Romance: Rockstar Romance: Rock My World (A Bad Boy Rock Star and a College Girl Romance) (Contemporary New Adult Second Chance Romance) (84 page)

''Thousands of times.''

''What's it like?''

''Difficult to describe, but I'm sure you'll like it.''

''Okay. I'll have lobster.''

''Tell me about yourself. We had sex and didn't talk much,'' he said.

''There isn't much to tell really. I grew up on the farm and went to school in the nearby village. I've always loved
kids,
so I knew I wanted to be a kindergarten teacher.''

''Parents, sisters, brothers?''

''Mom died of breast cancer when I was just three. My dad brought me up. He
was killed
last year.''

''I'm sorry to hear that. Do you mind me asking how he
was killed
?''

''He was a cattle farmer. Ironic
really
. His pride and joy killed him.''

''A bull?''

''Yes. We have no idea why. He was the sweetest creature and one day
boom, he
gored dad to death.''

''Christ, that must have been horrendous.''

''It was,'' she said. The waiter arrived with the wine
Beezee
had ordered and poured a little for him to sample.
Beezee
nodded,
and the waiter proceeded to pour. ''I've got two brothers who have carried the
farm on
. I love them, but I don't like them too much.''

''Why?''

''They are frighteningly protective. I think it's since dad died. They feel they have to look after me. In fact, they stifle me.''

''But you don't live on the farm anymore, right?''

''No, I managed to escape. But not without a struggle.''

''I'm sure they mean well,'' he said.

''Maybe.''

''Josie. I want you to come to the Sony Music Awards with me.''

Her mouth dropped
open,
and she let go of the pastry. ''Me?''

''I can't see anybody else here called Josie, can you?''

''But. I can't. I mean, I will look out of place.''

''Why? You won't.
You're so beautiful you'll fit right in.
In fact, you'll probably be the center of attention.''

''But what will I wear. I've only got cheap clothes. I don't even have an evening gown.''

''We'll get you one. Stop worrying. What do you say?''

''Okay,'' she said as a huge grin crossed her face.

''Great. That's settled then.''

*****

Guthrie burped and put his eighth empty beer can on the floor next to his chair. He banged the remote on the arm of his chair and turned over to the next channel.

''Fuck me. Patrick,'' he shouted. ''Patrick, get in here, now.''

Patrick came into the room and looked at the TV. ''Who the hell is she with?''

''
Beezee
, that weird singer. You know the one who's always
on
the news because he's been screwing someone he shouldn't have.''

''What the fuck is she doing with him? Where the hell are they?'' Patrick asked.

''In LA at some poncy award ceremony. I'll tear his ass off if he treats her like all the others
he's had
. Stupid bitch, what the hell possessed her to go with that creep?'' Guthrie said.

''We should at least have a word with him. She's our little
sister, he
should know we're watching him,'' Guthrie said.

''No. I tell you what. We won't
tell him
anything. We'll find out where the asshole lives and break his fucking legs,'' Patrick suggested.

''Don't be stupid, we can't do that. I have a better idea.''

*****

Three months passed in which
Beezee
and Josie dated. After her appearance at the Music Awards, Josie became a very well photographed woman. It wasn't long before the paparazzi found out where she worked and besieged the kindergarten. In the end,
she
had to leave her
beloved
job. It wasn't long before
Beezee
asked her to move in with him, which she gladly did. They lived in his beach-side house in Malibu, thousands of miles away from the farm Josie was born on.

''What's this?'' Josie shouted when
Beezee
walked through the front door.

''Lies,'' he said. ''All lies.''

''I don't think I can cope with this. I told you I was just an ordinary woman. These constant press reports linking you to all sorts of
trashy
women are
really
beginning to annoy me.''

Beezee pushed the glass door open and stepped onto the deck. The waves were making a louder noise than usual as they crashed onto the beach. ''It goes with the territory,'' he said. ''When you're
rich
and famous you're a target. They want to bring you down, ruin your relationships.''

''Josie stood next to him and took his arm. ''I love
you,
and it kills me to see your name linked to other women. Why do they write this crap?''

''I've just explained it to you.''

''Or is some of it true?''

''What?'' he
said angrily
. ''
What are you saying?
''

''Well, the papers don't lie all the time. No smoke without fire.''

''Are you accusing me of being unfaithful to you?''

''No, sorry. It's just......it's
fucking
awful, that's all.''

''
Of course,
it's
awful
. Do you think I like it? It's beginning to come between us. I love
you, I
don't want you to be
upset,
and I don't want to fight. Let's got to Barney's this evening and relax a little.''

''Okay. I'm sorry I doubted you. Do you forgive me?'' she said. He kissed her and ran his finger down her nose.

''Of course.''

Barney's was a beach hut restaurant frequented by the rich and famous inhabitants of Malibu. When
Beezee
stepped inside, the owner made a real fuss of him. They got the best seat in the house, a
seat
in the window overlooking the ocean.

