The Price of Fame (7 page)

“Oh, Markus, I’m sure she’ll understand if she loves you, and from the video clip of you together and the way she looks at you, I’d say she does. She would be crazy not to. I’ll let you go and sort this out. Your father and I are very proud of you. Love you.”

“Thanks, bye.” He hung up and debated who to call first, Kylie or his manager to find out what the hell was going on.

The choice of his manager won. “Please tell me ‘My One and Only’ wasn’t released to the public.”

“Fuck. I was trying to get it sorted out before you came up for air. It was leaked only hours after you sent it to your girlfriend. I was going to call you today. I have the record company telling me you’re going to perform it at the awards show. I have the awards show ringing and begging for you to do it. I’ve been fending off magazines and TV programs, all offering big bucks for you to go on their show. It’s in the top ten in America. I don’t think I can contain it. I’ve been trying.”

Markus roared into the phone, picked up the closest thing to him, and threw it. “Get me a flight to Sydney, and pray she forgives me because, otherwise, you’re fired.” He heard his manager trying to interrupt. “If you mention the awards ceremony or anything else related to this industry, I will fire you right now. Get me a flight now!”

Ending the call, he got in his car and drove to the airport, calling Kylie. Swearing when she didn’t answer either of her phones, he sped up, praying she would see him.

* * * *

Kylie sat in her house with all the blinds shut and her home and mobile phones both going to voice mail. She’d gotten home on Sunday from her dancing class and was still in the mood for music. So she’d turned on the TV to MTV and danced for a while, cleaning her floors and doing the washing up until a very familiar song came on. Not believing what she was hearing, she wandered out to stare at the TV, freezing at the sight before her. She triple checked to make sure her DVD player hadn’t been switched on.

He’d lied to her. Tears slid down her cheeks, and she used the dishtowel to wipe her eyes. Her heart sank, and her body felt heavy at Markus’ betrayal. Kylie watched as snapshots of them together came up, along with the bad footage the old couple had taken for them. Starting to feel sick, she ran to her bathroom and emptied her stomach before she crawled to her bedroom, where she sat, feeling numb. She wouldn’t, couldn’t, move.

Her brain went wild with crazy thoughts. Why would Markus do this? He knew she wasn’t one for attention. He knew she didn’t want that song released. It was supposed to be for her ears only.

Kylie didn’t know how long she sat there in a trance-like state. She didn’t come around until Gemma and James both came in, arguing with each other.

“She should get her passport and go to him.” Gemma glared at James, who snorted.

“No way is she going wherever in hell that dickhead is. I got bombarded with media calls, and I know you did too. Kylie hates being in the spotlight.”

“She does your charity gigs for you just fine.”

“You don’t see her before she goes on. It takes hours to calm and soothe her.”

She turned to face them and yelled, “Shut up, both of you!” They stared at her, both mumbling apologies.

Gemma wrapped her arms around Kylie. “How about you go get a shower, and we’ll all go for a walk along the beach? I’ll even put up with that idiot over there for a while.”

Staring at her two closest friends, she nodded and slowly walked to the bathroom.

After her shower, she felt more herself and was surprised to find James and Gemma not arguing but opening her curtains and getting Buddha ready for his walk. James handed her a bottle of water, and they all walked out of her house. When they headed opposite the direction she usually went, she wondered what they were up to.

After a couple of minutes, she figured out they were taking her to another beach. They were avoiding the beach that was now famous, thanks to Markus.

Gemma finally broke the silence. “Maybe something happened, and it was leaked without his permission. It is a hot song.” Gemma nudged her and smiled. “Wow, I didn’t know he could sing like that. I love the accent.” Gemma stopped when Kylie shot her a glare.

James snarled. “Shut it, Gemma. He shouldn’t have done it in the first place.”

This time Kylie shot the glare at James. “Look, just shut up about it, both of you.” She felt bad for snapping at them when they were trying to cheer her up. “Let’s go out tonight. I have to get out of the house. I need to not think about it all for a while.”

Gemma let out a moan. “I wish I could, but I have to work. Crap, don’t worry, I’ll get out of it—”

James butted in. “It’s okay. Go to work. I can go, Kylie. I just have to move things around, but it will be cool. Dinner, movie, sound good?”

