Chapter Nine

Chapter NineStanding in front of my stainless steel fridge, I felt my eyelid twitch. “That freaking woman,” I muttered.Judy’s newest hobby was tearing pictures out of bridal magazines—usually of dresses, but sometimes of bouquets or table set-ups—and using magnets to attach them to the doors of my fridge. Because that was totally normal.She had way too much time on her hands.Ignoring the fact that the white gown on this particular picture was absolutely spectacular, I pulled the magazine sheet free and scrunched it up into a ball. I didn’t confront her about it these days—she only smirked or laughed or berated me for not believing that her predictions would come true. Besides, I had an album to write.There were times when I’d written one in the space of two days. Other times, it took a couple of weeks. Sometimes months. I never knew how long exactly it would take, so I’d get an early start each time.At this point, I had eleven songs written—both in terms of lyrics and musical scores. For me, that was enough. But the beginnings of a twelfth were pottering around my head, and the song seemed intent on remaining incomplete for some weird reason.Hearing my phone begin to ring, I pulled it out of my pocket. Kaiser. My pulse did that thing where it skittered in excitement like an idiot. You’d think that his effect on me would have lessened by now, but it seemed like my body was set to always ignite around him.I swiped my finger over the screen of my phone. “Happy Friday, neighbor,” I chirped, admittedly finding an unhealthy joy in messing with him by being bubbly and cheery.He let out one of his trademark irritated grunts.My lips twitching, I dumped the scrunched up magazine page in the trash can. It was really a good thing that Kaiser didn’t visit or there was a chance he’d have come across one of Judy’s torn-out pictures.“I’m not going to be able to pick you up at the usual time tonight,” he said.My brows dipped. “Everything okay?”“Things are taking longer at the recording studio than I thought.”I hadn’t known he was spending time at a studio, but I supposed it wasn’t surprising. He’d already mentioned that he’d be writing his next album during his current break. “We can cancel if you’re super busy,” I offered, though I hoped he’d decline.“Not necessary,” he told me. “I just need a little extra time, so I’ll pick you up at eight.”“Okay, no worries.” Once upon a time, he’d have notified me of all this by text. But he called more often than he texted me these days. I couldn’t lie, I liked it. “Do you need me to call up the Vault and cancel our table at the lounge?”Loud barks split the air, coming from my grandmother’s wing. Barks that went on and on. Which wasn’t at all normal.“I’m sorry, what?” I asked, not having properly registered Kaiser’s response.“I said I’ll do it as soon as I get off the phone from you,” he told me. “I wanted to give you a heads-up first.”“Appreciate it,” I said distractedly, making my way toward Judy’s wing as the frantic barking continued. “I’ll see you later.”“What’s up with the dogs?”“I don’t know. They’re going crazy.” My scalp began to prickle. “I think something’s wrong. I gotta—”“Inaya, do not fucking hang up. Stay on the line until you know everything’s fine.”The moment I pushed open the door that led to my grandmother’s wing, the dogs bounded at me, still barking like crazy. I followed them into the living area and then ushered them aside. My stomach plummeted as I spotted Judy lying on the floor, her eyes closed.Feeling the blood drain from my face, I rushed to her side. “Shit, Grams.” I dropped to my knees and felt for her pulse. It beat strong, thank God. “Kaiser, I need to go, I gotta call nine-one-one.” I didn’t wait for a response, just hung up.Everything that happened next seemed to pass in a blur. The paramedics, the ambulance ride, the hospital, the doctors, the white doors closing behind Judy as she disappeared out of sight on a wheeled stretcher—I barely registered it all, consumed by panic, my thoughts a complete jumble.Plopping down on a plastic chair, I stared down at the hospital tile flooring, too distracted to be irritated by the flickering of the overhead florescent lighting. My mind kept flashing back to the image of Judy sprawled out on the carpet, unconscious. I hadn’t been able to wake her while we waited for the ambulance. I had absolutely no clue what happened.I swallowed, my throat thickening. I felt so disconnected from the world around me that every sound seemed miles away—the squeak of shoe on tile, the ping of the elevator, the murmur of voices, the whoosh of doors swinging open, the ringing of phones.I had no real concept of time as I sat. Waited. Stared at nothing. The whole time, panic fluttered in my stomach.A body sank onto the seat beside mine, and fingers brushed at my bangs. “Baby?”I turned my head at the gentle, raspy word and blinked hard. Kaiser. I didn’t hesitate; I shamelessly burrowed into him, fisting his tee, the backs of my eyes burning.I half-expected him to push me away—not that he’d have been successful, I was clinging to him like a damn barnacle and he’d just have to deal with it—but he didn’t even try. Instead, he palmed the side of my neck and nuzzled my hair.