“Thought that was you.” The voice floating out of nowhere almost made her knock over her plate and drop her glass. Keiran emerged from a semi-lit corner. Guess the balcony wasn’t as deserted as she’d thought.

“The fuck are you doing here?”

He stood a little off to her side, not quite hovering over her, a small smile playing on his lips. “Here to support Devon. The entire fam’s here.”

Keiran hadn’t mentioned he would be attending, but then again, why would he? She hadn’t mentioned she was going either. “Why are you lurking out here?”

“Not lurking. Avoiding my parents being in the same place after so long. Divorce is fun.” His tone dripped with sarcasm. “My dad brought his girlfriend, who’s younger than us, so you can probably imagine how well that’s going.”

“Well, damn. How’s your mom doing?” Cherisse remembered Sheryl King as a vibrant, funny woman who, whenever they’d run into her, would always go on and on about cavities and proper dental care. To be expected, when she was a dentist with her own practice.

Keiran shrugged. “Last I saw, she was on her third glass of wine. Could be more by this point. It would’ve been best if he’d just refused the invitation. I’m not even sure Devon knew he was bringing this woman.”

If she remembered correctly, the divorce had gone down five years ago, after Sheryl had apparently caught wind of her husband’s infidelity. Gossip had been rampant. It couldn’t have been easy for any of them to deal with.

“I can’t even avoid the asshole if I wanted to.” His laugh was brittle. “What I get for going into basically the same business as my dad, I guess.”

Cherisse had completely forgotten. Mr. King ran King Kong Entertainment, where he managed talent that included musicians. They were bound to run into each other. Even Sean was signed with the label. It seemed assholes of a feather flocked together.

“I’m sorry.” She didn’t even know why she was saying that. It wouldn’t help put his family back together. She just didn’t know what else to say. Keiran looked dejected. She’d never seen sadness like that in his eyes.

“So, Tyler, huh? That’s still happening? Quite an entrance you two made. You’re not exactly blending in that dress. Which is my terrible way of saying you look really good in it. Sorry,” he tacked on after an awkward beat of silence. “I’m in a shitty mood.”

The media had fussed over her arrival with Tyler. Not something Cherisse had enjoyed, but Keiran was right. She didn’t blend in this dress, and certainly not at Tyler’s side. “Not happening for much longer,” she admitted.

He leaned against the railing, legs crossed, silence growing thick between them once more when Cherisse had expected some sarcastic remark from him.

She shifted, switching her crossed ankles from one side to the other, refusing to be the first to break this intense quiet.

“You think I’m like him, don’t you? My father. That’s why you were so quick to believe the rumors.”