Kylie smiled at her friends, feeling better for the first time in days.

* * * *

Kylie was feeling human again. She’d been to dinner and gone to a movie and was now cuddling James on her sofa, laughing about stuff they’d done and the new gossip going around the dancing circuit.

“I’ve been waiting for you to be ready to start dating again.”

Her laughter died, and she sat up, moving to face James.

“I didn’t think you were this serious with this guy. I haven’t seen anyone since you said you were interested in a man a few weeks ago.”

She froze as he leaned in and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear.

“There’s a reason I haven’t slept with anybody else. It’s because I’ve been waiting for you. I love you, Kylie.”

James’ mouth came down on hers as she let out a shocked gasp. His tongue snuck in, and he moved her onto his lap, which spurred her into action. Pushing against his chest, she detached her mouth and slapped his face.

She jumped up, yelling, “What the hell did you do that for, you idiot? Why would you ruin what we have? I’m in a relationship, and I love you like a broth—” Her words froze as she looked up to see a very angry man stalking towards them. “Markus.”

Chapter 7

Markus had gotten on a plane and barely stopped. He’d phoned on his six-hour plane layover and organized a car for when he arrived in Sydney. He had spoken to his record company, family, manager, and the awards ceremony organizers. As soon as he got off the plane in Sydney, he jumped in a car and drove as fast as he could to get to Kylie.

Arriving at her house, not even bothering to pop into his place to shower and change, he let himself in, pausing at the laughter. Moving closer to hear what was going on, he froze at the sight before him. James sat on the sofa, and Kylie sat snuggling up to him as they joked about their dancing stuff. It wasn’t what he expected to see when he’d rushed here, and his anger came back full force.

He stood unsure for a moment before he stalked toward them, fuming when James sat Kylie on his lap and kissed her. Markus saw Kylie pushing at James, trying to get away. He watched her struggle until she finally freed herself and slapped him, turning on him and yelling, only to freeze when she saw him.

“Markus.”

Markus saw her slowly take in his disheveled look, his clenched fists, and his rigid jaw. A slow smile spread across Kylie’s face as though she didn’t care what he looked like. She ran to him, jumping on him, kissing him all over.

All Markus’ anger disappeared as their lips touched, their tongues met, and he gripped her to him. Pulling away from her mouth, he panted. “
Omorphoula, ékhasa pára polý. Anèsykhoýsa gia esás. Egô den ennoô gia to video gia na vgoyn. Eíkhe klapeí khòrís tè dikê moy ádeia
.”

She frowned and cocked her head to the side. “I only understood the beautiful part because you were speaking too fast.” She trailed her fingers over his cheek.

Capturing her fingers and kissing each one, he repeated slowly in English, “Beautiful, I missed you so much. I was worried about you. I didn’t mean for the video to come out. It was stolen without my permission.”

A huff sounded behind them, and he turned to see James glaring at him. He let go of Kylie, thinking she would slide down off him as he walked toward James, but she clung to him.

“Don’t. Let’s go. He didn’t know how I felt about you. Leave him. He’s still my friend. Please.”

He glared at James, who still sat on the sofa staring at Kylie’s back with a look of longing. James must have felt his gaze because his eyes shot up to meet Markus’, and he stood, giving him a deadly stare. Taking a step toward him, angry that he’d kissed Kylie knowing she was in a relationship, Markus was stopped by small hands pushing at his chest.

Kylie’s eyes moved frantically between the two of them. “Please, please don’t fight.” She stroked his face. “Let’s go to your place. I want to welcome you properly.” Not letting him answer, she covered his mouth with hers and moved her hands under his shirt, stroking his chest.

Gripping her ass again, Markus couldn’t help glancing over at James, who stood with a look of longing and pain as he glared at Kylie’s back. James noticed him watching again, but this time, he just nodded and turned his back on them. Shrugging off the tiny bit of guilt, he pulled Kylie closer to him and walked out the door.

“Okay,
omorphoula
, let’s go to my place. I could use some help cleaning those hard-to-reach places.”

She chuckled as they walked out, ignoring the growl from behind them.

