Page 10 of Forbidden Billionaire Rockstar

This is even worse than what I thought.

Deanna’s voice returns, asking a question I missed, and one thought repeats in my head.

How am I supposed to survive this tour with Mallory around?

And more importantly, how am I going to keep my hands off her without Brent noticing?

This is not simply bad. This situation is a ticking time bomb.

3

Mallory

The studio rumbles withbarely contained energy. Bright lights cast a harsh glare on the polished floor, reflecting off the cameras and making everything seem hyper-real. It's a familiar scene, one that usually energizes me, but today, it only magnifies the tension coiling in my stomach.

The moment Jace walked through the back entrance of Jankin’s studio, my carefully crafted plan crumbled. Ignore him, I’d told myself this morning. Easy, right?Wrong.

My eyes drink him in—the white tee, the red and black flannel draped over his shoulder, those biceps threatening to burst through his sleeves. My mouth goes dry. So much for ignoring him.

I can tell he’s been working out because the long sleeves hug his biceps in a way that makes my mouth water. Every detail of him is etched permanently into my brain, but nothing compares to seeing him in person.

A throat clears beside me and I shake from my wayward thoughts, then turn my attention to Hilary, who’s glaring at me. “You want to stop ogling the guests and pay attention to your clients, Miss Dominic?”

I bite my lip hard as I force my gaze away from Jace. My heart races, a mix of desire and panic. Focus, Mallory. You're a professional now. Act like it. But even as I try to steel myself, I can feel his presence, like an electric current in the air. Every fiber of my being wants to turn back, to drink in the sight of him again. It takes every ounce of willpower to keep my eyes on my clients.

My cheeks heat, and I turn back to the group of men seated across from Deanna Jankins, relieved to find that Jace is no longer looking at me with those bright eyes. “I’m not ogling,” I mumble. “More like studying them.”

Hilary scoffs but doesn’t say anything in return.

Deanna leans forward, a bright smile on her face, and looks over Raising Havoc’s shoulder at Sweet Surrender. “This is your first time playing for a crowd of this capacity. How do you think you’ll be able to handle the pressure of it?”

Trevor flashes that lazy grin and looks at each of the members in the band. “Pressure isn’t something we feel easily. This tour is about getting our names out there and performing to our heart’s content. My only hope is that our music can change people’s lives like it’s done for us.”

I nod, throwing a thumbs up at him from across the room, and he responds with a discrete wink in my direction.

“What does it mean to be opening for Raising Havoc?”

“It’s a dream come true, really. They are a great group of guys who we’ve all looked up to and I’m excited to see what this could mean for us.”

Jankins smiles and nods, then leans forward. “I’m sure everyone else is dying to know. Do you have any new music you’ll be sharing on tour?”

“Actually,” Trevor says while rising slowly from his seat. “Today, we’re going to play one of our newest singles that hasn’t yet been released. As long as that’s okay with you, of course.”

“That would be wonderful. An exclusive look into what your next album will look like is a great way to end the show!”

While Deanna helps get Sweet Surrender situated on the small stage facing the afternoon crowd, I turn around and head back to a table that’s filled with hors d’oeuvres. I just finish putting a few meats and cubes of cheese onto my plate when a throat clears beside me.

Brent grins at me. “Congratulations, little sis, for landing this marketing gig. Julia told me this morning.”

“Ready for our big collaboration?”

I raise an eyebrow. “Collaboration?”

He chuckles. “The joint promotional activities for the tour?”

My heart races. Right. The promo Julia mentioned. I force a smile. “Of course. Just... a lot on my mind.”

I suppress a groan. I’d been so focused on seeing Jace again that I’d completely forgotten about the ‘special plans’ Julia had mentioned. Working closely with Raising Havoc means more time around Jace. Just perfect.

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