Brendan’s lips twisted up slightly at her use of the word “attack.” He thought it was a bit extreme but didn’t dare say anything to the feisty Roxanne.
“I thought you guys had bodyguards and drivers for situations like this,” Ava remarked in a sarcastic tone, twirling the ends of her long ponytail around one finger. It was the first time she had spoken up since her initial comment when she arrived in the kitchen. All eyes turned her way, and it was almost like everyone had forgotten her presence.
“We do, but I didn’t want to be burdened with all that on this trip. I can handle this. It’s not really out of control; it’s mainly annoying,” Brendan explained. He thought about his bodyguard, Shadow. At six foot seven, the former linebacker was a large, dark-skinned African-American, who could put fear in anyone with one simple glance. His professional career in the NFL had ended after his knee was shattered in an explosive blow made by another player.
Wanting his freedom to move about as independently as possible, he had given Shadow time off. Not wanting to express it out loud, he thought he might have to call him back on duty if things got worse.
“I don’t see what all the fuss is about. I mean, what did you expect? Running around and messing with a married woman. And not just any married woman at that, but America’s sweetheart! Do you know what Misty and Nick’s marriage represent to people? Why would you want to ruin that? I mean…who do you think you are?” Ava’s face was filled with disgust, before she spun on her heels and headed out of the room as abruptly as she had entered.
“What was that about?” Keith asked, staring at the doorway Ava had disappeared through.
“Your guess would be as good as mine,” Brendan said, shrugging and looking over at his best friend.
He believed that she was making assumptions that he was involved with Misty, and he had done nothing to clear the air. Not for her, nor for anyone else. He did not feel as if he owed anyone an explanation. If there was anyone he would answer to it was Nick Wade. But even Nick wouldn’t expect an answer from him. After all, Nick knew that Brendan and Misty’s relationship was nothing more than friends. They were more like sister and brother than anything else, and he was probably one of the few individuals in the country who had not misinterpreted the pictures.
“Well, either way, I expect the two of you to put your heads together and come up with something that will change America’s suddenly unpopular opinion of you, Brendan, and will keep you safe in the meanwhile.”
He and Keith watched as she put the last few groceries away. Heading towards the doorway, she paused with her hands on her hips. Slowly turning around, she said, “You know what? Ava might not have a bad idea after all. You might need a little security, and I think I have the perfect plan.”
Brendan had known his best friend’s wife for a few years and the gleam in her eye and the knowing look on her face spelled trouble. When she placed one manicured finger to her lips and began chewing on the tip of her nail, he was certain the trouble was headed his way. She swiftly paced back to the kitchen table, pulled out a chair, and sat down. She shared the details of her plan, pulling Keith into her whirlwind of ideas. At one point an argument broke out between the couple.
“I really don’t think using Ava to play the part is a good idea.”
“Why not?” Keith asked in surprise. “She’d be the perfect person. Someone that’s close to the family and close to Bren; she could be trusted to keep the secret. I can’t think of a single soul who’d fit what we need.”
“It’s just not a working plan. That’s all. You’ll have to come up with someone else, even if we have to pay someone to do it,” Roxanne suggested.
Keith chuckled. “I don’t think we’d have to pay anyone to pretend this man is their fiancé. Do you see all the women throwing themselves at him daily?”
“If I hear another word about those women, I promise you—”
Keith smiled at his wife and blew a kiss her way. “Not for me, honey. You’re the only one for me. We just gotta find someone for Bren.”
“Hey,” Brendan said, waving his hands. “Don’t talk about me like I’m not here.”
“I just don’t think Ava’s a good idea though,” Roxanne persisted.
“Well, let’s at least run it by her and see what she says. I think we should give her the freedom to decide before we just toss her out of the plan altogether. For all we know, she might be offended we didn’t consider it,” Keith stated.
“I doubt it,” Roxanne said dryly, getting up from the table and walking to the refrigerator to begin dinner preparations.
“Bren, are you okay with this? I mean, I think it’s the best thing we’ve got going. Anybody else outside of your circle may leave you vulnerable,” Keith emphasized.
Brendan felt as if he had no other choice in the matter. And the more Keith stood his ground, and the more Roxanne stood on the opposing side, the more certain he was that trouble was heading his way. When they called Ava back into the room a short while later, his heart pounded loudly in his chest—the way Dylan did on the drums.
“Honey, you know that Brendan has been facing backlash from the public after those pictures were released. On the one hand, he might believe it just comes with the territory, but on the other hand, we’re worried about his safety. Especially after the incident today,” Roxanne explained.
Ava listened on with a detached expression on her face.
“And,” Roxanne continued, “he’s just hardheaded enough to not bring his security on board. And from our conversation, I’ve learned that he speared up more trouble for himself by ignoring the orders of his publicist to address the rumors when he had a chance.”
To Brendan’s ears, Roxanne sounded like a mother rebuking her child. Yet, he couldn’t put a finger on why he felt the need to stand his ground. He just knew it was a choice he needed to make.
“This scandal might just grow bad enough to impact the band’s image and the other members in it if we don’t get control of this thing now. Not to mention their music sales,” Keith interjected.