“What happened?” he asked. “How is she?”“I don’t know,” I rasped. “She passed out somehow. She had no injuries that I could see. The doctors said they’re going to run some tests.”“They’ll find out what’s wrong,” he assured me.They’d better. “I couldn’t wake her. I tried, but I couldn’t.”“There’s any number of reasons a person might pass out. Don’t think the worst.”It was hard not to. “I keep telling myself that it’s likely nothing serious, but my mind is still racing.”He gave my neck a soothing, supportive squeeze.I took in a long breath, and the scent of his cologne flooded my lungs. “How did you know what hospital she was taken to?”“I had my publicist make a few calls. He can find out anything.”I closed my eyes. It hadn’t occurred to me for a single moment that he would come here. Not one. I wouldn’t have thought that anything could comfort me right then, but while I had him so close it no longer hurt to breathe. “Thank you for coming.”“Shut up.” It was a softly spoken order.I looked up at him. “No. I can thank you if I want to.”He gently nipped the tip of my ear. “I don’t need or want gratitude.”“Tough.” It occurred to me that he was trying to distract me from worrying. And once that thought took hold, I went back to fretting. “She never looks fragile, Kaiser. Ever. But seeing her unconscious on the floor …”He stretched out his legs. “Something tells me she’ll be mad at herself for passing out.”A weak snicker popped out of me. “Probably.” She hated to show weakness.Hearing excited mutterings, I kept my head still as I slid my eyes to my right. Two young girls were subtly watching us. One was holding up her phone and aiming it our way.I felt my lips thin. “Someone’s snapping pictures of us.” I thought he might pull back. He didn’t.“Ignore them.” The hand on the side of my neck slid around to palm my nape. “Doesn’t matter.”Yeah, I didn’t care much either. Right then, I had no room in my head to worry about anything or anyone other than my grandmother. But the photos might matter to him later if they ended up online—I’d be shocked if they weren’t posted somewhere.His lips grazed my temple. “If they come over here, I’ll tell them to fuck off.”A smile tried shaping my mouth. He would, too. And under normal circumstances, I would have discouraged him. But the last thing I wanted here and now was to chat to strangers, give them an autograph, and take selfies with them.It wasn’t long before one of the doctors reappeared. I jumped to my feet, eager for answers. The news … well, it wasn’t great, but it also wasn’t as terrible as I’d feared. Judy had a mild case of diabetes. Managing it would require medication and some lifestyle changes, but she’d be able to return home.Alone again with Kaiser, I scrubbed a hand down my face. “On the one hand, I’m relieved because it means she’s not dying or in critical condition. On the other hand, well, diabetes is highly serious. And I don’t know if I can get her to follow all the doctor’s advice. The woman is a damn menace.”Standing beside me, he shrugged. “Every time she’s overdoing it, tell her how terrified you were when you found her unconscious.”“You want me to emotionally blackmail my grandmother?”“Will that be a problem?”“No. Not if it means she’ll take care of herself.”Judy was soon discharged. She was also thoroughly delighted at the sight of Kaiser. Her delight increased when she realized he’d taken the trouble of asking his publicist to locate her. She was so psyched that she didn’t even complain when I faffed over her a little.Although she was not whatsoever pleased that she had to be wheeled out of the hospital, it placated her a little that Kaiser pushed the wheelchair. And no, we didn’t go unrecognized by those we passed through the long corridors. Plenty of people noticed us together, their jaws dropping. But no one approached—likely because he wore a stone-cold expression that would put off anyone.As we neared the exit, he glanced at me. “I’m assuming you came here in the ambulance.”I nodded. It only then occurred to me that I didn’t have my car. Idiot.