The sparkle in her eyes died, and a bright red color streaked up her cheeks. "Right!" she said and turned and began putting down the cosmetics in her hands. "Is she on tour with Daphne?"

"She is Daphne," he said, still grinning. "Think she'll like the car?"

Her mouth formed that little O again, and she blinked at him. For a moment, she looked unhappy, but she hid it with a smile. "I should have guessed it was Daph. Men are crazy about her."

Men? Cade kept the smile on his face, though it was growing difficult. He wanted to ask Kylie if Daphne had a lot of men she was seeing, but that would be pointless to ask, wouldn't it? He hadn't seen her in months. If she was dating someone, so be it. Whatever it was between Daphne and Cade, it wasn't easily categorized. It wasn't a relationship. It wasn't exactly just friendship, either. It was . . . well, it was a mess. A big, uncategorizable mess.

Usually he was fine with not giving it a label. But he supposed that had changed after that screwed up night in the cabin. Everything had pretty much changed between them.

"Daphne's going to be so happy to see you," Kylie continued, staring down at the makeup she was arranging in the case in front of her.

"I certainly hope so," Cade said, trying to keep his tone light and carefree. "So what do you do here? Are you on tour with Daph? One of her backup singers?"

Kylie shook her head. "I can't sing as much as I croak," she told him with a funny little smile. "I'm her makeup artist." She gestured at the boxes and boxes of makeup, more than any sane person could wear in a lifetime. "She usually needs refreshing after getting off stage, and tonight she's going to want to look extra-special for the press, so I'm trying to get ready in advance." She gave him a nervous smile. "It gives me something to do, at least."

She smoothed her hands down her dark capris, and he realized she was, in fact, nervous. "Want a drink? I can get you one from the bar," he asked.

Kylie tilted her head at him and then gave a small shake of her blond mane with the little flecks of color. "I'm on the job, so I shouldn't drink. But you can have one on my behalf."

"Fair enough," Cade said, and downed the rest of his bourbon. He wasn't much of a drinker himself, but tonight felt . . . off and he wanted the liquid courage. "How long until the show's over, do you think?"

She tilted her head, and he was struck again by how pretty she was. "Let's see, she's singing Hopeless' right now, so she has about three more songs until she's done, then there's the encore, and then she'll pop back here so I can fix her up, and then she has press. Then meet and greets. After that, she should be free."

He glanced at his watch. It was already past ten thirty at night. Not that he was going to go to bed early or anything, but it sounded as if Daphne was pretty much busy up until midnight. Why had she asked to see him?

But at least she had said she'd see him. Cade shook his head and took another drink of his bourbon. For the last eight months, she'd been giving him the runaround. If he got answers from her at three in the morning, he'd take them.

Kylie fiddled with the latch on one of her cases and then glanced over at him through thick lashes. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Of course."

"It's nosy."

He smiled, curious as to what she'd ask. Was she going to flirt with him more? Was it disturbing how much he liked that idea? "I don't mind-ask away."

"Is Daphne expecting you?"

That . . . wasn't what he'd expected her to ask. "She is. She asked me to come tonight. Had her assistant send me tickets."

"Ah." Kylie shook her head as if to clear it. "Right. I'm sure she'll be thrilled to see you."

But she didn't look convinced. In fact, it looked as if she were avoiding his gaze. Cade's stomach clenched and he wanted to ask Kylie if Daphne was still having problems. But he also didn't want to force Kylie to choose between her employer and him, so he simply drained his bourbon and went back to the bar for another.

And he waited for Daphne. He was already here, after all. Might as well see what shook out.

By the time the crowd roared and the lights flashed backstage to indicate that things were wrapping up outside, Cade had downed a few too many bourbons. It wasn't like him, but anything involving Daphne made him lose all common sense. He shook his head and drained his glass again, then set it on the bar. No more.

He watched Kylie instead. He could watch her all night, really. She was lively and feminine and cheery all the time. She refused all drinks and offers of drugs with a polite smile, and didn't seem bothered by the fact that they were around her and she couldn't-or wouldn't-partake.

Why couldn't Daphne be more like her? Settled, content, and fun to be around? He was drawn to Kylie repeatedly throughout the night, but had to force himself not to continue bothering her when it was clear she was one of Daphne's crew and on the job. But he liked her. Just her warm, friendly presence here soothed him, and he was definitely feeling a little rattled overall.

People began to flood through the back doors and Cade got to his feet, straightening his tie and then shoving his hands into the worn pockets of his sport jacket. He tried to catch a glimpse of Daphne amongst the crowd of sweaty people flooding into the room, dressed in wild stage costumes, but the colored wigs and towels being flung about made it hard for him to decipher who was who.

"Everyone out," an assistant bellowed. "Everyone clear the room to let Miss Petty change! Go wait in the hall. Press, that includes you."

