Duchess (25 page)

“What are we going to do? How are we going to tell seventeen thousand people that Duchess won’t be here?”

“It’s for charity. They’ll understand.” He tried to sound more confident than he felt.

“Do you have a brown paper bag? I think I’m going to need it.”

“Relax. I’ve got it all under control.” At least he hoped he did.

“I don’t know, Chase …” She stopped talking and stared over his shoulder. Then she smiled. “Oh, you were just teasing! I can’t believe you did that to me!” She got up from her chair and hit him on the shoulder.

He turned around to see what she was talking about. His mouth dropped open as Duchess walked in with her entourage. Platinum hair was piled in a beehive. Big sunglasses covered her eyes, and he knew why she needed them. Duchess wore a Regency-style dress that was actually quite simple compared to her usual costumes.

She began pointing, telling people where to put stuff.

Chase closed his mouth that had fallen open and stalked over to her. Grabbing her arm, he pulled her away from everyone else.

"Calm down, lover boy. We’ll have plenty of time together later," she said loudly over her synthesized mic so all could hear.

Chase used his hand to cover up her mic before he spoke. "What are you doing here? I told you not to come. You have too much going on right now."

"What do you care?" she snapped back at him. He drew his eyebrows together and cocked his head to the side. As he broke his gaze, all the fight went out of her, and her shoulders slumped. "Besides, what am I going to do? Sit at home and cry my eyes out some more? I've done enough of that to last a lifetime."

"It's too soon, Katie. Your mother just died."

"Trust me, it's a fact that has not escaped my notice. Besides, she wanted me to go on living. To live my dream. I need to honor her memory."

"By dressing up in your mask?"

"What?"

"That's what she called Duchess. Your mask. She says you become Duchess because you don't think anyone would like you for you. But you’re wrong. I like you."

He hadn't meant to say any of that, but it was too late to take it back now.

Katie opened and closed her mouth a couple of times before she finally spoke.

"Well, right now seventeen thousand people are chanting the name of my 'mask,' and I will not disappoint them. But it seems I will disappoint you ... again. I'm sorry I can't live up to your high standards."

She pulled her arm out of his grip and walked away.

Chase stared after her and wondered what had gone wrong. He never knew the right thing to say to her.

"What was that about?" Amber was now standing next to him.

He shook his head. "Nothing. I guess she changed her mind." He walked away. It was almost time for the show to start, and he needed to find something to do to take his mind off Katie. How he was going to do that when she took center stage, he wasn't sure.

***

Katie waited on stage for the curtain to lift. The normal pre-show jitters didn't come. She was in an emotion-free bubble. She'd experienced so many feelings over the course of the past week, she didn't know if she had any left. Still, she hoped for the adrenaline rush that normally came when everyone cheered for her. She needed to know that her years as Duchess weren't in vain, that some people had connected with her.

She could hear the chanting of the crowd as the curtain lifted, and a small current of excitement went through her. This was what she needed. She needed to get back on stage and do what she loved, making people happy.

As the music started, she lost herself in the performance. She didn't have to be Katie anymore. She could be Duchess, the pop diva everyone adored. Why would she want to be Katie when she could be Duchess? The music took her on a ride. She could dance and sing and forget all her worries and cares. At least, that’s what she’d hoped.

The next song started, and Katie looked at the audience. They were enjoying themselves. They were having fun. They loved Duchess. Suddenly, that thought made her sad. She could hear Chase's voice saying Duchess was her mask because she didn't think people would like her for her. The truthfulness of that statement hit her in the gut. She didn't think people would like the music she wrote. None of the record labels liked it—they said she wasn't edgy enough. Could she have made it eventually, singing her songs? What would her mom want her to do?

She stopped in the middle of her dance step and quit singing. The music went on without her for a moment before stopping. Silence descended, and she realized she should say something. What was she doing? She suddenly knew what she wanted to do. She was ready to take off her mask. It was time to see if Duchess’s adoring fans could love her too. With a quick look upward, she blew a kiss up to heaven for her mother. She would do this for her.

