She nodded, even though he couldn’t see her. “I will.”
“I’ll have my assistant send the details. No pressure but I hope you say yes.”
Before she could change her mind, Kylee whispered, “I have to go,” and hung up.
Her fingers were trembling. Her world spinning. Half-time was over, and Kylee slipped back into the stands, trying to calm the flush in her cheeks and the pounding in her chest. She barely had a chance to catch her breath when Cassie nudged her with a teasing grin.
“Damn girl,” Cassie smirked, “you stray off to have phone sex with that sexy husband of yours or what?”
Taylor laughed beside her, “You were gone long enough.”
Kylee forced a laugh, her stomach twisting. “Something like that,” she muttered, eyes drifting back toward the field, but her mind was still a thousand miles away in L.A., on a stage, wrapped in the sound of Rio’s voice.
Cassie winked. “Whatever you're doing to keep him that hot and loyal, write a book. The rest of us are dying out here.”
Kylee smiled tightly, but inside, the guilt cracked deeper. They didn’t know. Nobody did. She wasn’t even sure if she cared anymore.
Kylee got home just as the sun dipped behind the trees, casting the kitchen in warm amber light. The house was quiet except for the hum of the dishwasher and the distant sound of the kids playing in their room. She slipped off her shoes, pulled her hair into a loose bun, and started dinner chopping vegetables more aggressively than necessary, her thoughts still spinning.
By the time the casserole was in the oven, her hands were clean but her conscience wasn’t. She dried them on a towel and grabbed her phone, hesitating a moment before tapping Kelly’s name.
Kelly answered on the first ring, her voice already loud and suspicious. “What’s up, lady?”
Kylee cleared her throat. “I, uh… I talked to Rio.”
Dead silence. Then a gasp.
“Bitch?!?! Are you serious?!”
Kylee laughed nervously, sinking into the kitchen chair. “He asked me to come to his L.A. show. Said he’d take care of everything.”
Kelly let out a shriek on the other end. “You’re telling me we’ve been personally invited to another show… in L.A.… and you didn’t immediately pack a bag?”
Kylee rubbed her forehead. “I don’t know, Kel. It’s a lot. I have the kids, Jake”
“Oh please,” Kelly cut in. “Jake has his nurse-slash-girlfriend. The kids will survive a couple days with their dad. Kylee, this is once in a lifetime again! You’re being handed something that doesn’t happen to moms from Idaho.”
“I know,” Kylee whispered, eyes drifting to the oven, “I just… I’m not sure I trust myself this time.”
Kelly’s voice softened. “Maybe that’s exactly why you need to go.”
Kylee didn’t answer. She didn’t have to. Her silence said everything.
Kylee stood at the counter, phone still to her ear, when she heard the front door open. Jake’s keys jingled on the hook, and his familiar footsteps echoed through the foyer.
“I gotta go,” she said quickly into the phone. “He’s home. But by the way it’s not we it’s only me” she laughed as she hung up the phone.
Kylee ended the call and tucked her phone into her back pocket just as Jake stepped into the kitchen, loosening his tie.
“Who were you talking to?” he asked, leaning in to kiss her cheek.
“Kelly,” Kylee said casually, reaching for a dish towel. “She actually had some exciting news.”
Jake chuckled, grabbing a water bottle from the fridge. “You two still have stuff to talk about after that trip? What now?”
Kylee smiled, trying to sound nonchalant. “She entered a contest for some concert giveaway or something for Bleeding Halos and she won. Two tickets to their L.A. show.”
Jake raised an eyebrow. “Seriously? That’s kinda wild. Are you thinking about going with her?”
