My Fake Rockstar Boyfriend (Rock and Rogues, #1)

by Remy, Cate

  Deacon kissed her just for show. Why was she surprised? Didn’t she agree to this job?

  “You feeling okay?” He watched her reaction.

  Why was she shocked by him? Wasn’t this what she agreed to, a few kisses every now and then? She just didn’t expect to receive a full blown one on the lips.

  “I’m not into a lot of PDA. If this is part of the deal, let’s keep it to a minimum.”

  Deacon slowly nodded. “I hear you.”

  She wanted to start her car and drive away from him and the voyeuristic fans. Instead, she remained parked and watched him go towards the van. In what seemed like forever, the van finally was ready to leave the concert venue. She followed after it.

  The van’s destination was some dive burger joint that received good ratings online for its seared burgers and hand-cut fries. Once Tracy parked her car and went inside, she willed herself to concentrate on food and not the fake kiss she ended up secretly enjoying with Deacon. If he didn’t care about it, neither should she. She couldn’t afford to.

  THE NEXT MORNING, AFTER an unrestful sleep, Tracy left her apartment to drive to her aunt’s. It was time to take Auntie Olivia to the doctor for her weekly dialysis. She used the key to get into her aunt’s house and saw that the interiors practically sparkled. They smelled of lemon and lavender. She met Auntie Olivia in the kitchen.

  “It smells great in here.”

  “The maid service came yesterday.” Her aunt got up from the kitchen table and put an empty water glass in the sink. She grabbed her purse on the counter. “You didn’t tell me they were going to clean my house more than once.”

  “I don’t want you straining yourself all the time, auntie.”

  “Cleaning relaxes me. You look like you could use a dose of R&R yourself.” Her aunt scrutinized her. “I heard from Candace about your love life. Is that musician boyfriend of yours keeping you out late at night?”

  Leave it to her sister to spill the beans to Auntie Olivia. Tracy glanced at her tired expression in the reflection of the microwave window. “I was at his concert last night taking pictures.”

  “You better tell him to respect your schedule. I assume he parties all the time because he doesn’t have to function during the day like the rest of us?”

  “Deacon and I weren’t partying late last night. I went there to do my job and that’s all.”

  “Mm-hmm.”

  “I’m positive.” Tracy’s mind traveled back to when he kissed her last night. Better forget about it. Deacon used to be a soap star. He knew what he was doing when he turned on the charm and acted for a crowd. He probably felt nothing. She took her keys out of her pocket. “Ready to head to the doctor’s?”

  In the car, she made sure to talk about the news, church, books, and other topics her aunt liked. She wanted to get as far away from the subject of Deacon as possible. She didn’t want to answer questions about him and she especially didn’t want to think more about her emotional response to his kiss.

  At the doctor’s office, in the lounge of the hospital cancer treatment ward, she decided to look over some photos while her aunt went through the dialysis.

  “Miss Jordan?” A nurse in blue scrubs appeared in the lounge. She came over to Tracy’s table. “The doctor’s looking for you. He wants to speak to you for a moment.”

  Anxiety kick-started Tracy’s heart. If the doctor wanted to see her about something concerning her aunt, it had to be urgent. Usually the appointments were pretty standard dialysis procedures. She closed her laptop, put it back into her bag, and followed the nurse into the doctor’s office.

  “Your aunt is finishing her treatment, but Dr. Forest is waiting to consult with you.” The nurse took her to the doctor’s consulting room where he sat behind a mahogany desk.

  Dr. Forest removed his glasses and directed her to a chair in front of the desk. “Miss Jordan, have a seat, please.”

  The nurse left her in the consulting room with the doctor and closed the door. Tracy sat on the edge of the seat, her back so rigid it refused to settle into the cushion of the chair. “Is anything wrong with my aunt?”

  “I have her latest test results. The decline of her kidneys is moving faster than we expected. I’m sorry, Tracy, but your aunt is going to need an organ transplant.”

