reason we even knew he’d proposed at all was because Scot told
us.”
“Then he went psycho backstage at that Toxicity concert for
no apparent reason.” Cheyenne tossed her long brown hair over
one shoulder as she mixed a splash of orange juice into her glass of vodka. Nathan nodded cheerfully and clapped his hands.
“Oh yeah. Now that was a sight to behold. Phillip took
down three of Clive Richards’ body guards to get at him. Clive
pissed himself in front of everyone backstage. It was classic.”
“I don’t understand. Why would Phillip go after Clive
Richards?” Saffron’s eyebrow twitched curiously.
“You don’t know any of this? Where have you been? Liv-
ing in a cave?” Nathan looked genuinely surprised. Cheyenne
couldn’t argue. Every paper in the U.K. had featured either Phillip or Stephanie’s picture for months during their ongoing feud.
“That tone is unacceptable, Nathan Clayton. Apologize to
me.” Saffron’s deadpan expression as she scolded him made
Cheyenne blink awkwardly at them. Nathan seemed titillated by
her disparaging attitude, and he simply chomped on his straw
45
TAMMY COONS & MICHELLE PACE
suggestively.
“Sorry, Mistress.” His tone had a playful, sing-song quality.
Cheyenne proceeded with a sigh as if she’d noticed nothing out
of the ordinary.
“Phillip and Clive have hated each other for nearly a dec-
ade.”
Nathan nodded in agreement. “Fury and Toxicity used to
play the same circuit. When we released our first album, they
had to open for us. There was a bit of band rivalry, sure, but
Phillip and Clive took it to a whole new level. When Toxicity
got signed, things just got more obnoxious between them. Clive
became ridiculous, and you know Phillip’s temper. They both
thought they were the “cock of the walk”—though everyone
knows I had the biggest cock of them all.”
Cheyenne groaned and rolled her eyes to the heavens. Saf-
fron merely blinked at him then turned back to Cheyenne, run-
ning a hand through her brassy hair.
“I was supposed to interview them about their upcoming
American tour, and The Sound Wave recruited Stephanie to get a couple of shots of the band. The art director really wanted her to get a solo shot of Clive with his guitar.”
Saffron nodded. “Oh…the gargoyle winged guitar. Nice.”
Nathan cocked a disapproving eyebrow at Saffron, who
shrugged carelessly. “Anyway, Phillip and I went to that concert to see if we could find Cheyenne and Steph. But they’d already
left by the time we got backstage.”
“What the hell?” Cheyenne couldn’t contain her surprise.
She’d had no idea that they’d come looking for them, and if Scot knew, he hadn’t told her this story. “Why?”
Nathan’s seemed uncharacteristically serious. “The concert
was the evening after Phillip resurfaced. He came into the studio apologizing with all these brilliant songs talking about how he’d
‘just needed time to clear his head and refocus.’ He told us he
had to go find Stephanie and try to talk to her—the sooner the
46
RAGE
better. Scot mentioned she was with you at the Toxicity concert.
And Phillip went ballistic.”
Cheyenne paused, feeling a bit sheepish. Finally she pro-
ceeded with her portion of the tale. “Steph’s dad called her at the last minute when Gerald couldn’t catch a flight in time to do the shoot. It really wasn’t a big deal.”
Nathan shook his head and looked grave. “It was to Phil-
lip.”
Cheyenne huffed and sat back in her seat. “Okay, yes. Steph
knew Phillip despised Clive. But Phillip left. He walked away
from her for saying she didn’t want to get married and then
trashed their little love nest like an angry two year old.”
“What?” Saffron asked, wide eyes peeking out from under
her blunt bangs.
“Oh, quit being so melodramatic. He didn’t take a bulldozer
to it or burn it to the ground. He punched a couple of holes in the wall and turned over some furniture.” Nathan scoffed. “Hardly
surprising. This is Phillip Kersey we’re talking about.”
“And he disappeared. She was really worried about him at first. But after a day or two of him not answering her calls, like everyone else on the planet, she assumed he was in Bangkok
sniffing coke off some hooker’s ass. Why shouldn’t she go ahead
and do her job?” Cheyenne emphasized her argument directly to
Saffron, who nodded as if she’d made perfect sense.
Nathan paused and looked pointedly into Cheyenne’s eyes.
“Cheyenne, you know I love Steph. But Clive bloody Richards?
You know, the very first thing Clive did when Phillip explained
that he was there looking for Steph was pull up a cell phone pic of him hanging all over Steph. It looked really bad, Cheyenne.
Phillip grabbed him by the throat, and that’s when the row with
security started. I was still pissed at Phil for skipping town at the time, so as long as someone’s ass got kicked, it was all right by me.”
Cheyenne furrowed her brow, “Don’t make me bitch slap
47
TAMMY COONS & MICHELLE PACE
you again, Nathan! Get your fucking facts straight next time be-
fore you allow that pit bull off of his chain. Clive was all over Steph that night. But he’s not her type, and she’s not an idiot.
She knew he was doing it because of Phillip, and she told him to go to hell. He wouldn’t leave her alone. When he put his hand up her shirt, she punched him in the junk.”
Nathan’s eyes darted back and forth, and Cheyenne could
see he was truly surprised by this bit of information.
“Kinky,” Saffron laughed and reached out for Cheyenne’s
knee. Cheyenne tucked her legs underneath her. A loud snore
erupted from Bret.
“So…” Scot said from behind her, startling all three of
them. His dark eyes danced with intrigue. “…we’re retelling the
trials and tribulations of Steph and Phillip in preparation for their reunion, I take it?”
“Why, yes we are, my love.” Cheyenne smiled at her hus-
band and beckoned him to sit next to her.
“Well, then. Move over.” He heaved a weary sigh and
gracefully maneuvered his lanky body into the seat next to
Cheyenne. “The next debacle was the “Fire Woman” video.”
Cheyenne groaned and shook her head. “I thought Steph
was going to end up in prison after she saw that little stunt.”
Scot put a finger to her lips, interrupting her. “Let me tell
this particular part of the story.” He removed his finger
