Star Maker (29 page)

She
quickened her pace until she was in step with Kit. “I have to pee so bad. I
didn’t want to go on the bus, not with all those jokers. Do you know where the
restrooms are? Are they off the lobby?”

Kit
shrugged her shoulders. “No idea, but I’ll go with you to find them. I’ve
been stuck in that limo for the last few hours and I’m about to burst.”

Kit and
the mystery girl stood side by side at the sinks, washing their hands, and
drying them. She looked at her, smiled, and outstretched her hand. “I don’t
think we’ve met. I’m Kit McKenna.”

She
smiled. “I’m Ria DiMarco. Nice to meet you, Kit. You’re GT’s manager,
right?”

“Yeah,
that’s me.”

She
nodded and grinned. “And not a bad lead guitarist in a pinch either.”

Kit
chuckled. “Huh?”

“I was
at the soundcheck in Chicago when you had to get up there and play because Jimmy
was a no show. I was sitting out at the boards, rehydrating, and listening to
the soundcheck. You and Sull have some pretty amazing chemistry on stage.”

Kit
laughed. “Thanks. I guess you could say that Sull and I have chemistry in a
lot of ways.” She wasn’t sure if Ria knew that she and Sully were involved.
“So, you saw me up there, huh? Jimmy’s left us in the lurch more than once
during a check and I’m the one that has to step up. Are you a sound engineer?”

She
shook her head as they started to walk out of the bathroom side by side
continuing their conversation. “No. I’m one of the backup singers for
Scorcher.”

Kit
smiled and nodded her head in agreement. She was used to seeing Ria made up to
perform, dressed to the nines in very tight, patent leather outfits with lots
of makeup, and big, teased out, platinum blond hair. She hadn’t made the
connection before seeing her in a normal, relaxed state. “Wow! That’s super
cool. You sound great up there.”

She
nodded and grinned. “Thanks.” She shifted her attention to the mayhem
starting in the lobby and stared. Two bands, their entourages, radio
promoters, groupies, and fans that must have received a tip that both bands had
arrived, were all present. Chaos ensued. She sighed. “And so it begins…
again.”

Kit
nodded. “Yep. Just another day at the office.”

They
both giggled conspiratorially and exchanged knowing looks. Ria smiled and
nodded. “Y’know, Kit, I’ve really enjoyed talking to you. It’s nice to run
into another cool chick on the road that’s on the same page. I really don’t
get along with Gabby, the other backup singer. I’ve pretty much been a loner
on this tour. I hang with the guys, but that gets old quick and I need my girl
time. Since there have been no girls to hang out with, I’ve flown solo.
Whattya say? Let’s hang out tonight after the show. Us girls need to stick
together.”

Kit
nodded. “Absolutely. I gotta go get the guys settled in with the tour
manager. See you at soundcheck.”

Ria pointed to her and made a gun with her finger, winked, and made a
clicking sound with her mouth. “You got it, girl.”

Kit
stood behind the boards, put her hand to her forehead, and sighed. She started
waving her hands and yelling. “No, no, no. C’mon guys, tighten it up. Tony,
you’re a split second behind Remo. Sully you were flat on the last note. Get it
together.”

Ria
walked up silently and stood next to Kit, watching the band. “Good call.”

Kit
looked at her. “Oh, hey. You heard that? Did you just get here?”

“Yeah.”

Kit
looked at the sound engineer. “Bring up Jimmy’s level a bit. He’s not out in
front enough.” The engineer made the fix and Kit nodded. She looked at him
again. “It sounds like there’s noise on Sully’s mic. Can you check that?”

When
they finished the song, Kit yelled. “Sully, a few bars please, a cappella.”

He
grinned and spoke into the microphone in a throaty voice, giving Kit a
seductive look. “What can I sing for you, my love?”

She
chuckled and yelled back. “Whatever you want. We gotta figure out the noise
problem on your mic.”

He
started singing while Kit and the engineer stared at the boards and fussed with
the knobs. She held up her hand without looking at Sully and silenced him. He
stopped singing and watched her as she quietly conversed with the engineer.