“I’ll give you both a ride home.” Outside, he brought the wheelchair to a halt. “Wait here.” He stalked off.As I moved to stand behind the wheelchair, Judy glanced at me over her shoulder and said, “I’m going to tell people he carried me out. The story will sound better that way.”I might have rolled my eyes if I wasn’t still too shaken to be amused.Judy reached up and patted my hand. “I’m all right. You can relax.”“Relax? Seriously? You were unconscious. You have—”“I know, I know, and I’m sorry I scared you.” She shifted slightly. “And don’t remind me about the unconscious part. We’ll be telling no one about that.”I sighed. “It doesn’t make you weak, Grams.”“Fainting is for swooning virgins. The story will be that I felt a little dizzy and you overreacted by calling an ambulance.”“You’re not even kidding, are you?”“Not at all.” Her lips curled a little. “Now, shall we talk about how sweet it is that Kaiser showed up at the hospital?”“No.”“He could have just called you to check in. Or even had his publicist keep him apprised—Kaiser did say that the man could find out anything. But no, he came here to be with you.”Yes, I was quite aware of that. But I wasn’t sure if I could read anything into it. Most guys in arrangements were always careful not to make moves that could be misconstrued as them wanting more. But aside from when he’d declined my offer for him to watch a movie with me mere moments after we’d agreed to our arrangement, he had never deliberately set out to make a silent statement that we were simply play partners—as if, for him, that one act had been enough to deliver that message. Confident that I’d received it, he hadn’t bothered doing it again.I understood why he wouldn’t be careful. Kaiser didn’t constantly make an effort to manage the expectations of others. He was the type to do something simply because he felt like it, not really putting much thought into how it might look to others. And he’d likely consider it their problem if they misinterpreted his intentions.Even as I reminded myself of all that, it was hard not to let a seed of hope plant itself in the pit of my stomach. I’d long ago boxed up my fantasies of having a future with Kaiser, but the lid on it was beginning to shake. And that was damn concerning.Soon, he pulled up at the curb in a sleek, dark-blue range rover that I hadn’t seen him drive before. I helped Judy out of the wheelchair, which I then placed just inside the hospital entrance for a nurse to collect. I watched as, gruffly courteous in a rather adorable way, Kaiser escorted her to his vehicle. I went to help her climb into the rear passenger row, but he gently moved me aside and carefully lifted her onto the seat.Her smile was all dreamy, and a little red tinged her cheeks. “Thank you, Kaiser.”I’d never seen the woman blush before. It was quite a sight. And I’d for sure tease her about it tomorrow.Closing her door, he silently urged me to ride shotgun with a mere flap of his hand. If I was in a better mood, I might have jokingly asked why I wasn’t getting lifted into the vehicle simply to mess with him. Instead, I hopped in and clicked on my belt.It turned out that Kaiser drove the way he did everything. Confidently. Calmly. Smoothly in command.Not a lot of words were spoken on the journey, but the periods of silence weren’t awkward or weighted. When we finally arrived at the gates to my home, I opened them using my app. Kaiser slowly steered his vehicle up the long, slightly curved driveway.Judy leaned forward slightly. “I hope you’ll join us for dinner, Kaiser.” It wasn’t a polite invitation, no, she tossed out the request in a weak, pleading voice like it was her last, dying wish.I sighed, about to tell the shameless woman that he’d need to return to the recording studio.He cut the engine. “So long as you promise to sit and behave rather than drive Inaya crazy by carrying on like nothing happened. She wants you to rest.”I almost gaped, not having expected him to buckle under her emotional pressure. It was official: the woman could manipulate anyone.She dipped her chin. “That I’ll agree to.”“But don’t you need to go back to the studio?” I asked him.