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I’d keep telling myself that until it sank in.
“Let’s head on up,” I said as I made my way to the door.
I could be thankful that Brielle wasn’t wearing her pajamas. There was only so much a man could take.
I held the door open as they walked out, and we all headed toward the elevator.
“This is crazy,” Cam said in the elevator. “No one will ever believe me.”
“We’ll take some pictures. They can’t argue with those,” I told him.
His eyes lit up once again, and he beamed at me. He had his mom’s smile, I realized.
“Seriously? You’d let me do that?”
I nodded. “It’s always best to have proof.”
My gaze went to Brielle, who was looking at me.
Thank you, she mouthed silently.
I knew she meant it. As much as I got under her skin, she would forgive me anything for Cam. That wasn’t why I was doing it though. I liked the kid. I could give him this with no real effort on my part. Maybe one day, years from now, I’d turn on the television, and he’d be on the drums for some hot, new band. I hoped to hell that happened.
twenty
brielle
This was an experience that Cam would never forget. He’d tell his kids about it one day. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and he knew it. There were many reasons I should dislike the arrogant man who was currently showing my son his drums that he had in a soundproofed room with red padded walls, but in this moment, none of those reasons mattered. Cam was living a dream.
A warmth settled in my chest when I looked at Dean; it was dangerous, and I knew it. I couldn’t let something like this derail the truths I knew about this man. He was good with kids, he was kind when it came to his younger fans, and he was focused on Cam. It was as if I weren’t here at all. No suggestive comments or looks. I respected that about him. Even if watching this scene play out in front of me broke me just a little. It was something I’d never imagined Cam would get to do. He was sharing his love with his hero. The man he wanted to be like. Dean had no idea the impact he had on Cam’s life.
“Theater is on the other side of the apartment,” Dean said, finally looking in my direction.
“If you two are ready, then I am too,” I replied.
Cam reverently touched the drumsticks Dean had left beside his drum set, then looked up at Dean. “I’m ready.”
Dean nodded his head in the direction of the sticks. “Take those with you. I’ve broken them in, but they need more use than I’ve been giving them these days.”
That was it. The man had found a way to make me forget all his wrongs. My chest felt so tight that I thought I might cry.
Cam’s eyes grew wide as he looked at the drumsticks, then back at Dean. “For real?” he asked with complete awe in his expression.
Dean nodded. “Yep. They need a good home.”
Cam snatched them up then and held them in his hands tightly. I wondered if he’d ever put them down again. I also feared that, at any moment, I would wake up, and this would all be a dream. This couldn’t be real life. Especially since I was feeling things for Dean Finlay that didn’t need to be there. Things that would lead to heartbreak—and not just mine.
I watched as Cam walked over to Dean and looked up at him.
“Thank you,” he said simply, but the expression on his face made it clear how much this meant to him.
Dean squeezed his shoulder. “Just treat ’em right,” he said.
Cam nodded. “I will. I swear it.”
I stayed silent, not sure I could talk over the lump in my throat, and followed them to the theater. At this point, I shouldn’t be surprised by the amenities in this penthouse, but yet again, I was stunned. The room was something out of a magazine. Fifteen black leather reclining chairs. An entire section with a soda machine, popcorn machine, and other snacks inside a glass display case. The screen was as large as one in an actual theater, and the walls had framed posters from Slacker Demon concerts, dating all the way back to the early ’90s.
Cam went straight to the oldest poster. He stared up at it, then moved down the row of them. Somehow, this evening just kept getting better and better for him.
