As she raced ahead, leaving us in her dust, Aidan’s head whipped around to me, his brows way up and his eyes wide. “What the hell did you do to piss her off?”
I shrugged. “I was wondering the same thing. I’ve been hoping it was just my imagination.”
He chuckled, shaking his head. “Unfortunately, it’s very real. I’ve never seen her like that.” He slapped me on the shoulder. “Good luck at the opening.”
Yeah, I was going to need it. “See you.” I backtracked into the building and exited out the front, remembering I’d parked two blocks away. At the curb, I stopped for the red light before crossing.
I’d always been nice to Violet, but that didn’t matter to her. She was determined to dislike me, regardless what I did. Well, I was finished trying to appease her. If she was going to be mad at me anyway, what was the point in going out of my way for her? If how I acted meant nothing, then I could say or do whatever I wanted. I’d see if she could take the rudeness as well as she dished it out.
Or maybe I’d be charming. That would mess with her head and make things interesting. Either scenario, I itched to see her reaction.
For the first time since beginning this new image-shaping, I was looking forward to my next publicity task—and seeing Violet.
Chapter Eight
Violet
I headed to Sebastian’s house, wishing I had scheduled his appearances and our meetings further apart, rather than so many in one day. After starting early that day on Periscope with him, lunch at my dad’s house and then a meeting with Emerson, I was fried. But I still had to get through the restaurant grand opening. My fuzzy brain wanted sleep and my foot strained with the effort to push on the accelerator. I hoped they started on time and that Sebastian didn’t want to stay late. The baby and I needed our beauty rest.
The baby... I was pregnant with Sebastian’s child and he had no clue. Because he’d been careless and gotten too drunk to remember the act, much less me. And because I’d been naive, and had allowed myself to get caught up in the moment with the hot rock star, I had no one to blame but myself. My life would never be the same.
How the hell was I going to juggle a career and be a single mom? Since Full Throttle had won a Grammy and had become so successful, money was flooding into my dad’s bank account. He had paid off his pretty little house and no longer had to worry financially. Very likely, he would help me with the baby. But mooching off him wasn’t an option for me. I was living in his guest house, but I paid rent. Usually.
Between the nausea, the fatigue and the terror of raising a child alone when I couldn’t yet fully support myself, I was so tied up in knots, I couldn’t think straight. Being nice to the guy who helped get me there, and who was too clueless to realize it, was a low priority.
By the time I pulled up in front of his house, I had worked myself into a frenzy. I threw my head against the driver’s seat and hissed. What was I going to do about Sebastian? I had to tell him about his baby, obviously, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. Not just yet.
Very soon Sebastian’s life and career would be on track again and we’d see very little of each other. I had no idea if he was even interested in playing daddy. If I carried the baby to term, I’d have to tell him before it was born. Ideally, long before then.
I’d figure it out soon. For now, I was comforted by the knowledge that my rollercoaster emotions and wild lust for him stemmed from my out of control pregnancy hormones. None of those feelings were due to me actually liking Sebastian.
Other than the baby, Sebastian and I had nothing in common, no connection whatsoever. And a baby did not a relationship make. I had to get over my resentment toward him, purge the anger from my head, and do my best to create a relationship with him as a co-parent.
I’d be decent to him. But I didn’t have to like him.
Reluctant to get out of my car, I texted him to let him know I had arrived and to come outside. I wouldn’t offer up any nasty comments, no glares. I was determined to behave. He didn’t need to be as miserable as I was.
I sucked in a long, slow breath, then released it. Without the fan on, the air in my car had become stagnant and I rolled down the window as Sebastian’s head appeared through the opening, his fingers gripping the door.
“Hey, gorgeous.” He flashed me that same smile that had lured me into his bedroom.
I tingled all over as I looked at him all freshly showered and smelling of mint. Annoyed with myself, I scowled at him, wondering what he was up to. “Get in.”
“Sure you don’t want me to drive?”
