Page 46 of Just What She Needed

"Screw it. Screw both of them for using us as pawns in their divorce." Rhett twisted to face her sister as much as the seat belt would allow. "Let's go on a mad shopping spree with some of that money, what say?"

"Hell, yeah!" Mel pounded her fist on the steering wheel. "Where to?"

"I don't know. Slutty lingerie?"

Mouth open in shock, Mel glanced over at her. "Am I hearing this right? You? Slutty lingerie? Wow. Rhys is a good influence on you."

"I think so." She grinned. "Hey, I've got a man who appreciates me, and one who knows how to drive me right out of my ever-lovin' mind. So now I want to start driving him out of his mind. It's only fair, right?"

Mel took Rhett's hand and gave her fingers a squeeze. "Oh, little sister, now that you've grown up there's so much I can't wait to teach you." She laughed in delight. "By the time you put everything into action, you'll have Rhys James for life if you want him. Slutty lingerie is only the beginning, but it's a good one."

Rhys James for life. Rhett liked the sound of that. She sat back with a satisfied smile. "I put myself into your capable hands. Let's go buy panties."

18

If you want to find somebody and you want to be married and you want to have children, don't make it a rock star.—Stevie Nicks

Bile rose in Rhys's throat at the sight of the stately mansion in Chicago's Gold Coast neighborhood as the cab pulled up in front. He had hoped this reaction would abate in time, but it only grew more pronounced every time he visited. All of a sudden he was angry with himself for giving up his Bucktown condo. Even if he no longer lived in Chicago, it would be worth keeping the place so he could see his kids without having to interact with his ex-wife or her husband.

Of course, seeing Dax and Sienna these days required a careful dance of scheduling due to the many activities in which both were involved. Spending time with Dax would be even more difficult when he went off to university in a month. Even before Rhys moved away from Chicago, weeks would go by without seeing either of them when he was in town. He understood. They were growing up, and like most teenagers didn't feel the need to be with dear old Dad when there were much more interesting things going on.

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught the glance the cab driver threw over his shoulder, but he ignored it. The meter was running, and if he wanted to sit out in front of this overdone, pretentious piece of real estate all day then he would. Going into that house was the last thing he wanted to do, and he needed some time to work up to it. He could always just go back to his hotel and have the kids come to him there, but they hated that. It was only natural that they felt more relaxed in their own home, and he cringed from the thought of dealing with their bored sighs if they were stuck all afternoon at the hotel.

The wavery shape of a body appeared on the other side of the leaded glass oval in the front door, followed by a face peering out one of the sidelights. Rhys grinned as he recognized his seventeen-year-old daughter. He leaned forward and handed the driver his fare, plus a large tip for not saying anything about his hesitation in getting out of the cab.

His feet had just hit the sidewalk when the front door was wrenched open and Sienna came flying out of the house.

"Daddy," she cried, and crashed into him halfway between the street and the house.

Laughing, Rhys lifted her and spun her around, her giggles warming his heart.

"Stop it, Dad! I'm gonna hurl." On her feet once more, she tiptoed and placed a kiss on his chin. "I thought you weren't ever going to get here."

"I checked into the hotel first. No sense in lugging my bags around with me." As he watched his daughter, he was struck as always by the wonder of genetics. The long wavy hair that hung halfway down her back was the same warm caramel color as her mother's, but her face was Rhys's. The high, defined cheekbones, the chiseled jaw, and the almond-shaped dark blue eyes were all Collinsworth, even though they were softened a bit by her femininity. "You get more beautiful every day," he told her.

"Oh, Dad." She slipped her arm in his and towed him toward the house. "You always say that."

"Because it's true." He took a deep breath and stepped into the house with her. "Where's your brother?"

"Probably in the kitchen." Sienna made a bored face. "I mean, he had breakfast an hour ago, so for him it's time to eat again." Her face lit up as she deftly changed the subject. "Oh! I'm having my senior pictures made next week. And can you believe it, I'm even having some taken at The Bean. I know it's cheesy and all, but it's, like, just so Chicago, you know?"

"What? You're not a senior yet." He followed her into the den and shook his head as she flopped onto the couch. "Don't rush it."

"I am, too, a senior," she contradicted. "I'm not a junior anymore, so therefore I'm a senior. And then I'll be eighteen in March, and a legal adult."

Rhys made a sound of amusement. "An adult, right? So what changes when you become eighteen? You can vote."

"And be referred to as a legal adult. That has to count for something, right?"

"You'd think." He turned at the sound of footsteps behind him and smiled at the sight of his son. "There you are. Leave anything edible in there?"

Dax grinned and hugged his father. "I think I left some broccoli and other crap like that if you're really hungry."

"I'll pass, thanks." He fingered the caramel-colored hair that brushed the collar of his son's T-shirt. "What's this? Letting your hair grow?"

A muffled snicker from Sienna earned a dark look from Dax. "Yeah, well," he said. "See, Ian met this girl from Oak Park, and a couple of months ago he and I were hanging out with her and some of her friends at her house. Her parents kind of turned their basement over to her, and that's where she spends most of her time. Anyway, she has this big ass poster of Illicit on one wall. Of course, Ian has to point it out, right? He didn't say anything about you being my dad, but he kept giving me these looks and shit."

Rhys nodded in understanding. Both of his children learned fast to keep new people from finding out that their father, Mr. Collinsworth, was the same man as Rhys James from Illicit. It helped to separate the people who only wanted to know them for what they might get out of them from people who could become true friends. Ian, Dax's best friend from childhood, knew who Rhys was, as did a few of Sienna's friends. But most people who knew the Collinsworth children had no clue their father was a rock star.