“And I told you, I’ll handle Daphne.”
Thing was, Kylie wasn’t sure Daphne could be handled. But she didn’t disagree again. The waitress arrived with the wine and a silver bucket full of ice, and made a big show of uncorking while chattering about the menu and tonight’s specials. They were both quiet as wine was poured. Then they took their glasses, gave a tiny, awkward toast, and sipped.
It was utterly delicious: rich and full-bodied and just a hint of sweet. She took another sip just because it was so good. “This is lovely.”
They ordered surf and turf since neither one of them was familiar with fondue, and the waitress eventually set down a pot on a burner in front of them, filled it with cheese, and gave them an assortment of breads and vegetables to dip, and several skewers for them to use.
Kylie tried to skewer a baby carrot and failed. “I . . . don’t think I’m very good at this.”
Cade chuckled and speared a piece of bread, dipping it into the sauce. “How about I just feed you instead?”
She squirmed uncomfortably in her chair. The hot guy feeding the fat chick? How was that going to look? Ugh. She glanced around and for the first time noticed that this entire side of the restaurant was deserted. “Boy, they’re not very busy tonight, are they?”
“I offered to pay a premium if they left these tables empty,” Cade said, dipping the bread into the cheese and then lifting the entire thing toward Kylie’s mouth. “Now, open up.”
“Cade,” she protested, “really—”
“If you don’t, I won’t fund an orphanage in China.”
She began to laugh despite herself. “Do you use that line every time?”
“Yes. Now open up.”
Obediently she did, and to her surprise, he plucked the bread off the skewer and placed it gently between her lips, his fingers brushing against her mouth. Okay, that was sexy. Just like that, she felt another charge of desire ricochet through her. She swallowed and then quickly reached for her wine again. She shouldn’t be doing this. Really, really shouldn’t. When he attempted to feed her another piece, she waved him off and pretended to focus on her wine . . . which wasn’t so difficult, since it was rather yummy. “This wine is incredible.”
“I’d hope so at five hundred a bottle.”
Kylie choked, just a little. “Did you say . . . five hundred?” Jesus. No wonder it was so heavenly. She eyed the bottle. Cade’s glass was still nearly full and he wasn’t drinking much. She’d feel like an ass if they didn’t drink all of it, so she picked up the bottle and refilled both of their glasses. “You have to drink with me, then.”
He lifted his glass to her. “Bottoms up?”
“Sounds good.” She clinked her glass to his and took another healthy sip.
“So,” he said, after taking a drink. “How is the tour going?”
“Onstage or offstage?”
“The fact that you have to qualify that makes me worried.” Cade’s handsome face drew into a frown. “Has she been sick a lot, then?”
“Sick?” Kylie took another healthy sip of the wine. It really was delicious. “I don’t recall her being sick.”
“She smoking a lot?”
Funny . . . she didn’t recall that, either. “Not sure. Why?”
“She likes to smoke when she’s trying to wean herself off the drugs. Has her personal doctor been in to check on her?”
Kylie shrugged. “I’d have to ask Snoopy.”
“Snoopy?” Cade’s lips twitched. “Is that really her name?”
“Not exactly,” she said. “Do you not know about Daphne’s nicknames for everyone?”
“What nicknames?”
“She has a hard time remembering names so she gives us new ones.” Kylie picked at a piece of bread absently. “I think Snoopy got her name because Daphne jokes that she treats her like a dog.”
“That’s . . . terrible.” He looked rather shocked.
“I kind of thought so, too, but everyone seems to just accept it, so what can you do? Whatever Daphne does, everyone turns a blind eye to it.” She was a little surprised he didn’t know about some of Daphne’s bad behavior. If they were as close as she’d thought, wouldn’t he know more about how she acted on tour? The tantrums she threw on a daily basis?
But he was still frowning and looked uncomfortable. “She has nicknames for . . . everyone?”
Kylie nodded, dipping a piece of bread.
“So what does she call you?”
She suddenly felt awkward, staring at the cheese-dipped bread in her hand. “Uh . . . so she calls me Fat Marilyn.”
“She what?”
Kylie dropped the bread on her plate, embarrassed. “Fat Marilyn. I guess because I was dressed retro so she thought I looked like Marilyn Monroe? And fat for obvious reasons.”
His jaw clenched. “She called you that the other day. I thought I misheard. And it doesn’t bother you?”
Oh, it bothered her. But no one went against Daphne. Not when she was the headliner. “It’s not a big deal, really.”
“It is a big deal.” He ran a hand over his chin. “I’m going to talk with her. She has no right to rename you based on what she perceives as a flaw.”
“Oh no, please don’t.” The last thing she wanted was to get more of Daphne’s attention. But when his nostrils flared, she realized he was actually really furious. Wow. “Cade. Please.” She put her hand back on his. “For me, all right?”