Star Maker (31 page)

Kit
grabbed her glass and giggled, taking a sip, and holding it up to salute him.
“Mmm hmm. That’s right. I saw this coming years ago. Welcome to fame,
sweetie.”

CHAPTER 24

Kit
walked out in a short, backless, black dress with a plunging neckline. She
tied her long, red hair back into a sleek, low hanging ponytail. Her legs
seemed to go on for days and the very high heels she wore contributed to the
illusion. She looked like she had walked off the cover of
Vogue Magazine
.

Sully
stared, taking in every inch of her with his eyes and smiling from ear to ear.
She did a slow turn for him and gave him a suggestive grin. “What do you
think?”

He
smiled. “Wow! You look stunning. And oh the things I’m going to do to you
tonight when we get back to our suite.”

She
laughed and sauntered toward him. She threw her arms around his neck. “And I
look forward to that, babe.”

He took
her hand in his. “Are you ready to do this?”

She
smiled and looked at him. “Are you?”

He
nodded. “I think so. I’ve been waiting my entire life for this.”

Kit put
on a good front as she walked the Grammy Awards red carpet a few paces behind
Sully. She watched him with genuine admiration. He had worked hard for this.
They
had worked hard for this. She
pulled back from him and watched some more while the paparazzi devoured Sully,
their flash bulbs instantly turning night into day.

One of
the photographers yelled. “Hey, Sully, is that your lady? Let’s get a
picture.”

He
smiled and nodded. He looked at Kit proudly and held his hand out to her. She
took his hand and he put his arm around her. Another one of the photographers
shouted out. “What’s your name, honey?”

Kit
smiled silently and before she could say her name Sully smiled and shouted
back. “Her name’s Kit McKenna and get used to it. She’s not going anywhere.”
He looked over, dipped her, and planted a long passionate kiss on her lips.

The
photographers and the crowd hooted and cheered. As Kit came back up for air,
she started laughing and gently nudged Sully as they rushed off the red carpet
toward the entrance to Radio City Music Hall where the awards ceremony was set
to begin in fifteen minutes.

When
they got into the lobby area, Sully looked at her. “How you holding up?”

She
shrugged her shoulders and forced a smile. “I’m ok, babe”

He
looked concerned. “No, you’re not. I know that look. Can I get you
something? Maybe some more ginger ale? I’m sorry you’re not feeling well.
We’re gonna be in NYC for a few days. I can call my sister and see if she can
squeeze you in. Maybe she can give you something to make you feel a little
better.” Sully’s oldest sister, Colleen, was a physician that specialized in
family medicine in Manhattan.

Kit
nodded. “That’s a good idea, Sull. I’m sure it’s just a flu bug. I probably
caught something on the plane last week. Let’s go find the rest of the guys
and our seats. I’ll be fine.”

He
looked into her eyes. “You sure?”

“I’m
positive. We are not missing this.”

He took
her hand in his and smiled. “Ok. Let’s go.”

As they
took their seats, she tried to keep her attention on the awards ceremony. Her
mind kept wandering back to how she was feeling. She swallowed hard thinking
she might be pregnant. This wasn’t exactly the best timing.

An hour
and a half into the awards ceremony, the moment of truth came. Sully quickly exchanged
a look with Kit and the guys. He held her hand and took a deep breath as the
presenter started. “And the Grammy for best new artist of the year goes to…”
They exchanged a quick look before they heard the name. “… Gypsy Tango.”

The
series of seconds that progressed after the announcement were all a blur for
Kit. Moments later, she watched the guys standing on the stage, carefully
accepting their awards, and shaking hands with the presenters.

Jimmy
took the microphone and started rattling off acknowledgments. “And I want to
say a special, huge thank you to our badass, ball-busting manager, Kit McKenna.
Without her, we wouldn’t be here. We love you, Kit-Kat.”

She
chuckled and fondled the ring on her right ring finger they had given her
months ago. Tears of joy filled her eyes as Sully took the microphone and
started his thank you speech after Jimmy. At the end of it, he thanked his
family, especially his parents, and then he looked out into the audience,
directly at her. “And I especially want to thank my girlfriend, Kit. I love
you, babe. You rock my world. Couldn’t have gotten here without you.” Her
eyes widened as she grinned. She was shocked and flattered by his very public
nod to their personal relationship. He then grinned and held the award up into
the air with his hand as he looked into the heavens. “This one’s for you,
Joe.” He flashed a smile to the audience. “Thank you.”

The
media swarm after the awards show was crazier than Kit had anticipated. She
was getting hit from every direction not only about her professional connection
to the band, but her personal connection to Sully.

After
an hour of going it solo, she went in search of Sully, who was double-fisted,
drinking two beers at the same time, in full celebration mode with Bryan.
Although she wanted nothing more than to party with them, she was feeling
particularly exhausted and the thought of alcohol alone made her want to vomit.

She
gently rubbed his shoulder. He turned around and smiled once he realized it
was her. “There you are! I was wondering if the press had gobbled you up.”

She
laughed. “They almost did. Babe, as much as I would love to stay and party
with you guys, I’ve gotta go back to the room. I’m not feeling well at all.”

He set
his beers down, took her hand, and started leading her away toward the exit.
“C’mon, let’s get outta here.”

She
looked at him and stopped in her tracks. “No, babe. Really, I got this. This
is your night. Stay and enjoy yourself. Celebrate for goodness sake. You’ve
worked your ass off for years for this.”

He
stared at her. “So have you and it doesn’t feel right to celebrate without
you. This is our night.” He realized she wasn’t going to agree no matter what
he said. He smiled. “Make me a deal.”

She
grinned. “Depends on what it is. Try me.”

