How a Star Shines: A Pop Stars Romantic Comedy Book 2

by Eliker, Rachael

  “I figured you wouldn’t watch it,” Vanessa said haughtily. I ignored what an annoying know-it-all she could be.

  “Kiki!” Ruby said, exasperated. “If it shows that Josh didn’t willingly kiss her, you need to see it. He says he was telling the truth, and I for one am willing to believe him.”

  “I don’t really want to—” I protested.

  Ruby wouldn’t take no as an answer. “I’ll wrestle you to the ground right here and now and pin your eyes open if I have to.”

  “What makes you think you could take me?” I joked weakly.

  “Because your mace is over there in your purse. You’re useless without it.”

  I scoffed and rolled my eyes. Before I could agree, Ruby had taken back her phone and shoved it in front of my face again.

  It was an amateur video at best, but it was from a perspective that I hadn’t been able to see before from where I was standing, wrestling with the crowd and trying to keep my ill-fated wig on my head. I couldn’t quite hear what Josh and the woman were saying—she was unabashedly flirting, no doubt, and when he looked over, trying to see around the crowd back to where I was standing, she lunged forward and grabbed the lapels of his suit, yanking him forward and into her lips. Monica was the first to cheer and clap, totally oblivious that it was one-sided. The total kiss lasted less than a second before Josh ripped his jacket out of her grasped. My heart was giddy seeing the disgust on his face as he wiped his lips with his sleeve. The clip ended when Josh took off toward where I was practically being mauled by the insatiable crowd, showing up too late to be of much help but trying all the same.

  “Holy cow,” Ruby said excitedly, bouncing on the couch. “He was telling the truth. That tramp tricked him into it. Heck, I wouldn’t have put it past Preston to have slipped her a twenty to have her do that.”

  “Why would he do that? Preston doesn’t let go of his money easily.”

  “That’s obvious, isn’t it? Your whole performance sucked after that debacle.” I gave Ruby a look. “Sorry. You know what I mean.”

  “Looks like you saw about one second of what actually happened,” Vanessa pointed out. “Granted, it was the worst possible moment to see him, but still, you couldn’t give him the benefit of the doubt? Isn’t that what the whole media was ready to crucify you for over accidentally kicking your little rat?”

  “His name is Cinnamon,” I said, slightly annoyed.

  “Whatever. Point is, that makes you a hypocrite for not believing him.”

  “Thank you for rubbing it in, Vanessa. If I didn’t already feel awful enough, I do now.”

  She tossed her thick black hair behind her shoulder and crossed one leg over the other. “You’re welcome.”

  I paced the tiled floor, running through all the scenarios in my head. How could I possibly begin to apologize to Josh for my distrust of him when the same thing had happened to me? I could have kicked myself.

  “What if it doesn’t work out?” I said softly.

  Ruby shrugged. “And what if it does?”

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  “Has anyone seen Josh?” I asked frantically as I ran through the underground maze of passageways beneath the stadium.

  It felt like I’d circled the hallways at least three time but had yet to find someone who could point me to Josh. We had to talk, and it had to be before my portion of the concert. I’d convinced myself that the quality of my performance hinged on it.

  Interns and camera crew and back up dancers all shook their heads, looking at me with a mixture of confusion and concern. The star of the show shouting for security certainly couldn’t be a good thing. I rounded a corner without slowing down and ran head-on into Harrison. I bounced back into the wall while he kept himself from falling by gripping the clothing rack he’d been pushing around.

  “Harrison,” I said, grabbing two fistfuls of his shirt. “Have you seen Josh?”

  “Josh? Uh, yeah. He was briefing the stadium security for tonight’s concert. Why? Is everything alright?”

  “Where was that?” I asked desperately.

  Harrison looked uncomfortable as I squeezed his shirt tighter. For all I knew, I was pulling chest hairs out one by one as I tightened my grip, but I wasn’t going to let go until I had concrete answers.

  “They were backstage last time I saw them, stage left, I think.” I released my grip and took off running in the opposite direction. Harrison shouted after me, “But that was forty minutes ago!”

