An all-new rockstar, enemies to lovers, second chance romance—set in the same world as The Rocker’s Muse—is out this week from Penelope Ward, and I have the whole first chapter for you.
Chapter One
Atticus
I couldn’t remember the last time my heart had raced like this. The palpitations had started the moment my ex had lit up my phone earlier, and they had only gotten worse since we’d spoken.
Nicole.
The woman I’d never get over.
The woman whose name my bandmates couldn’t even utter—it would set me back for hours.
Nicole had called to say she needed to talk to me about something after she got off work today and wanted me to set aside some time. So I’d abruptly left my friend’s house for my hotel. I’d been staying in Shady Hills, Missouri, for a few days, where our band’s frontman, Tristan Daltrey, had a second home. As the drummer for Delirious Jones, I often followed my bandmates around even when we weren’t working. Tristan and Ronan Barber, our bass player, were pretty much my emotional support animals after the toughest few years of my life. They were my best friends and like brothers to me; but right now, as I waited for this phone call? I needed to be alone. During the call, it was very possible I’d punch a hole in the wall. Didn’t want that to happen at Tristan’s house in front of everyone.
The numbers on the digital clock next to my hotel-room bed kept changing. With each second, my legs bounced faster as I sat on the edge of the mattress. In the three years since Nicole and I had split, she had never called me. I couldn’t help but imagine the worst.
Is she getting married?
Is she pregnant?
The suspense was killing me.
I flinched when the phone finally rang. As my screen lit up, I took a deep breath. Her number was still programmed into my phone as Wife.
Wife Calling.
I’d never had the heart to change it.
I answered the call and cleared my throat. “Hey, Nicole.”
“Hi.” She paused. “It’s been a while—well, I mean, other than earlier today.”
“Yeah, I know what you mean.” I exhaled. “I was surprised to hear from you. Wasn’t sure I’d ever hear from you again.”
“I get it. Um…” She paused.
“What’s going on?”
“It’s Mimi.”
My stomach sank. Her grandmother. “Did something happen?”
“Not yet, but she’s not doing well.”
Relieved that Mimi was at least still among the living, I let out a long breath. “I’m very sorry to hear that. What specifically is the issue?”
“Well, she’s bedbound now, can’t do anything for herself anymore. One of her legs is stuck in a weird position, and she can’t move it. This all happened very quickly over the past few months.”
Guilt came over me. There was no excuse for not having visited Nicole’s grandmother these past few years, no matter how tense things had been. She was like my grandmother. Who the hell doesn’t visit their grandmother for three whole years?
“I’m sorry,” I repeated. “That’s why we need to talk? To let me know about Mimi?”
“Partially.”
“Okay…” I stood from the bed, beginning to pace and pulling on my hair.
“I sort of… I never told Mimi…” Nicole hesitated.
I stopped pacing. “Never told her what?”
“That you and I got a divorce.”
“What?” My eyes went wide. “She doesn’t know we’re not together anymore?”
“I know that’s bad. It’s just that… She loved you—loves you—so much. And I never wanted to disappoint her. I told everyone else in my family not to say anything to her, and they’ve stuck to their word.”
I shook my head in disbelief. “She thinks we’re still married?”
“Yes.”
I raised my voice. “She hasn’t wondered why I haven’t come around in three damn years?”
“She thinks your schedule hasn’t allowed it. I’ve been making excuses all this time.”
Now I felt even worse. “Who’s taking care of her right now?” I scratched my head. “Does she need money?”
“That’s not why I’m reaching out,” Nicole assured me. “She has plenty of savings for now and round-the-clock home care.”
“What made you call me now and not, say, a month ago?” My chest tightened. “Do you think she’s close to…” I swallowed. “The end?”
“She reached out and asked if both of us would come stay with her. If ever I was going to tell her the truth about us, now is not the time. She’s in such a fragile state. I could make another excuse for why you’re not around, but I feel guilty. This could be the last chance you have to see her. I decided I needed to put aside my pride and at least ask if—”
“You want me to visit her…with you?”
“Sort of. Her live-in aide is going away for two weeks. Mimi asked if you and I would mind staying during that time—not only to visit her, but to help take care of her.”
My mouth dropped open as the reality of this proposal hit me.
“I know it’s a lot to ask. I—”
“Let me get this straight. You want me to pretend we’re still married for two whole weeks while we’re taking care of Mimi?”
She sighed. “I know it sounds crazy. You don’t have to say yes.”
“Sure. Right,” I quipped. “I could say no and then live with that guilt for the rest of my life.” As much as my head was spinning, I knew my answer. It was a no brainer. “When do you need me there?”
“Really?”
“When do you need me?” I repeated.
“Next week. I know it’s short notice.”
I paced again. “Well, the timing is kind of good, actually. The band is on break. So I can swing it.”
“It means a lot that you’re willing to do this for me. Given…everything.”
Everything.
There were many things that word encompassed, things that made me sick to my stomach just thinking about them. And now that I was about to face Nicole again, I would also have to face everything.
“I’m doing it for her, not for you,” I clarified.
Maybe that sounded harsh, but I needed to protect myself. The alternative would be unbearable.
“Understood.” She paused. “I’ll be arriving in New Jersey a week from today—just need to tie up some loose ends at the salon. Not sure if you can plan to arrive around the same time.”
“I’ll book something after we get off the phone.”
“Depending on the timing, we can say you were traveling in from a show, so you had to meet me there. You know, she’ll wonder why we don’t arrive together.”
