Rock Hard International Billionaire: A Second Chance Billionaire Rockstar Romance (Rockstar Billionaires Book 3)

by Paris Rose

  “Same,” Arianna responded to Axel while maintaining eye contact with Christoff.

  After Axel and Johannes left, there was an awkward silence between me, Christoff, and Arianna.

  “Gia,” Christoff said as he nodded at me.

  “Yes?”

  “Could you give us a few?”

  I felt sick to my stomach. Why does he need to be alone with her? I wanted to get up and leave, but I was so stunned I couldn’t move.

  “You’re Gia?” Arianna glanced over at me and extended her hand across Christoff’s bed.

  “Yes, I’m Gia.” I stood and took her perfectly manicured hand in mine. “Nice to meet you, Arianna.”

  “Nice to meet you, too. I’ve heard so much about you,” she said. I involuntarily scrunched up my face as I wondered what she had heard about me. “All good things, of course.” She added awkwardly as she glanced down at Christoff.

  “I’ve heard a lot about you too, Arianna. It’s…” I struggled to find my words. “It’s interesting to finally meet you in person.”

  “Yeah, likewise.” There was another awkward silence.

  “Well, I will give you two some privacy.” I was so upset by Arianna’s presence that I was shaking. I hoped they didn’t notice. I was lost in thought as I made my way to the visitors’ lounge.

  Fleisch and Adelmo were sleeping across from each other. Fleisch had his feet propped on the seat next to Adelmo, and he vice versa. Johannes and Axel were a few seats down from them, sitting across from each other.

  “Giavanna? Giavanna? Are you okay?” Axel’s voice cut into my thoughts. “You look sick. Is everything all right?”

  “Yeah, I’m fine,” I sighed quietly.

  “Don’t worry. Christoff will be better in no time. Look how much better he’s gotten from yesterday to today,” Johannes comforted.

  “Yeah, you’re right, Johannes. I’m sure everything will be back to normal soon.” My stomach sank as I realized that “normal” meant Christoff would be going back home to Germany, and I would be here left wondering what was going on between us. And now my mind was overwhelmed by trying to ascertain what was going on with him and Arianna. Christoff had told me that they’d broken up around the same time that Trevor and I broke up in the spring. Yet, from the way that they looked at each other when she walked in, I could have sworn that there were still feelings between them.

  “Hans, I think Christoff is the last thing on her mind right now. If I had to guess, I’d say she is sulking over Arianna,” Axel said bluntly. My face turned bright red. My light-caramel skin always betrayed me. I was absolutely humiliated and there was no hiding it. I turned and glared at him. “Don’t worry about it, Gia. Arianna’s beautiful, but so are you, and you have a lot more to offer,” Axel said, patting my thigh.

  I squirmed in my seat. His touch made me a little uncomfortable, but, for some reason, his reassurance made me smile.

  “I mean, don’t get me wrong. She’s a sweet girl and all, but she’s just a kid. What is she, twenty-two, I think? You’re a real woman, Gia. Don’t worry about that little girl. Besides, Christoff hates insecurity. I know that for a fact. So, chin up.” Axel flashed a devilish grin. He was so full of himself, but I found myself practically eating out of the palm of his hand. Although part of me found him to be obnoxious, he definitely had star power that was undeniable.

  “You’re right, Axel, I have no idea what had gotten into me.” I forced a smile. “I swear I just read too much into things sometimes. I tend to overanalyze every little thing. I drive myself crazy sometimes.” For some reason, I was fidgeting and picking at my nails while I was talking. For the first time since the accident, I realized that I was intimidated by being in the presence of one of my favorite bands. Last night, I was in so much pain, and I was so worried about Christoff, it didn’t sink in that I was face-to-face with Aus Deutschland. Now it all hit me. I was sitting there in my nerdy neck brace with a huge bandage on my face in the presence of these flawless, superhuman rock gods. I’d always dreamed of meeting Aus Deutschland, but not even in my worst nightmares was I meeting them in one of my weakest moments. My face was scratched up, I was partially immobile, and I was extremely stressed about Christoff’s condition and the status of our relationship. I hated that I had to deal with this in the presence of his best friends who happened to be my idols. And now, on top of everything else, I had to bury my resentment toward Arianna, so I didn’t seem insecure and jealous. Just when I thought that the afternoon couldn’t possibly get any worse, I heard the clicking of high-heel shoes echoing down the hallway. I didn’t think anything of it until the sound was right behind me. Johannes was staring over my shoulder with his mouth agape.

