The Rock Star And The Girl From The Coffee Shop (8 page)

"Oh, so Jackie is spending the day with Jeremy?"

"Yeah, they said to text them when you're up and you can join them if you like."

Hanna crinkled her nose up and shook her head. "I think I'll be fine on my own."

"Okay. I had someone go to the hotel and get your things. They should be here within an hour."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, I don't have to be on the road until tomorrow afternoon so was hoping you'd spend the night here after the concert." He waited on baited breath. He knew he was being presumptuous, but considering the chemistry they had between them, he hoped she wouldn't object. He'd been doing some calculations in his head that morning and knew that after that evening it would be a couple of weeks before he'd have a chance to see her again.

She chewed at her lower lip, and smiled. "I'd like that."

"Good." He leaned over to kiss her, but she cringed and edged away from him, pressing her lips into a firm line.
What the hell?
"Ummm."

"Morning breath." she admitted, lowering her eyes.

"I've never had a girl reject me with that excuse before."

"It's not an excuse!"

"I'll risk it." Leaning forward, he lowered his lips to hers. This time, she didn't back away, but she wasn't nearly as responsive as she was the previous night.

Laughing, he straightened back up. "You'll owe me a kiss when I get back. Make yourself at home while I'm gone."

*****

After showering, brushing her teeth with a spare toothbrush in Bo's bathroom cabinet and getting dressed in a pair of Bo's jogging pants and t-shirt; Hanna made her way downstairs to the kitchen in search of breakfast. She'd just reached the bottom of the stairs when a knock at the door sounded. Rushing over to the front door, she pulled it open expecting to see someone with her luggage, but instead she came face to face with the bands drummer, Anthony Flemming. If she didn't recognize him as the drummer and were to see him on the street she'd have mistaken him for a random bum. It had been rumoured that Anthony was harbouring a drug addiction. Cocaine from what she'd read.

He had several days of scruff on his face, his longish black hair was tied loosely in a ponytail and one glance at his dark eyes told that he'd spent the night shooting or snorting something. Hanna immediately got a bad vibe from him. She wasn't used to being around drug users, and being alone with Anthony wasn't something she wanted to do.

"Where's Bo?" Anthony brushed past her and into the apartment, before she had a chance to turn him away. She stumbled backwards, not wanting to get in his way.

"I... ummmm..." Closing the door she trailed behind him as he made his way through the penthouse and into the kitchen.

"Huh?"

He stopped suddenly, her nearly bumping into the back of him. He spun around and eyed her, his eyes lingering on her breasts for a little too long for her liking. To her relief he finally lifted his eyes to meet hers "Who are you anyhow?"

"I'm Hanna. Bo flew a friend and I here last night. My friend and Jeremy are downstairs at Jeremy's place, if you want to..."

Anthony fell silent a moment, his eyes taking on a dazed looked. Seeming to pull out of it he nodded. "Yeah, maybe I'll drop by."

Hanna let out a sigh of relief and turned to lead him back to the door, but to her dismay, he kept heading towards the kitchen.

"What does Bo have to eat? I'm fucking starving."

Shooting a wistful look at the door, Hanna sighed and scurried behind him, not sure what to do or how to get Anthony out of the apartment. She reached the kitchen to see him already searching the fridge for food. Another knock sounded at the door.

You have to be kidding me
, she groaned inwardly. Taking one last look at Anthony she hurried back to the front door. Swinging it open, she came face to face with one of the building guards, her luggage on either side of him.

"Mr Savage requested these be sent up. Where would you like them?"

"Just inside the door here." Hanna stepped back and motioned for him to drop them inside the door. "I can take them from here."

"As you wish." Without another word the guard dropped the bags and left, leaving her with Anthony to deal with.

Closing the door, Hanna made her way back to the kitchen to find Anthony downing a bottle of beer as he finished off a piece of beef jerky.

"Hey, so are you Bo's new girl?" He asked, walking over to her, his eyes once again travelling up and down the length of her body.

Hanna shifted nervously from foot to foot under his intense scrutiny, unsure of how to respond. "I'm ummmm."

"So you're just a couple days of fun then?"

Hanna's eyes narrowed as she straightened up, squaring her shoulders and meeting his gaze. "I'm Bo's guest. And the nature of our relationship is none of your business." Despite her firm exterior, Hanna was trembling inside.

To Hanna's surprise, Anthony began to laugh. "Baby, you all think you're the one. Enjoy the ride while you can and when he's through with you, come see me." He reached out and fingered a lock of her hair. "I love redheads. Natural?"

Hanna jerked away from his touch as if scalded, batting his hand away. "I think this conversation is finished. I'll let Bo know you stopped by."

Anthony's eyes caught hers and she could see the indecision in them. She prayed he'd leave, because every moment he stayed she felt more insecure about the situation. She had no doubt in the case of Anthony Flemming, everything the tabloids said was true.

"Alright. Bye Red." He walked past her and made his way to the door, Hanna trailing behind him, but keeping a safe distance between them. Without giving her another glance, he left.

"And don't call me Red, jackass," she muttered under her breath, slamming the door after him and locking it. She had no intention of answering it again, until Bo got home.

*****

"Shit, fuck." Bo tossed the tabloid onto the seat beside him and raked a hand through his hair.

"You know you just can't go roaming the streets before a concert. What were you thinking Bo?"

"I wasn't." Bo looked over at the bands manager, Victor Irving, sitting next to him. Victor, a veteran of the business, had been their manager from the start, taking the band from a bunch of nobodies playing at whatever bar that would take them to superstardom. "She never comes to the city. I wanted to take her out. Be normal for a change."

