She scrunches her nose and shakes her head. “No, sorry, you were a little unforgettable, honestly, so no, I don’t remember.”
Ouch. She is pissed.
“Kennedy, Ali needs that dress, now,” Clarice barks and Kennedy looks at me wide eyed.
“Kennedy? That’s your name?” I ask, suddenly feeling like I’ve hit the jackpot. I know her real name.
She waves me off, as if that revelation meant nothing.
“Anyway, Ben, some of us have work to do.” She turns on her heel without giving me a second look and marches off.
“It’s Beckett.” I yell like a fool, and she responds with a dismissive wave of her hand.
Well, looks like Operation 'Get Kennedy to forgive me' has just begun, because now she’s back in my orbit, I am not walking away again.
Chapter Fifteen
Kennedy Noelle
He’s here. Beckett is here and he now knows my name. What are the freaking chances of that happening? Nice one, universe. Not once, not twice, not three times, but four, four times this man has entered my life unexpectedly. I’d love to be able to jump into his arms and erase the pain of the last eleven months, but I am done with men treating me like dirt, like I am an afterthought, like I’m second best.
I can’t think of anything that could justify what he did, so his half-assed apology would fall on deaf ears because this girl is over it. No more deadbeat men for me.
“How does it look?” Ali says, spinning in a circle. She’s in a stunning violet colored strapless gown that’s shorter at the front and longer in the back. The train of the dress fans out as she walks, and her blonde hair drapes down her back in Hollywood curls.
“You look stunning, Ali.” I beam.
“Thank you. Can you keep a secret? I am nervous as hell. I haven't done this in so long.” She anxiously wrings her hands together.
“Hey,” I say, taking her hands into mine and giving them a squeeze. “You are amazing, you are beautiful, and the baddest bitch I know.”
Ali lets out a little chuckle, and her eyes water. It’s the first flicker of vulnerability I have seen from her. She comes across as a confident, takes no shit kinda woman, someone I truly look up to, but I guess even the most confident people have moments of self-doubt.
“Thank you, Ken. I’m so lucky to have you back here with me. Usually, Ria and Gabby are scooping me off the ground, so I am so grateful to have you here quite literally holding my hand.” She smiles softly as she speaks about her best friends.
“Anytime. Now, go strut down that runway like the queen that you are.”
Ali fans her face with her hands to stop the tears from free falling. “Okay, I can do this. How long do I have?”
I pull my phone from the back pocket of my skirt. “Erm about seven minutes.”
She rubs her hand around her neck and gasps. “Oh no, my necklace.”
“Your necklace?” I repeat back to her, my tone full of confusion.
“Yeah, Harry gave it to me. It’s kind of my good luck charm. I can’t go on the catwalk without it. I left it on the side.”
“You stay here. I’ll go get it.”
I take off with a slight jog, I weaving through the crowds, taking a shortcut down a corridor, knowing it will shave a minute off my time. People rush past me, and as I approach the exit I plan to use, a door swings open and a petite brunette in ared dress, who looks a lot like Gabby, exits a room being dragged by the hand by a tall, dark guy covered in tattoos.
What is she doing back here?
I don’t have a spare second to check; that’s a task for later. I push through the door, run down the narrow hall, and then flash my pass to the security guard and make my way into Ali’s dressing room.
As I rummage through the make up scattered around, something silver catches my eye, and I let out a sigh of relief when I spy the heart-shaped necklace with the letter H engraved on it. My heart flutters at the same time as my stomach sinks. What a thoughtful gift, and it occurs to me that Carson, or any man for that matter, has never given me anything like this. The only thing Carson gave me was a promise ring which, looking back, was a guilt gift because he kissed another girl.
I pick up the necklace between my fingers, careful not to snag the chain, and almost drop it when the sound of the door closing startles me.