  As I drew closer to the stage, I could hear thousands of people congregating in the building, taking their seats and waiting for the show to start. Ruby’s dancers were all stretching, and I spotted Ruby in the makeup chair as Wanda scrambled to fixed the mess Ruby had made by laughing so hard.

  “Kiki!” Wanda shouted at me like I was a little kid who was eyeing crossing the street. Looking sternly at me in the mirror’s reflection, she warned, “Don’t you move a muscle. You were supposed to be in my chair half an hour ago!”

  I skidded to a stop. I at least owed her an explanation for why I was making her job so difficult. “I need just a minute, Wanda. Something more important has come up.”

  Wanda put her hand on her hip and turned toward me. “More important than your opening night?”

  “I’ll be right back,” I promised weakly.

  Wanda looked livid until Ruby put her hand on Wanda’s arm and explained what was going on. With Wanda placated enough that she didn’t look like she was about to come tackle me and drag me over to her station, I took off running again.

  I slowed to a brisk walk, afraid I might miss Josh among the crowd of people scurrying in the dark of backstage. Then, I spotted his silhouette. He stood with his hands in his pockets, quietly watching the crowd fill in. I jogged over to his side and put my hand on his bicep, turning him to face me.

  “Preston?”

  Preston sneered at me. “Who did you think it was? Lover boy, waiting for you in the curtains?”

  “I knew it wasn’t him when I grabbed your squishy bicep,” I said flatly.

  Preston narrowed his eyes at me and crossed his arms, obviously trying to flex and make his muscles look bigger. “Looking for someone to warm your lips up with?”

  “That wouldn’t be you, would it now? If I remember correctly, you’re the most slack-jawed, lazy, greasy kisser I’ve ever had the displeasure of experiencing.”

  Preston’s eyes widened momentarily at my dig, then narrowed in anger. “Were you hoping your bodyguard would pull double duty again? You know, Mr. Drake would be very interested to hear about you two being caught kissing. Especially after Josh was almost on the chopping block for taking you to that street fair when he’d specifically been told to bring you straight to the hotel.”

  “As much as you wish you were in control of my life, you’re not. Mr. Drake might have been ticked originally, but if you also remember, people ate up my drum performance at the street fair. Sent album sales soaring. Just more change in my pocket.”

  The mention of money drew Preston closer. “If it’s any constipation, I’m willing to extend my offer again. Your pockets could be twice as full with my help.”

  I didn’t even bother trying to hold back my mocking laugh, making Preston flush angrily.

  “When are you going to learn to shut your mouth, Preston?” asked a voice from behind. “Every time you talk, you screw everything up.”

  I spun around to find myself face to face with Josh. I couldn’t have been more relieved to see him if he were a hunky fireman scaling a ladder to pull me from a burning building.

  “What are you, a walking dictionary?” Preston said childishly.

  Josh put his hands on his hips and shook his head. “No, dude, but trust me. You’ll go a lot farther in life if you know the difference between ‘constipation’ and ‘consolation.’ I don’t think Kiki cares to know about your bowel movements.”

  Preston’s eyes darted back and forth between Josh and me as he racked his brain, trying to remember
his vocabulary blunder. When he did, he turned another shade redder.

  Josh egged him on. “You sound dumber than a bag of rocks every time you flap your jaw, Preston.”

  “Huh?” Preston said, twisting up his face in confusion.

  “How about this one?” Josh continued. “It was a favorite of my granny’s—if brains were made out of leather, you wouldn’t have enough to saddle a June bug.”

  “What the heck, man?” Preston shook his head. “You’re not making any sense.”

  “You’re an idiot, Preston. In more ways than one,” Josh said, holding Preston’s gaze with a solid stare that suggested he was ready to rumble if it came to it.

  A scoffing laugh escaped me, and I pushed my hair behind my ear, turning my back to Preston.

  “There you are,” I said airily.

  “Monica said you were looking for me,” Josh said, looking highly amused with the whole situation.

