Because I’d looked too far ahead. Shit. I should’ve never considered going to Dallas with him in June when he hadn’t even asked. Thank God Devlin and the women’s arrival stopped me from bringing it up and embarrassing myself.
“Killian…” the girls sighed in unison. Must’ve spent hours practicing that.
Raising his hands, Killian pulled away from them. “Whoa, don’t come any closer. I’m not interested.”
The embarrassment stopped welling. Actually…it started to deflate.
“What?” Red tossed her perfectly curled scarlet hair over a shoulder. “But I have plans for us. My followers expect me to post something amazing. I promised and received over a thousand likes in two hours.”
Did she track how many likes she got on that post by the hour? That was sad. Dedicated…but sad.
“Take it up with Dev.” Killian’s tone was hard enough to scratch glass.
His unexpected reaction made me blink. He wasn’t interested in these women. Not even a little. He hadn’t taken a single peek at their breasts or other butts. In fact, from the set of his mouth, I’d say their presence actually irritated him.
Pleasure and relief started to unfurl. Maybe, just maybe, Killian was okay. He wasn’t like my dad—he seemed to have all the qualities I’d give my own romance heroes.
“Hey, don’t drag me into this,” Dev said. “I was trying to help you out of your funk, since you were reading junk like The Very Bossy Engagement and shit.”
I inhaled sharply. Based on how immersed he got in my stories, Killian would never call my books junk, but Devlin’s attitude was typical of people who knew nothing about romance. It grated badly, especially given the fact that he’d brought those women for Killian.
“Shut up, Dev,” Killian said, clearly annoyed.
“What? It’s not like I’m saying something that isn’t true.” Devlin rolled his eyes.
I should’ve puked on him. “Yeah, well, even if you believe that, you probably shouldn’t say it.”
He spared me a glance, a hint of stubbornness fleeting across his face. It was the same look that my dad got when he knew he was wrong but would rather die than admit it. “It isn’t like you wrote it.”
Killian closed his eyes briefly. “Actually, she did.”
“No, she didn’t. She said her name was Emily. Didn’t you say the author was Emma something?”
“Emily is Emma,” Killian said. “It’s her pen name.”
“Ohh…” Devlin’s eyes widened. It was comical how eloquently his expression said, Oh shit. “You should’ve told me that before.” He said it like it was one hundred percent Killian’s fault that he’d shoved his giant foot into his mouth.
“Well. At least now I know what you really think,” I said coolly, in my most evil corporate tone, the kind I’d used when I needed to let somebody know they were being terminated for poor job performance.
“Ah, don’t be mad,” Devlin said, all the chest-puffing bravado gone. “Killian, uh, forgot to mention he was doing you. Otherwise, I would’ve been much more polite.”
“Shut up, Devlin,” Killian said, trying to put a hand over the drummer’s mouth.
Devlin leaned away. “It’s true, man. You didn’t say you were banging Emily. I thought you wanted to bang Emma the chick-lit writer!”
I crossed my arms over my chest. It didn’t surprise me that Devlin knew Killian and I had had sex. He’d have to be braindead to miss the fact that I was wearing Killian’s shirt and boxers this time of the morning, and what that meant. Devlin might be prone to saying stuff he shouldn’t, but he seemed quick enough about things like sex and getting laid.
Killian stepped between me and Devlin. “I’m really sorry, Emily.”
“It’s okay,” I said, out of reflex, then stopped. Why was I saying that? To smooth things over? To make them feel better? To hang around with them and their Barbie Sextet?
“Actually, it’s not. I don’t feel okay at all. I think I’m going to get my things and go home now.” I waved in the general direction of the people. “Hope you have a great time together. We can talk later, Killian.”
Chapter Thirty-Two
Killian
Ah, fuck. Emily walked right past me to grab her purse, then marched out. She wasn’t bothering to get her dress and underwear, which were still in the bedroom. From the stiff way she was marching to her house, she had to be fantasizing about murdering me. Then Dev and the girls. What woman would be okay with this kind of mess thrown at her right after the first night together?
I should’ve known Dev would pull something like this. To him, women were nice, fun distractions, a great way to relax and rejuvenate. He didn’t understand why I liked Kingstree when it didn’t have a thousand fawning females rubbing their tits all over me everywhere I went. He’d said it was fine for when I was settled down with a wife, but until then, I shouldn’t be wasting my youth.
I jogged after Emily. Dev called out, “Hey, where you going?” but I ignored him.
“Emily, I’m sorry,” I said, slowing down to a walk next to her.
She didn’t respond.
“I didn’t think he’d show up like this. Or bring all those women. I certainly didn’t ask him to bring them. I also didn’t say your books were junk. He’s just being a dick. You know how much I love your writing.”
She kept marching, her eyes straight ahead. Every taut line of her body said she was too irritated to talk.
Shit. Anxiety like I’d never felt ran through me. It was worse than my first audition. Now Emily was never going to give our relationship a shot. I’d be lucky if she didn’t point and laugh when I asked her to consider coming to Dallas with me.
Damn it, Dev!
“I’ll kick his ass. Would that help? I’m faster and stronger than him. And then I can pack him and those girls up and send them back to Spain.”
When we reached her driveway, she stopped. “I know you didn’t have him come here with those women. And I’ve heard worse about what I write and my career, so I shouldn’t be this upset. But I am. I hate it that somebody as close to you as a band mate would say that about me. Or bring those women and be that insensitive when he had to know why I was at your place at this hour, dressed like this.” Her lips were pressed tight, and I hated the unblinking gaze—or the fact that she wasn’t looking at me. She was trying so hard to appear calm, but I could sense the tightly suppressed hurt.
Fuck. Emily took such pride in her work. I’d seen how hard she worked, and you only did that with things you cared about.
And the girls… Contrary to what Dev thought, they weren’t my type. People generally put too much stock in women’s cup size and hip-to-waist ratio. I also happened to care about brain size because I needed somebody I could talk to and laugh with.
Although I understood that Emily’s reaction to the women wasn’t completely out of bounds, I was vaguely disappointed that she considered me shallow enough to go stupid over a collection of silicone tits. Didn’t she know me better than that?
On the other hand… If her close friend had shown up with a group of aspiring male strippers the morning after we had sex for the first time, I might not have taken it too well either.