Page 11 of Forbidden Billionaire Rockstar

As if summoned by my thoughts, I feel a presence behind me. The air shifts, and I know, even before I hear his voice, that it's him. My body tenses, bracing for impact.

His large frame comes up behind me, and he chuckles. “Lookin’ good in that skirt, Mal.”

I hate how my body reacts to his words and how easily he can affect me. This is exactly why I need to keep my distance. I can’t let one flirtatious rockstar derail everything I’ve worked for.

Jace’s voice sends a shiver down my spine, but I keep my face neutral and roll my eyes like I normally would. “That shirt looks like it came from a thrift shop, not really your style.”

He chuckles, throws me a wink, then saunters away without saying another word.

“What do you think it would take for him to stop?” I ask, feigning annoyance.

Brent smirks. “Awe, what’s wrong, sis? Can’t handle a little teasing from a rockstar?”

Trevor’s voice swirls through the air, while the rest of the guys play their instruments in the background, and I give Brent a quick hug before making my way back over to Hilary. She’s got a resting bitch face, but there’s something about it that seems to light up as she stares at the guys performing.

I track her gaze, finding it on Ledger as he strums the chords on his guitar with a look of pure concentration, and trail it back to Hilary. Her features are brighter now, a small smile tipping the corners of her tips, and her green eyes sparkling while she bounces along to the music.

It’s weird to see her this way since all I ever see is the scowl. I’m starting to believe she saves just for me, but it gets a lighter side of me out as well.

“Don’t you have a job to worry about?” She spits, the light leaving her eyes as she glares at me with an eyebrow arched.

“I’ve done everything I need to do for the day, actually,” I mumble, then flash her a smile I’m sure will annoy her. “You’ll be happy to know that there could be a chance that Ledger will get a partnership with Fender, think he’d be interested?”

Hilary’s eyebrows shoot up and blink a few times before a giant grin overtakes her face. “This would be amazing for him. How could you have possibly gotten that set up so quickly?”

I chuckle and throw a hand in the air. “It’s not a done deal just yet. I’ve still got a few hoops to jump through, but his chances are pretty high at getting it.”

As if remembering how she’s supposed to be acting with me, Hilary clears her throat, and the smile vanishes before she sticks her chin a little higher in the air. “Right, maybe you should focus on more important things. Like handling their rebranding before the tour starts.”

“It’s already getting handled,” I say softly.

I clutch the papers I’m holding closer to my chest, suddenly growing more self-conscious of myself. This wasn’t who I used to be — I was the most outgoing woman, but something changed after I saw my brother and Julia together.

Suddenly, I realized that I wanted more than I’d been giving myself. I want the husband I get to come home to, complaining about what idiot thing one of my clients decided to do, but not until I get a little further in my career — which is where Sweet Surrender comes into play.

I’m going to do everything in my power to get myself higher up in the industry, eventually working with the most popular names, and this is where that starts.

Hilary frowns. “Already? You only just started. How could you have possibly gotten it handled?”

“Stick around, and maybe you’ll find out,” I say with a wink before a throat clears behind us.

When I turn around, my breath catches in my throat and Jace smirks at me like he knows exactly the kind of reaction he’s getting out of me. I give him a smile, one that should be forced but most definitely doesn’t feel that way, and cock my head to the side. “Are you following me now?”

Jace chuckles softly, running his fingers along his jaw, and smirks. “Trust me, sweetheart, you wish I was following you. Shouldn’t I be the one asking that question, though?”

Hilary is side-eyeing us, and I quickly grab hold of Jace’s arm to pull him into a dark corner away from her prying eyes. I take a look around, making sure no one else is watching us, but thankfully find that no one else from Raising Havoc is within the distance.

“What the hell are you doing coming up to me like that?”

“Not allowed to talk to an old friend?”

I narrow my eyes at him, hating that he’s calling me a friend even though I know it’s the right thing to do, then shake my head. “Is there something wrong?”

He leans against the wall we are standing by and crosses his arms over his chest. “I don’t know, could be the fact that I had to find you would be here by seeing you walk into the room.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, didn’t realize I was supposed to tell you every move I make,” I mutter and roll my eyes. “What do you care, anyway?”

He shrugs. “I don’t, but looks like we’re going to get very friendly with each other on the tour.”

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