“Yeah. What difference does it make what we say, though? The whole thing will be one big lie.”
A tense silence settled over the line. “I figured maybe you wouldn’t mind seeing your family while you were back in Monksville.”
I sighed. “I was actually planning to go back during this break. So this is not the worst thing in the world.”
“Not the worst thing in the world, aside from having to spend time with me, right?”
Was that supposed to be funny? Little did Nicole realize that spending time with her brought me just as much excitement as it did dread. And that was exactly the problem. This was why I’d never gotten over her. No matter the pain we’d been through, she would always be the one, even if half the time it hurt to think about her.
Rather than respond to her last comment, I simply said, “I’ll be there. Anything else?”
“No.” She sighed. “Thank you again.”
“Yeah,” I murmured.
After we hung up, I sat on the bed and put my head in my hands. Two weeks with Nicole, pretending to still be married. It would be a miracle if I survived it.
* * *
Later that night, there was a knock on my hotel room door.
I opened it to find Ronan looking miffed.
He held up his hands. “What the hell, man?” He brushed past me into my room.
Shit. I’d been so consumed by Nicole’s phone call, I’d forgotten to return to Tristan and Emily’s for the party they were throwing to celebrate the release of our album, The Rocker’s Muse. Their backyard barbecue must’ve been over by now.
“I’m sorry. I just wasn’t in the mood to celebrate,” I told him.
He flopped onto the bed, causing the mattress to bounce. “Well? What did Nicole want? I’ve been dying to know. Couldn’t stop thinking about it all day.”
I explained the phone call.
He blew out a breath. “Well, I’m relieved.”
“Why is that?”
“I’d been assuming the worst and thought I was gonna have to keep you from killing someone tonight or stop you from jumping off the nearest bridge.”
“What did you think she was going to tell me?” I didn’t really want to hear the answer.
“I thought maybe she was getting married—or worse, that she was pregnant with that dude’s baby.”
The mere thought of that made me sweat. I might punch a hole in the hotel wall after all. I couldn’t admit that both of those scenarios had already crossed my mind. “Don’t repeat that again,” I warned him.
“Come on.” He smirked. “You must have been thinking something like that.”
I shook my head. “I didn’t know what to think. I’d come up with every scenario imaginable going into that phone call. I’m still sick to my damn stomach. Haven’t even eaten all day.”
“So, how exactly do you pretend to still be married to someone you can’t even bear to think about because it upsets you so much?”
I stared out the window to the dark parking lot below. “I guess I’m gonna have to put on my acting hat.”
It wouldn’t be the first time I’d had to pretend. After all, for the past few years, I’d done nothing but throw myself into women, pretending to want the rockstar lifestyle just to stay sane. Everyone thought I was a manwhore by nature and that I loved sleeping around, but in reality, I’d never been more miserable, never felt more alone. I’d been pretending to be someone I wasn’t for a long time now. I wasn’t proud of some of the things I’d done since my divorce. But being someone else was a hell of a lot easier than being Atticus without Nicole.
Ronan grimaced. “She’s not gonna bring him around, is she?”
My fists tightened. “Not if she cares about his life…”
Ronan stood and placed his hand on my shoulder. “You need me to come out to Monksville with you?”
“Why would I need that?”
He cracked his knuckles. “For moral support. And for backup, in case we need to kick some ass.”
Although it was tempting, I wasn’t a freaking baby. I could do this. “I’ll be fine.”
Ronan looked skeptical. “Well, just say the word, and I’ll be on a plane.”
I nodded. I knew he meant that. Ronan was the most loyal friend I could ask for. Tristan had my back as well, but now that he had Emily in his life, he didn’t have as much time. It had felt like Ronan and me against the world lately, two single jackasses with nothing better to do than to be there for each other.
Ronan’s phone rang, interrupting my thoughts. I watched as he answered.
His eyes widened. “No way! Congratulations, man. Holy crap.” He covered the phone with his hand and turned to me. “Tristan and Emily are engaged!”
My mouth dropped. “Wow. Congratulations.”
I knew Tristan had bought a ring and had been waiting for the perfect moment to propose to his girlfriend. But I wasn’t expecting it to happen today.
“You didn’t tell us you were gonna do that tonight,” Ronan told him. After a few seconds, he turned to me again. “He says he didn’t trust us to not act all weird and give it away.”
“You’re the one who would’ve messed it up, and you know it,” I teased.
Ronan shrugged and returned to the phone. “Okay, maybe I would’ve gotten a little excited. Better that you didn’t say anything.”
Ronan kept giving me the play-by-play as he got info from Tristan. “He did it after everyone left the barbecue.”
Smiling, I nodded, feeling happy for my friend, even if my own life was in shambles.
As Ronan continued to talk to Tristan, my mind wandered. It felt like forever since I’d experienced the kind of joy Tristan had right now. But it also seemed like just yesterday that I’d put a ring on Nicole’s finger, that we’d gotten married and planned a life together. The reminder of everything I’d lost stung. Especially after talking to Nicole today.
Now I’d have to face my past in a way I’d never anticipated. How exactly would one pretend everything was great in the face of the very person who broke your heart? The person whose heart you broke? The person who was now dating a guy who used to be your friend—a guy who was now my sworn enemy.
Copyright © 2025 by Penelope Ward.
Find it on Goodreads:
Connect with the Author:
Rockstar - Recommended Reading Order
(standalone stories with interconnected characters)
You Might Also Like...
by