The Rock Star’s Fake Fiancee - Kenzie Reed Page 0,40
just told me you were leaving Nashville to come stay in Bitter End. You. And the band. For the rest of June, and all of July, and then I guess the month of August?”
He nods. “We are. You know that whole curse thing the reporters were talking about?”
“Oh, come on. Do not tell me you believe in curses.”
“Of course not. We think someone’s trying to sabotage our tour. A stage light fell while we were rehearsing the other day and nearly brained me. Things keep going missing from our dressing rooms. Someone’s been planting false rumors on social media sites about us, and they’ve got just enough info to make it semi-believable. Like Magnus went to the doctor for a regular check-up, and the paparazzi ambushed him on the way out, and suddenly rumors started flying that he’s got some debilitating disease. We had to submit his medical records to our insurers and all the tour sponsors to prove that he’s physically healthy enough to tour. The other day, Parker’s brand new car died on the highway, and he was barely able to pull over in time. When we took it to a garage, they said the engine had been tampered with.”
“Have you gone to the police?” I say, alarmed. I’m annoyed at Sebastian, sure, but I don’t want anything to happen to him.
He runs his fingers through his thick hair, looking frustrated. “Yeah, but they don’t think all these different things are connected. They think it’s just coincidence and bad luck.”
“How does coming to Bitter End help anything?”
“We’re only bringing people we’ve worked with for years, that we’re pretty sure that we can trust. We’re hoping that we’ll leave behind whoever is trying to screw with us, and if we don’t, then at least we’ve got a smaller group of suspects. We also insisted that Blue Blazes Records fire the security company they’d contracted with, because a lot of this stuff has happened on their watch.”
“So maybe it was their fault?” I say hopefully.
He shakes his head. “They definitely fell down on the job on multiple occasions, like when they were supposed to be watching over our equipment and the rehearsal studio. But there’s other stuff that they couldn’t possibly be connected to. We just think that getting out of town for a while is the best option.”
“But…all those people whose jobs you want to protect. What will they do when you’re gone?”
“Everyone who’s not coming here with us has been guaranteed their positions back in Nashville. That was part of our contract with Chris. As long as we’re with Blue Blazes, our crew keep their jobs.”
A storm of emotions swirls inside me. Sebastian will be staying in the same county as me until the fair’s opening day. This is bad. I’ve learned something about myself recently, and it’s that I have no willpower. The tight waistband on my jeans is testament to that.
And Sebastian’s way more tempting than pie.
I need to find a way to talk him out of it. I’ll offer helpful suggestions that direct him anywhere but here.
“Well, our hotel is all booked up, and so are our other properties, but my family could probably find somewhere for you to stay.”
Why did my mouth just say that?
His look of frustration fades and his mouth curls up in a lazy grin. “I already spoke to your mother. She’s eager to have us here in Bitter End, because it’ll be great publicity for you guys, and also because she wants to make sure we play at the Tricentennial. She’s moving some bookings into a house that she recently bought and letting us have your hotel’s top floor instead. And she says she’s had an old barn refurbished that we can use for our rehearsals. It’ll be the perfect backdrop for photoshoots, a music video, everything.”
Our hotel is within spitting distance of the farmhouse where I live with my mother and Gramma Mae. So is the barn. And I work at the hotel every day. I will be on the same property as Sebastian, seven days a week.
My mouth opens and shuts, but no words come out.
“Callie Abernathy, speechless?” Sebastian holds his hands up, framing me, and pretends to take a picture. “Let me record this moment for posterity.”
“Ha ha. Funny. You’re going to be living at my hotel?” I say faintly. “For the next couple of months?”
He smirks at me. “We’ll be naughty nextdoor neighbors.”
Chapter Twelve
Sebastian
It’s been three days since we arrived, and we’ve settled in nicely. We