“Take a look.” Gage grinned, his eyes scanning her curvy legs and the way the towel hugged her hips.
“You’re kidding. Even without the assistants, agents, managers and handlers and you still can get people to do whatever you ask.” She giggled, shaking her head in disbelief.
“A name goes a long way,” he replied, his lips curling up in a teasing smile.
“I bet it does,” Kate laughed. She pulled the clothing from the bags, gushing over the black pencil skirt and the white silk chiffon top and a black and white boucle jacket, complete with a pair of carbon tights, and cherry stem boots.
“Wow!” She shook her head in amazement, her jaw dropping. “You’re unbelievable,” she gushed before disappearing into the bathroom only to return a few minutes later, dressed in her new clothes.
“Now it’s my turn to say wow,” Gage remarked approvingly. “You’re so damn sexy, Kate.” Gage pulled her in for a quick kiss, and she groaned against his lips before playfully pushing him away. “You’re going to make me late again, aren’t you?”
“I doubt that I’d be able to keep my hands off of you for much longer. You better get going,” Gage replied with a grin.
“I’ll call you from work, okay?” Kate reached up, kissing Gage quickly. “We can have dinner later.”
The last Gage saw of her was her red hair, briefly catching a glint of sunlight as she walked by the large windows toward the front door of the suite and within minutes she was gone. He ordered breakfast, taking a quick shower while he waited for room service. While he ate, he played back everything that had happened with Kate since he’d found her in New York.
He’d definitely been set off balance by her almost aggressive attitude, although he thoroughly enjoyed her taking the lead, particularly in bed. Chewing a piece of toast, he thought that letting her set the pace really was the way to get her back and make her feel comfortable with the situation. As frustrating as it was for him to give up control, especially when it was something he wanted so desperately, he knew this was the right thing to do.
Gage fished his cellphone out of his pocket. He owed his manager a call. He flipped it open; there was a message from his manager from the day before. He leaned back in his chair, prepared to listen to another tirade about how irresponsible he’d been, or a lecture about not returning phone calls. But what he heard made his heart pound and his hands go cold.
“We’ve booked the gigs for the European leg of your tour, Gage. You’ll be in Oberhausen, Germany, in six weeks, playing to a sold out venue. Call me when you get this. We need to talk, and soon. Stop blowing me off, Gage. This is important.”
Gage clicked the phone shut. His mind was in turmoil. They’d briefly discussed a European tour but he didn’t remember anything set in stone. Had he really been that self-involved, that caught up in Kate, to have missed that?
Flipping open the phone he punched in his manager’s number. For the next hour, he listened as his future with Kate disappeared. There was no way she would agree to travel on tour with him to Europe. The schedule was impossible; they’d be on the road or in the air for weeks. Time alone together would be minimal. Plus there would be press, interviews on the radio, all kinds of distractions.
Gage’s manager was insistent that this was happening, that it was necessary not to alienate the European market by not touring for the newest album. Gage tried to protest but it fell on deaf ears. When he finally got off the call, Gage’s mind was numb.
He’d no more than set his phone on the table when it rang. It was Kate.
“Hey, babe. What’s up? How’s things with Ursula?”
There was silence on the other end.
“Kate? You there?”
“Yes, I’m here.”
Gage frowned at the phone. “What’s wrong? Is everything okay?”
“No, nothing’s wrong at all, Gage. Nothing a little honesty wouldn’t cure.”
***
Kate slipped into her cubicle, breathing a sigh of relief that Ursula was nowhere to be seen. She pulled out her notes and recorder, finding her ear buds and setting up her laptop. Pulling up a blank document, she sat for a moment with her fingers on the keyboard, staring into space.
But as hard as she tried to think about her article, the only images that surfaced were those of Gage from the day—and night—before. And the images were very vivid. Kate felt her face flush at the memory of their passionate and fierce couplings, shaking her head at her own aggressiveness in practically attacking Gage in the shower.
She felt her lips curl into a smile as she replayed his hands on her body in the shower, his incredibly gentle and sensuous hands, caressing every inch of her body, the heady scent of the soap, the warmth of the water cascading over them. I’ll have to buy a case of that soap, just for the future.
The future…Kate’s heart skipped a beat. She and Gage had talked a long, long time about what they wanted from the future. She understood perfectly well he couldn’t alter much of what went on around him. He was a star, a megastar, and with that came a certain loss of privacy, certain expectations. But Kate believed him when he said he would try to behave differently, not to fall under the spell of the endless groupies and hangers on that dogged every stop they made. And he promised there would be less hard partying.
“My fans want a piece of me. And they deserve all of me that I can give. But off stage, you deserve all of me, every minute I can give to you I will.”
His words came back to her. She signed, focusing on the laptop screen. In her heart she knew his fans, who were the ones responsible for making him a star, would always be an ever-present force in their lives.
