Page 12 of Her Beastly Billionaire Rock Star
Blinking, she nodded. “I guess so.”
The drone rose in the air and sped off. “He’s sending the second one now. It can only carry so much.”
“I didn’t think you could just fly those anytime you wanted. Aren’t there rules?”
“I don’t question pizza from the sky.” He chuckled. It was the best answer he had because he was clueless. Maybe that was a good question to ask Jasper the next time they hung out together. Malakai didn’t want him going to jail for a drone.
He looked at the label on the box and then handed it to Charlotte. “Cheese for you.”
A few minutes later, he grabbed his box from the drone and stuffed a hundred into one of its arms. “And sausage, bacon, pineapple, black olives, and barbeque sauce for me.”
“That doesn’t sound good at all.” She walked to the patio set next to the pool and sat in one of the lounge chairs. “This pool looks very inviting.”
Actually, it looked better than inviting. How long had it been since he’d taken a dip in it? “You’re right, and I think I’m going to take a swim after I eat.”
A small pout formed on her lips like she was disappointed in herself. “I didn’t even consider bringing a swimsuit.”
Malakai sat across from her, setting his pizza on the chair next to him. “No swimsuit? We’ll have to fix that.” It was easy to picture her in one and even easier for his brain to go in directions that it didn’t need to go.
There was no doubt she’d look amazing. The ponytail she’d sported earlier had been turned into a messy bun. He was itching to see what she looked like with it down. If it was as soft as it looked, it’d be like strawberry-blonde liquid satin flowing through his fingers.
Charlotte pulled a slice of pizza out and folded it, taking a bite. Her eyes crossed as her body slumped a little. “Oh, wow. So good.”
“I told you. Best place in town.” Malakai smiled, taking a slice from his box and devouring it in four bites.
Her eyebrows lifted to her hairline. “You nearly ate that whole.”
He chuckled. “Guess I was hungrier than I thought.”
“Guess so, but I can’t blame you. This is really good.” She took another bite. “I’ve never eaten at this place.”
“Yeah, how have you managed that if you’ve lived here all your life?”
Malakai had hoped a little food and some conversation would make things comfortable enough to get her talking. For a second, he considered how hypocritical that was but then dismissed it. He was keeping his secret as a promise to someone who’d died in his arms. There was no way her secret could be that big of a deal.
Shrugging, she said, “No idea. My dad would love this place.”
“Does your family still live around here?”
Charlotte took another bite of pizza, and it seemed like she was trying to find the answer to his question. “My dad lives about an hour from here. My mom lives in Athens, Greece. That’s why they split up. My dad had his career here, and she wanted to take a promotion. They tried to make things work long distance for a while, but distance didn’t seem to make their hearts grow fonder. When I was about eight and a half, my mom filed for divorce.”
“And you didn’t go live with her?”
“No. I was eight, and…” Her voice grew soft. “I overheard her one night telling someone on the phone that she didn’t know what she was going to do with me. Next thing I knew, she was gone and I was living with my dad.”
Now he felt bad for asking. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to dredge up sad memories.”
“It’s okay,” she said, putting her crust in the box and picking up another slice. “Visiting her was always fun. Greece is beautiful.”
He nodded. “It is. What I can remember of it.”
Charlotte finished the bite she’d taken and tilted her head. “What you can remember of it?”
Not like this part of his life was a secret. “That first year after being signed, things were amazing. We were touring, on talk shows, everything. Fame hit, and I didn’t know how to handle it.” He swallowed hard as embarrassment built in his chest. “I started drinking. Slowly, the habit grew over the next year, and then we were touring with this other group. One night after a show, the drummer offered me some heroin. Next thing I knew, I was addicted.”
Instead of saying anything, she looked at him as if waiting for him to finish. Most people felt the need to say something, anything. From idioms about the price of fame to sympathies. Neither of which he liked.
He continued. “I showed up to my grandma’s funeral a hung-over, strung-out mess. I hadn’t bathed in who knows how long. They had to physically remove me. When I woke up a few days later, I had a message from Bella on my phone. She’d recorded the whole thing.” His stomach clenched with the memory. As bad as the video was, how much worse was it seeing it firsthand?