Shrugging her shoulders, Ava turned her lips down. “I don’t see why this is something you all have to concern yourselves with. I’m sure he has an entire PR team and security detail to address these concerns. Don’t you, Brendan?”
Brendan nodded, thinking maybe the plan wasn’t such a good idea after all.
“He does, but I think we should all do our part while he’s here visiting us. I mean, after all, he shouldn’t be lagging his security team around with him when he’s visiting his grandparents. The last I knew, they weren’t in the best of health and we wouldn’t want to scare them unnecessarily,” Keith stated.
“Well, they don’t have a clue about any of this. They don’t follow what I do in the media,” Brendan explained.
“Yeah, but if you show up at their house with a security detail in place, buddy; they just might get a bit worked up. Especially Grandma Powers,” Keith disputed.
Brendan nodded his head.
“And, another thing to consider is Drew. He lives a quiet life away from the spotlight, and he likes it that way. Showing up in your normal Hollywood glitz and glamor might have people staking out at his place for weeks,” Roxanne commented in a worried tone.
Ava drummed her fingers impatiently on the table, as her eyes danced around the table taking in each occupant, yet careful to skip over Brendan. “So, what’s our part?” she asked, her eyes resting on her brother, Keith.
“Ava, Roxi had an idea that maybe we should weave this story that Brendan is already involved with someone. That rumor should be accompanied by him hanging out in public with this special someone, and she should be attending events with him, as well. Addressing the rumor is one thing, but addressing it with proof that your life is circulated around someone else other than Misty will bring a new perspective to things. It might be enough to take the spotlight off Misty for a while, which is what Brendan’s most concerned about,” Keith explained.
&nb
sp; “Of course, he is,” Ava replied, glaring at Brendan before turning back to her brother. “So, how does that have anything to do with our family?” Crossing her arms over her chest, she appeared to be issuing a challenge to him.
“Well, I thought we should take it a step further than just someone he’s casually dating. I was thinking he should introduce the woman as his fiancée. What do you think?”
“Okay,” Ava agreed, shrugging her shoulders. She looked around the table, lifting an eyebrow. Brendan knew the next statement had to be delivered in a measured way that would prevent her from running from the house.
After all, she couldn’t stand the sight of him. He understood why, or so he thought he did, but he didn’t have the freedom to tell her the truth. Not without putting Misty in a reckless spotlight or betraying her trust in him.
He had not shared with anyone, including Keith, what was going on with her. Brendan and Keith’s friendship was strong enough that he could get by without explaining it to Keith, and Keith would believe he was innocent. Keith would wait until Brendan was ready to share that story.
“That woman has to be someone who’s close to us. Someone we can trust to protect his truth. A woman who his fans and the public will fall in love with. She’s gotta be just fascinating enough to draw the public in, and they’ll see the story as the next great American romance,” Roxanne shared.
“And she’s gotta be a heck of an actress,” Keith added.
Turning her lips down, Ava removed her arms from the table and rubbed her palms up and down her thighs. “So, it sounds like we need to find someone who fits that bill,” Ava stated.
“I already have,” Keith answered, staring smugly at his baby sister.
“Who?”
“You,” Brendan spoke up, causing her to slowly turn her gaze from her brother to him. Again, there was a flicker of something in her eyes that he could not identify. But just as quickly it was gone, and her gaze became intense and hard, as those light green eyes darkened, appearing to shoot flames from within.
She moved so fast Brendan worried her chair might fall over backward. “You have got to be kidding me if you think I’m playing that part!”
“Ava, we need your help on this. Bren’s family and—”
“No, Keith. He’s your best friend. Maybe you feel you have a responsibility to help him out, but I’m not obligated to do the same,” she argued, pointing a finger at her chest.
“Please, Ava. It’s just for a little while. Besides, it’ll get you a chance to be exposed to some of the glitz and glam that he sees in the music industry. Something we wouldn’t see on a normal basis,” Roxanne pleaded.
“Something I’m not interested in,” Ava argued, pressing both hands in a pleading manner against her chest. “If you were responsible enough to keep yourself out of trouble and respectful of boundary lines when it comes to someone else’s wife, you wouldn’t be in this predicament now. I don’t know what makes you feel you’re entitled, Brendan. Who cares if you’re the lead singer of a popular boy band?” she asked, making sure to emphasize the word, “boy.” “Your fame doesn’t make it okay to take your reckless attitude on the road the way you do your show and believe there will be no repercussions.”
The group watched as Ava stormed from the room and up the stairs. It wasn’t long before they heard her running back down the stairs, keys in hand. The front door opened and slammed shut.
“Well, that went over well,” Keith said with a smirk on his lips.
Brendan rested his elbows on the table, removing his hat and running his palms over his head. “She’s right, you know.”
“She’s not right. She doesn’t know the whole story. As a matter of fact, I don’t think any of us do,” Roxanne stated.
“It’s just fine and well with me if we don’t,” Keith remarked. “I know my best friend. Dude, you’ve been like a brother to me all these years. And while I don’t know what those pictures were about, I know it’s not the story they’ve fabricated. But I know that in due time you’ll let us know…when you’re ready,” Keith said, leveling a serious gaze at Brendan.