* * * *

Showered, they lay on his bed. Kylie caressed his chest, and the talk they’d been putting off came to a head. “How did they get it?”

“I’m having it looked into, but they think a technician or cleaning staff. It could have been anyone.”

She looked up at him and traced his lips. “What can you do? It’s too late to get it off the air, but could you change the clip?”

He kissed her palm, and then he let out a sigh as he thought out his answer. “I could, we could, only problem is that it would make it more popular. Everyone wants a copy of what they shouldn’t have. I’ll do it for you. It’s just…”

Kylie frowned and rolled off him. He tried to hold her to him, but she avoided him. She grabbed his shirt and walked out.

Markus lay for a moment, debating whether he should go after her, or stay and wait for her to come to him. Letting out a moan, he pulled boxers on and went searching.

Kylie was sitting on the balcony, looking out at the ocean. Markus picked her up, placing her on his lap as he sat in her spot. He stroked her hair, and she leaned into him.

“I’ll come to Greece this time if you want.”

He spun her so she straddled his lap, her knees resting on the chair as he gently brushed his lips against hers. “That would make me so happy.” He cupped her face so they looked into each other’s eyes. “I love you, Kylie.”

Her eyes widened, and he heard her breathing pick up.

“I want you to be with me forever. These last couple of days have made me realize what I want, and you are number one. Marry me?’ He captured her gasp with his mouth, slipping his tongue in to meet hers. His fingers trailed down her face and neck. Markus felt her hand slide up and grip his hair, holding him to her.

She pulled away and tried to catch her breath. “Yes. Yes, I love you, too, and will marry you.”

He laughed and pulled her to him. “
S 'agapô. S 'agapô. Ékhete ékane o pio eytykhisménos ánthròpos ston kósmo
. We’ll go ring shopping tomorrow, and we’ll get you organized to leave tomorrow night.”

She kissed both his cheeks before hovering over his lips. “Well, this will force me to learn Greek. Do you want to tell me what you said?”

He grinned. In his happiness, he had spoken in Greek first, then English. “I just said I love you, and you have made me the happiest man in the world.”

She smiled up at him. “How about you show me how happy you—”

He didn’t let her finish. He stood up and threw her over his shoulder. She squealed with laughter as he squeezed and then swatted her butt.

Chapter 8

Kylie sat in first class, amazed at the luxury and space. She had her iPod on, learning Greek as she stared out the window and thought of all that had happened in the last twenty-four hours. She had called her friends and work to tell them where she was going. Her work had been great, very understanding. They’d said they would have told her not to come in anyway, as they were getting bombarded with media trying to find out info on her.

Gemma had gone nuts with excitement for her, telling her not to worry about anything. She would look after Buddha as if he was her own. When she’d told Gemma that Markus had asked her to marry him, the squeal had been deafening.

Kylie flexed her left hand, feeling the weight of the diamond and sapphire engagement ring. It was stunning and, she thought, way too expensive. But silly her, she had slipped by pointing it out when she saw it and fallen in love, although when she’d seen the price tag, she fell out of love pretty quickly. Of course it was too late. He’d seen her face and her first reaction and bought it, even with her insisting he not.

James was another matter altogether. He didn’t take her calls, resulting in Kylie and Markus’ first real argument. She’d been about to pop out to see James when Markus had asked where she was going, and of course, she’d answered. “I’m going to go have a talk with James.”

“No, you are not, not unless I go with you. And, if that happens, you might not like the outcome.”

She shot a glare at him and tried to reason with him. “Come on, he’s been my best friend for years. I’m perfectly safe.”

“Best friends don’t confess they’re in love with you and kiss you.”

He had a point, but she still felt bad. “He won’t do it again. I—” She didn’t get to finish.

“I know he won’t do it again because you won’t be going to see him without me.”

Kylie had stared open-mouthed at the change in Markus as he turned into an alpha male, clenching her teeth and fists as her body stiffened because he thought he could tell her whom to see. “I have to go and talk to him. I can’t leave it like I did last night. We’re leaving tonight. I can’t go and not tell him.”

“Yes, you can. I’m not having my fiancée going to a man’s house alone, especially a man who’s confessed his love for her and made out with her, knowing she’s in a relationship. No, not happening.”