Page 6 of Fake Fiancé for the Billionaire Rockstar

My chest tightens. Why does disappointing him feel so awful?

“You could tell them the truth,” I suggest, but the words taste wrong coming out of my mouth.

No, he’s a client. This would be bad.

If I gave in to his request, agreed to keep the ruse going, who knows if I’d ever be able to face the band again. I like my job. Everything I’ve worked for has led me here. In my early twenties, I clawed my way up from internships, working under people who treated me like I didn’t exist. They spit out my name like it left a bad taste in their mouths, kicking me to the curb over something as small as getting their lunch order wrong.

You’re incompetent.

Where did you even graduate from?

Their sneers would follow. And when I told them, they’d smirk and say,Figures. Guess you’re not exactly working with brains.

But it wasn’t just them. My older brother’s constant criticism growing up made me believe those same stories in my head—that I wasn’t good enough. My parents never knew how much it affected me, but I spent years trying to prove otherwise.

My chest tightens, and tears blur my vision. I look down at my shoes, blinking them away before they fall.

Donny scoffs. “You don’t know my mother.”

He’s right. I don’t.

“I’m sorry,” I say quietly, my voice softening. “There’s nothing else I can do to help.” I know he doesn’t need my harshness right now, not with everything weighing on him.

And with old memories stirring up inside me, I’m not sure I could use that tough tone with him anyway. There’s still a part of me that wants to rescue people—maybe because no one ever came to rescue me.

Each step he takes has my head screaming at me to stop him. It’s a simple request. All I have to do is act like his fiancée for a night or two and everything can go back to normal. Would it be sobad? It’s not like I despise the guy, just the way my body reacts to him at inappropriate times.

Right now, for instance. His jeans are hugging his ass in a way that has me clenching my thighs together, but that’s not the only thing about him that calls to me. It’s his gentle personality and always being able to make light of any situation.

“I’ll do it.” The words escape before I can stop them.

Donny freezes, then whirls around. His eyes roam over me, intense and searching. A shiver runs down my spine. God, his gaze feels almost physical.

Keep yourself under control, Carmen.

“I’m going to need you to say that again,” he says, voice low and disbelieving.

Heat floods my cheeks. “I said, I’ll do it. Your fake fiancée, I mean.”

I clear my throat and shrug. “If it will help you get through rehearsals, then I’ll do it. Only a couple of nights, right?”

He takes a few steps toward me, his long legs getting him much closer than before, and he swallows thickly with a curt nod. “Yes.”

“Then it shouldn’t be too bad. We just have to act like we can stand each other.”

Donny smirks now and winks. “Awe. I’m not that bad, Carm.”

I don’t respond, just stand there having a staring contest with him for a few moments, and it’s the sight of heat in his eyes that has me shaking from my trance. “So, uh, how is this going to work?”

“Ride with me to my place tonight?”

I frown and shake my head. Distance would be best right now. Getting too close to him could be catastrophic for me. “That’s not a good idea.”

He chuckles and scrubs a hand down his face. “Well, with that attitude, my parents should fall for it in seconds.”

Sarcasm.Attractive, but incredibly annoying, coming from him.

My cheeks heat and I let out a defeated sigh. “Hurry up, then. Don’t want to get out of here too late.”

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