Love of a Rockstar (23 page)

“Let’s go.” Luke opened the car door and slipped inside after me. “2345 Northeast Queen Avenue Drive,” he told the driver.”

The town car glided into traffic while I settled into my seat. “That wasn’t—”

My sentence was cut off the by the sound of my cell phone. Judging by the ringtone, it was my mother. I hit ignore and placed it back in my purse. Ten seconds later, it rang again. “Oh my god,” I said frustrated. “My mother never quits.”

Luke gave me a sympathetic smile. “Maybe you should answer it.”

“I’ll be home in five minutes or less. She can wait,” I replied.

Shoving my purse away from me, I cuddled up next to Luke for the remainder of the car ride. We were in the middle of a riveting conversation about Batman when the town car came to a stop.

“Would you like me to call backup sir?” the driver asked.

“Backup?” I repeated, confused.

We were in Queen Anne, not Compton. What could possibly warrant backup? I glanced out the window and was momentarily stunned.

“Luke, look.” I pointed toward my front yard.

Craning his neck, his eyes grew wide. “Shit.”

Reporters from a wide variety of gossip rags with press badges were camped out, along with a few plain clothed citizens with notebooks. My guess was they were bloggers. It suddenly became clear to me why there wasn’t media coverage at the hotel. They didn’t care about the proposal. They wanted the story behind the girl who’d rejected Luke Anderson.

I RESTED MY forehead against the cool pane of the glass, afraid to leave the car. It wouldn’t be long before the reports spotted us, but until then, I needed a moment to rehearse what I was going to say.

“Do you want to turn around?” Luke asked gently.

“No,” I lied.

We sat in silence as he rubbed circles on my back, calming my frayed nerves. What would have really helped was a shot of something strong. From the corner of my eye, I spotted my purse. There was a mini bottle of Jack Daniels buried underneath year old receipts. Camille gave it to me the day Nil was born to celebrate. There wasn’t a situation dire enough for me to crack it open until today. Turning around, I swiped my knock off Chanel purse from the floor.

Luke shot me a curious glance. “What are you looking for?”

I sorted through unused lipsticks, change, and a cookie wrapper before I found it. Holding it up in victory, I let out a whoop. “There you are.” Not caring that I looked like a lush, I cracked the seal and took a whiff. “Holy crap.”

Luke snatched the bottle from my grip, sloshing the amber liquid onto the leather seats. Anger burned in his eyes. “You don’t drink.”

His anger brought the memory of why that was to the forefront of my mind. Two months before I got pregnant, I went to one of Luke’s shows with a couple of my girlfriends. We ended up getting hammered. Me more so because of my low tolerance and empty stomach. The last thing I remember was stumbling out into the night to get a breath of fresh air. According to Luke, he found me passed out near the garbage cans with puke down my dress. When I woke up the next morning, I was in a hospital bed. Charcoal from pumping my stomach lingered on my tongue. Nonetheless, that was nothing compared to the look of utter disappointment from Luke. And the words that froze my heart cold.

“I thought you were nothing like my mother.”

It took three days before we talked again, and only after I promised to never drink again. Pills were just as addictive as alcohol; I knew Luke was making sure I didn’t fuck up my life like his mother did. Before I could protest, he dumped the Jack Daniels out the cracked window.

“I just needed a tiny sip,” I said meekly.

“You don’t need liquid courage,” he said. “You have enough of it on your own.”

If that was true, I didn’t know where it was hiding. The thought of those reporters circling me like hungry jackals caused my throat to close up.

Luke tossed the bottle to the floor and gripped my hands between his. “If you want to spend the rest of your life with me, this is part of it.” He glanced out the window to the awaiting mob. “The best you can do is hold your chin up, and show everybody the amazing woman you are.”

I took a shuttering breath. Luke was right. This was part of his life and now part of my mine. Besides reporters were just people. People who had the ability to slander your name. I pushed that thought to back of my mind and rested my hand on the door handle.

