Page 6 of Stuck with a Billionaire Rockstar

“Brent,” a squeaky voice says behind me, my lips tipping at one corner as I listen to my little sister mumble curses under her breath. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“Awe, sis,” I say before spinning around to face her and Julia, who’s standing off to the side with her eyes cast onto the ground. “I don’t get a hug?”

Mallory scoffs. “A hug? You knew this was a girl’s trip, so what are you doing here?” She arches her brow and smirks. “Don’t act as though you’re trying to spend time with me. You know that never happens unless shit’s going wrong for you. What is it this time?”

“What, you didn’t see anything?”

She waves a hand at my chest, forcing me to stumble. “Please,” she mumbles. “I don’t spend all my time waiting for something about Brent Dominic to pop up on my social media.”

“Unfortunate, really, because you’re missing one hell of a story.” I look over at Julia and give her a curt nod. “Julia, always good to see you.” Her cheeks turn a bright shade of pink, and she looks back down at the ground. Despite having met her several times, her shyness always manages to surprise me.

“If you tell me you’re staying on the same floor as us or even in the same room, I’m going to leave without looking back.” “Don’t worry, I highly doubt you’re on the same floor as me,” I say, even though she wasn’t looking for an answer. “A little dramatic though, don’t ya think?”

Mallory rolls her eyes at me and flashes a megawatt smile at the receptionist, who’s looking between the three of us like we’re a reality show for her entertainment, and asks, “Could I please check in?”

The receptionist nods frantically, then fumbles with papers sitting on her desk.

Meanwhile, I’ve somehow managed to step closer to Julia. She shifts uncomfortably along the marble flooring, her eyes running over each swirl as if counting them, and I nudge her shoulder playfully. “What’s up, Buttercup?”

She looks up, and I watch in fascination as a deep shade of red creeps across her face. She’s as timid as a mouse but also unbelievably adorable. Teasing her over the next two weeks will be all the entertainment I need.

“Can you at least make yourself as scarce as possible?” Mallory asks loudly, gaining my attention. She shifts her eyes to Julia, who hasn’t said a single word since seeing me here and brings them back onto me. “We don’t need you bringing us into whatever’s going on.”

I smirk at my sister and shrug my shoulders. “Sure thing, sis.”

3

Julia

When Mallory and I finally get to our suite, one that’s as far away from Brent as possible, my best friend groans loudly into the large space. She comes to a stop in the middle of it, her eyes darting along every inch of the space before huffing in annoyance. “You’ve got to be shitting me!” She shakes her head and stomps into the living space that houses a makeshift bar, one that I don’t remember being in the link Mallory texted me when planning the trip. “What does he think I’m going to do? Turn a blind eye to him crashing our trip just because he puts us in a better room.

That statement has me looking around, noting the major differences between the room we’re standing in now and the one Mallory showed me. There’s a large kitchen off to my left, the light shining brightly on all the new and updated appliances, and it’s open to look into the large living room where a huge flat screen is mounted on the wall. To my right is a long hallway, framed by two doors on the right and one door on the left, and I inch further into the suite with curiosity.

A spiral staircase leads to a second floor, which definitely wasn’t included when Mallory booked, but I choose to wait until we’ve settled in to inspect that part of the suite.

My gaze catches onto the sliding door next to the flat screen that leads onto a spacious balcony overlooking the resort and the ocean water in front of it. It’s a beautiful place, and I’d be grinning from ear to ear if it wasn’t for Brent trying to buy his way into Mallory’s good graces. Doesn’t he know not everything can be fixed with loads of cash? This had to have cost a fortune, and on top of his room that’s likely bigger and better than ours?

Instead of getting too mesmerized by the space, I bring my attention back to Mallory, who’s leaning into the bar in the corner of the living room with an empty glass sitting in front of her. She hastily reaches out to grab a large glass bottle from the variety of options lining a shelf behind the bar, then pours herself a generous amount of the tequila and chugs it like her, like life depends on it.

I clear my throat and fidget in my spot. “Uh, Mal, is it really that serious?” I don’t want to make it seem as though her feelings aren’t important to me, but is this really the most important issue? Besides, there’s a chance he’ll leave us alone like she asked, and we have no reason to worry.

She scoffs. “This is supposed to be our two weeks, Jules. You know what happens when my brother is around.”

This is true; I’ve witnessed his popularity on a couple of occasions, and one of them included her college graduation. I thought it was sweet when Brent showed up for the big day, a proud smile on his face, but Mallory had grown frustrated because it didn’t take long for everyone around to notice who he was. Within minutes, even though it was Mallory’s day, Brent was being asked to get in pictures with strangers while Mallory fumed off to the side.

“Let’s give him the benefit of the doubt. Maybe he won’t bother us all that much, you know?”

Contrary to what Mallory said, I have been keeping tabs on Brent, and the scandal they’ve got him on is one that could jeopardize the entire band’s reputation. Since the article came out that Brent slept with a married woman, another one has come out that states the woman is now pregnant–and she doesn’t know who the father is.

I can’t imagine what Brent might be going through right now. If coming to the St. Croix is his way of getting away from the spotlight for a bit, then so be it.

“You’re right,” Mallory says, then flashes me a small smile. “You always see the best in a situation. Seeing him just caught me off guard. That’s all.” I’m not entirely convinced of this, but she claps her hands together to put the conversation to a halt and walks over to me, that small smile turning into one of mischief, then leads me toward the staircase. “We have to find the perfect outfit for you tonight. One that will make all the guys go nuts for you.”

“Tonight?” I ask.

Considering we were just on a flight, I thought today would be more of a relaxation type thing.

Mallory arches a brow and chuckles softly. “What, did you think we would be holed up in here all day?” When I don’t answer, she sighs while pulling me into one of the suit's massive rooms and tosses her suitcase on the bed. “We’re here for two weeks, Jules, and that means we’re making the most of it.” She squeezes my hand and smiles. “It’s the perfect place and time for you to get out of that awkward shell you’ve been in and put yourself out there.”

---