She
looked at him again and nodded. She held up four fingers in the air, signaling
Sully to go four bars again, and pointed at him to start. He belted it out a
cappella once again, his voice sounding like a flawless melody as it filled the
empty arena. Kit smiled and rubbed her arms. She had chills. She held her
thumb up to Sully and nodded her stamp of approval.

Ria
took a swig from her bottled water and watched Sully. “Damn, he’s good. He’s
got a great voice. What a set of pipes. He’s hot too.”

Kit
giggled and smiled at her with an enthusiastic twinkle in her eye. “I know,
isn’t he?”

When
Sully finished singing, Kit yelled again. “Ok guys, from the top.”

They
started playing the song. Finally satisfied with how it sounded in the arena,
she turned her attention back to Ria. “Hey, sorry. Had to clean up that
mess.”

Ria
nodded. “No worries. You did a great job. They sound awesome now.”

Kit
smiled. “Thanks. It’s times like these that I love what I do. When they
sound that good and they’re up there performing their hearts out, it’s
priceless.”

CHAPTER 23

The sun
pounded down and Kit lay on a chaise lounge luxuriously soaking it all up next
to the pool with her sunglasses on and a cocktail in close reach. It was one
of those beautiful, sunny, extremely warm days that popped up in Los Angeles
randomly at the end of October. She grinned thinking about it. 80 degrees
with no humidity, yes please.

She had
finished her bar exam the previous week before and was indulging in a languid
existence knowing full well that she had important decisions to make in the
next day or two. She was headed back out to the road to meet up with the guys
in New Orleans the following week. She missed Sully dearly, but not the
craziness of the road. Regardless, she was counting the days until she’d see
him again.

The
sound of Alexa’s voice gently woke her from dozing off. “Look at that! Those
five diamonds sparkling in the sunshine.”

Kit
giggled and smiled as Alexa arranged herself on the chaise next to her. She
took a sip of her margarita. “Who would have thought I’d end up married to
Gypsy Tango before Sully. Go figure. Did you just get here?”

“A
little while ago. I had some phone calls to make before putting on my bikini
and heading out here. I wasn’t joking. Those diamonds are blinding me today.
The light is hitting them just right.”

“I can
say the same of yours, dear.”

Alexa
held out her hand and admired her beautiful, pear shaped, six and a half-carat
diamond engagement ring. “I guess.”

Kit was
enjoying girl time and was eager to hear about the plans for Alexa’s and Wes’s
upcoming wedding. She rolled over on her side and gave her a knowing grin.
“Are you losing your mind yet?”

She
nodded her head. “Yes. I’ve officially lost it. I had a huge melt down
yesterday. Let me give you some advice, Kitty. One day when you do marry
Sully, elope.” She chuckled.

Kit
smiled. “You must be excited to marry Wes, though. He’s such a great guy.”

She
nodded and donned a content grin. “Of course. But, I can tell you at this
point I’m way more excited about the man and the marriage than the wedding.
Two totally different things.”

“I
gotcha. By the way, God bless you for getting married in January. It makes
our lives so much easier.”

She
giggled. “Glad I could help out. You two are both off in December, right?”

Kit
nodded. “Yeah. I go back on the road next week until December tenth, and then
I fly back home to close out everything with KMK for the year. Sully is on the
road until the fifteenth. He’ll come home for a few days and then we’ll head
to Chicago for the holidays. We’re going to stay there until your wedding.
Then we come back home. They have some L.A. dates. Then he goes back out on the
road by the end of January after the American Music Awards.”

“Yeah,
that’s what Wes told me. He said something about Sully being fitted for a tux
a few weeks before the wedding. That must be when you guys are in Chicago for
Christmas.”

“Yep.
And that was the only time he could do it.”

“Wes
understands.”

“Don’t
you think it’s gonna be kind of funny seeing Sull up there with all of Wes’s
other Wall Street powerhouse groomsmen? He’s gonna stick out like a sore
thumb.”

Alexa
laughed. “No doubt. It’ll be entertaining. By the way, do you think I need
to hire security?”

