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“Point made.”
“Almost finished,” Katrina said, grinning at their easy exchange, wishing she didn’t feel so helpless, so lost, so confused when it came to this little girl who turned to her with a wide smile showing dimples that matched her father’s.
There was nothing about this girl that looked like her mother.
Still, it hurt Katrina’s heart knowing how she came to be.
Lorenzo leaned close to Katrina, so close she could feel his breath on her cheek, and chills spread over her. “Please call Emily,” he said, and she nodded, knowing she had to.
“I will,” she replied.
“Can I go meet the band now? This is exciting! I haven’t met a band before. I met a cellist, but that’s way different. Are they rockstars?”
The little girl’s excited chatter fell away as Lorenzo led her out of the office and back towards what he’d called the green room, leaving Katrina alone to make a phone call that she didn’t want to.
“What?” was how Emily answered the phone.
“Miranda is here,” Katrina said, one hand massaging her temple that was beginning to pound. Speaking of temples, Miranda had been so excited that she left her drink behind.
“Where exactly would that be?” Emily asked, her tone ominous. “And you better not say—”
“Cade’s,” Katrina cut her off. “She’s at Cade’s. She said her driver brought her here, but I’m not sure if he stayed. I just wanted you to know.”
“That she ran off to a dive bar? Wonderful. This will look great at the hearing.”
“Children are allowed here until eleven,” Katrina said, keeping her composure.
“My sister has no business being there.”
“But she’s not really your sister, is she?”
There was a moment of silence before Emily spoke again. “I’m on my way,” was all she said, then the line was dead.
“Perfect,” Katrina mumbled as she put her phone in her back pocket. “Wonderful.”
She picked up Miranda’s drink and set off to find this green room, which was located behind the stage. Before she could knock, Jackie was by her side.
“Here,” the big, burly man said with a grin. “Is that your daughter?”
“No,” Katrina said softly, murmuring her thanks as Jackie let her inside, where Miranda stood near Lorenzo, wide-eyed.
“My friends are never going to believe this,” she was saying. “This is so cool! Do you know my dad?”
“We’ve met,” Jase Warner replied with a grin.
“Can I get a picture?” Miranda asked quickly, pulling out a cellphone most nine-year-olds shouldn’t have, but things moved different in Miranda’s world.
In Emily’s world.
In what had once been Katrina’s world.
“Oh,” Miranda said with a frown. “Emily’s on her way.”
“Don’t worry about that right now,” Lorenzo said soothingly. “I’ll take your picture.” He took the phone from his daughter and snapped the photo.
Katrina could only stand there watching as the two of them, along with Jase, admired the picture, talked about how Miranda reminded Jase of his daughters.
She felt so out of place.