"Hello, everyone. Thanks for coming tonight. This is a very special cause you are all supporting. You see, about twelve years ago, my brother was a soldier in Iraq. Unlike the soldiers who will be helped by this concert tonight, he never came home."

People in the audience started whispering, and she knew she couldn't stop now.

"I've been secretive about who I am because I thought you wouldn't like me if you knew the truth. I mean, there's not much exciting about plain old Katie." She pulled off the platinum wig and the big sunglasses hiding her bloodshot eyes that couldn't handle contacts that night. Next, she pulled off the fake nose, pain causing her eyes to water. But she didn't care. It was time to reveal herself.

"Can I get a regular microphone?" She looked to the wings of the stage. Soon, someone brought one out, and she threw off the head mic that made her voice sound robotic. It was time to let everyone hear her real voice.

"You see, I tried to make it in the music industry as myself, but kept getting told I wasn't edgy enough, or that I was too trained. When my mother was diagnosed with cancer, I suddenly needed to make people love me, so I became what I thought they wanted. And that's how Duchess was born."

Everyone held their cell phones in the air, and she knew they were recording.

“So, anyway. This is me. I’m Katie. You may know me as Duchess’s manager. This week, my wonderful mother died of cancer, and she helped me realize that this life is too short to spend it hiding behind masks. So I’ll sing you a song that I wrote for her.”

Quickly, a guitar and mic stand were found backstage, and she hoped she wouldn’t chicken out. But as she began strumming the guitar, she pictured her mother’s face when she’d sung to her right before she died. She sang to her mother again with all the love she had in her.

The song ended, and silence reigned. She had proof that no one wanted plain old Katie. She turned to leave, but just then, the bowl erupted in applause. Spinning back around, she watched as people rubbed tears out of their eyes and tried to clap at the same time. Everyone stood, and Katie’s eyes widened as she brought her hand up to cover her mouth. The audience hadn’t shunned her—they embraced her. Her mother had been right.

***

Chase watched from the wings as Katie finished her song and silence enveloped the stadium. Tears streaked down his cheeks, and he couldn’t take his eyes off her. When the audience erupted in applause, he couldn’t help but join in. As Katie left the stage, Chase stood in front of her, blocking her path. She stopped before him and looked up. They stared awkwardly at each other for a moment before he spoke.

“Katie, that was beautiful.”

“Oh, um, thanks.” She brushed away a tendril of hair that had fallen into her face.

He wanted to add that she was beautiful too, but before he could speak again, they were interrupted.

“Oh, Kate! You were magnificent!” Amber pushed past Chase and flung her arms around Katie.

They hugged for moment, then Katie stepped back.

“You’re not mad at me?”

“Whatever for?” Amber looked genuinely confused.

“Because I’m Duchess, and I didn’t tell you my secret.”

Amber snorted. “Why would I be angry about that? It’s Hollywood. Everyone wears a mask, but not everyone can use that mask to help others like you did tonight.”

Chase just stared at Amber, unable to process her words. She didn’t feel betrayed by Katie’s deception? Why did
he
?

Before he could answer that question, Amber threw one arm around his waist and her other arm around Katie. “This concert was a wild success. Katie, your mother was a genius, and if I could, I would kiss her right now.”

“My mother?” Katie asked, cocking her head to the side.

“Of course. This whole benefit concert was her idea. I didn’t think it would ever work—especially when she was adamant that Chase had to be the one to help you put it on. I never thought he would agree.” She turned to look at Chase. “You almost didn’t, huh, Chase? But in the end, Shirley was right. It was amazing! I can’t even begin to thank you both for all you did.”

She pulled them close into a group hug.

Chase tried to process what Amber had just said. Would Shirley really have orchestrated this whole concert to get Chase and Katie together? The answer popped into his mind right away. Yes, she would.

