her head and sipped her drink.
 
“No.
 
Separation or divorce
is not an option at this point, nor is confrontation.
 
And even more so if I am pregnant.
 
He’s got a hall pass on this one.
 
I won’t even take the time to slap his
wrist.
 
Moving on.”

“Good, baby.
 
Smart move on your part.
 
You’re strong, and you’ll make it
through.
 
And know that I’m here for
you.
 
I won’t say a word to
Wes.
 
I’ll hold this in
confidence.
 
I’m hoping it’s a
fluke.”

She
swallowed hard.
 
“Me too.”

“And
I’m glad you’re allowing yourself to work through the Kirby stuff.
 
It’s been a long time coming.
 
Have you thought about talking to a
therapist to deal with all this repressed grief?”

She
shook her head.
 
“Like I have time
to talk to a shrink.
 
I dunno,
Lex.
 
I’ll muddle through it.
 
It will be ok, all of it.”

“Yes,
it will be.
 
I’m glad we can talk
about him freely.
 
I know you’re
dealing with the loss all over again, but one day we’ll be able to honor some
really wonderful, fun memories we had with him.
 
He was one of my best friends too,
remember.
 
His death was like a
cannonball through my heart.
 
He was
a good man.”

Kit
grinned.
 
“He was.
 
And you’re right.
 
We should remember the good times.
 
There were plenty of ‘em.”

She
giggled.
 
“He and Joe used to crack
my shit up all the time.
 
They were
like a walking comedy team.
 
And I
wouldn’t have won that national ballroom title in senior year if it weren’t for
Kirby. He saved my ass.
 
That guy
was like the brother I never had but always wanted.
 
I miss him too, Kitty.”

She
sighed.
 
“I’ve taken enough of your
time.
 
Thank you.
 
I know how to proceed now… With extreme
caution.
 
I do love Sully, and I
just need to focus on all the good in our relationship and be grateful for it.”

“Bingo!
 
You’ve got it.
 
And I’m here whenever you need me.
 
Even if it’s in the middle of the night,
which it is for you right now.
 
Keep
me posted, ok sweetie?
 
I love you.
 
You’ll get through this.”

“Thanks,
Lex.
 
I love you too.
 
Talk soon.”
 
She hung up the phone and let out a long
sigh.

CHAPTER 22

Giselle
and Bryan sat at the back of the plane, holding hands, talking close, smiling
at each other and giggling.
 
Sully
walked onto the plane and noticed them.
 
He took a seat and stared out the window.
 
Their flight attendant came down the
aisle and took a headcount.
 

Moments
later, the door closed and the engines fired up.
 
Once the plane was in the air, Sully glanced
around the cabin, quick to notice Kit’s absence.
 
He had to find out what was going
on.
 
If anyone knew where she was,
it was Giselle.
 
He made his way to
the back of the plane where she and Bryan were still canoodling. “Hey, G.”

She
looked up at him and grinned.
 
“Hey,
Sull.”

He
stared at her blankly.
 
“Where is
Kit?”

“She’s
in Rio.
 
She went ahead yesterday to
get everything prepared for the band and meet with some local press.”

His
frowned.
 
“She didn’t say anything
to me about going to Rio a day ahead.”

Giselle
nodded.
 
“That’s because it was a
last-minute decision.
 
She left
yesterday afternoon.
 
Didn’t she
call when she got there?”

He
shook his head and turned around to head back to his seat, making a detour at
the bar to make a stiff drink.
 
He
knew he was partially to blame for Kit’s abrupt departure to Rio.
 
Although a part of him was still angry
about their conversation, he figured it best to take advantage of the long
flight.
 
He hoped he could make
headway on a resolution or at the very least, gain the ability to see things
from her perspective.

He took
his seat across the table from Jimmy, who pushed a deck of cards to him.
 
Sully looked at him, picked up a card
and put it on his forehead.
 
They
both started laughing, and moments later they were playing a drinking game with
the deck of cards.
 
His idea of
thinking things through on the plane suddenly evaporated as quickly as the jet
fuel.

