The Rock Star’s Fake Fiancee - Kenzie Reed Page 0,67
here for a while. Nashville has all the glitz and glamour, but there’s something different about being here. Bitter End could feel like home, if I let it.
I get stopped three or four more times before I make it to the general store. So it’s a slow day for gossip.
Once I’m in the store, nobody bothers me for a good ten minutes. I’m wandering the pharmacy aisle when someone taps on my arm. I turn around to see a scowling face.
“Hello, Savannah.”
She usually looks a lot more friendly. I wonder what’s stuck in her craw today.
She stands there with her hands on her hips. Behind her, her burly husband is browsing through the gift section.
Savannah wastes no time. “Listen up, buddy. I’ve got your number. Yesterday in the hotel lobby, I saw how you and Callie looked at each other.”
“How does she look at me?” I blurt out the words like an idiot. Why can’t I keep my cool when it comes to Callie?
“She looks at you like you hung the moon. And you look at her like she’s dessert. And that’s the problem, because you’re engaged to some mystery woman you can’t even be bothered to hang out with more than once every week or two.” Savannah’s blue eyes bore into mine. “Let me give you a little local history, Sebastian. I did a terrible thing once. I stole Daisy’s ex-fiancée, and even worse, I rubbed it in her face for years. And then he cheated on me, which I deserved. But here’s the thing. Daisy and her family forgave me, and they’ve been there for me like nobody else. Gramma Mae hasn’t even hit me once since she found out I was pregnant. They are my family. And if you break Callie’s heart, I will break your dick.”
Crash walks over just then. He’s selected two yellow baby T-shirts, which look adorably ridiculous dangling in his giant ham-sized hand. “What are we talking about?” he asks his wife.
“I just threatened to break Sebastian’s dick.”
That does not go over well.
“What the fuck?” Crash’s voice booms off the wall. A woman pushing a stroller gasps in horror and hurries off.
“Sorry!” he calls out after her.
“I will break his dick if he breaks Callie’s heart,” Savannah explains patiently. “Jeez. What did you think I meant?” She narrows her eyes at him. “Think carefully before you answer.”
Crash looks like he’s about to have a stroke. His face is flushed and his big, meaty fists clench. “Do me a favor, babe. Please don’t talk about other men’s dicks. Ever.”
“Why, sugar. I do believe you’re jealous. Even though we’re married and I’m very pregnant with your twins. Could you try to be a little less ridiculous?” She stands up on tiptoe to kiss his bearded cheek. “But it’s kind of sweet.”
I glare at them. “I would never cheat on a woman, I would never look at another man’s woman, and I have no intention of breaking Callie’s heart.”
“Are you trying to tell me you didn’t look at her like you wanted to devour her?” Savannah demands.
“I have no idea what that would even look like.”
I hurry away and quickly ring up my purchases at the cash register.
Savannah yells at my back as I’m leaving the store. “I’ve got my eye on you, Sebastian Monroe!”
Well, that’s great. Just what I need.
I head back to my room at the hotel with my purchases. I’ve almost made it there when Fiona leaps out onto the sidewalk to block me.
“Halt! None shall pass.” She holds up her hand dramatically. “We need to talk.”
“You too?” I demand.
“That depends on what you mean. Me too what?”
“Are you going to threaten to hurt me if I do anything to upset Callie?”
“Well, obviously. Why else would I want to talk to you?”
This kid. “You are a little charmer, aren’t you?”
“Wait, who else threatened you? Does everyone know about you guys now? She didn’t tell me that.” Fiona’s mouth puckers into a pout. “Why didn’t she tell me that?”
Jesus, this is getting complicated.
“Savannah is starting to figure it out. Well, she thinks that Callie has a crush on me, but she doesn’t know what’s really happening. It’s still a secret.”
A sly look crosses her face. She holds out her hand. “And if you cross my palm with silver, it will remain a secret.”
I shake my head in disappointment. “I thought you were better than that, Fiona. Callie told me that you refused to accept handouts. She said you insisted on working to pay for