  “Holy hell, there’s about to be a shit show,” Johannes said more to himself than to anyone else. He shook his head and cleared his throat. “I’m about to go out and grab some lunch. Giavanna, do you want to come with me?” Johannes asked abruptly.

  What on earth is going on? I twisted my body to look behind me and immediately wished that I hadn’t. Standing at the entrance to the visitor’s lounge was a six-foot tall, slender blonde with fine features and cherry-red lips. She had on a white designer dress, black stilettos, and dark, oversized shades. I couldn’t help but stare. She didn’t notice me looking at her, because she was looking down at her phone, texting. She had long, bright red nails that matched her lips. She had that unmistakable “fresh off the Paris runway” look that only Bianca Hathaway would have, but I was desperately hoping that somehow it wasn’t her. I had never seen Bianca in person before, and, even though she was on the cover of every magazine, I had never really paid attention to her in the media, not until I saw her on TV at an awards show with Christoff, while he was supposed to be dating me.

  Well, to be fair, Christoff and I had actually just broken up, but he had invited me to that awards show, and he’d ended up taking Bianca instead. He and I’d had a long talk about it, and I thought I was over it, but being in the same room with Bianca brought back a flood of memories of my breakup with Christoff. He’d said he was hurt that I didn’t want to move to Germany with him and that he wasn’t mature enough to talk to me about it, so he’d just dumped me and went to the awards show with Bianca. He’d sworn up and down that he’d never had any feelings for her, both to me and to the media. But in every interview, Bianca claimed there was still something between them. At least that was the storyline last year.

  After I got involved with Trevor, I let go of reading Bianca Hathaway interviews. The only reason I read them in the first place was to see what she was saying about Christoff. I could tell she was obsessed with him. She was a cosmetics industry heiress and one of the highest paid supermodels in the world. She probably could have dated anyone she wanted, but it looked like she wasn’t letting go of her infatuation with Christoff. The awards show fiasco had been over a year ago, and, according to Christoff, they’d gone on just a few dates after that before he’d ended it.

  So what is she doing here, now?

  Maybe there was something Christoff wasn’t telling me. Or perhaps Bianca was just crazy. Both scenarios were equally probable. Although Christoff claimed he had changed, he had a reputation as a womanizer. And I heard from my best friend Amber Ryan, who had the inside scoop because of her status as a Grammy-Award-winning artist, that Bianca Hathaway was completely insane and had a serious drug problem. I knew I shouldn’t feel threatened by her, especially if she was as weird and unstable as Amber made her out to be. But I couldn’t help but feel inadequate in comparison to her. She was absolutely stunning, ridiculously rich, and internationally famous. She intimidated me on every level.

  When Christoff came back for me last year, I told him part of the reason I wouldn’t be with him was because I didn’t want to cross Bianca. When I lived in L.A., I had learned the hard way that crossing the wrong people in the entertainment industry could get you blacklisted. In my early twenties, one of my romantic relationships with an up-and-coming actor offended
the wrong family, and I was basically exiled from showbiz, which is how I ended up moving to Chicago and becoming a music industry journalist. It had been several years since that snafu in Hollywood, but I was still paying the price. I’d probably have to pay for the breakup with billionaire music mogul Trevor Dunaway, too. The extent of the damage that breakup had done to my professional reputation was yet to be seen, since I’d been hiding out.

  After everything I’ve been through, the last thing I needed was to be in a feud with the princess of the Hathaway family. Their family was extremely powerful, and there were so many of them! I wouldn’t want to cross any of them, but Bianca was the youngest and probably the most famous. She was going to be around for a long time, so I didn’t want to get on her bad side. That being said, she had no business being here visiting Christoff at the hospital. In every interview regarding Bianca, Christoff had been clear that he had no romantic interest in her. I wondered what she thought she was going to get out of showing up here.