Sully
woke up groggy and hungover when the plane touched down in Rio de Janeiro.
 
He groaned and then chuckled when he
noticed Jimmy waking up in the same state.
 
They exchanged a look and laughed again, giving each other a fist bump
across the table.
 

Jimmy
stood up and grimaced.
 
“Fuck, I
feel like shit.”

Sully
chuckled.
 
“So do I, but it was well
worth it, buddy.”
 
He smiled.

Jimmy
nodded and smiled back at him.
 
“Yeah, it was.”

Sully
frowned when he peered out the window and noticed the army of limousines that
all donned a Brazilian governmental seal on the doors. Police escorts awaited
them as they debarked.

He
looked over at Giselle.
 
“What is
all this?”

She
looked relieved.
 
“Brazil is a third
world country, Sully-cakes.
 
And Rio
is tough.
 
There are more bad areas
than good.
 
Lots of favelas,
honey.
 
Trust me, you need this kind
of protection.
 
Those are armored
limos.
 
We’ve got police escorts,
secret service, and bodyguards everywhere we go.
 
We’ll be safe.
 
No one will get shot.”

Jimmy’s
eyes widened.
 
“Shot?”

She
grinned.
 
“Relax, guys.
 
We’ll be fine.
 
My family has pulled some strings.
 
We’ve got governmental backing during
our time here.”
 
Giselle started
confidently down the stairs.

Bryan
chased after her.
 
“How did you
swing that?”

She
stopped and turned around to look at him while the band stood behind in a
bottleneck getting off the plane.
 
She grinned sheepishly.
 
“My
father is a government official in this country.”

Their
mouths all dropped open at the same time.
 
A huge smile appeared on Bryan’s face.
 
He turned around to look at them.
 
“Isn’t she great?”

Sully
chuckled.
 
“Wow!
 
Did you know that, Bry?”

He
laughed and shook his head.
 
“No.
 
I have a feeling Brazil
is going to be fun.”

Sully
walked into his hotel suite instantly on guard and looking for Kit.
 
He realized her things weren’t there and
was confused.
 
He promptly picked up
the phone and dialed Giselle’s room.
 
“Where is she?
 
Is she
staying in the same hotel as us?”

“Yep.
 
Let me see.
 
She’s in suite 1408.
 
I don’t think you can catch her right
now. She’s doing follow up press with London.
 
She’s on a call.
 
Sull, do not get crazy.
 
Do not go up there.
 
You know how she hates to be disturbed
during interviews or conference calls.”

He
didn’t let Giselle finish.
 
He hung
up the phone and headed to suite 1408.
 
He noticed the ‘do not disturb’ sign and blatantly ignored it.
 
He started pounding on the door.
 
He kept pounding at regular intervals
until she swung the door open.
 

Her ear
was fixed to the receiver that balanced on her shoulder as she tried to keep
the door open with her foot using her other hand to hold the base of the
phone.
 
Her eyes glowed with a
mixture of frustration and annoyance.
 

He
pushed past the door and stormed into her suite.
 
She looked at him and shook her head as
she continued talking in a pleasant tone, keeping the person on the other end
of the line oblivious to her complete disdain for the situation unfolding in
front of her.
 
She knew there was no
getting rid of Sully, so she let him stew and pace in her room while she calmly
sat down and finished out the call.
 

When
the call concluded, she hung up and looked at him, placing the phone back on
the desk.
 
“What is so damned
urgent, Sully?”

He was
still pacing.
 
He stopped and looked
at her, frowning.
 
“Why did you come
here early and not tell me?
 
And why
are you in your own room?”

She
sighed.
 
“I had work to do.
 
I figured it would be good for us to
have a little space.”

He
stared at her.
 
“What you said
yesterday really upset me.”

She
rolled her eyes, amazed that he was immediately picking up right where they
left off.
 
“So we’re going there
already?
 
Right now, huh?”

He
nodded and folded his arms in front of his chest.
 
“Yep, we are.
 
As I was saying, what you said yesterday
pissed me off…”

She
chuckled and interjected, not wanting to engage, but humoring him.
 
