Page 11 of Her Beastly Billionaire Rock Star
“I thought this was going to be horrible, being chaperoned by you, but as long as we can keep things like this, it’s manageable.”
With a huge sigh, she stepped onto the floor and sat on the couch. He was stuck with her. That hurt a little. “I’m sorry. I know it’s got to feel like an invasion.”
Malakai sat down close to the end of the couch. “I knew this was going to be hard, but two weeks at that facility was awful. They wanted me to talk about things I didn’t want to talk about. I couldn’t trust those people. Every time I think I can trust someone…”
“They fail you.” Charlotte twisted on the seat and crisscrossed her legs.
“Yeah, something like that.”
Picking at a loose thread on the seam of the cushy sofa, she nodded. “I get that.”
“For some reason, I believe you do.” He paused a beat. “So you’ve been working for Octavia a while. How did you meet her?”
Alarm bells sounded in her head. If Octavia found out she let Malakai know how they were related, there was no telling what she’d do. Beyond just throwing her father out of his home, she’d make sure no one in town would hire Charlotte. “I…met her when we were kids.” The total truth. They’d met when Charlotte was about thirteen and Octavia was nine.
Twisting in his seat, he faced her. “Kids, huh? Was she as…intimidating then as she is now?”
“Yeah, she’s always had a presence.” That was the kindest word Charlotte could come up with.
When she and Octavia were younger, they’d gotten along okay. Once their mom and dad were married, it was an adjustment to have a sister. It was the summer right before Charlotte’s sophomore year in high school, when she returned from visiting her mom, that things had changed. Octavia made Charlotte’s life miserable from that point on, until Octavia’s mom died and she went to live with her biological father.
It was a time in her life she didn’t necessarily want to discuss with anyone, either. The subject needed changing. She didn’t know Malakai well enough that she could trust telling him anything about Octavia.
Standing, Charlotte looked around the room. “You were going to show me the house?”
Malakai cocked an eyebrow and shot her a half-smile. The way he was eyeing her, she had the feeling he knew exactly what she was doing. When she didn’t respond, he stood. “Okay. Come on, I’ll show you around.”
“Have you lived here long?” she asked as they reached the kitchen.
“Not long. I mean, I’ve owned it for a few years, but I was touring, so I didn’t get to really live here.” He paused at the doorway of the kitchen. “There are drinks in the fridge, but I haven’t done any grocery shopping.”
Charlotte walked to the refrigerator and opened it. “Soda and sports drinks?”
With a shrug, he approached her, grabbing a sports drink. “I don’t drink.”
From the moment she saw Malakai, she’d wondered if the crash was really his fault. Of course, like everyone else, she’d known about his previous drug and alcohol addiction, but he’d cleaned up a little over a year ago. He’d been keeping a low profile since. That’s why it had been such a shock that he’d been drinking when Sunny Monroe died. “You weren’t drinking the night of the crash, were you?”
Holding her gaze, minute after minute ticked by before he said, “We all have our secrets, right?”
Well, she couldn’t argue with that. “Yeah, I guess we do.” In her gut, though, she knew she was right about Malakai and the accident. There was more to it.
A chirp sounded from his pocket, and he pulled out his phone. “Oh, wow, Jasper was fast this time.”
The name sounded familiar, but she couldn’t quite place it. “Jasper?”
“Crush’s sound guy, and a good friend of mine. He lives a few miles from here. When I’m swarmed, he’ll do me a solid and get food to me.” He waved for her to follow him.
They walked through the house to the French doors that led to the backyard and opened them. A buzzing sound came from the distance, and then Charlotte caught sight of a drone fighting to stay in the air while it carried a large pizza box.
Chapter 5
“Heflewit here?” Charlotte asked.
Malakai shot her a smile as he plucked the box from the drone. “Desperate times call for desperate measures.”
Man, she was cute and nothing like he expected, especially when she’d questioned him about the crash. Everyone just assumed he’d fallen off the wagon. Not her. At least, that was the impression she’d given him. He also had the feeling she was suspicious about his official story of what happened. More than anything, he appreciated the fact that she didn’t press him for more information.
Then there was the ribbing she’d given him and how easy it was being around her. Like she didn’t expect anything from him. He was already making the mistake of getting too close to her. His gaze dipped to her lips and his thoughts immediately went to kissing her. Something he had no intention of doing. Ever. Trying to focus on his health and his career was more than he could handle. Bringing a woman into the equation would only complicate things.
