Page 7 of Dirty Fantasy

“What?”

“What if you two pretend to be together? Date. Fall in love. This tour will be through the roof. We can even add more cities. It’ll help you. It’ll help her. It’s genius.”

“Pretend?”

“Yeah. Publicity would be insane. Your rep could be rehabbed. She gets a major boost. Then you go your separate ways when it’s done—with no drama.”

“Other than that last part, I like what I’m hearing.”

“But you can’t fuck her and then fuck her over, Mick. Or get caught fucking anyone else. ’Cause then you’ll ruin it, okay?” Jimmy sent him a knowing look. “Let me talk to her manager. Bill, right?”

“Jimmy—”

“This is brilliant, Mick. And if you do fuck her? Okay, whatever. Not my business. But don’t get caught with anyone else. Okay?”

He took a moment to consider it, but Mick already knew what he wanted. “You got a deal. Now, good luck getting her on board. She said she had a boyfriend.”

Jimmy huffed out a laugh. “Don’t even worry about that. If that girl knows what’s good for her … I’ll take care of everything, Mick. You just wait. This is gonna be PR gold. Can’t buy this kinda publicity. She’ll fall in line. Just watch.”

Mick smiled. If one way doesn’t work, try another. Perseverance always pays off.

CHAPTER 4

“You want me to what?” Tana stared at Bill as the bus pulled out for Philly.

“You heard me. We think it’s a great idea. Your career will skyrocket. Fans will love it. You’ll be on every magazine cover known to man. Just wait, Tana. This is huge. The fact that Mick is even willing to do this is incredible. You won’t regret it.”

Tana’s head sounded like it was filled with static. She could not be hearing this right.

“Could you repeat the first bit again? Like, slowly. Pretend I don’t speak English well.”

Bill looked at her like she’d grown a second head. “Which part?”

“From the top, Bill.”

“Mick’s manager, Jimmy, has proposed that you and Mick have a fake relationship for the press—all tour long—which will rehab his image and set you up for country music superstardom.”

This is because I ghosted him last night, isn’t it? Tana couldn’t help but wonder. Men … always wanting what they can’t have.

“Okay … so—” she started, but Bill didn’t give her a moment to continue.

“Great. I’ll tell them you’re in. This is going to be amazing, Tana. You won’t regret it. They’re even talking about adding tour dates if this goes well. It’ll be awesome.”

He already had his phone ringing before Tana could correct him as to what she’d actually wanted to say.

“Bill, no!”

“Yeah, she’s in, Jimmy. No problem. What? Stop the bus? You sure? Oh … okay. Sweet. Yeah. I’ll tell the driver. One second.” He ended the call as Tana’s stomach tumbled somewhere near the mud flaps.

“What have you done?” Tana whispered as she blinked at her manager.

Bill smiled, all teeth, and for the first time, Tana wondered if he was actually all about what was best for her.

“I just made us both a fuck ton of money, kid. You can thank me in your speech when you’re accepting that New Artist of the Year award. One sec.”

He ran to the front of the bus, and the air brakes pitched Tana against her seat as the driver slammed on them.

When Bill came back, he jerked his head toward the door. “Grab your guitar. You’re riding with Mick. He’s written a duet he wants to sing with you. You’re fucking welcome, Tana, anytime you want to say thank you.”