“Let me
go back with you tonight and you can party with me when we win our next Grammy.
Because baby, you know there’s another one comin’ sometime in the future.” He
grinned from ear to ear.

She
laughed. “Sull, are you sure you wanna leave?”

He
gazed into her eyes and stroked her cheek gently. “I’m positive. Do we have a
deal, Miss McKenna?”

She
rolled her eyes and smiled. “Yes.”

“Ok,
good. Let’s say some goodbyes and get you outta here and into bed.”

After
they returned back to their room, Sully got into bed with Kit and pulled her
toward him, into the safety of his arms. “Is this better?”

She
relaxed into him. “Much.”

“Good.”

She
knew now was her window of opportunity. “Sull?”

“Yeah.”

She
gulped. “I think I might be pregnant.”

He
slowly moved back from her and stared. “What did you say?”

She
sighed and looked up at him. “I’m worried I might be pregnant. What are we
going to do if I am?”

He
decided to lighten up the moment. He could tell she was wrestling with it.
“Well, it depends. Who’s the father?”

She
chuckled and shoved him. “You are, silly.” Her grin faded and her anxiety
returned. “Seriously, Sull. What will we do if I am?”

He
realized it was time to get serious. He took her face into his hands gently.
“We’ll handle it. It’s easy, Kit. We’ll get married.”

She
grinned and gazed into his eyes. “Really? You mean that? You’re not freaked
out? I thought you wanted to wait until you had reached some of your big
goals.”

Sully
shrugged his shoulders. “A baby is a pretty big deal Kit, and I don’t want to
miss out on having a baby with you if we’ve got the opportunity staring us in
the face. I love you. I already know I want to spend the rest of my life with
you. Whether I put a ring on your finger tomorrow because you’re knocked up or
three years from now after I’ve reached some goals, is a moot point. I will
say this much, though. If you are pregnant, I want the baby to have my last
name.”

Kit was
still feeling a little off and wasn’t thinking clearly. “Foxx?”

He
chuckled. “No, silly. My real last name, O’Sullivan.”

She
giggled. “Oh… brain fart on that one. How could I forget your real last name?
Absolutely, I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

He
smiled and linked his fingers in hers. “See, easy.” Kit fell asleep in Sully’s
arms, content and a little bit excited about the possibility of her being
pregnant.

She
slowly stirred in bed the next morning, hearing Sully talking in hushed tones.
She opened her eyes and saw him standing in his bathrobe talking on the phone.
He had pulled it out as far to the balcony as he could. He concluded the call
and walked back in. He noticed she had woken up. “How ya feeling, babe?”

Kit
looked at him and put her finger over her lips. She bolted out of the bed and
into the bathroom where she proceeded to get sick. She returned a few moments
later and fell back into bed. Sully sat on the side of the bed and stroked her
forehead gently. “I take it you’re feeling pretty shitty about now.”

She
nodded. “You could say that.”

He
shook his head. “Baby, you’re burning up. I was on the phone with Colleen.
She can squeeze you in whenever you want.”

“Ok. I’ll get ready and we can go.”

Kit was
laying in bed, snuggled up against Sully watching a movie on Pay Per View.
They had finished their dinner from room service and were relaxing, a luxury
they rarely shared together these days.

Sully
leaned over and grabbed the phone when it rang. Kit listened to him on the
phone and tried to figure out who he was talking to. Moments later he handed
the phone to her. “It’s Colleen. She wants to talk to you about the results
from the tests she ran earlier today.”

Kit
grimaced. “Hey, Colleen. What’s up?”

“How
are you feeling?”

“Same.
I had chicken broth for dinner.”

“I know
you were kind of excited about the possibility of your being pregnant…”

Kit got
hopeful. “Yeah...”

“Sorry,
Kit. You’ve got a stomach flu virus.” She was silent. “Are you still there?”

She
held back tears. “Mmm hmm.”

“I know
you were hoping for other news, but that’s the real deal. The best thing for
you to do is stay hydrated and ride it out…” She let Colleen’s voice drone on,
feeling a mix of emotions flooding through her. Half of her was disappointed,
half of her was relieved. “Kit? Did you catch all that?”

“Yeah.”
She lied.

Sully
watched her intently. He smiled and gave her a thumbs up hoping that the news
was good. She waved him off, turned her back to him, and sat on the edge of
bed. “Anything else I should know?”

Colleen
sighed. “No. Listen, Kit, I can hear it in your voice. You’re disappointed.
Don’t worry, honey. Your time will come. He loves you so much. And think
rationally about it, the timing kinda sucks especially after a big Grammy win.
Hang in there, girl. There’s plenty of time for you to give me a niece or a
nephew in the future.”

She
grinned, grateful for Colleen’s compassionate words. “Thanks, Colleen.”

“You’re
welcome. Tell Pat bye for me. I have to run to my next patient. Get lots of
rest and plenty of fluids.”

“Got
it.” Kit handed the phone to Sully. “You can hang it up. She had another
patient she had to get to.”

Sully
looked at her in anticipation. “Well? How far along are you?”

She
sighed, trying to hold back tears. “I’m not pregnant, Sull.” She got up and
went into the bathroom. She locked the door, sat down on the side of the
bathtub, and started sobbing. Moments later she heard a soft knock.

“Kit-Kat,
you ok? What can I get you, baby?”

“I just
need a minute, Sull.” She wiped her tears, composed herself, and took a deep
breath before heading back into the room. Sully was sitting on the edge of the
bed.

He
looked up at her, concerned. “Are you ok? If you’re not pregnant, then what
is it? Is it something bad? Are you sick?”

She
nodded and headed for the bed again. “I have a stomach bug. It’s a flu
virus.”

He
climbed back into bed with her. “Sorry to hear that, baby. Anything I can get
you?”