Page 68 of Forbidden Billionaire Rockstar

Just like that, the phone conversation ends, and every bit of sadness that ebbed away with her phone call comes crawling right back to the surface. I lean my head against the cushions, my tears falling onto the fabric, and let the emotion take over, just like I’ve done the last three days. Honestly, I’m surprised I’ve still got enough tears in me to keep going — I assumed my tear ducts would be useless by now.

I’ve got this. All I have to do is focus on the concert and come back home to the glorious life I’m sure everyone would envy — that’s sarcasm.

I have to wonder, though, if anyone else knows I’m coming and what their reactions will be if not.

***

The idea of seeing Jace again is conflicting. My mind screams that it’s a mistake, but my traitorous heart leaps at the chance. I’m caught in a battle between self-preservation and the magnetic pull of a man who’s become my personal gravity.

Julia sent me a text with every detail I would need yesterday — the flight, which hotel I’m staying in, along with the room, and how long I’ll be there. It’s longer than I thought, but since I don’t have a job, it’s not something I need to worry about. The itinerary is how I find myself stepping into a large building whose lobby looks like the one you’d see on the front cover of an architectural magazine.

Luxury oozes from every corner of the hotel lobby. Crystal chandeliers cast a soft, warm glow over marble floors so polished I can see my reflection. Plush, velvet-upholstered chairs are artfully arranged around low tables, their legs gleaming gold in the light. The air is infused with a subtle, expensive scent - a mix of fresh flowers and something vaguely citrusy.

At the far end, a grand staircase sweeps upward, its wrought iron railings twisting in elegant patterns. Even the potted plants seem more lush and green than they have any right to be. It's the kind of place that makes you feel both awed and slightly out of place, a reminder of the glittering world I've just left behind.

For a moment, I take in my surroundings before sucking in a deep breath and making my way over to the front desk. I’m sure my name is on file. Julia made sure of it. But as the receptionist looks and her eyebrows furrow, I realize there must’ve been a mistake.

Before things can escalate further, I send a quick text to Julia and let her know what’s going on down in the lobby. She texts back immediately, saying that she will call the front desk to handle the issue, and I wait patiently until the phone rings. The receptionist glances at me, then smiles and nods her head excitedly.

She reaches into a drawer, pulls out a room key, and then slips back into the work I interrupted without a single word aimed at me. Since I don’t plan on being here long, I ended up only packing a carry-on bag, and the closer I get to the elevators, the more I wonder if that was a mistake.

What if Jace approaches me? Will it make me want to stay for the last two weeks of the tour?

I shake my head and frown, then step into the empty elevator with only my thoughts as company. When my floor arrives, onlya small group of people are waiting, as it is the highest and most luxurious.

A few steps down the hall is all it takes for me to stop in front of my assigned room. Julia promised to meet me in the room, but as soon as I open the door, I sense that something is off. I glance around, noting the lights shut off, and frown when I flick them, only for it to stay dark.

As I come further into the room, a throat clears, shattering the silence. I whirl around, my heart leaping into my throat. A soft light flickers to life, and there he is - Jace, stepping out of the shadows like a dream made of flesh. For a moment, I forget how to breathe.

“Jace,” I say, blinking as if he’s a figment of my imagination, and he’ll disappear like he’s done before. When I close my eyes and open them again, I quickly realize it’s not any type of trick, and he’s truly standing in front of me. “What… what are you doing here?”

Being this close to him hurts more than anything else, so I take a careful step back while still keeping my eyes on him. He smirks, then shrugs. “Thought you could use some company.”

When I turn around, eager to put distance between us before I blurt everyone out to him, Jace wraps his fingers around my arm to stop me from moving any further. “Don’t do this, sweetheart.”

“Me? You’re the one who walked away, not me.”

He blinks slowly and nods. “And I’m going to make it up to you.”

“How do you intend to do that?”

Suddenly, the room is filled with light as he holds my gaze. “Like this.”

On every surface of the bedroom, there are flowers of all varieties, and I suck in a breath at the sight. “Jace, what is this?”

“Julia told me how much you like flowers, something about wanting to own a floral shop, so I thought I’d bring some of them to you.”

“Of course she did,” I mutter before the sight in front of me takes over my attention once again. “How could you have possibly done this, and why?”

He’s only been standing in the room for two minutes, tops. There has to be another way he managed to get into my room, and I intend to figure it out.

Jace sighs heavily, running a hand through his hair - a gesture I've come to recognize as a sign of his vulnerability. It's a stark contrast to the confident rockstar persona he usually projects. In this moment, I see layers to him I've never noticed before: the nervous energy in his fidgeting fingers, the flicker of uncertainty in his eyes, and the way he swallows hard before speaking.

It's as if he's stripped away all his defenses, standing before me not as Jace Brooks, lead guitarist of Raising Havoc, but simply as Jace - a man on the verge of laying his heart bare. The realization that I might be one of the few people who get to see this side of him sends a shiver down my spine.

My heart falls, and I brace myself for the impact of his break-up. My eyes fall shut, I clench a fist at my side, and I bounce my leg up and down. “Okay.”

“I’ve been trying to figure out the best way to tell you this,” he says softly. “I’m ready now.”

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