  Looking over my shoulder at Preston, I scowled at him. “Do you mind? I’m trying to have a personal conversation with Josh.”

  Preston held up his hands. “Don’t mind me. This might make for another amazingly embarrassing video of you.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone.

  Squaring my shoulders to him, I crossed my arms and looked him in the eye. “Let me say this in a way that you’ll understand. I would sincerely appreciate if you would extricate yourself from the vicinity in the most extradited fashion possible.”

  Preston scrunched up his nose. “What?”

  Josh pressed his knuckles to his mouth and snickered, which only made Preston angrier. I explained, “It means leave. Now. And if you dare try to record me—ever—I promise I’ll finish what I started, and you’ll think a pool ball to the groin was enjoyable in comparison.”

  Preston cocked his head and rocked back on his heel. “You can’t get rid of me. I’m here as Monica’s official career manager, and if you dare lay a finger on me, I’ll sue.”

  “I’ll say it was self-defense. That you touched me first.” I took a step forward, refusing to be bullied by Preston any longer.

  “I’ll corroborate her story,” Josh said. “It was totally self-defense.”

  Preston stared at me with his hard, brown eyes which reminded me of a stagnant puddle after a hard rain. When Preston blinked, I jerked my knee up a few inches. Preston instinctively cupped his hands over his crotch and shrunk away. He scowled angrily at me as he stalked off, while I laughed deviously. I knew I hadn’t seen the last of Preston, but at least he was out of my hair for now.

  “You wanted me?” Josh asked as I turned back toward him.

  I bit my lip but couldn’t stop the smile at the double meaning his phrase held. “We need to talk.”

  Josh found an old wooden stool in the folds of the curtains and sat on it, hitching one leg up on the rung and stretching the other leg out in front. I took a few steps closer, feeling some level of privacy in the semicircle of curtains that surrounded us.

  “Shoot,” Josh said, folding his arms in front of me.

  I took a deep breath and let it out. “We never finished our conversation about when I overheard you and Mr. Drake. Is it true?”

  “Is what true?” Josh asked.

  I sighed in frustration and ran my hand through my hair, flipping it back out of the way. “The only thing I want to know, and you’re going to make me say it out loud?” I paused, hoping Josh would carry on the conversation. He didn’t. “Do you…do you not love me? Like you told him you didn’t?”

  Josh’s mouth opened, then shut, like he couldn’t decide what he was going to say. It was his turn to be frustrated. “Like I told you before, Kiki. It’s complicated.”

  “It doesn’t seem so complicated to me. Mr. Drake asked you a yes or no question, and without hesitation, you gave a very definitive no.”

  Josh rubbed the back of his neck and looked away from me, watching the changing lights on the stage background. “How would you have had me answer?” he asked quietly.

  “Well, I don’t know. I thought,” I paused and took a deep breath. “I thought we had something special going on between us. That magic you talked about? Maybe I was getting caught up in the moment and the music and filming the video, but I could have sworn we were on the cusp of something.”

  “There was definitely a spark there,” Josh agreed. “I didn’t know what to do with it. I still don’t.”

  “Is it your job? Are you worried about getting fired? I get that. I know it’s unfair of me to ask you to give up your career for something that may or may not work out between us. It’s a big risk.”

  “It’s not that either,” Josh said, shaking his head.

  “What is it then?” I wanted to scream, but I held myself back. “Is it me? Am I too much of a nut for you? I can try toning down the weird if it’s too over-the-top. I mean, I know I’m like this messed up labyrinth that someone could very easily get lost in if they’re not careful.”

  “No, Kiki. I wouldn’t want you to change for me. For anybody. I love your quirks, and I’d love to discover all your endless twists and turns,” Josh said softly. “The problem is me.”

  “What’s you?”

  “I’ve been holding back. You’ve got this great thing going, and I don’t want to kill your momentum by being a distraction. If your career derailed and then something happened to us, and we ended it, I don’t know that I could live with the thought of you resenting me. I mean, look at what happened when you thought I was kissing that redhead during the morning show. We weren’t even an item and it affected you so much that you were on the verge of tears. You need to focus.”

