Rock Him Read Online Free PDF Page A

why?”
    “I wanted to talk to you about Ella.”
    “Oh, I guess. I … I have a car. If you give me your address I can — ”
    “The car’s ready when you are.”
    “Excuse me?”
    “The car’s waiting.” She peered out the window of her apartment. Sure enough, there
     was a black town car at the curb. She frowned. How the hell did he know where she
     lived? She remembered him looking at the tag on her luggage. He must have a good memory.
     Still, he sent a car before she agreed to meet with him? Cocky. Or desperate. Probably
     both. “Oh, okay … but — ”
    “See you in a bit.” He disconnected the call.
    • • •
    Maddy looked out the window as the driver pulled into a gated driveway in a very exclusive
     part of Santa Monica. Once buzzed in, the gates opened, allowing the sleek car to
     make its way up the drive. Her eyes widened.
    Now
that
was a big house. At the top of the driveway loomed an enormous, white stucco, red-tiled,
     Tuscan style building. Red and pink bougainvillea wound their way nearly two stories
     up on trellises lining the front walls on either side of massive front doors. She’d
     never had occasion to be in this part of Los Angeles. Probably because she’d never
     done one of those star tours of celebrity homes in the open-air mini-buses like the
     one their car had just passed. It was filled with tourists and their cameras, leaning
     out the windows, eager for a glimpse of a celebrity. Even a celebrity’s dog would
     do.
    The car came to a smooth halt at the apex of the circular driveway.
    “Thank you,” she said to the driver when he put the car in park. He nodded over his
     shoulder.
    “No problem, Miss.” Exiting the vehicle, he came around to open her door.
    Maddy climbed the front steps and rang the bell. The door was opened by a tall, lean,
     dark-haired man with brown eyes and a warm smile. He was casually dressed in jeans
     and the kind of classic t-shirt that was either vintage or top-dollar designer.
    “Hi.” She reached to shake his hand. “I’m Maddy. Asher called me.”
    “Hey, Maddy, we’ve been expecting you. C’mon in.”
    She stepped over the threshold and he closed the door behind her.
    “I’m Justin Montoya, Asher’s personal assistant.”
    Maddy glanced around. This place was a freakin’ palace but tastefully decorated. Nothing
Cribs
like to mock here, though it was easily the largest house she’d ever been in — not
     counting the White House tour she’d taken in college.
    “Why don’t you come with me?”
    She followed him down the long hallway to the rear of the house, and they entered
     a study with views of a pool in the middle of a flowering garden. Maddy wandered over
     to the French doors that led to a patio.
    “Asher will be in shortly. Can I get you anything?”
    Maddy clasped her hands together. “No, thanks. Um … how’s Ella?”
    Justin shook his head. “Not good, Maddy. We don’t know what we’re doing,” he said,
     spreading out his hands. “We’re all out of our element here, and poor Ella is having
     a rough time.”
    The door opened and Asher strode in. Her lungs seized up. Dressed casually in a form-fitting
     t-shirt and worn Levi’s that lovingly followed every hard line of his body, it was
     impossible not to notice his masculinity or his fatigue. Dark circles bruised the
     underside of his golden eyes.
    “Thanks, Justin,” Asher said.
    “Need anything?” the assistant asked on his way out.
    Asher turned to Maddy, brows raised.
    She shook her head.
    “We’re good, thanks,” Asher said.
    Justin left the room, quietly shutting the study door.
    Asher gave Maddy another one of those smiles that didn’t reach his eyes. “Have a seat,
     please.” He gestured toward the sofa.
    She sat on the edge of the sectional and studied him. By the looks of him, he wasn’t
     getting much sleep. Was that part and parcel for a rock star, or were things with
     Ella that difficult? In the weeks since she’d met him on