“You—I—” She shook her head. Now it was her turn to be utterly incoherent. “What?”
“I thought you were serious about me,” he said. Billy was hurt. He looked genuinely hurt. For a second, she wavered. Her insides went in every different direction as she pinged between guilt and anger.
But...she had nothing to feel guilty about. Why on earth should she feel guilty? She wasn’t the one who’d cheated. “I was serious about you,” she said. “I thought you were going to propose!”
The answering silence had her own pathetic words echoing like a gong in the small coffee shop.
Humiliation hit her smack in the face.
Oh sweet sugar. Had she just admitted that aloud? And in front of Aston Rogue?
More importantly, had she been some cruel dictator in a former life that her worst and most humiliating moment had to be witnessed by her rockstar idol?
Billy’s expression morphed into a sneer. “You thought I was going to propose?”
Her heart fell to the floor with a splat.
“It doesn’t matter—” she started, hoping to brush it off, but he spoke over her.
“Is that why you did this?” He gestured toward...Aston?
Gina blinked at Billy. Then she finally turned her head to look at Aston.
He got a blink from her as well.
What on earth was going on here?
“You know what, doesn’t matter,” Billy said. He stalked toward her and to Gina’s shock—Aston shifted so he was partially blocking her. Like he was her personal guard or something.
What the...what?
She no longer knew what reality she was living in, but this was nuts. All of it. This entire scenario was totally bananas.
She looked to Aston and then to Billy, who were now glaring at each other in some sort of surreal showdown that made Gina wonder if she was in a coma. There was no other explanation.
Billy blinked first. He turned his glare to Gina. “You think you can make me a laughingstock and then just show up here like you belong?”
She tried to draw in air but it didn't seem to contain any oxygen. Her lungs were dying as she realized what he was saying.
This place, this coffee shop—it was her home. It was her pride and joy. Yes, she’d planned on quitting, but he couldn’t just—
“You’re fired.” Billy’s words seemed to crack in the air like a whip.
Gina’s head jerked back like he’d just slapped her. Tears stung her eyes, but luckily anger rose up to save the day. “You can’t fire me. I quit!”
She’d never understood that phrase before now. It made no sense, and yet it felt so very good to say.
Billy sneered as he moved closer. “You can’t quit. I just—”
“Enough.” Aston spoke at full volume for the first time, and it had Gina and Billy looking over at him in surprise. He shifted even closer so he was blocking Gina entirely as he held a hand up to stop Billy from coming any closer.
Billy gaped at him like a fish.
Aston, meanwhile, turned his head to look down at her and he...he smiled.
It was a smile she knew like the back of her hand. Creases, dimples, and crinkles, oh my.
He reached for her hand and held it, his big, warm hand swallowing hers before he turned back to Billy. “You’ll handle the rest of her shift, yeah?”
His tone was low, cool, calm, and cocky as all get out.
Billy started to balk, but Aston ignored him, turning that ridiculous smile back on Gina. “That’s what I thought.” His glasses covered his eyes, but his smile held a world of mischief. “You ready, babe?”
Babe?!
Her mind exploded with a magnificent poof.
He didn’t wait for an answer before giving her hand a tug so she was stumbling out of the coffee shop alongside him.
She stared up at him as they reached the door, sending the bell tinkling overhead. “What are we—”
“Don’t look back,” he muttered as he pulled her out the door.
Look back?
Never.
She couldn’t have looked away from Aston if she’d tried.
Four
Aston was shaking with rage when they spilled out onto the sidewalk.
He wasn’t an angry guy. Unlike a lot of musicians he knew, he wasn’t some overly emotional diva who flew into fits of temper. But right now…?
Right now his muscles shook from the restraint it had taken to keep from shoving his fist in that jerk’s mouth.
They came to a stop at the end of the block, out of view of the coffee shop’s window but in full view of everyone else on this bustling Main Street. Instinctively, he ducked his head and shifted so he was facing Gina more fully, his back to the people passing by.
One look at Gina’s face and his rage intensified a millionfold. But so did his worry.
Man, she looked shaken. Even her lips were pale, like all the blood had been drained from her.
Maybe she was in shock.
Not that he could blame her. He’d been shocked by her sudden announcement that the mouth-breathing turd named Billy had cheated on her. And then there was the fact that she hadn’t seemed to know anything about her alleged love affair with him.
He winced at the thought of how he was going to explain that to her.
“Gina?” he said softly. “Are you all right?”
Her gaze was unfocused, her lips parted, and her eyes so wide and vulnerable...
His heart gave a sharp knock to his ribcage in response.
He didn’t know this girl at all, but one look in those big brown eyes and he was convinced that the fictional story Morgan had spun had gotten at least one thing right. She was a sweetheart. Way too good for that schmuck back there. A muscle in his jaw still ticked at the memory of the way he’d spoken to her. He’d have loved nothing more than to beat that Billy guy to a pulp.
But, given the circumstances, he’d opted to give her a win instead.
There hadn’t been anything he could do about her obvious heartache. There wasn’t even much he could do to undo the damage Morgan had already done. The only way he’d been able to see that he could help her back there in that moment was to help save her pride.
