Chapter 13 #2
Jesse cleared his throat from his position next to the sofa. ‘I’m right here.’
‘You should’ve picked someone ugly for her if you didn’t want us to gossip.’
‘It’s alright, Jesse.’ Marco dragged his attention away from the guitar. ‘We both have women falling at our feet, but your cowgirl has only got eyes for you.’
‘He’s a possessive guy. Comes with the whole brooding cowboy thing he’s got going on,’ Sapphire teased, earning a deadly look from her client.
‘I get it, Savannah is a great girl. But anyway, Sapphire, you looking for a stepdad for that little one?’ He pointed at her bump, laughing wickedly when Savi smacked him on the arm.
Sapphire’s jaw dropped before she broke out into a fit of the giggles, and Jesse’s jaw got tighter and tighter.
If he wasn’t careful, he’d break his molars.
So, Marco was breaking out his flirtatious side, was he?
As long as he didn’t use it on Savi in front of Jesse, they should all be safe.
Although it seemed even flirting with a member of his staff was a step too far, judging by the way he turned his back on them all and poured himself a whiskey.
Neat. All Marco could offer Savi was an apologetic shrug which was followed by a smirk.
He wasn’t sorry at all; he was having a field day with this.
‘Hello?’ another voice called out, joining the chaos.
Blake stepped into the room, dressed in a full suit.
The same uniform he had worn when he’d cornered them at the track to kick this whole fake relationship scenario off.
Slight overkill considering the star of the show was currently wearing jeans and a vintage Dallas Cowboys sweatshirt, but Blake was ever the professional.
‘Blake.’ Marco shook his hand, and Blake was much less intense than Jesse had been.
‘How are things going with you two?’ he asked, looking pleased to see them both there together. ‘I’ve seen a large number of headlines, and photos and videos. You guys are naturals.’
‘Ahem.’ Jesse cleared his throat, shifting uncomfortably.
‘I don’t mean it like that, Jess,’ Blake tutted. ‘Jealousy doesn’t suit you.’
The tension in the room shifted even further into uncomfortable territory, and Savi was about ready to leave and abandon the whole idea.
She should have introduced them at dinner or something, not hours before Jesse performed.
He was stressed and this was only adding to it.
Marco, meanwhile, was still peering around and clearly being nosy, which seemed to be irritating Jesse even more.
Savi couldn’t blame her teammate, not many people had the opportunity to be in the dressing room of one of the world’s biggest country music stars.
‘So, Sapphire, when’s your last day with Jess?
’ Savi asked the one thing she’d been dying to know.
How long did she have before Jesse’s work life imploded, and he started claiming he didn’t want to be a musician anymore?
As if there was nobody else capable of doing Sapphire’s job in the entire music industry.
‘I’ve got three more months,’ she smiled nervously. ‘The label has got a replacement lined up. She’s great, he’s in good hands.’
‘She’s an intern,’ Jesse scoffed and took a swig of his whiskey.
‘An intern who I have personally been training, Jess. You need to chill.’
‘You’ll be fine, you knew Sapph wasn’t gonna stay with you forever.’
‘I wanted to believe she would,’ he shrugged. ‘Anyway, we’re ignoring Marco. Sorry, man.’ Jesse clapped him on the shoulder, his large frame overpowering Marco’s slimmer, athletic build. They couldn’t be more different.
‘Oh, don’t worry about me. I’m just happy to be here.’
‘So, you’re Italian, right? Early thirties, been racing since you were sixteen.
Still living in Monaco when you’re not travelling the world with the team, although that’s slowed down since Julien and his wife had kids.
’ Jesse reeled off the basics of Marco’s life story, his attitude thankfully shifting for the better.
Marco nodded. ‘Half Italian, half Monegasque, but you’re spot on with the rest. You’ve done your research.’
‘Well, yeah. I wanted to know who has their tongue shoved down my girlfriend’s throat.’
And he was back. Insecure, jealous Jesse who ideally needed to kick everyone out of his dressing room, have a strong drink and focus on tonight’s show. But it seemed he wanted to make poor Marco squirm, and all Marco was doing was smirking, his eyes sparkling with amusement.
‘Definitely not crossed that line,’ Marco assured.
‘Yeah, it’s all been totally PG, Jess.’ Savi put her hands in her back pockets, unable to reach for Jesse because he was stood too far away. She never knew if she should lay on the PDA when they were around Sapphire and Blake, because they were never actually in public together.
‘Better not cross it, either,’ he sulked.
A lot of women liked a man who behaved like this, who warned other men off their girl, but it was getting under Savi’s skin.
Pretending to date Marco and kiss and hold hands and behave like a couple had been Jesse’s idea, he’d pushed for it, and now she and Marco had travelled halfway across the world for Mars to be treated like an outsider, someone who was doing something wrong by simply doing as he had been asked.
Doing a favour. A favour which was getting in the way of his own dating life for the next six months.
‘How about we all give Jess some space and take a little trip to catering,’ Sapphire suggested, hurrying them out of the room before Jesse got carried away with himself and knocked Marco out.
It had happened before and was another reason Savi’s brother hated him.
He had anger issues, especially in bars. ‘I bet you guys are starving.’
Before they could shut the door behind them, Jesse pulled Savi back into the room with a sad and sorrowful look on his face.
‘I’m sorry. Apologise to him for me, this is just new, and I don’t know how to feel about it.
He’s a handsome guy, and I’ve seen the reactions of your fans.
Everyone’s obsessed with the idea of the two of you, and it makes me want to just steal you away from your world and take you back to the cabin. ’
‘You don’t need to worry about him, Jess. You know I’ve only got eyes for you.’
‘I know.’ He gave a gruff nod.
‘I love you.’ She leaned up and gave him a quick kiss.
‘Enjoy the show, Superstar.’ He walked away, her excitement for the show somewhat dulled down by the fact that once again he hadn’t said ‘I love you’ back.