Kit
lowered her sunglasses. “For the wedding?”

“Yes.
I don’t want fan mania or a media circus and believe me, I know media.”

Kit
sighed and lay back down. She hated her answer. “Yes.”

“Gotcha.
I’ll have it taken care of. They’re getting more popular by the day, Kit.
Especially Sully.”

She
nodded. “I know.”

“Kit?”

She had
her eyes closed now, thoroughly enjoying the sunshine once again. “Yes.”

“Remember
how we talked the other day about the magazine?” Alexa had approached Kit with
the possibility of starting an entertainment magazine together. She liked the
idea, but hadn’t had the chance to evaluate it properly.

“Mmm
hmm.”

She
stared at her, grinning in anticipation. “Have you made a decision yet?”

Kit sat
up. “I haven’t, but I promise you I will before I head out of town. I have to
make some calls before I can give you a firm yes. It’s on my high priority
decision list.”

She
chuckled. “What else is on that list?”

Kit
sighed. “I need to give Lew an answer.”

She
smiled. “I hope it’s yes.”

“We’ll
see, Lex.”

Three days later, Kit accepted a position with Diamond Records
working on their legal team as a senior associate. She negotiated well and Lew
agreed to all of her conditions, including lots of flexibility to work offsite,
and juggling Gypsy Tango in addition to her legal duties.

* * *

Kit
groaned and rolled over. Sully wrapped himself around her and nuzzled into her
neck. He pulled her tighter. “Don’t go getting out of bed just yet.”

She
closed her eyes and leaned back against him. “Oh, you don’t have to worry
about that. I feel like I’m half dead. How much did we drink last night?”

He
shook his head. “I don’t know and I don’t want to think about it, so let’s
just lay here.”

She
rolled onto her other side to face him and giggled. “And be miserable
together?”

He
chuckled. “Yes. Misery loves company, y’know.”

She
playfully shoved him. “I didn’t get that memo. Make yourself useful and call
room service.”

He
grabbed the phone and placed an order for them. He rolled over to face her
again. “They said they’ll be here in thirty minutes. That gives us thirty
minutes to think of something to do or we can just lay here.”

Kit
giggled, teasing him. “Let’s just lay here and stare at the ceiling.”

He
shook his head and smiled as he started tickling her, moments later kissing her
passionately. The phone rang loudly. She kissed his neck. “Don’t answer
that.”

He
looked at her and grinned. “It might be something important. It will probably
only take a sec.” He answered the phone. Seconds later she heard him ask who
was calling. He handed the phone to her. “Told ya it was important. It’s Lew
Diamond.”

She
looked surprised. She wondered if he had changed his mind about the terms of
her employment. She wasn’t due to start work there until after the New Year.
She took the receiver from Sully and sat up. “Hey, Lew, what’s up?” She tried
not to laugh while attempting to fend off Sully who kept kissing her and
touching her.

“Congratulations,
Kit!”

She
gave Sully a look of warning while she struggled to focus. “For what?”

He
chuckled. “You’re on the road, so you probably didn’t hear the announcement
that hit the wire twenty minutes go.”

Simultaneously
someone started pounding on the hotel room door. Sully jumped up, threw on a
pair of jeans, and opened the door to find Sean standing there. He spoke
almost completely in sync with Lew’s voice on the phone.

“Grammy
noms came out. Gypsy Tango was nominated for best new artist.”

Kit
pulled the phone away from her, hastily wrapped the sheet around her body, and
started jumping up and down on the bed like an excited little girl, screaming
loudly with joy while Sully stood there in shock.

She
finally composed herself, let out a deep breath, and grabbed the receiver
again. “Thanks for the news, Lew. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go tell
the guys but it looks like they found out too. Our tour manager just told
Sully.”

“Tell
the guys congratulations from me too. Fantastic work, Kit. We’re proud to
have those guys in the Diamond family. We knew they were marked for success
the moment we saw them.”

“And
we’re very happy to be a part of the Diamond family, Lew.”

By the
time Kit hung up the phone, the band and a few groupies had surfaced in their
hotel room. They were all staring at Kit, who was still standing on the bed
wrapped in a sheet.