He thought about how innocent Shirley had acted, pretending she didn’t know about the benefit concert and why Chase had come over to ask Katie for help. But it had been her plan the whole time!

He looked up and caught Katie staring back at him. A slight smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. Chase couldn't hold back his laughter anymore as he thought of Shirley’s little deception. Soon, Katie joined him. Finally, Chase and Katie got their laughter under control just to be interrupted by Katie's assistant holding out a cell phone.

"Excuse me, Duchess. I mean, Katie. I mean..." The poor girl looked absolutely frazzled.

"It's okay, Penny. What's wrong?"

"It's Kyle. He said he needs to speak to you right now." She shook the phone for emphasis.

***

Katie still smiled. She had to laugh at her mother's matchmaking attempt—she only wished it had all worked out. With a sigh, she took the phone from Penny.

"Hello?"

"Katie? What did you do?"

Suddenly, all the humor drained away as she realized the ramifications of her actions.

"Oh, hi, Kyle." She wasn't sure what else to say.

"'Oh, hi'? Is that all you have to say for yourself? You decide to tell the world all about Duchess without so much as a warning? I thought we were friends, but now the record label is going to have to sue you for breach of contract. You know it says you aren’t allowed to disclose the true identity of Duchess."

Katie knew she should feel dread and regret at the thought of an impending lawsuit, but instead she felt ... free.

"I'm sorry, Kyle. I really am. I’ll get you the name of my attorney. The label can send the paperwork right over."

She hung up the phone without saying good-bye. A heavy weight lifted off her chest, and for the first time in two years, she wasn’t shackled to the secret of Duchess.

“Are you all right?” Chase asked, worry etched on his face.

As she took a deep breath, Katie smiled.

“You know what? I think I will be.” She leaned over, kissing his cheek. “Thank you for everything,” she whispered before walking away with her head held high.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Waking up, Katie found herself folded in the chair next to her mother’s empty bed. Stretching out her stiff muscles, she looked at the mess around her. Half-eaten pizza sat in a box on the floor next to her guitar, and papers scribbled with words and music notes dotted the carpet. Since the concert three days before, she hadn’t been outside the room. She’d been holed up with her guitar and the music in her head demanding to be written.

The knock on the door startled her, causing her to drop some of the papers she’d just picked up.

“Maria, I told you to go home,” she shouted as she bent down to pick up the music sheets again. She heard the door open and she turned to tell Maria to go away, but stopped as Chase walked in.

“I’m pretty sure she didn’t listen to you, since she just let me in and gave me the key to this room.” He had a crooked smile on his face, and she couldn’t help but notice his crisp, clean jeans that were tight in all the right places. His shirt looked ironed, and his hair was combed back.

She looked down at her own sweats and T-shirt. She knew her hair was sticking out all over the place, and she wasn’t sure if she ever really washed off the Duchess makeup from the concert. She suddenly wished she’d never given Maria that key.

“Remind me to fire her when I get the chance.” She tried to straighten her hair, but instead, her fingers got stuck in the tangles. Sighing, she gave up and busied herself putting her music sheets onto the chair and picking up her guitar off the floor.

“Fire her? The woman deserves a raise for keeping you alive for the past three days. I have a feeling you wouldn’t have had anything to eat or drink if it wasn’t for her. As for keeping the press away so you could play hermit, she should get a medal for that feat.” Chase walked closer, and she held her guitar in front of her like it would protect her heart from his piercing eyes.

“Okay, so maybe I won’t fire her today.” She paused for a moment before asking, “What are you doing here, Chase?”

“I’ve come to take you away from all this.” He gestured around the dark room littered with takeout cartons and music sheets.

“Take me where?” She tilted her head and crossed her arms over her chest.

“It’s a surprise.” His vague reply sent warning bells off in her mind.

“I’m not going anywhere.” She leveled a serious look in his direction.

“I thought you would say that.” He turned back the way he came and opened the bedroom door. “So I brought reinforcements.”

Amber strode into the room and stopped in her tracks as she looked around at the disaster around them.