“I’m ready if you are,” I said.

“Let me go first.” He crawled over my lap as I scooted over to the next seat. “Remember no comment.”

I nodded. His features smoothed as he stepped out onto the sidewalk and reached back to escort me. Gratefully, I linked my hand into his. Fear wasn’t an issue if Luke was by my side. Once my boots were half out the door, the madness began. The reporters caught sight of us and rushed over with cameras flashing.

“Why did you reject Luke?”

“Luke, how do you feel about getting publicly humiliated?”

“Are you two still together?”

“Is it true you have a kid together?”

With each question that was asked, Luke’s vein in his neck twitched. . We tried to break through the throng of people, but they didn’t budge easily.

Luke leaned down to whisper in my ear. “New plan. I am going to make a quick statement. Just keep smiling.”

Years of working in the hospitality industry had taught me how to do exactly that. Smile until you feel like your face is going to explode. Luke raised his hand to shush the crowd. Their voices only grew louder, one question running over the next.

His lips turned down to a frown. “Do you want me to answer or not?” he snapped.

“Have you done a paternity test?” a guy from the back yelled.

The murderous look Luke shot him made the hairs on the back of my neck stand at attention. Today was not a good day for a fight. I gripped Luke’s arm and directed his gaze down to me.

“Don’t,” I said underneath my breath.

Rolling his neck, the tension released from his body. When he set his sights back on the reporters, a fake smile stretched across his face. “I want to thank everybody for their support, but this is a matter between Marlene and me.”

A woman with a fake tan directed her gaze at me. “Why did you say no? Is Luke not good enough for you?”

A few women in the crowd echoed her question. Bloody hell, this was exactly what I predicted was going to happen. Luke protectively took a step forward. He couldn’t save me though. I would be painted exactly however the media wanted. Still, my two cents couldn’t hurt.

“Luke and I have some issues to work out—” I began to say when the woman interjected. “What kind of issues?”

I waved my hand in the air. “Typical everyday issues every couple has.”

“So you were a couple?”

“Well kind of.”

The women’s eyes narrowed. “Either you’re a couple or you aren’t.”

“It’s not that black and white. ” I snapped.

Luke gave my shoulder a gentle squeeze in warning but I was too pissed off to pay attention.

“Luke and I have a long history which is none of your business,” I continued.

“Of course it’s my business. Luke is famous and my job as a reporter is to get the latest scoop.”

This woman wasn’t a reporter. She was a glorified busybody.

“Reporters go to war torn countries and risk their lives to report on real issues. My rejection to Luke’s proposal isn’t a story,” I said.

Thirteen or so outraged pair of eyes shot laser beams at me. My big mouth basically called the people who were in charge of making or breaking Luke’s career phonies. I should have held my tongue.

Luke clapped his hands together. “Good talk, but I think we’re done for today.”

Steering me away from the angry mob, a reporter shouted a question stopping Luke cold.

“Did you know she is dating somebody else?” When the reporter saw he had Luke’s attention, he went in for the kill. “You’re better off without her Luke, she is just a little slut who is only after you for your money.”

Luke spun around ready to charge the small man when a car sped around the corner, jumped the curb, and came to a stop halfway on my lawn. Finn stumbled out of the driver’s side, tripped, and landed on his ass. It was eleven in the morning, a little early for him to be wasted.

Luke pointed his finger at the reporter. “I’ll deal with you later.”

He stormed down the lawn and hoisted Finn to his feet. With his arm propped over Luke’s shoulder, Luke dragged him to the front door. The overwhelming scent of scotch assaulted my nostrils when Finn got in front of me.

“Hey, pretty lady,” Finn slurred.

“Shut up,” Luke growled. “Can you open the door please?” he asked me.

Shaking off my shock at the state Finn was in, I inserted the key into the lock. They walked in first as I followed close on their heels.

My grandmother and her fiancé were next to the window, peering out at the spectacle on the front lawn. When they saw us, they drew the curtains closed. Luke dumped Finn onto the couch where he curled into a ball.

