Page 36 of Snared

“I know you think any press is good press, but forcing Charlie through that barrage of questions so she’ll be splashed on every media outlet across the world was fucked up,” Bash continued.

Josh shifted in his seat. The man was on thin ice and he knew it. But what the fuck? How was I going to be able to get through this charade if he was purposely throwing us in front of the media? It was exhausting already.

“That is not why that happened.”

If he fucking apologized to the guys before me, I was going to junk-punch him. It wasn’t like I cared about the health of his balls.

Then he turned to me. “I’m sorry, Charlie. Fuck, I really am.”

He looked over at Bash. “I know this situation is a disaster and, I’ll be honest, I haven’t been on top of everything because the last two days have been absurd. I didn’t think about getting everyone out the back and I should’ve. Of course, since we’re in Vegas, people are everywhere, so I’m not sure how much of that would’ve been avoided by using another exit.”

“You know, you almost redeemed yourself a bit, until that last part. You get paid to think about this shit before it happens. You said you’d fix this. For Charlie. For the band. You’re smarter than this.” Bash paused and caught his eye. “At least, I thought you were.”

If I’d been a more forgiving person, I might’ve winced at that dig, but Josh deserved every bit of it for exposing us to the media so soon like that. Yes, I was going through with this ruse, but that was not the way to face the media for the first time since our nuptial news broke. Even I knew that.

When the bus pulled out of Vegas an hour later, I’d never been so happy to see a town disappear from view. We’d left later than planned because Bash had to give Cassie the longest goodbye kiss ever recorded. She was heading back to New York, and I was going to miss her. Having another woman while the band maneuvered through this would have been nice. I knew she was only a phone call away, but that wasn’t like having her in the next bunk over.

“I’m going to crash for a bit,” I said, heading back to the bunks. It was a six-hour drive to Salt Lake, and I needed to reset my brain before the show and post-concert meet and greet.

“We need to come up with a game plan and a press release,” Josh said before I could slip through the pocket door.

“Can we not do that now? I’m beat,” I grumbled.

He reached up and squeezed the back of his neck, his stupid arm porn on full display.

I swallowed hard.

Obviously, my brain was still on the fritz due to getting up too early, along with everything else.

“We should post something on our social media, make it look real.” He sounded annoyed that I didn’t want to jump in on setting up a strategy.

I bit back my frustration. I knew it wasn’t completely his fault we were in this situation—I had said “I do” as well—but fuck it, his big mouth was what got the paps on our asses.

“Fine,” I muttered, slipping into one of the gaming chairs. I was not going to sit next to him on the kitchenette bench, my thigh pressed up against his. Yeah, no.

“And you’re going to need this.” He pulled what looked like a ring box from his messenger bag.

“What’s that supposed to be?” I asked. He popped open the top to reveal a gorgeous—and massive—princess-cut diamond on a platinum band. There was also a matching platinum wedding band. The setting was clean, basic.

Perfect.

Nothing like the horrid gaudy gold ring Troy had given me years ago.

“Whoa, CH. At least get down on a knee or something,” Jax said.

“Fuck off,” Josh muttered.

“You just walking around with engagement rings in your pocket?” I asked, hearing the faint bitterness in my tone.

His brows shot up in surprise. “What? No. A courier dropped it off right before we left. If we’re supposed to be married, you’re going to have the ring to match, and not some cheap band they had at the chapel. I got one for myself, too,” he said, fishing out another box.

“Well, that sucks the romance right out,” Jax said.

Josh spun on the man. “Cut the shit, Jax. This is for show and we all know it. But that means it needs to be believable.”

“Just what every woman wants to hear,” I deadpanned. “But no way can I wear that while I play.” It looked heavy.

He pulled the rings from the satin lining and handed them to me. “I got you a silver chain so you can wear the rings around your neck when you’re on stage.”

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