After all, Billy didn’t need to know that the article was a big, fat lie. If Gina was right and he’d been cheating on her…
He winced as he looked down at this cute little brunette with the wide, wounded eyes.
Well, the best thing he could do was help her get a little payback. Right? That’s what he would have wanted, at least.
“What...what…” She blinked, her eyes finally focusing on him. “What happened back there?”
Before he could respond, a blonde with a baby on her hip was at their side, her head stuck between them. “Morning, Gina,” she said, her smile bright but her gaze fixed on Aston.
“Oh, uh, hi Marnie,” Gina said.
Marnie didn’t seem to notice that Gina was getting paler by the second and that her voice was distant, her eyes glazed.
“Aren’t you going to introduce me to your friend?” Marnie said, her smile still trained on Aston.
Aston just barely bit back a sigh. He was used to fans coming up to him on the street. He’d given up on trying to keep up boundaries a long time ago.
But right now it was like he was a newbie to it all. It was all he could do to keep the frustration from showing as his muscles knotted and he mentally willed the other woman away.
Gina stared up at him, her expression so vulnerable and open it hurt. It literally hurt him. It felt like she was taking a knife to his chest with that look.
He cleared his throat and thrust a hand out at the blonde. “Aston Rogue. Nice to meet you.” He smiled at the baby. “And the little one.”
The baby cooed in response which made his smile feel a hundred times more genuine.
“Oh, it’s such an honor to meet you, sir,” Marnie was saying, her tone embarrassingly gushing.
He tipped his head, smiled, and d
id the humble routine that was second nature these days. It was the look that said ‘aw shucks, I’m still just a country boy at heart.’ Even though he’d never been a country boy. He’d grown up in Los Angeles, and had about as much country in him as a Kardashian.
“Will you excuse us, Marnie?” he said as he took Gina by the elbow, ready to steer her somewhere more private. “Gina and I were just having a private conversation.”
“Oh!” Marnie’s eyes widened and her cheeks turned pink as she cast Gina a look that held a world of envy and more than a little excitement. “Of course. I’ll catch up with you soon, Gina.”
Gina gave her a blank stare, but when Marnie turned back to him, he upped the sheepish grin and added a sprinkle of gratitude that had Marnie walking away with a giggle.
He didn’t try to stifle his sigh this time as he turned his attention back to Gina.
That humble, small-town hero act had been scoring him fans and getting him off the hook for as long as he could remember. As Toby liked to point out, it was the only thing keeping his most diehard fans from turning on him. They forgave him his romantic scandals, the bad press that came from the latest breakup with that reality TV star, the flack from that tell-all by that model whose name he hadn’t remembered.
But the goodwill that came with a wry smile and a twinkle in the eye wouldn’t last forever. The older he got, the less PR guys like Morgan could hide his flaws behind the bad-boy-with-a-heart-of-gold image.
A now-familiar tension flooded him at the reminder that he was one negative news story away from the end of the line. A decade-long career that he’d been striving for since the time he could talk, and it could all come to an end if he didn’t play the part his fans wanted to see.
Gina’s gaze focused on his and her eyes narrowed in concern. “Are you all right, Mr. Rogue? You look upset.”
He let out a huff of laughter at the genuine concern. She was worried about him? “I’m fine, but I do think you and I should talk.” He glanced around. Preferably before someone else filled her in on why she was attracting so much attention this morning.
“Yeah, um...okay.” She started looking around them too, and he saw the moment she realized that they were in the spotlight. He’d felt it happening. To be honest, he’d been waiting for it to happen the moment they’d stepped out of the coffee shop.
The pedestrians around them had stopped. By the way Gina’s eyes widened as she glanced across the street, he’d guess the people walking on the other sidewalk had stopped to gawk, too. Even the cars passing were slowing to a crawl so the passengers could rubberneck the rock star and the town’s newest celebrity.
Though, Gina was currently unaware that she was a celebrity.
So...that was awkward.
Her gaze darted up to meet his. “Everyone is staring at you.”
“Everyone is staring at us,” he corrected. This was it. His opening. He cleared his throat. “I don’t suppose you’ve had a chance to check your messages today, or maybe...go online?”
She opened her mouth and then clamped it shut, but the answer was written all over her face, along with a burgeoning horror that made his insides shrivel.
Ah heck. This girl was already having a bad day. Her boyfriend had been cheating on her, she’d just been fired… And now he had to tell her his PR team had thrown her in the middle of a fake news story that pitted her as his new girlfriend.
Yup. He was definitely going to fire Morgan for this.
“Why?” Gina drew the word out slowly, like it was four syllables instead of one. Her chest rose and fell as her breathing quickened.
“Why?” she asked again, her hands already scrambling for her phone in her back pocket. “What would I see?”
The crowd around them was drawing closer, no doubt trying to hear what they were saying. Heaven forbid they didn’t get the full soundtrack for this little scene they were performing.
He reached out and covered her phone with his hand. “Later,” he said, giving a quick, meaningful glance around them. “Not here.”
