Saved by the Rockstar (Rich and Famous Romance Book 1)

  Saved by the Rockstar

  By Michelle Pennington

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  Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Epilogue

  Saved by the Rockstar

  By Michelle Pennington

  The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

  Copyright © 2018 by Michelle Pennington

  First eBook edition September 2018

  All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written consent of the author.

  http://www.michelle-pennington.com

  This book is dedicated to:

  Julie Spencer

  Let’s Rock!

  Chapter One

  Julie told herself it was completely to have a crush on a rock star. Women all over the world got starry eyed over virile musicians with dynamic personalities singing incredible, soul-bending songs. There was absolutely no reason to feel like an idiot for obsessing over Ryland Sterling.

  But she walked through her quiet, sheltered garden in the hazy morning air and thought of Ryland Sterling, she wished she could focus on her story instead. Usually her walks helped clear her mind and prepare her to work, but today, all she could think about was a man she’d never even meet in real life.

  He and his siblings had toured all over the world as the band, Sterling House. Since Julie spent most of her life with her head in fantasy land, it had only been in the last week that she’d stumbled across one of his band’s music videos on YouTube. She had immediately added most of their songs to the playlists she listened to while she wrote. But the music, and the lead singer, had so pervaded her soul, that she listened to it even when she wasn’t writing.

  When a call came through on her phone, breaking her introspection, a rush of annoyance swept through her. But it was her agent. She had to answer.

  “Good morning, Lenora.”

  “Julie. I’m so glad you’re up.”

  “Great. That sounds ominous.”

  “Remember how I told you that you’d need to make a public appearance to promote the movie? Well, it’s time to nail down some dates. I’ve got people breathing down my neck wanting to know what you’ve decided.”

  Julie stopped by the koi pond at the back of her fenced property and sat on a concrete bench. Dread sat heavily in her gut. If she’d known she’d be pressured to be part of the promotion tour, she never would have sold the movie rights. It was a nightmare waiting to happen.

  She’d come such a long way in treating her anxiety. Countless hours of excruciating behavioral therapy had enabled her to live a mostly normal life instead of becoming a shut-in. She was able to go shopping at certain stores at certain times of day. She went to restaurants and the library. But getting on a plane and going to a crowded convention was out of the question. Especially since there was a chance her internet troll might be there.

  “I don’t know why you’re so hesitant about this,” Lenora said when Julie didn’t answer. “You’re so enthusiastic and vibrant on your video blog, I just know you’ll do great.”

  Yes, that was her—except in certain situations. She could film vlog episodes all day long. Facing crowds of people in person was a whole different things.

  She’d have to face her greatest fears to go on this trip, but somehow she had to make it happen.

  “All right. Send me the list and I’ll pick one.”

  Lenora sighed. “Just one?”

  Julie clenched her teeth. “Let’s start with one and see how it goes.”

  “Okay. Look for it in your inbox.” Lenora sounded way more cheerful now than she had at the beginning of the call.

  Good for her—because Julie felt like finding a cave to hide away in. Actually, the garden shed that sat under the trees in the back corner of her property would be perfect. It even had a window. No doubt she could hide out in there for a long time. If she took her laptop, maybe she could even finish this story that was giving her fits.

  Julie laughed at how silly she was being. As if she would even last five minutes. There were bound to be spiders in there. Planes were scary. Spiders made her want to burn down buildings.

  Standing up, she carefully brushed off her leggings and headed back to the house. The sun slanting through the heavy canopy of leaves overhead burned off the last of the morning dew, but the air was still rich with the scent of damp soil and flowers.

  Inside, she raided her fridge for a slice of left-over pizza and set up to do her weekly vlog in the living room. A piece of pepperoni fell on her shirt and smudged greasy tomato sauce on it, so she went to her room and changed. The only clean t-shirt she could find was wrinkled and faded, but after she put some mascara on, she thought she looked just fine. Anyway, her fans were used to seeing her in pj’s and messy buns.

  Back in the living room, she plopped down on her couch and leaned forward to hit record.

  “Hello, Fated fans. It’s a beautiful morning, and I’m looking forward to making lots of progress on the edits for third book in my series, Harbinger. I know a lot of you are anxious for info, so I hope to have an official release date for you as well as a cover reveal next week.” Julie grinned and fist-pumped. “Also, I’ve started an all-new series that I’m really excited about. No details yet though. You’ll just have to wait to find out what it is.

  “So, that’s the news for today. On a personal note, I have to make a confession. I just discovered the band Sterling House. I know a lot of you are probably fans already, so don’t make fun of me for being the last one to the party. I’m just happy I found them. So many songs from their first two albums are already on my writing playlists.”

  Julie paused as her pulse picked up again. She had to calm down or she’d sound like a starry-eyed teenager instead of the mature, professional twenty-five year old she was. Then she laughed. She was so not mature and professional, no matter how hard she tried to be.

