I started to laugh, but she grabbed my face and gave me a fierce kiss. I wanted to let the kiss continue, wanted to cave into her arms and let the fire take over again…but I really did need to do my job. Full of reluctance, I pulled away from her and grabbed her bag from the floor. “Come on, we’ve got to take care of this before it’s our turn onstage.” Grin on my face, I extended a hand to her. “They bumped us up the lineup; we play right under Justin’s band now. Pretty cool, huh?”

She leaned into my side. With a giggle and a nod, she said, “That’s amazing, Kellan.”

I mentally kicked myself for not mentioning that small detail to her earlier. I’d just been riding a cloud of denial lately. About a lot of things. At least one of my secrets was gone. I could almost breathe again.

Chapter 25

WHY NOW?

I searched for the guys as we walked along. If Matt wasn’t feeling social, then he was usually somewhere quiet, working on music. Evan had probably joined him. And Griffin…he was having sex with Anna somewhere. No doubt in my mind.

Feeling completely at peace for once, I smiled down at Kiera walking beside me. It still blew my mind that she was here. Just when I hadn’t been able to stand one more second without her…she arrived. It was the best gift I could have asked for—better than the record deal. Which reminded me…how did Kiera know about Lana?

“Hey, what did you mean when you said she’s been stalking me for weeks? How did you know about that?”

Kiera looked guilty when she peeked up at me. “Uh, Rachel put up this website, and fans have posted videos of your shows. I’ve been watching you…”

She’s been watching me? Hmmm…I like that. Just the thought of her sitting at home, watching me on stage gave me a thrill. If only it were a live feed, and I knew every time I went out there that she could see me, it would almost be like Pete’s again. I really missed knowing her eyes were on me. I preferred having her eyes on me.

Responding to her comment, I said, “She finally got that up and running, huh? Well, that should make Matt happy.” Although, he probably already knew. He’d probably told me at some point, and I’d just let it slide right out of my brain. Websites weren’t really my thing. Shaking my head a little, I released Kiera’s hand and slung my arm over her shoulders. “So, you’ve been checking up on me?” I teased.

Her voice was small when she answered me. “No…” I dropped my eyes down to hers. Liar. She cringed as she sighed. “Maybe…a little.”