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“I know—it happened fast,” I say, tipping my champagne glass to my lips. Like David, I also can’t imagine Cheyanne bringing someone home to marry, but for an entirely different reason.
“She’s never talked about getting married, though.” He continues, “It’s like an afterthought to her.”
“Good for her,” David’s date says. “Your daughter is young and crazy talented. She doesn’t need anyone slowing her down.” She waves her hand before threading her fingers through one another.
There’s a long pause at the table. David and I look at each other confused. He shrugs.
“What about Brianna,” he says finally. “She thinking about bringing you a son-in-law one day?”
“Ah—man. Please. I feel for the poor bastard, whoever he turns out to be. My kid is tough to deal with.”
“Does she talk about it though? Getting married?”
I shake my head. “No.” David’s date raises her eyebrows and smirks.
“Well, maybe she’s too busy dating men like her handsome father.” I chuckle at her remark.
“Maybe,” I say before taking another sip of my champagne and stealing another glance at Cheyanne. This time I stare too long because our eyes meet for an embarrassing moment, and I get a full glimpse into her brilliantly intelligent eyes. Goddamn. Sheissexy.
I raise my glass to her. She returns the gesture.
Suddenly, my phone vibrates in my pocket. I quickly excuse myself from the table and step outside into the lobby to answer the call.
“Hello?” I say, holding my phone to my ear.
“Hey, it’s me,” my ex-wife says.
“What’s up?” I ask, trying to keep my voice calm.
“I need to talk to you,” she says.
“Now’s not a good time,” I reply, glancing back towards the ballroom. “I’m at a wedding.”
“It’s important,” Carmen insists.
“Fine. What is it?”
“Have you seen what the gossip vlogs are saying about Brianna? They’re blamingherfor Cheyanne leaving the group.” I frown. How is this importantright now?
“Cheyanne left the group because there was no longer a group. You know this, hon.”
“I do. But Brianna is developing a reputation. They’re saying she’s hard to work with—that’s not good for her right now. She needs to be loved by the public... not questioned.” Her voice is hoarse with frustration.
“Brianna’s fine. She’s here with me, and we’re having a great time.”
“Really? Whose wedding did you take my daughter to?” she asks.
“Ourdaughter,” I correct. “One of Bri’s high school friends.”
“High school? Is Cheyanne there?”
Goddamn. Not this shit again. “Carmen,” I snap, trying, but failing, to hide my annoyance. My ex’s refusal to stop fueling this rivalry between the girls irks the shit out of me. “The girls are adults now, and you need to get over this... jealousy you have with Cheyanne. For Christ’s sake. She was a child, Carmen.”
My voice drifts into a hushed whisper, “And I gotta go.”
I take a deep breath, hang up, and head back inside. David and his date are engrossed in conversation, so I slip back into my seat. My mind drifts back to Carmen. We hadn’t spoken in months, and I’d been hoping to keep it that way. I get it. Carmen still has trust issues with Cheyanne over something that happened when the girls were kids. An incident that resulted in Brianna having to sit out the first half of a regional tour David put together for the girls’ music group. It was their introduction to the music industry, and Carmen swore Cheyanne picked that fight on purpose. Ever since, Carmen has acted like Cheyenne was the devil out to steal our daughter’s spotlight. What my ex doesn’t seem to understand, though, is Cheyanne doesn’t need to steal anything from anyone. Especially the spotlight.
***
