Diary of a Rocker's Kid (D.O.R.K #1) by Haley Allison

someday, so her meeting Stephan Lowe of Stephan Lowe Designs in the flesh would be like me meeting the members of A7X in person.
    “Don’t pass out, Ana, don’t pass out—”
    “I might,” she chokes out, “hold me.” I keep my arm around her as we cross the patio.
    Cass and Stephan stand from their seats with wide eyes. “What the… what ? Am I seeing things?” Cass mutters.
    Dad and Cass face off in front of each other before his resolve crumbles and he takes her in his arms. “I am so sorry. I should have talked to you. I didn’t mean you had to leave.”
    Cass is overcome by emotion. “Oh my God! You came back!” she says over and over through body-racking sobs, holding on to him like she’s afraid to let him go.
    While Dad and Cass make up, Stephan turns his attention to me and extends his hand with a big, white smile. His teeth are almost brighter than Cass’s. “Madison Daley, I presume?” His voice is high-pitched and pleasant.
    “Stephan Lowe, I presume?” I reply, and he laughs—a tittering, jovial sound.
    “The very same,” he says, and we shake hands warmly. “This is going to sound strange, but have we met before?”
    “Uh…highly unlikely. I’ve been out of town for the past seventeen years.”
    Stephan laughs again. “You’re a funny girl. I only asked that because you look so familiar, but I suppose you’re right. It’s an extraordinary pleasure to meet you, dear. If you ask me, you and your father have been out of town for far too long.”
    “I agree.”
    “And who is this vision of beauty?” Stephan asks, turning to face Ana.
    “This is Ana Lincourt, my best friend.” I push Ana forward. “She’s a huge fan of yours.”
    Ana’s hand trembles as she shakes his. “It is an honor to meet you, Mr. Lowe.”
    “Steph is my preferred name, honey,” he says with a wink. “Forgive my boldness, but are you a model?”
    Her voice cracks. “I want to be.”
    A delighted smile grows on his face. “We’ll talk about that later,” Steph says, and Ana suppresses a squeal.
    Cass lets go of Dad then and grabs hold of my arms while Steph and Dad introduce themselves. “You did it! How did you manage to finally get him here?”
    “I told him he needed to apologize in person because he was being a massive douche to you.” Her eyes widen. “Well, okay, I didn’t use those exact words, but it was that basic idea.”
    “Very impressive! How does it feel to be in L.A.?”
    “It’s amazing. This is so huge…but I have to admit, I’m starving. The food on the plane was inedible.”
    Cass releases me and motions to follow her. “Well then, come inside! Let’s go, everyone!”
    “Cassidy, darling, I’m going to have to excuse myself,” Steph says, and everybody groans in disappointment. “Don’t worry, I live right next door.” He giggles as he gestures to the impressive Italian villa just to the right of us. I can see its towers poking up above the stone wall, and I can already tell it looks amazing up close. “You all are welcome to join us for dinner tomorrow night if you’d like.”
    “That would be terrific!” Dad says, and the rest of us agree.
    “Perfect. My family and I will be expecting you.” Steph gives us a little wave. “I’ll leave you to explore your home. It was a pleasure meeting all of you.”
    “Likewise,” Dad, Ana, and I say, and then Steph leaves us and Cass leads us back inside the mansion.
    After a quick lunch of chicken wraps, Dad and Cass take us upstairs to get settled, and they give Ana and me rooms next to each other. “There’s no point in makin’ you share one, since there are nine bedrooms in the house,” Dad says.
    “But girls like sharing bedrooms, don’t you know that, Dad?” I tease. That was always his excuse for shoving Ana and me into a single twin bed back in Kentucky.
    “It’s okay, now I won’t have to put up with your bony knees in my back all night,” Ana says. She’s referring to the many sleepovers we’ve