Lately, driving had been trying because I didn’t feel as alert as usual. The less time I spent behind the wheel, the better. Especially when all I wanted to do was crawl into bed and sleep for a week. “Knock yourself out.”
He stepped away as I opened the car door and climbed out. I moved to go around him but he blocked me, his arms caging me in against my car. “So… I was mulling over your hostility toward me.”
I shot him a scathing look. As much as I wanted to be nice, I couldn’t do that if he pushed me. “Are we sharing our feelings now?”
A smug smile spread over his face. “Not my feelings. Yours. Must be some powerful emotions to make you dislike me so much.”
I rolled my eyes. “That makes no sense.”
“Exactly.” He leaned in to whisper in my ear. “What you’re feeling toward me isn’t dislike at all, is it?”
Was this asshat hinting that I had a thing for him? Oh, he had no idea! I shoved the ball of my hand into his chest. “It’s just good old-fashioned disgust.” I stormed to the passenger’s side, determined to ignore him. So much for trying to build a relationship.
“Mm-hmm.” He slipped behind the wheel. “Whatever you say.”
He smirked as he backed us out of the driveway. I don’t know what pissed me off more, his assuming I had feelings for him or that he had figured out that there was more to my feelings than I had let on.
Somehow, I was even more drawn to him now. That said, my libido would probably act up around any hot guy I was exposed to. Grinding my teeth, I forced myself not to utter another word to him. I stayed faithful to that vow the entire trip.
Thankfully, Sebastian went for valet parking again and I didn’t have to walk several blocks in high heeled boots to get to Sunset Boulevard. Climbing out of my car, I smoothed down my short skirt. Sebastian appeared in front of me, offering his hand. I ignored it and he snickered. Jerk. Once we arrived at the entrance to the restaurant, I steeled myself to stay focused and concentrate on my job.
Once inside the restaurant, I kept my distance and let Sebastian do his thing. Eventually, I found a spot in the corner and whipped out my phone to catch up on my emails, still observing Sebastian on the sly. In between sampling from the delicious array of appetizers the restaurant had set out, while not touching any offered drinks, he charmed everyone. That earned him my reluctant admiration for his ability to schmooze.
Finished with all the work I could do from my phone, I rubbed my eyes and yawned, wishing the night would just end already. And it was only six-thirty. From my spot out of the way, I located Sebastian who was flashing his sexy grin at a busty blonde. Of course he was. I’d been so busy seeing him as a loser who’d messed up his life that I’d never noticed the degree of charisma he possessed. He was a gorgeous specimen of a man and, as much as I didn’t want to admit it, he was sweet and sincere. And he was a celebrity. Any girl would be lucky to snag him.
And they knew it. The blonde certainly did. I could tell by the way she brushed her arm against his and how her thumb dug into his bicep. A spike of jealousy slapped me and I blinked.
I really needed to stop ogling him.
His gaze cut to mine before I had a chance to avert my own. His eyes narrowed for a minute, then he returned to the blonde and lowered his lips to her cheek, pausing at her ear for what were probably sweet nothings. Abruptly, he backed away from her, then strode in my direction.
�
�We should head out. I have some lyrics burning a hole in my brain. You ready?” He rocked his head toward the exit.
Yep, more than ready. “Sure. But what’s the rush?”
“Like I said, lyrics. Gotta get them down before I forget them.”
“You don’t bring a note pad with you? Even better, you could install a recording app on your phone.”
“I haven’t gotten around to it. Besides, not much opportunity to leave the house the last few weeks, so I’ve always had paper handy.”
Right, because he’d been in rehab or home.
We spent the next few minutes trying to escape, but kept getting derailed. Everyone wanted a piece of Sebastian. At least I wasn’t the only one. Finally, we stepped out into the cool air and I shivered.
Sebastian handed the ticket to the valet, then studied me a moment. “You cold?”
I rolled my eyes. “I’m cold. I’m hot. It’s hard to keep up. But right now, yeah, I’m freezing.” My teeth chattered on the last word and I hugged myself.
