Page 6 of Her Beastly Billionaire Rock Star
“Sure…” Malakai didn’t sound convinced at all.
Charlotte plastered on a smile and lifted her head. “I do love my job.” That was true. The part she didn’t love was Octavia’s way of handling things. “Sometimes people don’t realize how stressful it is to be in the spotlight all the time. There’s so much judgment. It’s hard to face that by themselves.”
“Right.” The word came out clipped. Malakai scoffed and shook his head. “How about no talking for a while? I need some quiet.”
“That would be lovely,” Octavia replied and gave Charlotte a pointed look before slipping her sunglasses back on.
The remainder of the ride was spent in forced weird silence. By the time they reached the entrance to Malakai’s gated estate, the tension filling the limo was unbearable. With the help of local law enforcement, they slowly inched past the throng of reporters waiting and through the gates. They pulled into the circle drive and out of view of the paparazzi, whose line of sight was now blocked by the trees in the front yard. The second the door opened, Charlotte bolted out and took a deep breath, resisting the urge to brace her hands against her knees.
Malakai emerged from the limo and side-eyed her before going into his home.
“Charlotte.” Octavia’s voice drifted from the car.
Turning, Charlotte stuck her head inside the limo. “Yes?”
Her stepsister pulled her glasses off. “I realize the temptation to confide in Malakai might occur. I need to remind you that I know everyone’s secrets in this town, including his. If you discuss our arrangement, I won’t hesitate to kick your father out of his home. The expert care he’s receiving relies solely on you keeping your mouth shut. Do you understand?”
“I understand.”
“Good. I just wanted to clarify before you got any ideas.”
Charlotte pinched her lips together. Oh, she wanted to say so much, but she couldn’t. If Octavia got a whiff that anything was off, she’d tighten the reins even further. “It’s clear.” She shut the door with a little more force than she planned.
The driver set her bags next to her. “Are you sure you can get these?” he asked. “The woman in there said you could manage on your own.”
“I’ll be fine.” It wasn’t like she’d packed a ton of things. Her limited wardrobe fit in two pieces of luggage, one the size of a carry-on and the other just a tad larger.
She stared at the large two-story home. Ninety days living with a complete stranger, pretending to date him for however long after, and then marrying him. At least Charlotte would be away from Octavia and that half-a-shoebox room she called home.
Taking a deep breath, she grabbed the handles of her luggage and marched forward, silently praying that somehow she’d be able to find her freedom soon.
Chapter 3
After the forty-five-minute drive to his home in the California hills, Malakai pulled a soda from his fridge, cracked it open, and chugged it. It wasn’t like he’d been denied drinks, but something about sucking down a soda from his own home screamed freedom to him. Spending the last two weeks at that facility had been torture. It was one thing tofeellike he was being watched. It was another to know that, yes, in fact, hewasbeing watched.
“Hello?” The sound of Charlotte’s voice carried through the house.
Cursing under his breath, he set the soda on the counter and strode out of the kitchen to find her. Having someone living with him was going to take some getting used to. Not that he walked around in his underwear all the time, but now he didn’t even have a choice. Bella staying with him on and off didn’t count. She was just his sister.
He rounded the doorway to the foyer and stopped as Charlotte came into view. Most of the women he knew were models, so they were either just as tall or taller than him. This woman was so tiny in comparison. Just how short was she? No way was she over five feet. If he were to guess, he’d say maybe four-eleven.Bigmaybe.
“I called for you a couple of times, but I’m not sure you heard me.” She glanced around the foyer. “This home is beautiful. The two stairways make it feel so grand. Not exactly what I pictured as a rock star’s home—”
“What did you expect? A cave dwelling with black walls?” he snapped. Why did everyone try to put him in a box? “Just because I like to rock doesn’t mean I don’t like nice things.”
Hugging herself, she cast her gaze to the floor. “I…no, I’m sorry. If you’ll show me to my room, I’ll be out of your hair.”
Great. He’d barked at her. Not the best way to start things off for sure. Plus, the last thing he’d promised Bella before she left was that he’d try to make this whole thing work. Everyone was depending on him this time, and he didn’t want to fail them like he had with Sunny. “I’m sorry. I’m just used to people thinking they have me figured out.”
“It’s okay.”
He approached her and picked up her luggage. While he didn’t want to get super chummy, he did want her to feel at ease. He couldn’t do any digging if he was constantly yelling at her. Plus, the goal was to keep his band together and their label happy. Pulling off a relationship was difficult when it was real. A fake one was going to be hard enough even if they got along. “Come on. I’ll take you to your room.”
A tiny smile lifted her lips. “Thank you.”
Turning, he trudged up the stairs with her following. When they reached the top landing, he stopped and tipped his head toward the left. “That side is mine. My bedroom is the last on the right.” He lifted his hand holding the smaller piece of luggage and motioned to the right. “I figured you can stay in this wing. All of the rooms have their own bathrooms. My sister, Bella, doesn’t live here, but when she does stay, she tends to use that first one on the right, so any of the other rooms are free for the choosing.”
They walked the hall with her peeking into each room. Once they reached the last room, she turned to him. “I’ll take that one in the middle down the hall on the left.”