“Yeah, I will. In the meantime, Ava’s right. I do have to figure out my predicament.”
“Something tells me you have nothing to worry about, Bren. She’ll be back,” Roxanne said.
Looking at Roxanne, he asked, “How do you know?”
“Oh, trust me. She’ll be back. She just needs time to work out a few things and she’ll come back and agree to do it.”
Brendan didn’t ask why, but Roxanne sounded so sure of herself.
4
The loud knocking on his door the next afternoon interrupted Brendan where he sat on his bed writing lyrics to a new song. Putting his iPad away, he stood and walked to the door. Seeing Ava on the other side was surprising, although he knew it shouldn’t have been. Roxanne had warned him that she would be there.
“Hey, there,” he greeted, staring down at her.
“I’ll do it.” Her head was tilted slightly. Partly so that she could look up to his six-foot-one-inch frame, from her five-foot-three-inch one…and partly to emit an air of obstinance.
“Do what?” Brendan asked, teasing her.
Apparently, that was the wrong move to make, because she instantly swirled around and began making her way down the hallway.
“Okay, okay! Wait!” he said and laughed, running after her, as he grabbed her by the elbow. Turning her to face him, he became serious as he apologized. “I’m sorry. Thank you.”
Her arms crossed over her chest, she simply nodded her head, acknowledging his apology.
“So, what do I need to do?”
“Well, there are going to be a series of events we need to attend. But the kickoff is that we’re doing a photo shoot to announce our engagement.”
“I can do a photo shoot,” she said lightly, shrugging as though that were a simple feat.
Removing his ballcap from his head, he looked down at the floor and scratched the back of his head with his other hand. “Uh…not just a regular photo shoot. There’ll be stylists and wardrobe people, and hair, nails, the whole nine yards.”
“What?” she balked. “Why do I have to do all that for a simple photoshoot, Brendan?”
“Because. It’s not a simple photoshoot. This is just how we do things in the industry. Besides, the pictures are going to be for the interview.”
Dragging her fingers through her ponytail, she asked, “Wait…what? What are you talking about? An interview?”
“For the magazine. People Magazine is doing an interview on us, and we need to be prepared for it.”
“Really? When was I going to find this out? If you remember, I just told you I would do this for you a few seconds ago.”
“Well, I had already been scheduled to do the interview, but I’ll call and let them know there is a slight change that involves you.” He couldn’t help it; he reached out and barely grazed her arm and noted that she jumped back as if burned by heat.
Sighing, she nodded. “Fine. I’ll do the stupid interview and photoshoot. What about these other events?”
“You know, we’ll have a few parties to attend, club appearances, and those kinds of things. And then there’s the everyday thing.”
“What everyday thing?” she growled.
“Just us hanging out. In public for everyone to see and photograph. These images will be on their Instagram and Twitter pages.”
“What about my privacy?”
Again, he reached out to touch her, but his hand dropped just shy of touching her arm. “You forgo that for this period. There’s no sense of privacy where stars are concerned.”
“Aren’t you worried about still being able to pull this off if anyone finds out I’m your best friend’s little sister?” she challenged.
“No. I’m not. Love happens between people, and it isn’t always complete strangers that find it. I think they’ll buy the story. We just have to sell it. By that, I mean everything in our attitudes a
nd body language will have to show how much we mean to one another.”
Rolling her eyes, she turned away from him and headed in the opposite direction.
“Wait. Will you still do it?” he asked, grabbing her shoulder and turning her around.
“Yes.”
“Then follow me.”
He saw the curious expression on her face, but rather than acknowledging it, he turned back to his bedroom to get what he had spent most of the morning shopping for. Although it had taken an entire day for her to give her answer, Roxanne had convinced him to move forward with his plan. And he had done so, albeit nervously.
Kneeling, he opened the bottom drawer of the dresser he had been given to use. Reaching inside, he pulled out a small, tan box with the initials “SB” engraved in the mid-section of the box.
Turning to her, he dropped to one knee and watched as her face turned from careful examination to shock as she placed one hand over her mouth. Brendan held out the tiny box towards her.
“I have something I want to ask you.”
Brendan slowly opened the box revealing the halo-style engagement ring with a pave diamond band. “Would you marry me?”
“Is that…is that what I think it is?” she gasped, pointing at the Solomon Brothers box in awe.
Shaking his head with an impish grin, he asked, “Does that mean yes?”
“Wh…what is this for?” she stammered.
“We’re engaged, right? In order to become engaged, don’t I have to ask you to marry me?” he repeated in a playful tone, pushing the box towards her.
This time she took the box and stared at the ring in its satin setting, she gasped again. “Why?” she asked, finally looking up as he stood.
“Well, it won’t be believable if you’re walking around claiming to be my fiancée with no ring on your finger,” he chuckled.
“But this?” she asked, lifting it up to the light.
“To convince the public, it has to be as real as possible. If this were real, this is how I see you.”
Her face turned a bright shade of red. “Seems like you put a lot of thought into this, Brendan.”
Fake Marriage to a Rock Star: Fame and Romance Page 3