Page 34 of Fake Fiancé for the Billionaire Rockstar

Carmen takes a seat at the end of the couch, far away from Jessa’s seething glare that instantly vanishes when Walker comes into view. She gives him the kind of smile a wife should, but there’s a hesitancy to it that makes me feel bad for Walker. He doesn’t seem to take notice and gently leans down to press his lips against hers, then lifts her up and places her on his lap.

Jaxson breaks the silence. “I can’t find Home Alone!”

Sadie and Arabella immediately lift up, narrowing their eyes at Jaxson. “The Grinch!”

Walker smirks while Jessa rolls her eyes.

“The Grinch is getting old,” Jaxson huffs out. “We’re watching Home Alone.”

“No!” they answer is unison.

“Daaad.” Jaxson crosses his arms in front of him and frowns. “Tell them we’re watching a different movie.”

“Girls,” Walker says gently. “Let your brother choose the movie tonight. We can watch The Grinch with Auntie Carmen before the trip is over.”

Sadie and Arabella look at each other, communicating silently, then they nod and flop back into my sides.

Carmen leans forward, her breath against my ear making my skin tingle in response, and says, “Don’t let their cuteness fool you, Drummer Boy. They’re vicious when they need to be.Especiallywhen it comes to getting what they want.”

I scoff and glance over my shoulder, my mouth barely an inch from hers. For a second, my breath catches.

We’re supposed to be engaged. Would it be weird for me to plant one on her right now?

As if sensing my inner thoughts, Carmen smirks and leans forward the rest of the way to do what my body can’t seem to accomplish. It’s nothing like the kiss before, but leaves me feeling all warm inside, nonetheless.

I catch the softest flicker in her gaze, something unspoken but unmistakable. Every time she looks at me like that, it stirs a part of me I didn’t even know existed—like she’s not just next to me but already in my blood.

When we pull apart, I can feel eyes on us and I clear my throat before going back to focusing on the TV ahead of us.

Walker finally manages to get the remote from Jaxson and locates the movie, then presses play while lifting from his spot to cut the lights out. The girls each grab a blanket from the floor and wrap it around themselves, only reaching outside of it to take a sip of their hot chocolate.

A part of me could get used to this—being close like this, feeling her next to me—but I know it won’t be that easy. Convincing Carmen there’s something real here will take time, especially when I’m still sorting through it myself.

Either way, I’m not ready to let this go just yet.

***

When the movie ends and all the mugs have been cleared from the living room, most drained of their contents, I slowly ease from my place on the couch. Sadie and Arabella fell asleep within thirty minutes of the movie, their soft snores being overheard when the movie would go quiet, so I try my best to move without waking them.

Walker smiles at both of his daughter’s, then carefully leans down to grab Sadie and carry her up the winding staircase to one of the rooms upstairs. Jessa hasn’t so much as made a move to help, which tells me where her place is in parenting and it doesn’t surprise me one bit. When Walker gets back downstairs,his gaze flicks to Jessa briefly with a frown, but he shakes it away and grabs Arabella next.

Carmen rises from her place where Jaxson has fallen asleep, which was about fifteen minutes ago, and carefully grabs him with a grunt. I follow her movements, then hold my arms out. “Let me take him. It will be much easier for me to get up there with him and Walker can tell me where to go.”

She looks from me to Jaxson’s sleeping form, his mouth hanging open slightly, then she nods and hands him off to me. Walker is at the top of the stairs when I start climbing and silently lead me through the long hallway into a bare room. I gently place him onto the center of the bed, then cover him up with a blanket and move away while Walker tucks him in the rest of the way.

Jessa clears her throat from the doorway, barely glancing at her son’s sleeping form, and says, “I’m heading to bed. I’ll be waiting for you.”

The voice she uses makes me shiver uncomfortably, but the looks she’s giving makes me aware that she wanted me to hear it.What is wrong with this woman?

Walker nods at his wife before ushering me downstairs and toward the front door, where Carmen is already waiting for me. “Thanks for coming to spend time with them. I’m sure you guys are tired from the travel.”

Carmen shrugs. “I’ll never miss spending time with my favorite kiddos, you know that. We’ll be able to do plenty tomorrow.”

Once we’ve said our goodbyes and walk the few cabins down to our own, Carmen takes a deep breath and comes inside with me. She locates her bags, grabbing them from the floor and starting toward the door with them.

“What the hell are you doing?”

She glances at me and sighs heavily. “I booked the cabin next to this one, thought it would be best to sleep separately from one another.”

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