  “Gia?” The sound of my name interrupted my thoughts. “Do you want to grab lunch?” Johannes repeated. I had no idea how long I had been sitting there watching Bianca play on her phone. I turned back and faced Johannes.

  “No, thank you. I’ll stay here, Johannes. But before you go, you should stop and ask Christoff if he wants you to bring him anything back.”

  “Good idea, Giavanna. I’ll wait until he’s done talking with Arianna to go down there.” Johannes stood up and started pacing. Axel glanced over his shoulder at Bianca and stifled a laugh.

  “That woman just cannot let go,” Axel muttered and rolled his eyes. “Have you met Bianca yet?” he asked quietly.

  Bianca was walking across the room toward us before I could reply. She stood in the center of the room in silence for a few seconds before speaking.

  “Hello, everyone.” She waved dramatically. “I just arrived here from a show in London. I tried to get here sooner, but, unfortunately, my contract wouldn’t allow me to miss the show. My schedule has been so packed these days, it’s both a blessing and a curse. But no worries, I’m here now!” She flashed a gigantic smile as she took off her sunglasses and made eye contact with all of us, one by one. It seemed as if she was waiting for a round of applause or something. Axel walked over and kissed Bianca on the cheek. “Axel, it’s always such a pleasure to see you! Muah!” Her voice was syrupy sweet. She embraced him and gave him a dramatic air kiss. “Johannes, you’re always so quiet when I’m around. You remember me, don’t you? I was at the party with you and Christoff in Miami.” Bianca was projecting her voice like she was performing for a theater full of people. It was very strange.

  “Yes, of course I remember you, Bianca. How could I forget you?” I could sense the sarcasm in Johannes’s voice, but I don’t think that Bianca could. He walked over to her and gave her a very stiff hug. Bianca started to hug him but then abruptly pulled away.

  “Where is Christoff? I don’t have a lot of time. Could someone tell him to come out here so I can see him?” Bianca looked around wildly.

  Fleisch sat up put his feet on the floor and pushed his chair back. The noise startled me. “No, Bianca. This is a hospital. It’s a place where they take care of sick and injured people. Patients don’t usually run out to greet their visitors. It’s supposed to be the other way around, genius.” Fleisch sounded really perturbed.

  “How dare you speak to me like that?! Do you know who I am?” Bianca shot Fleisch a glare that could have burned a hole through him.

  “Yes, I do know who you are. You’re a waify blonde waste of space who wouldn’t even have a job if it wasn’t for her last name. Now please leave so that I can go back to sleep. We were all having a good day until you so rudely barged in here and demanded everyone pay attention to you,” Fleisch said through gritted teeth. I couldn’t agree with him more. I wanted to high five him, but, for some reason, he didn’t seem like the high-fiving type, with all of his piercings and tattoos.

  “You’re just jealous of my success you fucking grungy peasant!” Bianca snapped. She was getting really loud now.

  “I wish your mother had fallen down the stairs while she was pregnant with you, then maybe you would have never been born,” Fleisch spat back. The anger between them was making me really uncomfortable. I wish I would have taken Johannes’s offer to go to lunch when I could have.

  “Hey, Fleisch, that’s enough.” Axel held up his hand.

  “You’re only defending her because you want to fuck her. The jig is up, Axel,” Fleisch retorted.

  “Hey! Guys, guys!” Johannes spoke up. “What would Christoff think if he saw everyone fighting like this? How about we all try to put our own issues aside and be strong for Christoff while he recovers. Can we all do that just for the next day or so, or however long he’s in here? Please?” Johannes spoke with sincerity and passion.

  I turned my back to them, hoping that Bianca wouldn’t notice me. I didn’t want her to know who I was, and I certainly didn’t want to get involved in the madness that was going on before me. Everyone was quiet for a few seconds before Bianca spoke.

  “Exactly, Johannes. I didn’t come here to fight. Bickering gives you wrinkles, and wrinkles are something I do not want. I’m here to see Christoff. I have an important event tonight. I can’t waste any more time entertaining childishness. Someone take me to Christoff’s room,” Bianca said sharply. “Please,” she added a few seconds later.