"Yeah, well, you're not. And hopefully you won't be for a long, long time."

"Shit. If people recognize her, she's going to be hounded to death."

"She gets five minutes of fame. That's what they all want, a little taste of the good life. Big deal, who cares about her, as long as she doesn't talk negatively about you or the band."

Bo shook his head. "Nah. She's not the kind of girl that enjoys drama. She's shy. She wouldn't enjoy the attention."

Victor laughed. "Then what in the hell is she doing with you?" Victor's laughter suddenly halted and his eyes narrowed. "What are you planning for this girl anyhow? You really into her? You know, we have some great publicity lined up for you with an up and coming country star. If you're involved with someone it's going to completely fuck up what we have planned."

Bo huffed. "I'm not concerned with what the PR people have planned. I'm not going to stop seeing someone I'm interested in for something like that."

"So she's not just a fling."

"Hanna isn't the type of girls you fuck and leave."

"Bo buddy. They're all the kind you fuck and leave." Upon seeing Bo's determined expression, Victor sighed and motioned to the newspaper between them. "Then I suggest you prepare her for the paparazzi, because once she goes home she'll get swarmed with them."

"Yeah." The car slowed as it approached his building. Several reporters were waiting outside, no doubt wanting to get the lowdown on his new relationship. Bo leaned forward and knocked on the panel dividing them from the driver.

The panel lowered and the drivers peered at him from the review mirror. "Yes, Sir?"

"Take me into the garage. I don't want to deal with them right now."

"Yes, Sir."

*****

Hanna leapt from the sofa, when she heard the beep of the door being unlocked and made her way to the front door. She imagined it was Bo, but she was still slightly shook up over Anthony's visit so instead of enjoying the afternoon in Bo's stunning home, she'd been on edge, anxiously waiting for him to come home. She'd considered sending a text to Jackie a number of times, but really didn't want to ruin Jackie's good time with her problems.

A wide smile spread across her lips when she saw Bo open the door and step inside. She rushed to him slipping her arms around his neck and holding tight to him.

Bo laughed at her exuberance. "Hey! Now
this
is the greeting I was hoping for this morning."

"I'm happy you're back." She pulled back from him, but he kept her from pulling away fully.

Bo lowered his lips to hers and the anxiety she'd been feeling the previous several hours seemed to fade away. She pressed herself against him, returning his kiss, welcoming his tongue to explore. The desire she'd had for him the previous night, came to the forefront of her mind and she moaned against his lips, pressing her body against him.

"Mmmm. Much better than this morning," he murmured pulling back. To her dismay, he pulled back fully and stepped away from her. "There's something I have to discuss with you."

The incident with Anthony came to her mind, and she nodded. She still hadn't decided whether she was going to mention it or not. From what she knew about the band, the members had grown up together, they were like brothers. She wasn't sure if bringing up the way Anthony had made her feel was a good idea or not.

"What about?"

"Well..." Bo took her hand and led her into the living room and to the leather sofa. "Sit down for a second." As they sat, he reached into the inner pocket of his jacket and pulled out a rolled up tabloid.

He didn't have to tell her, for her to know exactly what he was about to say. She watched as he opened up the paper and her mouth dropped open as she peered at a picture of herself, Bo's arm around her. They looked like a couple newly in love. She looked to the headline.

Who's Bo's Love Interest? The Real Reason For His Break-up With Nadine?

The picture was in colour and her red curls were unmistakable. There was no doubt in her mind that any and everyone she knew who saw the headline would recognize her.

"Oh- my-God!" Visions of strangers swarming the coffee shop, hounding her with questions about him, their relationship, and poking into her life came to mind. It was a nightmare situation for her.

"I'm sorry Hanna. I really am. I really didn't mean for this to happen, but I should have known. Taking you out for a walk was a stupid impulsive decision on my part."

She skimmed the article associated with the picture which ended with a call out to anyone who could identify the woman of mystery, offering a cash reward.

"So what do I do now?"

"Hope no one comes forward. If they do, then we'll deal with it." Taking her chin in his hand, he tilted her face up so their eyes met. "Don't worry. I'll make this work."

"The situation or us?" she teased, though there was seriousness in her teasing.

"I'll take care of you Hanna. Okay?"

Hanna nodded.

"Now that this is out of the way, we have an hour before the car comes to pick us up." He lowered his lips to hers and she felt the conviction in his statement.

It's going to all work out
, she told herself a final time before losing herself in his sweet kiss and caress.

Chapter 8

"This is incredible!" Jackie exclaimed as she looked around them.

Hanna also surveyed the crowd. She and Jackie were seated front row center of a sell out crowd at the Gardens. People of various ages chattered and countless women in the crowd were holding up signs proclaiming their love for Bo.

"Did you see the article about his new girlfriend?" Hanna heard a woman say from behind her.

Hanna's ears perked up upon hearing someone mentioning the article.

"Pfft. Yeah. Can you imagine. She's not even all that pretty. And she's fat!"

Hanna fought the urge to turn around and scowl at the women behind her. She looked down at herself in a black sundress. Sure she was a little chunky, but she would hardly call herself fat. That being said, she knew she was hardly the size two or zero that most of the models who dated rock stars were.

"Fuck those bitches Hanna. They're just jealous."

Hanna turned her attention to Jackie and sighed as she nodded. "I know."

"You never did tell me about your night with him. I told you everything that happened with Jeremy."

Hanna could feel the heat rushing to her cheeks when she recalled the things Jackie had told her transpired between her and Jeremy the previous night and well into the day, until Anthony showed up and ruined their little sex games.