Hold Me

“Did you see her makeup?” Starr asked, her voice still low. “I wonder if she’d teach me how to do mine.”

“I’m sure she’d like to show you a few things,” he said as he added both sweet and dry vermouth to the ice and gin in the shaker.

Lacey had been very clear with her order.

“A gin martini, two kinds of vermouth and cold. I need it cold.”

She’d smiled at him, a practiced, seductive smile he was sure had brought stronger men than him to their collective knees. But he was immune. Sure Lacey was beautiful and, despite Starr’s disappointment in her height, larger than life, but his attentions had settled elsewhere.

“The liquor’s in the freezer,” Destiny had told him.

“I’ll figure it out.”

Now he shook the mixture and wondered what Destiny was thinking. From what she’d told him, she had a complicated relationship with her parents.

“I need olives,” he told Starr. “They’re probably in the refrigerator.”

She checked inside and found a small jar of pimento-filled olives. He poured the martinis, added an olive, then poured a soda over ice for Starr, Destiny and himself. He wasn’t sure drinking around Destiny’s mother was a good idea, and Destiny had requested soda.

“Do I get an olive?” Starr asked with a quick smile.

“Do you want one?”

She wrinkled her nose. “Not really.”

She found a tray, and he put all the drinks on it then carried it back to the living room. Lacey took her martini, closed her eyes and sipped.

“Perfect,” she drawled. “And cold. Aren’t you clever?”

“I’ve always been good with martinis.” He handed Destiny and Starr their drinks before settling on the end of the sofa.

“I’m sure you’re good with many things,” Lacey told him.

He ignored any innuendo in the comment. He had a feeling that flirting was as automatic as breathing for the country singer.

“Did you drive in?” he asked.

“To town?” Lacey asked. “Goodness, no. I took my jet to the local airport.” She turned to her daughter. “I have to say, I like this town a lot. It’s so pretty. And the festivals.”

“How do you know about the festivals, Mom?” Destiny asked.

“I read about them on the plane. I like to know about where you’re living.” She smiled at Kipling. “My little girl moves around all the time. A job here, a job there. Some places are nice, but others...” She shuddered.

Her attention shifted to Starr. “Now you’re just the prettiest thing! I’m sorry about your mama. You’re staying with Destiny now?”

Starr swallowed. “Um, yes, ma’am.”

“She’s steady. You listen to her, you hear me? Destiny’s always been a rock.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

A rock? Kipling thought of Destiny singing onstage at The Man Cave. How she’d poured all her emotions into her music. She was calm on the outside, but underneath the facade was plenty of passion. He wondered how much of her rocklike nature was learned because she’d had to be the adult in the room. So far Lacey had been plenty nice, but she didn’t strike him as someone overly interested in anyone’s viewpoint but her own.

Lacey turned her attention to him. “Kipling, you seem familiar to me. Why is that?”

“I was an Olympic skier.”

Her brows rose. “That’s right! At Sochi. G-Force.” She smiled. “You won gold medals and then you had a crash. You seem to be getting around all right. Good for you.” She turned to her daughter. “You found someone famous. That makes me so happy. People respect a man with a little danger in his past. Now that we’re all caught up, I know you want to hear about my new album. It’s being released in the fall. My label wanted me to do my greatest hits but I said no. I want to cover some wonderful old songs. We argued, but I won.”

“I’m sure you always do,” Kipling said.

Lacey fluttered her lashes. “Why yes, I do.”

* * *

“SHE’S NOT WHAT I expected,” Starr whispered, later that night.

Destiny sat on her sister’s bed. “She never is. My mom is more like a tornado than a person. It’s best to keep an eye on how she’s tracking and then get out of the way.”

Starr laughed. “She’s nice, but a little scary.”

“Same thing.”

Starr pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs. “How long is she staying?”

“A couple of days. She usually visits when I’m on assignment.” Often without warning. Destiny had learned to expect the visits, but not plan for them. Lacey had her own schedule and rules. She’d taken over Destiny’s room without bothering to ask if that was okay, yet would probably get up and make them all breakfast.

“You can talk to her about the business if you’d like,” Destiny said. “She loves to talk about her past and how things have changed in the music industry. You’ll learn a lot from her.”

“You won’t be mad?”

“No. Not at all.”

Starr would keep her mother distracted, and that was a good thing. Because when left alone for too long, Lacey came up with crazy plans. Like the time she’d tried to talk Destiny into going on tour with her.

“Oh, and talk to her about songwriting. She’s good, and she loves to write with other people.”