He took off his leather jacket and wrapped it around my shoulders.
“Thank you.” The scent of him blanketed me, making me want to snuggle against him and burrow my face into his neck. I inhaled a little more, then I groaned inwardly at my unwanted desire to be around Sebastian. I doubted I’d be this drawn to him if my test had come back negative. This pregnancy, and all the emotions that went with it, was ruining my life. Seven more months of this onslaught of extreme hormones? Ugh.
Getting off Sunset Boulevard took forever and by the time we arrived at his house, I’d already nodded off three times. As he navigated my car into his driveway so I could drop him off, I rubbed my eyes in an effort to wake up enough to get myself home.
Sebastian climbed out of my car, but not before he killed the engine and pocketed the keys. I scurried around to the other side just in time to reach him before he disappeared inside. “Hey, you forgot something.” I held out my hand, palm up.
“Come inside a minute,” he threw over his shoulder as he unlocked the door.
“This isn’t a date and I’m tired. I’m going home.” I stayed outside, waiting for him to come back.
“Not without your car key,” he called out from inside.
Damn him. What game was he playing? I had no choice but to find out. “Sebastian, I need to go. For the love of God, please give me my keys.”
“I want to show you something.”
Groaning, I followed his voice through his house and around the corner, spotting him at the end of the hallway. He hitched a thumb toward an open door. “Check it out.”
I peeked into the spacious room. A black and gray pattern rug partially covered beautiful hardwood floors. The thick, black spread over the queen-size sleigh bed looked soft and inviting. I took a step back and created a distance between Sebastian and I. “Why are you showing me your bedroom?”
He laughed. “It’s not my bedroom. It’s yours. For a little while anyway. As long as it takes for you to be rested enough to drive.” I opened my mouth to deny being incapable or helpless, but he forged on, grasping my shoulders. “Violet, you’re exhausted. And if you leave like this, fall asleep at the wheel or something, I’ll never forgive myself.”
I could be stubborn, but the truth was that I dreaded the thought of driving. Sebastian was right. I was beyond beat. “Okay. But please don’t let me sleep longer than like a half hour. I still have a lot to do tonight.”
“Sleep at least a half hour and I’ll give you back your keys. As soon as you’re alert enough to drive.” He held up his hand as though he were making an official pledge.
“Fine.” I brushed past him, already eager to get on that bed. My fingers clasped the lapels of his jacket and I slipped it off and handed it to him. “Thanks for this.”
He took the leather from me and turned to go, then stopped abruptly and spun back around. “Does Aidan know?”
I sat on the bed and kicked off my shoes. “Know about what?”
He raised one brow. “The baby.”
Yeah, okay, so I wasn’t fooling Sebastian. But knowing the truth was probably better than him thinking I had some horrible disease. And if anyone had a right to know I was pregnant, it was him. I just wasn’t ready yet to tell him the baby was his. “Nobody else knows. I just found out earlier today, actually.”
He nodded, absorbing that information.
“Why were you so sure?” I wrinkled my nose. “It could’ve been a stomach bug, like I thought.”
“I would’ve bought that line you were feeding me. Actually, I totally did—until I noticed today how often you touch your stomach.” His gaze dropped.
I followed his line of vision. Yep, there was my palm, flattened against my tummy. My hand whipped away and I made a mental note to be more careful in the future. “If you could keep this quiet, I’d appreciate it. I’m not ready to tell my dad that his daughter just threw away her entire future because of one crazy night.”
His head rocked forward in response. “No problem. But you didn’t throw away your future, Violet. You still have one. There’s just a kid in it now.”
He had a point. Still... “You’re going to act like an unplanned pregnancy wouldn’t throw you off at all?”
“If I found out someone out there was pregnant with my child...” He shrugged. “I’ve always imagined myself with kids one day, but in that vision, I’m married. If it happened another way, yes, I’d be surprised. And then I’d figure out how to work with the mom.”