But she believed Gage when he said he would change. She’d told him she would make changes as well, to trust him. And most of all, to not be swayed from that trust by all she saw swirling around him.
“Know in my heart, Kate, it’s you I’m always thinking of.”
“Well, Kate Preston. Again, gracing us with your presence.”
Kate caught her breath, spinning in her chair, facing Ursula, standing in the opening of her cubicle, arms folded across her chest, a tabloid magazine held in one hand. Deja vue all over again.
“What have you got for me?”
“Well, I was just starting on the first interview, looking through my notes for a tie in for the sidebar. I wanted to talk to you about the order of the interviews.”
“Good. I wanted to talk to you too. The deadline for the series has moved up.”
Kate’s heart skipped a beat. Great, less time than before. But I can do this.
“Gage Stevens is scheduled to start the European leg of his tour in six weeks. I want our magazine to have all of this out there before that leg of the tour, otherwise we lose our edge. We’re moving up the date to the next issue.” She flipped open the tabloid she was holding. Kate looked in disbelief. There was Gage’s smiling face, with the headline announcing the tour. The caption below read ‘Been planning this a long time. Can’t wait to see all my fans in Europe!’
Ursula looked at her, a slight scowl on her face.
“I need you to be honest with me, Kate. If you can’t do this, tell me now.”
Kate looked at Ursula, her blood suddenly running cold. Gage had never mentioned any European leg of the tour. In all their time together, nothing had been said, not even the day before. Not even during their long whispered talk in the dark, the talk about their future.
“I didn’t realize there was a European leg. Of course, I’ll be able to get you the articles well before that date.” Kate’s face felt numb. She tried to force a smile on her lips
“They announced the European tour dates yesterday.” Ursula gave Kate an unreadable look. “I’m disappointed that you didn’t learn this on the tour, Kate. Gage should have known. I would have thought you would have been told all about it.”
Kate had no answer. She didn’t understand how this could have happened. And yes, Ursula was right; if this tour was in the works during the US tour, she should have heard about it. Had she been so distracted by Gage she’d failed to pick up on that bit of information? What if all my interviews and notes are just a bunch of crap? Was I that out of it the whole time?
Ursula was talking again, apparently repeating something Kate missed. “I said, are you sure the new deadline is something you can manage?”
Kate straightened in her chair, meeting Ursula’s eyes. “Yes, Ursula, no problem. My calendar is completely clear.”
As soon as Ursula was back in her office, Kate headed for the bathroom. She hid for a long time, emotions in turmoil, trying to make sense of what she’d just learned. Gage knew and hadn’t told her. It all came down to that one thought. He knew. He hadn’t changed. He was still only thinking about himself, his own life, not how it impacted hers.
With her stomach in knots she sat back at her desk. She took out her cellphone, looking at it a long time before finally punching in Gage’s number. He answered almost immediately.
“What’s wrong? Is everything okay?”
“No, nothing’s wrong at all, Gage. Nothing a little honesty wouldn’t cure.”
“What are you talking about? Kate, what’s wrong?”
Kate wanted to scream at him, but she took a deep breath. “Gage, we need to talk. Now. I’m on my way to the hotel.”
She hung up, cutting Gage off in mid-sentence. She stared at her laptop screen, the blank white document mocking her. As much as she knew she needed to start, her mind was too scattered to form any coherent thoughts. Getting to the bottom of this with Gage was more important.
Jamming everything into her bag, including the tabloid Ursula had left, with Gage’s face splashed across the front page, she slipped out of her cubicle and took the elevator to the lobby. She managed to find a cab and rode to the W Hotel in a state of shock. Pushing through the lobby door, she found Gage pacing, obviously waiting for her. When he saw her, he strode over, reaching for her. She backed away. Gage stopped, looking confused.
“What’s wrong, Kate? What’s happened?” He moved closer, his face creased with a frown.
As she was about to answer Gage, a scream from across the lobby made both of them jump. She turned to see a gaggle of teenage girls scurrying across the lobby, calling Gage’s name, waving pens and papers. Before either of them could react, they were surrounded, the girls pushing between her and Gage.
Kate took a step back, watching as Gage turned on the charm, asking each girl her name and signing their assorted belongings. To her horror, one of the girls pulled her shirt down, asked Gage to sign her breast, saying she was going to get his name tattooed on her. Gage deflected the girl, instead signing her forearm. The girls then produced cameras and cellphones, asking for pictures. Gage stood briefly, arms around the shoulders of two girls. And then he moved away from the girls, thanking them and almost dragging Kate by the arm toward the elevators. Kate heard snickering behind her and glanced back to see the group whispering and pointing.
“Forget them, Kate. They’re teenage girls; they’re going to hate you no matter who you are. You’re not ‘Kate Preston’ to them; you’re the girl they’re not.” He pushed the elevator call button several times, shifting restlessly as they waited for the car.