  “Focus?” I said with a laugh. “Do you know how hard it’s been to focus while I’ve been spending days wondering if I was the only one who felt this way? Focusing is so much harder without you.”

  Josh reached up and brushed a hair off my forehead and let his warm hand linger on my cheek. I closed my eyes and leaned into his palm. “I know the feeling,” Josh murmured.

  When I opened my eyes, he was looking straight at me with his gorgeous, stormy eyes. “I don’t want you making those kinds of decisions for me. That’s something I need to be in charge of.”

  “Then the same goes for me. It’s my career, and there will be other ways for me to earn a living,” Josh said.

  I couldn’t think of anything else to say and found myself dumbly staring at his dashingly handsome face. Finally, I said, “I guess it’s settled then. It comes down to whether or not you’re willing to be fired over all of this because, let’s face it—Harper Music isn’t getting rid of me anytime soon, no matter what I do.”

  Without a moment’s hesitation, Josh stood up from the stool and pulled me close with his strong arms, hungrily pushing his lips onto mine. The kiss was so passionate and fervent that the spark I’d felt earlier at our near-kisses turned into an entire fireworks show deep in my soul. As the kiss deepened and became more insistent, I lost track of time. I didn’t know how long we were kissing, but I didn’t care if we stayed that way forever. I could die happy.

  “Ow-ow!” someone called to us. “You go, Kiki!”

  We broke apart, both panting to catch our breath. Josh kept me wrapped tightly in his arms, pressing my body close to his, and I had my hands buckled at the back of his waist to steady myself. I’d never had a kiss rock me to the core like that. Ruby walked by with an approving smile and two thumbs up. I giggled a little, giving Ruby a beaming grin in return. With her eyes trained on us, she didn’t notice a pole that she was walking toward and would have run headfirst into it if Harrison hadn’t sacrificed himself and dived in front of her.

  “I suppose this means the cat’s out of the bag,” I murmured in Josh’s ear.

  He flashed one of his signature smiles in my direction. “And you say you don’t know any bonafide Southern expressions.”

  I shrugged. “You’re rubbing off on me already.”

  Josh pulled me into another passionate kiss, and I lost myself
in all its glory.

  “Finally,” I heard someone mutter under their breath.

  I turned around to see Wanda standing behind me, tapping her foot on the ground. “It’s about time you two lovebirds made it official.”

  I blushed deeply. “How many people knew?”

  “We were thinking of starting a poll on when it would become official,” Wanda joked. “If it were me, I would have pegged you for the day after you made the music video.”

  “Was it that obvious?” Josh asked, matching my blush. “I tried to keep it professional. I really did.”

  “Honey,” Wanda said, waving her hand, “Kiki’s dog snarls at every guy she’s ever hung out with except for you. When that little fuzzball gave his seal of approval, we all knew.”

  “Cinnamon was right all along,” Josh teased.

  “As much as I’d like to let you two continue your little rendezvous, Kiki has got to get her makeup on, or you’re gonna get me in trouble.”

  I quickly followed Wanda to her spot in the makeup booth, where her crew was busy working on the faces of my dancers.

  “Oh, Josh?” I said, spinning around on my spikey heeled boots. “I guess this means you’re fired.”

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  “Keep your eyes closed,” Josh said, tightening the blindfold that was over my eyes.

  “I kind of can’t help it,” I answered. “Should I be worried? You’ve had me bound and gagged since we left the hotel.”

  Josh chuckled, and the sound made me smile. Even after three months of dating, I still loved the way my heart fluttered when I made Josh laugh.

  “I wasn’t sure if I could trust you. Your reputation for peeking before someone surprises you is abysmal. I’ve heard about your reputation.”

  “I resent that,” I said, mocking him with a playful pout.

  “You’re not bound and gagged,” I heard Ruby say. “If you were, we wouldn’t be able to hear your whining. Maybe I should shove a sock in your mouth.”