Her throat worked as she swallowed, but after a second she nodded.
Before she could say anything else, a short siren squawk sounded next to them, jarring them both and drawing their attention to a parked sheriff’s office car.
“Gina,” the deputy driving said through his rolled-down window, ignoring Aston entirely. “Care to take a drive with me?”
Aston stiffened. There was something so very commanding in this dark-haired man’s tone. So patronizing, almost.
Aston glared at the man, whose mouth thinned and nostrils flared in response. He didn’t return his glare though.
This man knew Aston was there, but he was dead set on ignoring him. And there was no doubt he was angry.
Aston glanced from the deputy to Gina and then back again. Was this another man who had a thing for Gina?
He could understand that. This was a small town, and she was extremely attractive. Adorable, really, with her curvy, pint-sized body and her pretty, open features. She had a sweet face, guileless eyes, and a vulnerability about her that practically begged a man to look after her.
Heck, he was battling the urge to beat his chest and take down another stranger for the second time in as many minutes, and he had no claim to her whatsoever.
“Gina,” the deputy said in a warning tone.
Aston tensed, his hand clenching into fists.
No one in his right mind would call Aston a knight in shining armor, but here he was, ready and willing to slay this woman’s dragons.
He frowned, turning his attention to her.
It was weird, this effect she had on him. Strange, no doubt about it.
“Gina,” the deputy said again as he leaned out of the open window. Aston caught a hint of concern behind that ire and condescension. “Get in the car. Please.”
The deputy cast a meaningful glance around them and Gina nodded. She started to move before stopping short. “Um...” She glanced up at Aston and then around at the crowd. “Do you, uh, do you need a ride?”
No. His hotel was within walking distance, but it wasn’t as though he could let her drive away without explaining what was going on—and how he was going to end it.
He owed her that reassurance at the very least.
“Please,” he murmured, flashing another smile.
Her lips curved up in response. Most women returned this smile, but seeing a hint of smile on her otherwise wan face gave him a surge of gratification.
The man behind the wheel let out a groan. “Just get in already before I have to call for crowd control backup.”
That had Gina hustling, diving toward the backseat door, with him sliding in behind her.
Once upon a time, in another decade, there might have been one or two paparazzi in the crowd with cameras. Or maybe, if he was really unlucky, one of the bystanders had a camera on hand for some reason and could capture the moment.
These days, everyone on the street was paparazzi, and he flashed Gina what he hoped was a reassuring smile as he said, “You might want to duck your head and turn away from the window.”
“What do you—” She froze, and he saw it click. “Oh.”
She turned so she was facing him. “Better?”
He smiled. The damage was likely already done. Between the scene in the coffee shop with those two women present as witnesses and then their time standing huddled together on the corner...
“Much better,” he assured her.
He’d honestly come here today to apologize and tell her that he’d make things right by letting this story die out and spreading some tale about their inevitable ‘breakup.’
That had been his intention.
Somehow, though, he’d managed to make this mess a whole lot messier.
He tugged his baseball cap lower over his eyes with a sigh.
Way to go, Aston.
The deputy stepped on the gas and Aston pinched the bridge of his nose.
He’d truly meant to
help the girl. But how could he have foreseen that her boyfriend would go ballistic? Or that she’d accuse that jerk of cheating on her? Or that her boyfriend was her boss and would fire her?
He could definitely not have seen that coming.
But now he’d gone and made the rumors swirling about her—about them—a million times worse.
He should never have left his hotel room. For the first time in what felt like decades he’d acted on instinct rather than his team’s advice and strategies, and where had it gotten him?
Here. In the backseat of a sheriff’s car.
He dropped his hand, lifted his head, and found himself staring back at the deputy’s angry glare in the rearview mirror.
Oh yeah, he’d definitely managed to make the situation a whole lot worse.
Five
Do not panic, Gina told herself for the tenth time as she drew in a deep breath and clutched the worn vinyl of the seat beneath her. Do not panic.
What she needed was answers, and now that the crowd wasn’t staring, this was her chance.
Trying to ignore the fact that she was about to address the Aston Rogue, love of her teen life, she wet her lips and took a deep breath.
“What is going on?” she asked.
Her brother Colton didn’t give him a chance to respond. “That’s what I’d like to know, Gina.”
Her overprotective brother was worried. She knew this. But Colton had a tendency to disguise worry with anger and right now that really was not helping.
“Colton, cut it out,” she said. “I need Mr. Rogue—”
“It’s Aston,” he said with a smile that made her belly flip. “Just Aston.”
“Oh. Okay.”
“Ask Mr. Aston here why the heck you’re front page news this morning,” her brother bit out through clenched teeth.
She spun in her seat to face Aston. “What?”
He held his hands up with a wince. “I’m sorry. There’s been a mistake. And that’s why I came to see you at the coffee shop—”
“You came to see me?” the words came tumbling out, and two seconds later she cursed herself for being an idiot. That was not the point.
Fake Dating My Rockstar Roommate: A Sweet Standalone Romance (Fake Dates Book 3) Page 4