  “The voice of the lead singer, Ryland Sterling, is as smooth as caramel but with this rough husky undertone that adds so much depth to his performance. His two brothers are also in the band—which I guess is why they call themselves Sterling House. If I can give the hero in my new series a fraction of Ryland’s charisma, I’ll be thrilled. So, if by any chance you are as lame as I am and haven’t discovered Sterling House, go check them out. Trust me on this one! Okay, I’ll be back next week! Don’t forget to share, subscribe, and comment!”

  After stopping the recording, she played it back. It all looked normal except for the extra flush in her cheeks when she started talking about Ryland. And her eyes were a little too sparkly. She had it bad.

  Not really surprising when his amazing voice and obvious passion for this work were combined with the body of an athlete and a face that would make any woman’s pulse speed up. But such perfection was so far out of reach, it was ridiculous to even dream. Though dream she did.

  Ah well. It was safer than wanting a real person. Which was why she was still single and wrote romantic fantasy for a living. She’d tried the whole
relationship thing once, and her anxiety had ruined that in no time at all. That was a mistake she wouldn’t make again.

  Julie sighed and called her friend, Heath. “I’ve got a video for you to work on for me,” she said when he picked up.

  “Send it over,” Heath said. He was always so generous and helpful that she almost felt bad asking him to edit for her every week. But he never seemed to mind.

  “I already did. Hey, along with the usual links, I sent a few more for the band I talk about in the video. You know, the one I’ve been telling you about.”

  “Yeah. I keep waiting for you to move on. Getting any writing done?”

  “No. Lenora called about those promo trips she wants me to take.”

  His familiar chuckle made her smile. “So you’ve been freaking out instead of working.”

  “It hasn’t been that bad. I’m going to start writing now. Let me know when the video is live.”

  “Will do.”

  But instead of moving into her office to write, Julie put her headphones on and played one of her favorite Sterling House songs. Ryland’s voice washed over her like a current of magic. Shivers ran down her arms and her tension began to ease away. Reasoning that she’d be more successful writing if she was relaxed, she lay down on her couch and let her imagination wander.

  ***

  The sunshine turned to rain the next day. Julie didn’t mind at all since she always wrote better in gloomy weather. She reached forty-thousand words on her new story at noon, so she took a break for lunch. After warming up some left-over Pad Thai, she checked her book sales and spent some time on social media.

  She clicked on a message someone had sent her on Twitter. Crude, suggestive words swam before her eyes, poisoning her good mood. She was about to click out of it when something about the profile picture caught her attention. The troll’s picture was a man’s chest with a t-shirt that read, “I want Julie in MY chamber.”

  Her last name was Chambers, so the play on words wasn’t subtle. It sickened her. Totally creeped out, she hesitated to look at the comments for her latest vlog, but she couldn’t let stuff like this shake her. There were weirdos in the world, and most of them were on the internet. She just needed to ignore it and move on.

  There were over five hundred comments on her post, most of them about Sterling House. Apparently, mentioning them was a great marketing ploy. Then she saw a comment that jolted her upright.

  Hey, Julie. Thanks for the shout out. My little sister is a fan of yours and showed me your video. Glad our music inspires you. —Ryland Sterling

  Julie screamed. And then, for good measure, she screamed again—louder. Taking deep breaths, she read the comment three more times and called Heath. She didn’t even bother to answer when he asked how she was doing. “Ryland Sterling actually commented on my video. I can’t even breathe right now. Can you believe it?”

  “Hold on. Let me find it.” There was silence on the other end while Heath looked for the comment. While she waited, Julie read the comment twice more.

  “Wow, that’s awesome, Julie,” Heath said. “Great cross-promotion too. How are you going to reply?”

  “Reply? I don’t know. I haven’t even thought about it. What do I say?”

  “You’re the writer.”

  “Right. Okay. I can do this.” She put her phone down, pushed the bowl of noodles out of the way, and opened her laptop again. Scrolling down to the comment, she tried a reply. “Wow!!! Thank you thank you thank you.” Then she deleted it. “Heath, I can’t do it. I’m going to sound like an idiot.”

  “That’s because you are an idiot. Look, pretend he’s just a regular guy.”

  “I can’t talk to regular guys either.”

  “What am I?”

  “Best friends don’t count.”

  “Thanks a lot.”

  “You know what I mean. And this guy is…so beyond me.”

  “Okay. Come back down to earth. You are going to reply. He may or may not even see it. And you will likely never hear from him again, so stop freaking out.”

  He was right. So right that a massive depression snuffed out her elation.

  Heath must have picked up from her silence that his comment had made her feel bad. “Or you could think of something witty and charming so he’ll respond back.”

  “No pressure there.”

  “Think of all the subscribers and potential readers you could get out of this.”

  “Yeah. Okay, I’m getting off here so I can focus. I have half a million words published under my name, but I’ve never felt so much pressure over a few simple sentences.”

  “Just pretend you’re talking to me, because apparently I’m no big deal.”