Just like that, the crowd filed toward the door. Even the bartender got up from the bar and left. Cade moved forward to Kylie's side, because he didn't want to be shuffled out with the rest of the crew. He was a personal friend, damn it. Daphne'd invited him. He wasn't part of the riffraff.

"Is it necessary for me to go wait in the hall, too? I know Daphne's expecting me."

Kylie bit one of her plump red lips, and again, he had to fight back a surge of lust at the sight of her. Why was she so utterly perfect in his eyes? Or was it just the alcohol and the fact that he was about to see Daphne that had his dick constantly springing to attention? "I'm not sure," Kylie said. "She might not want to see you just yet."

"I've seen her in all kinds of situations," Cade told her. Hell, he'd gone skinny dipping with Daphne when they were kids, and they'd been each other's first sex partner. "I'm pretty sure I can handle her sweaty and messy."

Again, Kylie bit her lip, and then she gestured for him to sit in a nearby chair. "Wait here and I'll ask Snoopy."

"Snoopy?"

"Her assistant." Kylie gave him a dimpled smile before turning and heading off, and he tilted his head to watch her ass move as she left, which was probably terrible of him because he was here waiting for Daphne.

Had to be the bourbon. Had to.

He watched as Kylie approached another woman and talked. The other woman looked worried and wrung her hands, then shook her head. Kylie continued talking even as people moved through the room. The assistant looked nearly in tears, and she kept gesturing about something. What was going on?

Cade got his answer a few moments later. "Marco?" A familiar voice bellowed. "Where the fuck is Marco?" The double doors leading to the stage slammed open and down came Daphne, stick thin and looking wilted in her now-sweaty costume. Her black wig was askew and her makeup was smeared on her face. Her eyes looked hollow and even as she thumped down the stairs, he could tell she was unwell.

His heart sank to his feet.

She also looked pissed. "Where the fuck is Marco?" Daphne asked in that shrill voice again. "I'm done acting like the performing monkey. Now where are my fucking drugs?"

And with that, ice formed in Cade's belly.

Had he hoped that Daphne had changed? He should have known-she never changed. Anger, frustration, and disappointment warred for dominance in Cade's mind.

Mostly, though? He was tired of this. He was tired of Daphne's shit. Her empty promises. Her unwillingness to give up the drugs.

This wasn't what he'd signed on for, that was for damn sure.

- The air in the room had gotten incredibly tense, or so it seemed to Kylie. She held a small fan in front of Daphne's face as the singer guzzled ice water and tried to stop sweating. She was in an odd mood-a mix of exuberance at how the performance had gone and flashes of crankiness. She was also unable to sit still, no matter how much Kylie chided her. Kylie had cleaned Daphne's face of her performance makeup, but if she wanted a fresh face of makeup for her interviews, she'd need to stop fidgeting and stop sweating.

And neither seemed to be happening anytime soon.

Even now, Daphne's foot hammered impatiently on the floor. "You said I could see Marco," she snapped at Kylie.

"Your manager said you could see Marco," Kylie corrected, blotting at the sweat on Daphne's forehead. "I need to fix your makeup first."

"Yeah, well, I need my fix. Why's it so hot in here?" She fanned her face and twitched in her chair.

This was clearly going to be a losing battle. "Let me see what I can do to get you out of the chair, at least."

The pop star was too jumpy for delicate work, so Kylie settled for foundation and some airbrushed makeup across Daphne's face, and Kylie highlighted her eyes and put on a bit of peachy gloss so the pop star looked somewhat healthy. There wasn't much she could do for Daphne's veiny, bruised arms, so she just ignored them. "Okay. Done with you."

"Great," Daphne said, sliding out of her chair. "Now we can party all night long." She winked at Kylie, her good mood returning. "You want some blow, Fat Marilyn?"

"I'll pass," Kylie said. She nodded her head at the man in the suit that sat on the couch-Cade. "Your friend's been waiting there for you for a few hours." And he's cute. And he brought you a pink car. And you need to hit that like, yesterday.

Daphne waved at Cade from afar. "Hey, babe!"

He got to his feet, his expression concerned. "Daph-"

"Can't talk right now," she told him, heading for the door. "I have media interviews and then I have to find Marco. I'll catch up with you in a bit!"

"Wait," he began, reaching out to her.

She gave him a little wave and then bounded out the door of the greenroom. Immediately the crowd waiting outside began to murmur, and Kylie was left alone with Cade. His expression was stricken.

Poor guy. He was too nice to be treated like this. Too nice, and far too yummy.

"I'm sure she'll be back soon," she told him, keeping a bright smile on her face. "Hang in there."

He watched the door for a moment longer, then shoved his hands in his pockets and looked over at Kylie. "Before or after she gets her drugs, do you suppose?"