“I need to fight Luke,” Finn slurred.

“I think that’s the opposite of what you need.” I walked into the kitchen and returned with a glass of water. “Here, drink this.”

Through half-mast lids, he shoved it away. “Fuck you.”

I held my breath as Luke came charging over, stopping mere inches from Finn’s face. “Don’t you ever talk like that to her again.”

Finn’s lips curled into a snarl. “Or what?

Luke grabbed Finn by the collar of his polo shirt and slammed him into the ground. Finn’s head jerked back as it bounced off the carpet.

“Oh my,” I overheard my grandmother say behind me.

Digging his elbow into Finn’s chest so that he couldn’t go anywhere, the two men glared at each other. The air grew thick with testosterone.

“That’s what,” Luke said.

I almost expected him to rip off his t-shirt and fist pump the air. Instead, Luke gave one last menacing glare before he rose to his feet. Finn stayed on the carpet with no attempt to move.

“I think you killed him,” I said to Luke as I peered down at a lifeless Finn.

“Knocked the wind out of him maybe, but I certainly didn’t kill him.”

To double check, my grandmother’s fiancé, Ted, gently kicked him in the stomach.

A deep moan erupted from Finn’s lips. “Leave me alone.” He turned his back to us, curling into a fetal position.

“You’re in my house, you idiot,” I said.

It was baffling to see the state Finn was in. He rarely drank and when he did, he knew his limit. Luke gestured for my grandmother, her fiancé, and me to follow him into the kitchen.

He was leaning against the counter when we filed into the tight space. “Where’s Nil?”

My grandmother looked over at me. “Your mother took her out for ice cream as soon as the reporters showed up.”

Relief that Nil didn’t see the show outside caused some of my anxiety to abide. My mother was a lot of things, mostly crazy, but she was always there for me when I needed her. I took out my cell phone to listen to the voice mail message she left me. Sure enough, my mom told me to call her when the reporters left.

“Is there any way to get rid of them?” I questioned.

“I can get out my cattle prods,” Ted offered.

“But the reporters wouldn’t leave my lawn if lightning struck them down. They are hungry for a story,” I said.

My grandmother and Ted looked over at Luke to see if he agreed. “She’s right,” he sighed, regret heavy in his eyes. “I shouldn’t have proposed to you on stage. I just never thought anybody would give a shit who I was marrying or not marrying.”

His naïveté was strangely hot. I figured once Luke got famous, the limelight would get to his head. Obviously it didn’t, though, and he still thought of himself as Luke, the non-rock star. I shimmied over to his side, linking my fingers into his to show that no matter what, we would get through this together.

My grandmother shot me an irritated glance. “Speaking of not getting married, couldn’t you have rejected him off stage instead of publicly humiliating him like that?”

I held out my hands in defense. “Hey! Whose side are you on?”

My grandmother crossed her arms over her chest. “I know what it feels like to be humiliated like that. It’s not pretty.”

I slid my gaze over to Ted who was looking at my grandmother with remorse. Of course, she knew exactly what Luke was going through. She herself had been left high and dry three days before her wedding to Ted.

Ted pulled my grandmother into his side. “I can’t believe I get a second chance to marry the one I so foolishly let get away.”

My grandmother smiled. “Just don’t let it happen again.”

“I would never.”

They stared into each other’s eyes, lost in their love for each other. A loud crash averted my attention to the living room. .

I looked around at everybody, who were just as baffled as I was. “What was that?”

Luke stalked toward the sound, his shoulders pulled back. “Everybody stay here,” he demanded.

Screw that, my curiosity was too big to sit back and wait for the go ahead. When I rounded the corner into the living room, I stopped cold after Luke. Glass littered the carpet from the busted window that looked out onto the front lawn. A chair sat skewed on the grass. My mind didn’t put two and two together until I saw Finn running toward his car. He’d thrown a chair through my window.