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“Hey, remember New York, last year?” EJ asks. “And the Victoria’s Secret after-party.”
“Wow,” I say, rolling my eyes.
“Oh, I remember that,” Cece chimes in, laughing. “It was on the home page of Page Five for like a week. Wasn’t the headline something like, ‘King of Bad Defiles Angels’?”
Pinching the bridge of my nose, I can’t believe this is happening.
“Maddox, we’re just kidding. It’s not like it isn’t common knowledge,” Jade says.
“Great,” I grumble.
“Okay, we should probably get back to work,” Derrik interjects.
“Uh-huh, you couldn’t have said that two minutes ago?” I shake my head at him.
Cece laughs, getting up from her spot, waving at the rest of them. “This was great, thanks for inviting me. Maddox, walk me out?”
“Yeah, fine,” I add, still embarrassed and annoyed.
Strolling through the hallway of the building, I don’t know if I should bring up the Victoria’s Secret party, the mega party that happened before it, or any of my other highly publicized nights out as the bad boy of the Kings of Karmichael.
Once we get toward the front, the valet sees her coming and hurries away to get her car. “You’re awfully quiet over there, Maddy,” she teases with a grin.
“Well, I got roasted pretty good back there.”
“True.” Turning to face me, her arms circle around my neck. “But then again, it’s nothing I didn’t already know about the King of Bad. Well, mostly.”
Her light brown eyes never leave me, and I smile, even though I still feel like this lunch was nothing more than my band telling her all the reasons she shouldn’t trust me. “Cece, I know I make the rounds in all the gossip papers weekly. I know my rep and everything that comes with it. But—”
“Maddox, stop.” She puts a finger to my lips. “Do I know who the websites and the paparazzi have shown since you guys have blown up? Yeah, I do.” I nod, feeling like she’s about to burst this happy little bubble I’ve been living in with her. “But I also know the guy who pretended like he wasn’t a superstar with my brother and was nice to him. Who’s been trying to convince me that this Maddox”—she puts her finger in my chest—“is the real Maddox. Maddy,” she says again with a smile. “You did it.”
“What?”
“Made me believe the King of Bad is just a role, and the real guy is someone I never would’ve thought in a million years would blush. Maddox Barkley embarrassed by something his sister teases him about?” She feigns shock, bringing her hand to her mouth, then giggles. “You called me Baby Mavin, so you know I obviously have a past. Granted, it’s not as prolific as yours.” She laughs. “But this guy you’re showing me? The real one? That’s who I want to be with.”
I let out a long sigh of relief that I didn’t realize I was holding back. Pulling her closer, a grin floats across my lips. “And that’s who you’ll always get.”
