Free The Rockstar I’ve Loved for So Long by Marian Tee Page A

of the room, wanting to surprise Dylan with breakfast in bed. In minutes, she had groceries delivered to his suite and was working on pancakes and omelets. After making sure his coffee was just right, she got everything on the breakfast tray and made her way back to the room.
    But the bed was empty when she came back and Bree lowered the tray on the glass table next to the windows. 
    The door to the shower opened and Dylan came out, looking jaw-droppingly beautiful and heart-stoppingly sexy with his entire naked body on display except for a small towel wrapped low around his hips.
    “Babe, I’ve got to go. The rest of the band’s here for an urgent recording session and our publicist also thought we should have a fans meet after.”
    She tried her best to smile as she inched to the left, trying to hide the breakfast tray behind her back. “That’s okay. Can I go with you instead?”
    Something in Bree’s voice was off, but before he could remark on it he finally noticed the sweet scent of coffee and pancakes in the air. With a frown, he moved to the side and saw the breakfast tray Bree was trying to hide. 
    It was exactly like what his mother used to prepare for his father, and later on, what his father used to prepare for…them.
    Just like that, all the beautiful memories he and Bree had made last night were instantly wiped away.
     
    “Thank you, darling.” The smile on his mother’s face was pretty. If only she was not smiling because she was happy that Dylan and his father had prepared breakfast for her and the sleeping naked stranger on her bed.
    He could only stare at his mother, unable to speak.
    His father cuffed him on the head from behind, hard enough for him to cry out. “Answer your mother, boy!”
    Tears choking his voice, Dylan said, “Y-you’re welcome, M-Mom.”
    His mother’s smile became benign. “You’re such a sweet child,” she cooed. And then the smile disappeared, and Dylan knew she had completely forgotten about him. She turned to the man next to her. “Luis, wake up, we have breakfast in bed.”
    “Shut up. I’m sleeping.” The man hit her hard on the face, strong enough to knock her out of the bed. 
    Dylan wanted to hit the stranger, but he did not because he knew his mother wouldn’t want him to. He did not attack the other man because his father wouldn’t want him to.
    He looked up at his father, who smiled down at him with approval.
    That’s right, son, the look on his father said. That’s how you love.
     
    When Dylan came back from the past, he knew – he just knew it was never going to work between him and Bree if he allowed himself to be completely vulnerable with her. 
    “Dylan?”
    He looked at her, his chest squeezing hard at the anxiety in her eyes – something she was trying to conceal with an overly bright smile.
    “I’ve never seen you record a song before,” she was saying. “Do you mind if—”
    “No.”
    Bree blinked at the curt dismissal, making her blurt out, “Why not?”
    He raised a brow, making her feel like she was wrong for asking in the first place.
    Was she?
    It felt like in the space of a second, the Dylan she had spent last night with had been replaced by a cold-hearted jerk. Was this another one of his issues acting up? Or was this a new facet of the rock star asshole syndrome that she was seeing for the first time?
    “I’d really like to go,” she said finally, trying not to sound like she was being whiny or demanding.
    “I’d truly rather you didn’t.”
    By his cold tone, it appeared like she had totally failed.
    “Can you tell me why you don’t want—”
    “Can you tell me why you suddenly want to join me now? I’ve invited you a lot of times in the past but you never said yes.”
    “But that’s because I wasn’t your girlfriend then,” she answered honestly. It was challenging to keep her voice even and free from the hurt she was feeling, but she managed it. 
    He’s fucked up. He’ll straighten out soon enough.