  “Stop giving me a hard time. I didn’t mean that and you know it. You know how much our friendship means to me.”

  “Yeah, yeah. I’ll be watching for your reply. If I don’t see one soon, I’m going to call you out for being the chicken you are.”

  After twenty minutes of mumbling words to herself, inspiration struck.

  Ryland, thanks so much for commenting. What a small world! I love that your sister is one of my fans and I’m one of yours. I’d love to send her an autographed copy of one of my books. Maybe she’d even like to video chat. If so, my email is on my website. Let me know. All the best—Julie.

  She sent it before she could second guess herself. At least Heath couldn’t call her a chicken. And what was the worst that could happen? If Ryland Sterling totally ignored her response and she looked like a desperate fan-girl? Yes. That.

  Chapter Two

  As the final chord echoed away in the packed arena, the crowd roared with applause. Ryland’s pulse drummed a hundred miles an hour and his chest heaved as he tried to catch his breath. There was no better feeling than the high of a show.

  But he was also relieved. This stop in Boston was the last one before they went home to Atlanta. After weeks on the road, facing crowds of fans, performances every other night, and the exhausting highs and lows of being on tour, he needed a break.

  He waved to the crowd and left the stage. His brothers Tate and Elijah followed him. They hugged and high-fived the crew back stage as they wound through equipment. They still had some meet-and-greets to do, but it was almost over.

  “Man, you sang your guts out tonight,” Elijah said, draping an arm across over Ryland’s shoulder.

  “Yeah,” Ryland said, his vocal chords aching slightly.

  Their tour director, Mike, met them and led them to where their fans waited to take pictures and get autographs. Ryland smiled through it all, giving, giving, and giving everything he had left. He tried not to talk too much. In between fans, he drank the ice-cold water Mike had ready for them. It soothed and tightened his vocal chords, but it could do nothing for the weariness that was creeping over him like a thick, heavy blanket.

  “Okay, folks. That’s all for tonight,” Mike announced.

  Ryland’s shoulders sagged with relief. He turned and went back to their temporary dressing room. Glancing at his watch, he saw it was almost one in the morning. He wanted sleep. And oblivion. And space.

  Elijah and Tate were not tired. They were both amped as they came into the dressing room, leading some of the other performers that had opened for them. Ryland didn’t want to be rude, but he was done. He walked around the room, collecting his personal things and a bottle of Gatorade from the fridge. He’d been sweating buckets on stage, and if he didn’t replace some electrolytes, he’d regret it in the morning.

  He retrieved his phone from the counter and saw there was a message from his little sister, Alissa. Smiling, he slipped his phone in his pocket. He’d look at it on the tour bus.

  Going through the crowd in his dressing room, he shook hands with the other musicians. “Hey, thanks again for touring with us. It’s been great. Tate, Elijah, I’ll see you on the bus. Don’t take too long, okay?”

  Tate rolled his eyes. “Going to bed already, Grandpa?”

  Ryland pu
nched him lightly in the shoulder as he passed by. “We’ll see who feels like an old man in the morning.”

  The glaring fluorescent lights in the hallway hurt his tired eyes after the lower lights of the dressing room. It was a relief to step out into the dim, cool night air. The tour bus waited nearby. As he approached, the door swung open and he jogged up the steps. He nodded at the driver, Andy.

  “Good show tonight, boss?”

  “Yeah. The best.”

  He headed straight to the back to find his bunk. He kicked off his shoes and hoisted himself up into his narrow space. He flipped on the light, closed the curtain, and settled his head on the pillows. When he was comfortable, he pulled up his sister’s text.

  “Here’s a link to Julie Chambers’ channel. You should watch some of her videos since we’re GOING to chat with her! Oh, and go respond to her message.”

  Ryland laughed. Alissa was fifteen and a total book nerd. Her enthusiasm wasn’t a surprise. His was.

  When Alissa had first sent him the video where Julie had talked about their band, he’d thought it was cool, but mostly for Alissa’s sake. But something about the beautiful, spirited woman in the videos had intrigued him.

  She had really long, dark hair, delicate features, and a wide, bright smile. If she wore any makeup, he couldn’t tell. But she clearly didn’t need it, not with her flawless skin and stunning blue eyes. What attracted him most, however, was her friendly and sincere personality. It was so different from the pushy, jaded women he met these days. Alissa didn’t know this, but after the first video she’d sent him, he’d watched many more. And bought one of her books. It should be waiting at home for him.

  Finding the comment to reply to wasn’t easy, but he followed Alissa’s link back to Julie’s channel, and eventually found it. He thought carefully for a moment before replying.

  My sister Alissa is really excited. She’d love an autographed book. She’d also love to video chat. Looking forward to meeting you. —Ryland

  After the comment posted, he realized he felt wired again even though his body was definitely not capable of moving. So, he took Alissa’s suggestion and turned on another one of Julie’s videos.