  She absorbed the news. In the back of her mind, because her aunt was going through dialysis treatments, she knew a kidney transplant could be a slight possibility. Auntie Olivia had started the treatments off so well. She didn’t expect this would be a necessity. “How soon does she need a transplant?”

  “To be honest, if the organ were available today, I would schedule her for surgery this afternoon. But that’s not how things work. It could take months or longer to find a suitable organ donor. She’d have to get on a waiting list.”

  “No, my aunt can’t be sick for months.” Tracy wrung her clammy hands together.

  “I see how close you and your aunt are. I’m sorry.”

  There had to be a better way. Tracy didn’t want to imagine her aunt being weak and sickly as she waited months or even years for a kidney. An idea got into her head. “What about family members? Can they donate a kidney?”

  Dr. Forest nodded. “If they’re a match and they’re healthy enough to undergo the operation.”

  “I’ll do it. See if I’m a match.”

  He put his glasses back on. “There are risks.”

  “I know there are risks. I still want to be a donor.”

  The doctor opened the drawer in his desk and handed her a stack of pamphlets. “Read these to educate yourself about the procedure. If you have any questions, I’ll be here to answer them.” He stood. “I’ll let the nurses in the lab know that you want to schedule blood work.”

  “Thank you, Dr. Forest.”

  “Your aunt said you were a good niece. She should be out of treatment now and waiting in the lobby.”

  Tracy gathered her things to go meet her aunt. When she saw Auntie Olivia with a book in hand, her mind flashed back to all the times she would come home from school and see her aunt quietly reading while dinner was cooking in the oven. Auntie Olivia looked up and smiled at her. She struggled to hold back tears.

  “Hi, sweetie. I’m ready to go home.”

  “One moment, auntie. I have to check with the lab and then we can go.”

  Her aunt look puzzled. “Is anything wrong?”

  Tracy didn’t want to tell her now. She didn’t know how to tell her, especially when she was unable to sort through her own emotions and reaction to the news. “I want to ask them a question.” She headed to the lab to schedule her bloodwork. She hated not being upfront with her aunt.

  Later, on the car ride home, Auntie Olivia listened to jazz on the radio. “Do you think I’d like Deacon’s music?”

  Tracy laughed. “I’m not sure. I know how you feel about electric guitars.”

  “My taste can change. I should at least become familiar with his music since he’s dating my niece.”

  “I’ll send you a playlist with some of his songs.”

  Auntie Olivia touched her arm after they pulled into the driveway. “Honey, I can tell you have something on your mind. What’s really going on?”

  Tracy pulled the keys from the ignition. She swung her gaze to look at her aunt. “Dr. Forest told me about your lab results. The treatments aren’t working like they used to.”

  Her aunt made a slow, deliberate nod. “When I first started these treatments, he told me this could happen.”

  “It doesn’t mean we have to just accept it.”

  “I’m not. I’m going to keep doing the best I can while I wait to see if they can find me an organ donor. I have to trust things will work out. We both do, honey.”

  Tracy fought back the tears. She didn’t want her aunt to see her cry. It wouldn’t help anything. She was a caregiver, not a little girl in need of motherly protection anymore. It was her turn to take care of Auntie Olivia. She had to stay strong for her.

&
nbsp; “Now, what are your plans for the rest of the day?”

  “I’m going to Birmingham tonight with Deacon’s band. I have to be on the bus by two this afternoon.”

  “How about lunch before you go off to work? I have soup in the slow cooker.”

  “Soup sounds good.” She helped her aunt out of the car. Tracy maintained a smile, questioning how she could hold it for long.

  TRACY HAD LUNCH WITH her aunt and then drove her car to Peachtree Records. The bus was there waiting to take Deacon and the band to Birmingham. She got on the bus and put her headphones in her ears while she waited for Deacon and everyone else to board.

  After her morning spent taking her aunt to dialysis, she didn’t feel much like making the two and a half hour drive to Birmingham. As the bus driver started the engine, she fished in her bag for a book to read. A shadow fell over her. She looked up and saw it belonged to Deacon.

