“She likes to smoke when she’s trying to wean herself off the drugs. Has her personal doctor been in to check on her?”
Kylie shrugged. “I’d have to ask Snoopy.”
“Snoopy?” Cade’s lips twitched. “Is that really her name?”
“Not exactly,” she said. “Do you not know about Daphne’s nicknames for everyone?”
“What nicknames?”
“She has a hard time remembering names so she gives us new ones.” Kylie picked at a piece of bread absently. “I think Snoopy got her name because Daphne jokes that she treats her like a dog.”
“That’s . . . terrible.” He looked rather shocked.
“I kind of thought so, too, but everyone seems to just accept it, so what can you do? Whatever Daphne does, everyone turns a blind eye to it.” She was a little surprised he didn’t know about some of Daphne’s bad behavior. If they were as close as she’d thought, wouldn’t he know more about how she acted on tour? The tantrums she threw on a daily basis?
But he was still frowning and looked uncomfortable. “She has nicknames for . . . everyone?”
Kylie nodded, dipping a piece of bread.
“So what does she call you?”
She suddenly felt awkward, staring at the cheese-dipped bread in her hand. “Uh . . . so she calls me Fat Marilyn.”
“She what?”
Kylie dropped the bread on her plate, embarrassed. “Fat Marilyn. I guess because I was dressed retro so she thought I looked like Marilyn Monroe? And fat for obvious reasons.”
His jaw clenched. “She called you that the other day. I thought I misheard. And it doesn’t bother you?”
Oh, it bothered her. But no one went against Daphne. Not when she was the headliner. “It’s not a big deal, really.”
“It is a big deal.” He ran a hand over his chin. “I’m going to talk with her. She has no right to rename you based on what she perceives as a flaw.”
“Oh no, please don’t.” The last thing she wanted was to get more of Daphne’s attention. But when his nostrils flared, she realized he was actually really furious. Wow. “Cade. Please.” She put her hand back on his. “For me, all right?”
She watched as his jaw worked, as if he were trying to swallow the concept of not speaking up. Eventually, he gave a terse nod. “Fine.”
Now her stomach was all clenched in knots. She took another swig of wine, feeling the pleasant burn move through her body.
“The more I learn about her, the more I’m horrified,” Cade said in a low voice. He shook his head. “She’s really not the girl I thought she was. I don’t know how it took me so long to see it.”
“It’s . . . not an easy situation. She’s in a fragile state of mind, and I think a lot of people let her get away with things simply because it’s easier than arguing with her. And if you make her upset? The repercussions go on for days.” Heck, Marco was still in the doghouse because Daphne was convinced he’d given her bad drugs. He’d been her favorite boy toy up until that point. It wasn’t hard to fall from Daphne’s favor lately. Things changed in the blink of an eye, and the entire tour felt a little uneasy around the star.
“Perhaps I should step in, then,” Cade said, his look grimly determined. “If she won’t listen to me, she won’t listen to anyone.”
“I think”—Kylie poured more wine into both of their glasses—“that we need to drink up and stop talking about Daphne while we’re together.”
“I’ll drink to that,” he said, and his foot nudged hers.
She took another sip of wine and then gave him a teasing look. “Was that your foot? Are you playing footsies with me under the table, sir?”
“I’m not.”
“Pity,” she said, and eased off one of her flip-flops. She rubbed her bare foot against his leg, curious to see how he’d react. Maybe it was the wine—okay, it was probably the wine—but she suddenly wanted to flirt.
He closed his eyes and groaned low. “You know I want more than just your foot on me.”
“Yes,” she teased. “But my foot’s all you get. Now drink your wine.”
He clinked his glass to hers again.
ELEVEN
Next door, a maid started a vacuum, and Kylie’s head throbbed in crescendo with the sound. She groaned and pressed a hand to one aching temple. Even the pillow against her face felt too hard. Wasn’t it too early for noise like a vacuum? Surely that was against the rules somewhere.