“Yeah, I got that part, babe.
 
No need for reiteration.
 
Point taken.”

He let
out a frustrated sigh.
 
“What I was
going to say was that even though you made me really angry, you were
right.
 
We did the show as you
suggested, and it worked.
 
I’ll be
honest, I wasn’t really happy about it, but if that’s what has to be done right
now to preserve my voice, then I’ll do it.
 
Jimmy was cool about it.
 
It
worked out.
 
I’m sorry I was an ass about
it.”
 

His
steel blue eyes bore into her.
 
“Sometimes
it’s hard for me.
 
You’re my wife,
but you’re also our manager and I expect you to give me preferential
treatment.
 
As a wife, you can do
that, but as a manager, you can’t.
 
I get that now.
 
Your decision
was based on the continued success of the band and of my career.
 
I’m sorry, baby.
 
Forgive me for being such a jerk?”

She forced
a grin.
 
“Yeah.
 
But remember I have a tough job,
ok?
 
I would love to give you all
the preferential treatment in the world, but I’m not
your
manager, I’m Gypsy Tango’s manager.
 
We’re in a sticky situation, babe.
 
Not many married couples make it out of
the kind of arrangement we’re in.
 
That worries me sometimes.
 
I’m afraid that one day you won’t hear me or understand where I’m coming
from and then it’ll be curtains for us.
 
We’ve already hit several rough patches, even before we were
married.
 
Realistically, I suspect,
we’ll run into them again too.
 
We
have to find a better way to deal with it.”

He
walked over to her and took her hand, leading her out of her chair and taking
her into his arms.
 
“I know.
 
I’m sorry I was so hardheaded.
 
You were just doing your job.”
 
He kissed her and stared into her
eyes.
 
“I gotta come clean on
something.”

She stared
at him and swallowed hard.
 
She
wondered if he got wind that she knew about the groupie and was going to
confess.
 
She braced herself.
 
“Ok.”

He
sighed. “I’m scared, Kit.
 
What if
these are the last shows I’ll ever do?
 
What if I come out of surgery and never get my voice back?
 
It’s already maxed out right now.
 
What if I am doing permanent damage?”

She
felt a rush of compassion for him knowing his fears were real.
 
Her earlier animosity hopped in the
backseat and her love for him took the driver’s seat as she gently stroked his
cheek.
 
“We just gotta have faith,
babe.
 
Everything will be fine.
 
Dr. Franklin said you’ll hold up until
the end of the tour.
 
You have an
appointment for surgery two days after we get back.
 
He’ll fly out again in four weeks, or
sooner if needed, to give you another shot.
 
You’re retraining your voice with the
coach and that’s great too.
 
You’ll
be fine, baby.”

He
gazed into her eyes, and she could see his anguish.
 
“Kit…”

She
tilted her head.
 
“Yeah?”

“If
something went wrong and my voice wasn’t the same, what would happen?”

She
shrugged her shoulders.
 
“I
dunno?
 
You’ve got so many talents,
babe.
 
You could write, you could
produce, you could be an actor.”

“No, I
mean, with us.
 
Would it wreck our
relationship?”

She
could see the vulnerability in his eyes and despite her glimmers of anger over
his indiscretion, she had to put her best foot forward and reassure him.
 
She smiled and joked.
 
“Oh c’mon, you can’t get rid of me that
easily.”
 
She noticed the joke
didn’t provide him with enough of the security he was so desperately craving.
 

She
took his face into her hands and stared into his eyes.
 
“You’ve got me, honey.
 
I’m not going anywhere. That’s the
deal.”

He
grinned, and he swallowed hard.
 
He
hugged her tightly.
 
“Thank you.
 
I can’t do this without you.”

She
stroked his back and held him, wishing things were different, but they
weren’t.
 
She had to play the game
until it became effortless again.
 
“We’ll
get through this together.
 
Life is
messy, baby.
 
There’s no reason to
be scared.
 
Everything’s going to
work out.
 
We just need to keep the
faith, ok?”