''I've got some news,''
Beezee
said.

''What?'' Josie replied as she sat down.

''I'm going solo.''

''Oh. What does that mean for the band? It's very popular.''

''We've come to the end of the road. We're splitting.''

''But all your fans, what about them?''

''I'll still be singing, just on my own, that's all.''

''Okay, if you think it'll be better.''

''Much better.''

''Okay, let's drink to it.''

*****

''I knew the asshole couldn't be trusted. Does my sister know about it?'' Patrick asked.

''I don't think so. Here's the photographic evidence.'' the man handed Patrick a large envelope.

''Look,'' Patrick said as he
handed
the black and white photos to Guthrie.

''What a loser,'' Guthrie said.

''How much do we owe you?'' Patrick asked.

''As agreed it was five hundred a day. So three grand.''

''Worth every penny,'' Guthrie said as he peeled bank notes from a huge roll. ''Can we call on you again if we need you?''

''You certainly can. You can always rely on the Culbertson Private Detective Agency.'' The man took his money and left the farm.

''Got the bastard,'' Patrick said.

''How are we going to break the news to her?'' Guthrie asked. ''If she knows we've been snooping around she'll go crazy.''

''That's the tricky bit. Maybe we should release it to the press and let her find out that way. You're right, if we tell her we hired a private detective to look into him, she'll never speak to us again.''

Patrick looked across the farm yard to the cows grazing in the field opposite. ''What kind of a man would we be happy for her to be with?'' he asked.

''A farmer, an
honest decent
man. Not some jumped up pop singer.''

''Okay, let's give the photos to the press,'' Patrick said.

*****

Beezee
and Josie enjoyed fucking on Sunday mornings. It was the one day when he didn't have anything much to do. When they
were finished
,
Beezee
went to the bathroom. Josie reached for the remote and turned the TV on. She always watched the Sunday current affairs show on CTV.

''And now for a look at the Sunday Newspapers,'' the presenter said. He talked about some of the
headline political
news before moving to more general news. ''And the LA Times has an interesting story about
Beezee
.  Apparently he's got a secret son. The report says he visits a child and its mother in the LA area once a week.''

Josie turned the TV off and looked at the bathroom door. It
was closed
so he can't have heard it. She fought back the tears as she tried to think what she should do. Why hadn't he told her about it. Surely if he
really
loved her, he would have said something. Or did he have a relationship with the child's mother that he didn't want her to
know about
? Her mind was working overtime
in an effort to
make some sense of the situation.

When
Beezee
returned from the bathroom, he ducked just in time. The ornament smashed on the wall behind him. ''What the fuck are you doing? Have you gone mad?'' he shouted.

''No, you have. You asshole. You cheating shit.''

''What are you talking about?'' He ducked again as another ornament flew over his head.

''I trusted you. I gave up my job for you and all you can
do is
repay me with lies.''

''If you don't tell me why you're so upset, how can I comment?''

''I want you to fuck off out of my way and let me pack my things, that's what I want.''

He walked to her and grabbed her, but she hit him and pulled away. ''Leave me alone, don't touch me,'' she hissed as she walked to the closet and pulled out a suitcase.''

''Tell me what I've done, please.''

''Go away,'' she shouted.

He decided to let her calm down and left the room. A
few minutes
later his cell phone rang. It was his agent.

''Have you seen the news today?'' Polly asked.

''No.''

''Well you should. They're saying you have a secret son.''

''Why?''

''I have no idea, but you're going to have to think what to say to the press.''

''Shit. Okay thanks for warning me.''

Now he knew why Josie was so upset. He walked back into the bedroom and found her closing the suitcase.

''Okay. Let me explain,'' he said.

''I don't want or need your explanation. I'm leaving.''

''But there is
a perfectly rational reason
.''

''Maybe there is, but I'm your
lover,
and you kept secrets from me. How can I trust you? I've spent months reading about your
affairs,
and you've always denied they exist. If you're prepared to keep the fact you have a child from me, what else are you hiding? Goodbye,
Beezee
.''

She picked up the case from the bed walked past him and out of the front door. It wasn't long before the taxi she'd called arrived and took her to the airport.

*****

When the taxi dropped her off at the
farm,
she got out and looked at the house her brothers still
lived in
. Her father had done his best to keep it nice, but her brothers were slovenly and didn't seem to care. She was afraid now that she was back at home it would be her who would have to make the place look presentable.

''Sis, hello. We missed you,'' Patrick said.

''Hi. Look at the state of this place. It's filthy,'' she said.

''Don't worry about that now, come and tell us about what you've been doing,''Guthrie said.

''Had a relationship with a man and it didn't work. Now I'm unemployed.''

''We'll look after you. There's plenty of work around
here,
and we've been doing pretty well recently.''