“Younger.”
“Is it just the two of you, or do you have other siblings?”
“I have four brothers and two sisters.”
Kenzie’s eyes flickered with surprise. “Geez. I hope you had more than one bathroom growing up.”
“We had two. Thanks for your concern.”
“No problem. Are you two close?”
“Yes. I’m his bodyguard.”
She nodded, seemingly considering my job.
I paused, thinking about my little white lie. I always said I was his bodyguard, but in reality, it was a title I’d given myself to justify my place on the tour and in Jake’s life. I knew my brother didn’t view me that way. No one did. I was just the kid brother who got a paycheck for being lucky enough to share a bloodline with a superstar.
“Actually, I’m not a bodyguard,” I blurted out, surprising myself with my honesty. What was it about Kenzie that made me want to dump my secrets in her lap? “I’m really just a mooch.”
“No, you’re not.”
“Yeah, actually, I am.”
She shook her head. “I don’t believe that. Your brother is lucky to have you.”
I scoffed.
Kenzie stopped and searched my face. “You don’t think so?”
“It’s more like he’s stuck with me and I’m fortunate to have a job.”
She considered my comment for a moment before saying, “You’re a lot more than you give yourself credit for. If I can see that, so can your brother.”
Kenzie’s words floored me. I’d always considered myself the lucky one to have Jake. Never had I thought that maybe he would feel that way about me.
“Why were you hiding the fact that you’re related to Jake?”
“I wasn’t hiding it. I just wasn’t announcing it to the world.”
She eyed me skeptically. “You were hiding it, don’t lie.”
This girl had me pegged. It was like she knew me better than I knew myself. She was starting to creep me out. “Okay, fine. Telling people who I’m related to puts a giant bull’s eye on my back. Obviously I was trying to avoid that.”
“No, I get it. I’d probably keep it quiet too if I were you.”
“Well, that’s what I was trying to do.” I protested. “But you kept harassing me.”
“Sorry,” she smiled. “I have to say, I think it would be cool to have a famous sibling. But at the same time, it would probably suck. I’m sure everyone you meet just wants to talk about him all the time.”
How did she know so much about me? My life was anything but an open book, yet she seemed to have been flipping through the pages for a while.
“Well, Jake’s a hell of a lot more interesting than I am, that’s for sure.”
“No offense, but I beg to differ,” she said, assuredly. “I think you’re very interesting.”
“No offense, but I think you’re delusional,” I scoffed.
“Do you do that a lot?” she asked, concern etched in her pretty features.
