—

Kylie was humming to herself as she mixed the foundation colors for Daphne’s skin. It was ridiculous to be in such a good mood, but she was. She was going to see Cade tomorrow night, and they were going to talk for hours and have a wonderful time.

She wasn’t even going to sleep with him. Just to prove to herself that she didn’t have to. But she was definitely looking forward to those kisses.

And she might wear some sexy lingerie because, well, just because.

She checked her phone for the millionth time that day, but Cade must have been busy. He’d only sent her a few small texts, like the occasional smiley face or ‘thinking of you.’ They’d been text flirting for the last week. While it was just as easy to pick up the phone and have a phone call, there was something fun and relaxed about texting. She found herself having to hold back on responding, just in case he thought she was sitting by her phone for hours on end, waiting for him to text back.

Which . . . she was. But he didn’t have to know that, of course.

She was still humming when Daphne threw herself in the director’s chair in front of Kylie and gestured at her face. “Let’s put this on, shall we? I have plebs to entertain tonight.”

Kylie eyed the pop star. Was this Pleasant Attitude Daphne or Nasty Daphne? It was hard to tell sometimes. Lately it had been Nasty Daphne. “Sounds good,” Kylie said, keeping her voice reasonable and mild. “Any particular requests tonight?”

“I liked that glitter and rhinestone shit you did at my temples for the last show,” Daphne said, pressing her fingertips on her forehead. “They stayed in place really well. But can we skip the fake lashes? I fucking hate that crap and one always starts to fall down midshow, and then I think there’s a spider attacking me.”

Kylie chuckled. “We can always go a little wilder with the eyeliner to hide the fact that you’re not wearing fake lashes. Totally doable.”

“Thanks, Fat Marilyn.” Daphne beamed at her. “I don’t know if anyone’s told you, but you’re all right.”

“Wow, thanks.” She was actually touched by Daphne’s compliment. Celebrities were hard to please, so this was a rare treat. She was even going to ignore the Fat Marilyn stuff. This must have been Nice Daphne today. “How are you feeling?” she asked tentatively, since she was supposed to be watching Daphne for Cade. “You look great.”

“Really?”

“Sure,” Kylie lied. Daphne pretty much looked the same—skinny and pale—but her attitude was nice today, so she’d go with that. “Still clean?”

Daphne’s eyes narrowed, and Kylie wondered if she’d pushed too far.

She plugged in her airbrush and acted as if nothing was amiss. “You mentioned to me the other day that you were trying to go clean again. Only reason I asked.”

“Well, it’s going great. I feel awesome.”

“That’s really wonderful,” Kylie said, and meant it. She pulled out a bottle of primer and a makeup sponge and began to dab Daphne’s face. “I’m happy for you.”

“I’ve been clean a week now,” Daphne told her, obediently closing her eyes and tilting her head back so Kylie could prime her entire face and neck. “Cade’s going to be so proud of me.”

“I bet he will.”

“I’m doing it for him, you know. He told me he couldn’t have a relationship with someone on drugs.”

Kylie paused. Daphne’s eyes were still closed, so Kylie dabbed at the primer again and then continued to cover Daphne’s face. “So you two are in a relationship?”

“Yup,” Daphne said, and she smiled. “He’s a great guy, isn’t he?”

“The best,” Kylie said softly. She cleared her throat, blinking back angry tears. “Now, hold still. We have to do foundation once the primer dries.”

It took a little over an hour to get Daphne’s stage makeup just right. To hide the track marks on her arms, they were airbrushed with foundation and then decorated with glitter, too. Kylie contoured Daphne’s face to make it seem rounded with health, then worked on sweeping glitter outward from her eyes. She made her black liner into an exaggerated cat’s-eye so the lack of lashes wouldn’t seem so odd, and added tiny rhinestones along the corners of her brows to draw the attention there. When she was done, she presented Daphne with a mirror. “All good?”

“All good,” Daphne said triumphantly. “Thanks again. Off to wardrobe.” She winked at Kylie as if they were best buds, and then hopped out of her chair. As she sauntered to Ginger’s changing room, Kylie started to put away the stage makeup. Her hands trembled as she considered Daphne’s words.