So he was actually okay with kids? I swallowed, knowing I’d never be able to get out of telling him. And I would tell him. But not today. I brought one knee up on the bed and rested an elbow on it. “Yeah, I know you’re right. But nothing will ever be the same and…” I’d been about to say that I was scared.
“It’s going to be okay, Violet. Aidan’s going to be thrilled when you tell him.”
I swallowed back tears, not wanting Sebastian to see me lose it. I couldn’t meet Sebastian’s gaze, just focused on the curtain billowing at the window. “Yeah, I wasn’t worried about that.”
He leaned against the doorframe. “You’re worried about the guy’s reaction when you tell him he’s going to be a daddy?”
“You know some guys. They offer all kinds of things out of duty. I’d never know if his feelings were real or if he was only doing the right thing.”
“The guy’s a moron if he doesn’t appreciate you.” Sebastian’s spine straightened. “If he doesn’t do right by you, let me know and I’ll have a word with him.”
I chuckled. “I’ll handle it, but thanks.”
The toe of his boot kicked at something I couldn’t see. “Want some water or something?”
I smiled. Sebastian could be sweet when he wanted to be, defending me against a guy he thought might hurt me, offering me a place to sleep. Something told me his little display of douchiness earlier had been an act. It was the only time I’d seen him behave like an ape.
“I’m good. But thanks.” He had the door half way closed when my voice stopped him. “Sebastian?”
He popped his head through the doorway. “Yeah?”
“Thanks for the place to crash.”
He lifted his chin in acknowledgment and the door clicked shut. I collapsed against the pillow, closed my eyes and I was out.
**
Lifting my lids was like trying to slide Velcro sideways. Extremely difficult. After I finally triumphed over the desire to keep sleeping, I rolled off the bed. I made a quick stop in the bathroom to check my hair in the mirror—and pee, of course—then slogged into the living room. Sebastian sat on the floor, leaning against the front of the couch, the side of a guitar resting on his thighs. He didn’t glance my way as he turned the little knobs to tighten the strings, a pad riddled with scribbles lying in front of him on the floor.
I slunk into the shadows, not wanting him to see me watching him. I wanted to hear him sing, watch him work magic with words.
“Tell me the da
rk won’t last forever. Baby, tell me things’ll get better. I want to live, just don’t know how. Not even you can save me now.” Sebastian tested out some chords, then tried out another. Then he went back to the original chord as he sang the chorus. “I’ll be free from you at last, no longer haunted by the past.”
Thankfully, this time that I’d walked in on him writing lyrics, he was wearing a shirt. Granted, it was a tank top and his bulky biceps were saying hello in the most distracting way possible, but at least I wouldn’t be assaulted by that six-pack. Damn, he was hot.
“Are you going to join me or stand there all night?” he asked, leaning over to jot something down on the pad.
“When I interrupted you yesterday, you stopped playing. I didn’t want to disturb you again.” Heat warmed my cheeks and I was glad he hadn’t looked at me. His lack of eye contact obviously meant he wasn’t interested in me. Didn’t matter how much I lusted after his body, there was no real connection between us. I knew it. He knew it. “Those lyrics are pretty dark.”
“Wrote them after my sister disappeared.” His fingertips skated across the guitar strings. “So you haven’t told the father?”
“Back to the baby, are we?” I grimaced. “I’m about nine weeks pregnant. Risk of miscarriage decreases dramatically after the first trimester. Figured I’d wait until then to inform the father.”
“So you’re keeping the baby?” He lifted one brow.
“Yes.” There, it was out. And now that Sebastian believed I was having another man’s baby, there was no way he’d be attracted to me in any way. Zero chance of anything happening there. My gaze darted toward the kitchen. “Can I have a glass of water before I take off?”
“Let me get that for you.” He set his guitar on the sofa and flicked a hand in the direction of the kitchen. Apparently, I was supposed to follow him.
“With or without ice, or do you prefer room temperature?” He grabbed a tall glass from a cabinet, then swiveled to face me.
The Baby and the Rock Star (Rock Star Kisses Book 2) Page 7