“I can do that tomorrow.” He exited the car before I could say more.I glanced back at Judy, inwardly sighing when I found her practically bouncing in her seat.As we walked into the house, he kept a steadying hand on Judy’s back. It looked as if he half-smiled—which had to be a trick of the light—when she asked if he’d mind carrying her across the threshold. It would be practice for the day he eventually married, she told him. Good lord.In the kitchen, he helped her into a seat at the dining table before then claiming the one across from her. And, brusque and stiff though he might be when it came to being chivalrous, I felt all warm inside nonetheless. I’d once asked him to treat her with respect, and he was doing exactly that … in his own endearingly surly way.As the dogs were going nuts in her wing, I opened the door for them to exit. They all but raced to the kitchen and began dancing around her chair, barking and whining.“Seems like they got quite a scare,” she said, petting them.Grabbing ingredients for dinner out of a cupboard—ingredients for one of the meals the doctor at the hospital had recommended—I shot her a look. “They weren’t the only ones.”She gave me a soft smile. “I apologized for scaring you, remember?” She turned to Kaiser. “Thank you for coming to the hospital, I’m glad my Inaya wasn’t alone.”He shrugged, as if it was nothing. To him, maybe it was. Not to me, though.“If I can in any way repay you, let me know,” she added.“As I told Inaya, I don’t need gratitude.” He didn’t say it rudely, just candidly.Her smile widened, for some reason. “I’m grateful all the same.”He looked down, frowning. And I noticed that Goose had rested his head on Kaiser’s thigh and was gazing up at him adoringly. Kaiser didn’t seem to know what to do about it, so I couldn’t help but snort.He and Judy talked more as I bustled about the kitchen cooking dinner. Well, she talked. He mostly listened. And grunted. He also missed the smug, ‘Everything is going as I said it would’ looks that she kept sliding my way.Once dinner was ready, I set down plates and drinks and then joined them at the table. Honestly, my stomach was still feeling a little off after the emotional rollercoaster of earlier, so I had to force down most of my food. I seemed to be the only one having that issue, however. He dug into his meal, utterly unruffled. And Judy was so damn pleased to have him there that it took up all of her focus.Shortly after the meal was over and our glasses were empty, she pushed out of her chair and said, “I’m going to take a nap. No need to rush off, Kaiser, you can keep Inaya company. I’d rather she wasn’t alone right now, but I don’t have it in me to stay awake. I hope you’ll eat with us again some time.”He didn’t say anything.“I’m going to get Judy settled,” I told him, standing. “I’ll be five minutes or so. You don’t have to stay if you don’t want to.”I didn’t wait for a response. I escorted Judy into her wing, which the dogs didn’t make easy, since they were intent on sticking close to her.In her bedroom, I shook my head. “You’re unbelievable. You know that, right? Even while sick you don’t miss an opportunity to pick up your bow.”She lifted one shoulder. “Such is the life of Cupid’s minions. Now you head back to Kaiser, I’ll be fine. I don’t need help getting into bed.”“I’m not moving until you’re settled, because I don’t trust you to actually rest of your own accord. You need to take it easy, Grams. I know you like to be active, but you have to promise me that you’ll follow the doctor’s advice to the letter.” My worry leaked into my voice, and her face softened.“Don’t worry, I won’t dismiss this. I’ll be careful. I don’t intend to leave this world until you’ve given me some great-grandbabies. You and Kaiser sure will make cute kids.”I let my head fall back with a groan. “Jesus Christ.” She never stopped. Ever. Righting my head, I flicked a hand. “Get in the damn bed.”She huffed, pulling back the comforter. “I feel so cared for.”Once I was sure that she was settled, I left the wing and returned to the kitchen. Kaiser still sat at the table, his thumb scrolling down the screen of his phone.“Hey,” I said as his gaze met mine. “I’m going to skip the Vault tonight.”“Figured you would.” He pocketed his cell but made no move to leave.“You don’t have to stay.”“I know.”All right. Pleasure warming my chest, I said, “I was going to grab a drink and sit out on the back deck. Want a beer or something?”