  “What’s wrong? You seem more quiet than usual.”

  She considered telling him, and then nixed the decision. What if he believed she couldn’t do her job because of her family situation? She couldn’t afford to get fired because he thought she wasn’t one hundred percent focused on him. “I’m doing well. I need to recharge my batteries before we go to the concert.”

  He gave her a probing look. “If you say so.” He went a few rows behind her to talk to his bandmates and give her space.

  That was a close one. Maybe she was overreacting. Then again, maybe not, considering how Deacon and Ash were always evaluating the band’s appearance, songs, and performances. She didn’t want to mess things up. She was the only one who had the ability to pay for the medical services Auntie Olivia needed.

  She hoped she could do more than that by being an organ donor match, too. But until then, she couldn’t let Deacon know about her upcoming screening process. It could cost her everything.

  A WEEK PASSED, AND the day came for Tracy to go into the doctor’s office at the hospital for screening. She sat on the examining table, wringing her hands. She heard a quick knock and saw the doorknob turn. She straightened as Dr. Forest came in.

  He had her medical chart in his hand. “The lab is ready for your testing, but I have to go over a few things with you first.”

  The sooner she could get to the lab, the sooner she could ensure her aunt would get better. “It’s only a few blood tests, right?”

  “Today it is. I have to let you know the procedure if you turn out to be a match for a kidney donation. You’ll stay in the hospital for several days after you have the surgery. It’s not an easy recovery. You have to adapt to certain lifestyle changes. There will be things you can’t eat or drink anymore.”

  “I understand, but my aunt’s health is more important to me than wine and rum cake.”

  Dr. Forest looked at her over the clipboard. “I know you care very much about your aunt. It’s my duty as a physician to provide you with enough knowledge as possible to make an informed decision.”

  She became quiet and listened to him as he went over the surgical procedure and recovery time. What he said sounded scary. She didn’t know how she was going to adjust after the surgery went forward, yet she was going to go through with it. There was no question. Auntie Olivia needed a kidney and she was going to provide it.

  Dr. Forest finished explaining. Then he gave her papers to sign. She took the pen from him and scribbled her name on the multiple sheets. “Follow me, and we’ll head into the lab.”

  A short time later, Tracy left the doctor’s office with her left arm bandaged and feeling very bruised. She touched the bandaged area delicately. Then, her phone chirped an alert. She read the notification.

  Oh no! Deacon had a local talk show interview this afternoon. She forgot all about it. He expected her to be in the audience. He was scheduled to appear on set in the next half hour.

  Tracy looked down at her faded striped sundress. Hardly an outfit to wear for daytime television, but she didn’t have time to run home and change. She had a cardigan in the car. If she threw it on and maybe put on a dab of lipstick, it would be enough to look put together to go on the show.

  Tracy jogged out of the hospital to reach her car in the parking lot. She could get to the television station faster if she drove to the nearest MARTA station and took the rail downtown to avoid traffic and parking issues. She hoped she could get to the studio in time.

  DEACON SAT IN THE DRESSING room while he waited to be called on set at the television station. In a few more minutes, he would talk to Missy Moore, Atlanta’s most popular daytime talk show host, about his band and their new single. He occupied himself by browsing Photogram on his phone as well as music websites.

  His name was making headlines. There were numerous Photogram posts of him and Tracy from last week when they went on dates about town. There was the one where they shared ice cream while overlooking the Chattahoochee River. There was another picture where they attended an outdoor symphony. Tracy looked pretty in her purple dress. Her hair framed her smiling face in a dark halo. He liked seeing her smile. It lit up her entire face. He focused on her lips for a moment. He liked kissing those full, soft lips.

  Someone knocked on the door. He assumed it was a studio assistant there to tell him he was ready to go on stage. “Come in.”

  It was Ash. “I just got off the phone with Jackson Barnes. The album cover and the entire song list has been approved.”

  Deacon pumped his fist in the air. “That’s great. I still have one unfinished song to put on the album.”

