In the past, that would have made Kay anxious, but it barely fazed her now. No, what had her on the edge of her seat was the tension between her and Elliott.
Thank God for Matt, she thought.
He’d been shadowing her the past week, and it had given her a break from Eli’s terse company. Matt had seemed gruff when she first met him, but she’d soon learned he had a quick wit and a ready smile. He didn’t mind when she took a little longer getting ready than the other girls. Eli always tried to rush her along, which annoyed her to no end. She couldn’t skip steps in the makeup department like her friend Sasha or the other girls. They were all thin and beautiful. She was, well, she was just herself.
Now Matt stood staring at her outfit with a shocked expression. “New costume?”
“Too much? I knew these things were too tight!” Kay turned back to the mirror, tugging at the clingy spandex.
“No. No, you look great,” Matt assured her. “I was just surprised since you usually don’t wear bright colors.”
Kay appreciated his tact. She usually didn’t wear clothes that were this sexy. A tickle in her belly made her wonder what Eli would think when he saw it. Then she sh
ook it off. Ever since they’d spent the night in the hotel together, nothing had been the same. She wasn’t sure if it had been Ridley’s intention to force them into the same room, but when they’d arrived at the hotel the desk clerk had only shown one room under their reservation.
Kay rubbed her stomach. She still wanted to barf sometimes when she thought of the horrified look on Eli’s face. You’d think sharing a room with her was a fate worse than death.
He’d been a gentleman and offered her the bed, but she hadn’t been able to sleep a wink all night. How could she when he was sleeping on a cot a few feet away? The next morning, they’d gotten on the road early, neither of them anxious to extend their stay any longer than necessary. Ever since then, Eli had been a bear.
“Have you seen Eli?” She tried to sound like she didn’t really care, but she could tell by the gentle look on Matt’s face that she hadn’t succeeded.
“He’s screening everyone coming into the backstage area. I know you guys have a big interview tonight, so he’s been keeping security tight.”
“He’s being unreasonable.”
Matt just smiled. “He takes your safety seriously and so do I.” The walkie-talkie on his belt crackled. He stiffened and pulled it off. “I have to go. I’ll see you after the show. Good luck.”
“Thanks.” Kay turned back to the mirror and tried to suck in another inch. Jackson seemed really confident that taking each of them solo was the right way to go, but Kaylee wasn’t so sure. Singing solos in front of the choir was a whole different thing. No one could make fun of you when you were singing for Jesus. That would just be wrong, and as her mother liked to say, “you’d go straight to hell.” Although her mother thought pretty much everything would send you straight to hell.
Either way, she knew she had the voice. She was confident in her talent, but pop stars needed a certain look.
She didn’t have that.
This was the final show that she’d have the other girls on stage with her. It was a really scary thought. The only one she was close to was Sasha. She knew the other girls, Mandy and Christina, didn’t really like her much. But at least when they were on stage there was someone to cover for her if she forgot a lyric. The crowd wasn’t just looking at her.
After this, she’d be on her own.
* * * * *
MATT HELD UP his walkie-talkie, listening to Eli’s update. The first few weeks of his employment had taken a bit of adjustment. To Matt’s surprise, there were few hard and fast rules governing who could be a bodyguard. Most states just required you to go through a short training program and be licensed by the state, so he’d spent a week training in D.C.
It was almost laughable to be required to take an entry-level firearms course since he was an expert marksman. He was used to shooting everything from a 9mm to an M-16. However, it had allowed him another week of being close to Penny, so he didn’t care. It was so natural to go to sleep with her each night.
It made him wonder if he would have been able to walk away from her even if she hadn’t come to him. Likely, he would have gone crazy the first week without her and come back, begging her to reconsider. He had to laugh at himself. He’d teased his friends about being whipped by their women and now he was in the same boat.
He’d been assigned to a security detail for a senator last week. This was his first week working in southern Virginia. He called her every night and they talked for hours, often falling asleep with his cell phone still in his hand.
“Everything okay?” Tank appeared at his elbow. His eyes darted around. Matt had instantly liked the ex-Army captain. He’d been helping Eli on the Divine group’s detail for a few months now, so he’d been helpful in bringing Matt up to speed on their case. All the guys on Eli’s team had been welcoming so far. They treated him like he’d been there all along.
He had a new team now.
“Yeah, Eli was just telling me everyone else is in place,” Matt answered.
Tank nodded. “The show is about to start. The girls decided to add an extra song to the set. I’m not sure why,” he added under his breath.
Matt understood the other man’s disgruntlement. That would mean a slightly longer show. If they were supposed to be on the alert for someone after Kaylee, wouldn’t it make more sense to cut the show short?
“I don’t get it either, but I trust Eli. If they want to do an extra song, I guess a few more minutes won’t make much difference in the long run.”