She sighed against me. “Okay,” she agreed, and in that moment, all was right with the world.
twenty-eight
brielle
There were some things I didn’t know how to explain to my son. My choices today were one of them. He hadn’t asked me or even been upset at the change in plans. He’d been thrilled at getting to spend time with Dean again. I could hear the drums as I finished cleaning up our dinner. They’d gone in there after we ate pizza, which had been ordered from Cam’s favorite place and delivered to Dean’s penthouse.
I wiped down the table and loaded the rest of the dishes in the dishwasher but didn’t turn it on because there were no buttons. No controls at all. I wasn’t sure how to make it work. I’d ask Dean later. Unable to stay away any longer, I followed the sound of the music to Dean’s drum room.
He had left the door open to it, and I wondered if that was so I could hear them or he could hear me.
This afternoon hadn’t been what I expected from him. I had been preparing myself for him to leave town again, not for him to order me up to his penthouse and spank me. My face heated, and I bit my bottom lip at the memory.
I stopped just before I got to the door and peeked around the corner at them. Cam was sitting on the stool, and Dean was behind him, showing him something he was calling a riff. I’d heard Cam talk about that before. Cam was completely engrossed in all Dean was saying.
Had I never noticed how much he looked like his father when he was focused? It was unmistakable at the moment.
I stepped back and closed my eyes.
Dean had changed the game today. He’d made my decisions harder. Watching him with Cam made that even more difficult. There was no instruction book for how to date a rock star … or was there? I should Google that.
Dean’s voice as he praised Cam made my heart feel as if it would explode.
I would not cry. I would not cry.
I took a deep breath and calmed myself before stepping into the room where I could be seen. Both sets of eyes looked up at me. I looked from Cam to Dean.
“Mom, listen!” Cam said as he began to play what Dean had taught him.
It was good. No, it was excellent. He had talent. I wasn’t an expert at the drums, but even I could tell he was gifted. at this.
“The boy is going places,” Dean said, squeezing his shoulder. “I threw some advanced stuff at him just to see what he could do, and he’s a natural. It comes to him like it’s a part of him. You’re born with that. It’s not taught.”
The lump in my throat was so big that it felt as if it could be seen by others.
“Listen to this!” Cam said and began to play something that sounded familiar.
It took me a moment to realize he was playing a Slacker Demon song. I lifted my eyes to Dean’s, and he was watching me. He winked, and I knew that every single shred of common sense, self-preservation, and promises I’d made to myself had all vanished.
I had fallen in love with Dean Finlay, but it wouldn’t be a fairy tale. I knew that. The truth would change it all.
“Ready for that movie?” Dean asked me once Cam finished.
“What are we watching?” Cam asked.
“Whatever you want to watch,” Dean told him.
“Awesome,” Cam replied, standing up and handing the drumsticks to Dean.
Cam rushed past me and headed toward the theater.
Dean was beside me then, and his hand slipped around my waist. Then, he pressed his face into my neck and inhaled deeply. “Go take your panties off,” he whispered in my ear.
I jerked my head around to look at him.
“Cam will sit in the front row again. He won’t be looking to the back row to see where my hands are,” Dean whispered.
I shook my head. I was not doing things with him while Cam was in the room.