She
smiled. “Congratulations, gentlemen! You have a Grammy nomination for best
new artist.”

They
all started cheering. Sully jumped up onto the bed, stood in front of Kit, and
kissed her. He gazed into her eyes. “This is so crazy. Am I dreaming?”

She giggled. “No, baby. We are out of the jungle and it’s all
beginning. Welcome to paradise.” They both screamed out with joy and started
jumping on the bed again, laughing.

As the
limousine pulled past the gates and up the long driveway, Sully breathed a sigh
of relief. He was home. He hadn’t seen the house since they left on tour back
in June. He got out of the limousine and noticed Kit walking out to greet him.
He smiled and held his arms open. They quickly got lost in each other,
neither one of them wanting to let go. They would have stayed there for an
eternity if it weren’t for the driver who snapped them back to reality.

“Mr.
Foxx, where would you like your bags and guitars?”

Sully
released Kit from his embrace and looked at him. “You can drop ‘em in the
foyer. That’s fine. Thanks, man.”

Kit
threw her arms around his neck and gazed into his eyes. “Welcome home, baby.”

He gave
her a long kiss and then hugged her again tightly. “I have missed you so
much.” He gazed into her emerald eyes and stroked her cheek. “God, you’re
beautiful.”

She
gave him another kiss. “Thank you, baby. I’ve missed you too.” She took his
hand. “C’mon, let’s go in. You look exhausted.”

He threw his arm around her. “That’s a serious understatement.”

Sully
slowly got out of bed and threw on his robe. He strolled over to the French
doors and stepped out onto the large balcony that overlooked the grounds and
the city. He took a deep breath and grinned with contentment. The Santa Ana
conditions had blessed Los Angeles with a clear, warm, December day. Days like
these made Sully love living in Southern California.

He
slowly closed his eyes and pressed his face up in the direction of the morning
sun, taking in a few rays. This was the first time he had left the bed in two
days. The rest of the time was spent in deep sleep or mid-snooze, occasionally
eating a bite or two that Kit brought to him.

His
doctor had stopped by and encouraged him to stay in bed and get rest. He was
suffering from severe dehydration and exhaustion. His body felt weak still,
but his spirit felt stronger than ever. He loved being back home knowing that
Kit was in close proximity and that they could spend some time together without
wild parties, clingy entourages, or probing press hounds.

He
braced himself on the balcony railing with both hands and slowly stretched out
his back, letting his neck hang down for a moment. He looked back up and
looked again at the backyard. His attention was suddenly drawn to the
guesthouse. He frowned. It looked taller and slightly different in a way he
couldn’t seem to pinpoint. He shrugged it off, thinking he had been gone way
too long and his imagination was playing tricks on him. He took a seat at the
small table on the balcony and enjoyed the view.

Kit
walked into the bedroom. She noticed the French doors open and walked out to
the balcony where Sully was sitting in his robe. She smiled. “You’re up
early.”

“Mmm,
it’s such a beautiful day.” He reached for her. She walked over to him and he
pulled her into his lap.

She
gazed into his eyes and stroked his cheek. “How you feeling, sweetie?”

He
grinned. “A lot better now with you sitting in my lap.” He chuckled.
“Actually, I am feeling more rested. Still a little weak, but better than
yesterday.”

She
gave him a kiss on the lips. “Good.”

“I
think I’m ready to get up and around today, for real.”

She
chuckled. “For real, huh? You go ahead and do that, love. I need to get some
work done. Come down and find me later when you’re up to it.”

She was
about to get up when he gently pulled her back onto his lap. He chuckled.
“Don’t go leaving just yet. Gimme some more of that lovin’.” Moments later
they were back in the bedroom on the bed, wrapped up in each other, and making
up for lost time.

Sully
padded down the stairs hours later, freshly showered, and more alive than he
had felt in months. He heard Kit’s voice coming from her office. He headed
into the room and plopped himself into one of the chairs in front of her large
desk. She smiled at him and continued her conversation, holding one finger up
as a signal to wait a moment while she wrapped up the call.