Page 36 of Stuck with a Billionaire Rockstar

Julia side-eyes me and says, “I’m not sure I was given much of a choice, but I’m glad I came.”

With a large crowd surrounding us, and every pair of eyes possibly watching our moves, I tilt her head back and place a tender kiss along her jaw before planting it against her lips. She hums against me, deepening it slowly before pulling away and looking back toward the stage with a smile.

There’s an emotion in her eyes I’m scared to see, so I avert my gaze and look straight ahead. That’s the best course of action for me. Ignore whatever is swirling around in her green eyes, and everything will be okay.

I tighten my hold around her waist and let my body sway with her along to the music, whispering the lyrics into her ear. Only after a few songs do I allow myself to gaze down at her. It’s breathtaking to see her look so alive and free in the moment, which has me looking over at Mallory, who’s already got her eyes on me with a knowing smile.

Julia feels right in my arms, the missing piece I didn’t know I needed in my life, but what if the spotlight I’m shown in isn’t what she wants? After everything we’ve shared together throughout the trip, I can confidently say that she wouldn’t use me in the way others have. I can’t say with confidence that she wouldn’t run away as soon as the paparazzi became too much because I remember how upset she looked when she asked if the picture of us could get taken down.

She hated seeing the comments from fans. I don’t have to see the picture to know that the comments are brutal; I’ve witnessed the lengths my fans will go to more than once. Could she handle it if things were to go further than this beach and resort?

Julia giggles in front of me, then spins around and leans so she can whisper in my ear. “I’m grabbing a drink.”

I shake my head and frown. “You stay here. I’ll grab you one.”

She smiles and pokes the tip of my nose. “So worried, but I’ll be fine.” Before I can keep her from walking away, she’s already scurrying through the crowd and heading toward the carts along the edge.

I silently curse at myself when she disappears, then turn around to see if Mallory is upset, but she’s no longer standing beside me. Where the hell did she go? When a hand travels slowly down my arm, I breathe a sigh of relief before I realize it’s too soon for Julia to be back already. The stranger who keeps flirting with me is standing right there, her nails creating a trail of unwanted attention along my arm, and she smiles. “It’s about time she leaves so I can make my move on you.”

She’s trying to be hot, but her voice makes my jaw clench tightly, and I pull away from her touch. Not that it does much because she’s practically rubbing her breasts against me like a cat in heat. I try to step away from her, smiling politely along the way, but she follows each move I make. “Listen, could you please back up?”

Her giggles make my head pound, and she throws her head back. “You’re so funny. Of course, that’s not what you want.” She leans forward, her mouth coming too close to my ear, and whispers, “I’ll play along for you, though, baby.” Her breath swimming over my skin makes it crawl, and I shake from the uncomfortable position I’m in.

When I look up and find Julia’s wide gaze watching our interaction, I already know she’s going to think the worst. Why wouldn’t she? I gently budge the woman to the side while keeping my eyes on Julia and start making my way toward her. For a moment, I think she’s not going to run away but instead allow me to explain the situation to her, and that evaporates when she finally takes a breath.

19

Julia

It’s my fault for thinking this was more than it was.

My vision is blurred as I push through the crowd and I vaguely hear my name being called, but the blood rushing through my ears makes it hard to tell if that’s it. The crowd has only gotten bigger since we arrived, so it takes longer than expected to make it to the edge, into a clearing on the beach, and I suck in a lungful of fresh saltwater air. Everything around me is muffled as I think about how cozy Brent looked with that woman, the same one who has been giving him looks all night, and my stomach rolls with anxiety.

A hand comes down on my shoulder and I flinch away from it, then spin around with my eyes narrowed. Brent stands in front of me, his gaze darting over my features with concern, and the tears fall freely down my cheek. “Julia, it wasn’t what it looked like.”

I scoff and throw my head back, then look back at him. “Oh, so she wasn’t pressing her tits into you and you weren’t smiling at her like you enjoyed it? Sorry, my eyesight must be worse than I thought.”

Brent shakes his head and frowns. “It wasn’t like that, Julia.”

“Then what was it like?” I ask loudly, the music drowning my words out as the bass gets louder. My mistake with the picture was not listening to his side, so this time, I know that’s what I should do.

“She came onto me. I asked her politely to back up, but she wouldn’t listen to me, and that’s when you saw the two of us.” He shakes his head and reaches out to me, a hand falling against my cheek. “I wouldn’t hurt you like that, Julia.”

“I don’t want to be made a fool of again, Brent. I don’t know if I'll recover.” What am I saying? I do know I won’t recover, not when it comes to him.

“Are you okay?”

“How do you keep being so nice to me?” I ask. “I’ve done nothing but accuse you of the worst in situations, yet you’re still standing here.”

An emotion I can’t decipher flutters through his eyes, and he opens his mouth, ready to say something, but a slow song spills through the beach that has him giving me a small smile. “Think we can finish out the concert?” I nod and let him lead me back through the crowd, but this time, he stops further back than before, and he wraps me in his warm arms.

A flash goes off, but I don’t think anything of it at first because I assume it’s a strobe light from the stage. Another goes off less than a minute later, and this time, I turn to look over my shoulder, gaze colliding with a tiny man wearing black and a large camera covering his eyes. “Hey!” I say as I start marching over to him with a frown. He smirks when I get closer, Brent hot on my heels, and I glare at the spectator. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“Just getting my paycheck, Babe. Nothing personal.”

“Delete it,” I grind out.

“What makes you think I’d do that?”

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