  “I’ll take you.” Axel put his hand on the small of Bianca’s back and guided her in the direction of Christoff’s room.

  “Thank you. At least someone here is a gentleman.” Bianca projected her voice, glaring over her shoulder at Fleisch.

  When Bianca and Axel were all the way down the hall, I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding. I was so relieved that I didn’t have to have a conversation with Bianca. As inappropriate as it was, I was still harboring resentment toward her for taking my spot at the awards show with Christoff last year. Although I didn’t think it was possible, after being in the same room with her, I liked her even less. She really was weird and over-the-top. I wondered what Christoff saw in her, besides her looks, that is. I got up to go to the vending machine to grab a snack. I didn’t want to leave the building while Arianna and now Bianca were in Christoff’s room. As I turned the corner to go down the hallway, Arianna intercepted my path. She looked flustered.

  “Hey, Gia, are you okay?” She sounded concerned as she walked up to me. I guess I looked just as distraught as she did. I was still trying to shake off being in the presence of Bianca.

  “Yeah, I’m fine. How are you? You look upset.”

  “Oh no, I’m okay. I just hate seeing Christoff in so much pain.”

  “Yeah, me too.”

  “And I had a run-in with Bianca Hathaway. She hates me, even though I did nothing to her. She claims I ‘stole’ Christoff from her.” She made air quotes as she rolled her eyes. She let out an exasperated sigh. “I could have done without running into her today. But enough about me. How are you holding up? Christoff said you were hurt in the crash, too. And he said you have been here night and day. It must be tough.”

  “Yeah, I can’t wait until I can take this neck brace off. And I really can’t wait until Christoff gets released from here.” As the words left my lips, I wondered if that’s what I really wanted. Of course I wanted Christoff to get better, but I didn’t want to be separated from him again. And who knew what would happen when he got released? He could end up with Bianca or Arianna. I really needed to know what was going on between Arianna and him. “Hey, can I ask you something, Arianna?”

  “Sure, Gia. What is it?” She responded hesitantly. She seemed really nice, but I could tell she felt awkward talking to me. It was a little uncomfortable for me, as well, but, all things considered, I kind of liked her.

  “I know it’s really not any of my business, so please forgive me for intruding, but I was wondering what’s going on between you and Christoff? Are you two seeing ea
ch other?”

  Arianna laughed before letting out a deep sigh.

  “No, Christoff and I are not together. I still care about him, but he is not the relationship kind. I think he is a good guy, and, like I said, I care about him. I want nothing but the best for him, but he is a heartbreaker. He’s not wired to stay with one woman long-term. I’m looking for someone to settle down with, so, as difficult as it is for me to accept, Christoff is not the man for me.”

  Arianna’s words hit me like a ton of bricks. I know I should have been relieved that there was nothing going on between them, but I felt sick over her insights about Christoff. She was not alone in her opinion. Everyone who I ever talked to in the industry, including my best friend Amber, said that Christoff was not a man to get attached to. They were probably right. I was wondering why I was even considering trying to get a commitment from the type of man who would have three different women show up to the hospital to visit him in less than twenty-four hours. I sighed as I realized that if I continued to allow myself to stay involved with my on-again-off-again relationship with Christoff, I might never get the opportunity to have the fairy-tale romance that I always wanted.

  On the other hand, whenever I was with Christoff, everything was right in the world. And I knew I wasn’t imagining the gleam he had in his eye when he looked at me. What Christoff and I had together was special, there was no doubt about that. It was so complicated. I was trying to figure out how I wanted to respond to Arianna’s candor when I heard the sound of heels echoing down the hallway. I glanced over Arianna’s shoulder and saw Bianca Hathaway headed toward us.

  “Wait, are you and Christoff together?” Arianna raised her eyebrow. I held my finger to my lips and averted my eyes toward Bianca. Arianna turned over her shoulder and followed my gaze. She stood frozen for a moment before turning back toward me. “I do not want to talk to her again,” Arianna muttered under her breath.

  It was too late. Bianca walked up and cut between us so that her back was to me, and she was face-to-face with Arianna.