Sienna and Kyle roared into the bus like wildfire. Both still had dried mud in their hair and went straight for the bottle of tequila. The four of us laughed and told old stories for another hour before I decided it was time to call it a night. The sun was coming up by the time I felt Sienna crawl into bed next to me again.

Chapter 7

We were all ecstatic with how the festival had turned out in Denmark, but Copenhagen passed quickly and we moved on to the next city. The trip from Denmark to Sweden wasn’t quite as peaceful of a trip as the trip to Denmark from Berlin. Instead of spending the travel time catching up on our sleep, as Sienna had done the last leg of the trip, we all piled into one bus and celebrated our success by pulling an all-nighter and singing until we could barely keep our eyes open.

By the time we arrived in Sweden, we were all ready to crash. Luckily, we had almost twenty-four hours before our next show and were checking into a hotel with real beds for a few nights while the busses went in for service. Of course, since the tour was sponsored by Heston, we were being put up at a beautiful Heston property.

***

Sienna and I were excited to spend a day watching live American TV, and had big plans to order room service and stay in our pajamas until it was time to head to the venue. Unlike the other Heston properties that I had visited, the Sweden property was quaint and understated, a contrast to the modern ultra-luxurious skyscrapers that typically represented the Heston brand.

I wasn’t surprised when the staff was overly attentive to me when we walked in. Jack seemed to always make it his business that Sienna and I were treated like royalty and received the best accommodations whenever he had any control. I smiled to myself as the staff fussed over me, I didn’t really care about having a suite but I knew it was Jack’s own way of taking care of me and I adored him for it.

After the hotel manager let us into our suite and gave us the grand tour, he turned to me before leaving and reached into his pocket, offering me a small black box.

The older gentleman smiled as he extended his hand holding the box. “Ms. St. Claire, Mr. Cole requested I give you this.”

I took the box from the man’s hand and smiled curiously. As seemed to be the norm in any of the Heston properties, the manager refused to accept a tip and encouraged Sienna and I to help ourselves to anything the hotel had to offer before showing himself out.

“So now the penthouse suite comes with jewelry, huh?” Sienna came up from behind me and took the box out of my hand. “And here I thought I was the princess.”

I attempted to take the box out of her hand but Sienna just giggled and ran to the other side of the couch, out of my reach. “I’ll give you twenty bucks for whatever is inside!”

I stopped in the middle of my chase. “Twenty bucks, Sienna, really? Did you see the insignia on the box?”

Sienna looked down at the box in her hand curiously and gaped when she noticed the small script: “K.” Kleinmans. Kleinman’s was a well-known NYC boutique jeweler that regularly loaned out jewelry to celebrities walking the red carpet. We both knew the name from hearing celebrities announce who they were wearing at award shows, not from being able to afford to shop at the store.

“Okay, fifty bucks, but that’s my final offer, Syd,” Sienna yelled, and giggled as I surprised her by jumping over the couch and grabbing the box out of her hand. I slumped into the couch and Sienna quickly followed, peering anxiously over my shoulder as I opened the velvet box.

“It’s beautiful, Syd,” Sienna’s voice was sincere and caring when she spoke. I was speechless as I looked down at the beautiful sparkling star pendant. It was a simple white gold, very thin chain, holding a delicate diamond star set with pave diamonds. The star had one of its points longer than the rest, somehow giving the look an edge that screamed rock star. It sparkled against the dark black velvet box as if it were shining high up in the sky.

Remembering the words Jack had said to me before he left, my heart swelled a little more for the crazy, controlling, sweet, thoughtful, sexy as all hell man that really was mine.

***

Sienna and I both slept for almost ten hours straight after we finally settled in. I called Jack before I crashed, and caught him before he went into his meeting. I could tell he was happy with my reaction to the necklace, even though he tried to act like it was no big deal. I adored that he put so much effort into trying to please me.

It was late afternoon before we ordered room service. We were both beyond hungry. I was a little embarrassed at how much food we had ordered when room service had to bring in two carts just to fit it all. Sienna and I packed in more calories than we typically ate in a week, then we took our spots on opposite ends of the couch, each wrapped in our own blanket, staring mindlessly at the blaring TV.

I was almost asleep, having been induced into a lazy afternoon food coma, when Sienna turned up the television. “Syd?”

I looked up from my daze and saw Jack’s handsome face on television. The man truly still took my breath away. He was standing alone while photographers snapped pictures of him stopped on the red carpet. He looked insanely handsome wearing a tuxedo and giving the camera that sexy half-crooked smile that made me melt the first time I met him. Then she walked over to him and my heart stopped.

Jenna was decked out in one of her usual over the top outfits. Her full br**sts were barely contained in her hot pink dress that cut down to just below her navel. The sides of her dress were cut out and the bottom slit exposed the top of her thigh as she posed herself for maximum leg exposure next to Jack, smiling wildly. Jack put his hand on her back and together they preened for the flashing cameras. Jack’s smiling face turned hard as he waited for the cameras to finish. I could tell from the way his jaw clenched that he was not enjoying himself, although Jenna’s smile told a completely opposite story.

The newscaster spoke over the footage as the ticker along the bottom of the screen announced that the pictures were from the previous year’s AVN Awards. Apparently this year’s nominees had been announced and Cole Productions had grabbed a record number of nominations.

Sienna and I starred speechless at the television as the segment gave a little history on the AVN Awards. “The American Adult Video Awards are the Oscars of the adult film industry, with nearly 100 categories, some of which are analogous to the general film industry awards. Others are specific to the erotic film industry. This year Cole Productions, led by the always handsome Jack Cole, snagged a record number of nominations. Jack and his longtime partner, Jenna Favor, remain elusive to the media, but rumor has it there may be some new bling on Jenna’s finger at the awards this year, ladies.”