  “You better hurry. We’re less than three weeks to launch.”

  “I hear you, but it’s a special song.”

  “That’s what all musicians say. Anyway, I’ll let you get ready for your interview.”

  “Ash, have you seen Tracy? She’s supposed to be out there in the audience.”

  He shook his head. “I didn’t see her out there when I looked. She could be there now, though.”

  Deacon hoped Tracy was in the audience. This interview was important, and she needed to be on camera so everyone could see her.

  The station’s production assistant came into the dressing room. “You’re up in five minutes.”

  Ash redirected the assistant’s attention to his phone. “The band just got their album cover approved. You think you can get this on screen to show everybody when he’s on stage with the host?”

  The assistant gazed at the phone. “I’ll see what we can do. Come with me.”

  Ash went with the production assistant, leaving Deacon alone in the room. Deacon watched the talk show from a small monitor in the dressing room. The show cut to commercial break. When it came back on, the camera did a panoramic view of the audience. He squinted to see if Tracy was in the front row.

  There was no sign of her. Didn’t she realize this was part of her job, that he needed her to be there with him?

  He stood as the talk show host Missy joked with the audience. Another assistant came to the room to take him on set. He heard the audience’s laughter. They stopped behind the set door and waited for the talk show host to introduce him.

  “My next guest has had a series of hits in the past decade. You may have rocked along to his band when you had your high school crush or your first serious relationship in college. Now, with a new album coming out next month and a hot summer tour in the works, he’s here to tell us all about it. Welcome Deacon Westmore of the band Deacon Wonder.”

  He walked out on set to the sound of the applause. He waved to the audience. Their cheers gave him a rush. The set lights felt hot on his head and back. He swiped a glance along the first couple rows of the audience. Tracy was not there.

  He gave the show host Missy a friendly hug before taking a seat on the chair beside her.

  “Wow, listen to all these ladies in the audience cheering.” Missy paused for effect so they could cheer louder. “I feel bad for the guys when they take their girlfriends to your concerts.”

  “They don’t have to worry,”
Deacon joked back. “I’m seeing someone. Their girlfriends are safe.”

  A big awww went up from the crowd. Missy went on with the conversation. “So your band’s been busy this year getting a new album ready. Tell us about it.”

  Deacon launched into a story about the project and told the audience a little about his writing process. The segment went on for the next nine or ten minutes. He spotted a digital clock behind the audience. It hit zero and flashed, a signal for the segment to wrap.

  “Looks like we’re almost out of time”, said Misty.

  As she spoke, movement occurred in the audience. Deacon glanced out and saw Tracy slip into the front row on the very end. She had on a striped dress with a navy cardigan. She kept rubbing her arm.

  “How do you feel about answering one more question for us, Deacon?”

  He turned back to Misty and grinned. “I feel great now. My girlfriend’s here.”

  The audience got excited. He saw Tracy sink in her seat as cameras swerved to the audience. Two big ones in front focused on her. Missy ate it up.

  “You have to come up here now,” she coaxed Tracy.

  Tracy gave a coy smile and shook her head. One of the producers of the show stepped into the audience with a microphone and shoved it in her face. She startled before regaining herself. She leaned into the mic. “I’m going to let Deacon have all the attention. For now.”

  The audience thought what she said was cute and laughed. Deacon gave her an appreciative nod for playing to them. Missy asked him the last question, which was to play the new single from his album. Nick and Luka were waiting on the side of the set with their instruments. The audience clapped when Deacon stood and went over to them.

  As he sang the new single, the audience stood for the music. His gaze kept going over to Tracy. She swayed to the music. The audience clapped when it was over. Then the host closed the show by showing a picture of the album cover before cutting to commercial break.

  Security came and directed the audience to the exits. Deacon set his guitar down next to the mic, shut off his microphone, and came to Tracy. He noticed when he got closer that she looked upset rather than nervous about being on TV. Worry lines marked her otherwise smooth brow. “What’s going on? I almost thought you weren’t going to make it.”