“A beer would be good.”After I’d made myself a cup of green tea—which he sniffed at with a grimace, like I’d made myself a mug of gruel or something—I nabbed a bottle of beer from the fridge and handed it to him. I led the way through the house and out the rear door that led to the patio. We went straight to the rattan corner sofa, settling beside each other.He lifted something from the table in front of us, his brows winging up. “Want to tell me why this is here?”Staring at the bridal magazine, I felt my jaw minutely tighten. I’m gonna throttle her. “Um, my friend Cat left it here by accident,” I lied. “Her and her fiancé are going to start planning their wedding soon.” The latter part was true, at least. Danton had proposed to Cat on her birthday.Apparently buying my bullshit, Kaiser flung the magazine back on the table and sank back into the sofa without comment.We both sat in silence for a while, sipping our drinks, enjoying the warm breeze. There wasn’t much noise. Only the sounds of grass rustling, the easy rippling of the pool water, and the distant gentle clanging of my grandmother’s windchimes.Like during the drive here, the silence wasn’t uncomfortable. But then, Kaiser was at his most comfortable when surrounded by silence. Which I still found weird for a rock musician. Or ‘Rock God,’ as I’d often heard him called. It was a title he’d earned.Even though I’d gotten used to being around my long-term idol, a part of me still couldn’t quite believe that he was sitting beside me. And so utterly relaxed. I wondered if he let himself relax this way around many people. He didn’t talk much of how he spent his spare time, so I wasn’t sure if he did much socializing.“Do you still see anything of your old bandmates?” I asked him.“Sometimes,” he replied, crossing his legs at the ankles. A line dented his brow as he added, “They call a lot.”I felt my lips curve. “You sound so put-out by it.”“I don’t like talking on the phone. You know that.”He didn’t like talking period, but whatever.“They’re all married now, right?”He nodded. “All got kids, too. I’m godfather to three of them.”“That’s cool, I … Why are you shaking your head?”“I’m not sure why anyone would want me to be a godfather to their kids.”“Then you’re an idiot.”He did a double-take. “What?”“So you’re about as snuggly as a cactus. Big deal. You’re an inspiration to a lot of people. You have a shitload of talent and grit and self-belief. You didn’t waste it. You used it to get exactly where you wanted to go. And you didn’t blow it when you got there.”He stared at me for long seconds. “You could have been talking about yourself just now.”“But I wasn’t. I was talking about you.” I gently jabbed his upper arm with my finger. “And I was right.”His hand curled around the offending finger. “Don’t poke me.”“Why? You poke me.”“With my dick. That’s different.” Releasing my finger, he guzzled down a mouthful of beer as he swept his gaze over our surroundings—taking in the pool, the barbecue area, the hot tub, the mini bar, and the spread of land beyond it. “You’ve got a sweet setup here.”“I want a rooftop terrace after getting a glimpse of yours. Do you use it?”“I sit up there sometimes.”I could just imagine him sprawled out on a chair, looking down at all he owned. “Like a lion surveying its domain, right?”He lifted a brow at me. “A lion?”“They’re big and bad and fierce and dignified. That’s you.”“If I’m a lion, what are you?”“Izzy says I’m like a hummingbird.”He pursed his lips. “Yeah, that fits.” Facing forward again, he sank deeper into the sofa and hooked an arm over the back of it, looking for all the world like he belonged there.I shook my head. “How do you do that?”“What?”“Always look like you’re right at home no matter where you are.”He frowned, pensive, and then gave an uncaring shrug. “Maybe it comes from not really having a home. I have a place where I sleep, eat, and keep all my stuff. That’s not the same.”My chest tightened with a sympathy I knew he’d hate to see, so I kept the moment light. “You know, maybe all you really need is to have someone give it some personal touches so it feels homey. Throw cushions. Candles. Pretty plants. A little ‘pink’ goes a long way to giving rooms a lift.”His head jerked. “Pink?”“Don’t worry, you’re far too masculine for that color to give your house a girly feel. Hell, you could even pull off a pink shirt.”“Fuck that.”I laughed. “We can call it ‘salmon,’ if it’ll make you feel better about wearing it.”He threw a distinctly unimpressed look my way. “Drink your tea.”“In other words, stop talking?”“Yeah. That.”I rolled my eyes and took another sip of my tea. Before long, we’d finished our drinks, but he didn’t stand to leave until the sun set and shadows crept along the ground.I led him to the front door and opened it. “Thanks again for—”“Shut up.” He swanned out of the house and hopped into his vehicle.All right, then.