Ouch. She winced, hating that he could see the truth even through Kylie's sunny words. "I'm sorry. I don't know."

"Yeah. Me either." He rubbed his face and then gave her a faint, unhappy smile. "Join me for a drink?"

She shook her head. "I should probably stay sober, just in case she needs me."

A wry, self-deprecating look crossed his face. "Funny, I thought the same thing when I got here. Now I think I need a really tall, really strong drink."

He went back to the bar and helped himself.

FIVE.

Marco must have given Daphne some good shit, Kylie decided with a yawn. It was nearly three in the morning and she was still partying hard. In the center of the greenroom, she danced to music and hung off of Marco's well-muscled arm, laughing. Her other dancers were partying with her, and almost everyone had a bottle of some sort of alcohol in their hands, never mind what they were running off to the bathroom to snort. The greenroom had filled up again, and most of the behind-the-scenes staff had headed back to the hotel for some sleep before the buses left in the morning.

Cade was still seated at the bar, by himself, slowly nursing a drink. He watched Daphne, but never made a move to approach her.

Kylie had stuck around despite the late hour, because Cade was still there and she felt, well, sorry for him. Here was this great guy, waiting on Daphne, clearly insane about her, and she was blowing him off to party with Marco because Marco had good drugs. It wasn't like Marco wouldn't have drugs every night of the tour, Kylie thought grumpily. Heck, it wasn't like Marco wasn't at Daphne's side constantly since she'd hired him as one of her dancers.

But ignoring Cade, who was clearly there for Daphne and only Daphne? It bothered Kylie. Here was this perfect, nice, sexy man and Daphne was just throwing him away. Maybe she had a soft heart for good-looking guys or maybe she was just fixated on how nice he'd been to her. Either way, she didn't like it.

"I need another hit," Daphne called out, laughing and twirling around Marco. She wrapped her arms about his neck and planted a kiss on his mouth. "Come on, I'll be good to you."

Marco tilted his head, clearly pretending to consider it. "I don't know . . ."

Daphne gave another wild giggle and dropped to her knees in front of him. "I'll be really good-"

The crowd erupted into laughter.

Cade jerked to his feet. He snatched his keys off of the bar-the keys that had a bow on them, ready to gift Daphne with a present if she'd only paid the slightest bit of attention to him-and headed for the door.

Kylie's heart clenched and she grabbed her purse, following after him. He'd been drinking for most of the night and she couldn't let him leave. Not like this. Not without someone else driving him home to make sure he was safe.

Not without someone apologizing for Daphne's shitty behavior and letting him know that they cared that he'd been hurt.

She ran and caught up with him down the long hall leading out to the parking lot. His shoulders were slumped, but he was walking in a straight line, at least. It didn't matter-she knew he'd drank quite a bit. "Cade?" she called. "Are you okay?"

He kept walking, his hands shoved into his pockets.

"I'm sorry," she said, falling into step next to him. "I'm told she's not like this when she's clean."

He paused and looked over at her. "How long have you worked for Daphne?"

"A month now."

"Have you ever seen her clean?" There was a wealth of pain in his eyes.

Kylie bit her lip. Should she lie to make him feel better?

A faint smile tugged at his mouth. "Your hesitation tells me everything I need to know."

"I'm sorry," she said again, even as he began to walk again. She started to walk, too, unwilling to let him leave.

"Why are you sorry? You haven't touched a thing all night. I noticed that, just like I noticed her behavior."

So he'd been watching her? Kylie's skin prickled with forbidden pleasure. "I feel like someone should try and apologize for her."

He laughed and shook his head. "That someone should be Daphne, but we both know that won't happen."

Kylie said nothing, just kept walking alongside him. If anyone needed a friend tonight, it was Cade, and she wasn't leaving his side. Daphne had enough sycophants-and drugs-to keep her busy until dawn.

"Thing is," Cade said in a low voice, "I know Daphne. I know how exciting and warm and wonderful she can be when she's clean. She's brilliant. I think that's why I've always loved her." He looked over at Kylie, and there was sadness in his beautiful eyes. "But that's not the woman I saw tonight. I'm starting to wonder if she's gone for good."

"Don't give up," Kylie said. Her heart ached for him, for the pain she saw in his eyes.

"I've held on for years wondering when it's the right time to give up," Cade said, voice soft. "I'm getting tired of wondering. I think it's time to move on with my life, and let Daphne go. For good."

"She's still going to need friends," Kylie cautioned. "I imagine when she wakes up from whatever it is she's doing to herself, she's going to need people she can trust."

"If any of them are left." Cade shook his head and looked over at Kylie. "I've known her for so long. I shouldn't be surprised by anything she does and yet every time I see her . . . it still hurts."