Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 71911 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 360(@200wpm)___ 288(@250wpm)___ 240(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71911 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 360(@200wpm)___ 288(@250wpm)___ 240(@300wpm)
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.
He pointed at a poster and then back at me. “This would have been the tour you didn’t get to see, Mom,” he said, smiling. “It was the year I was born.”
I felt Dean’s gaze on me, and my cheeks warmed. A small part of me felt panicky, but I knew no one could read my thoughts. My secrets were my own.
“Who wants popcorn?” I asked, changing the subject.
Dean chuckled, and I shifted my gaze to him and smiled.
“Happy? I was a fan,” I said to him.
He smirked and said nothing.
I watched as he walked over to the popcorn machine and stared at it as if he wasn’t sure what to do with it. I realized he’d never actually used it himself. Before he could call Maegan and possibly get her in here, I moved toward him.
“I can figure it out if you want to set up the movie. Cam can help you sign in to my account,” I told him.
He looked relieved. “That I can do,” he replied.
I was able to figure out the process easy enough, and when the sound of popping kernels began, the screen also lit up. Cam’s laughter echoed through the room, and I glanced over to see Dean grinning. He had said something that amused Cam. The way he was looking up at Dean with complete hero worship was new for me.
There had been little to no men in my life, and none of them had ever been allowed around Cam. I hadn’t trusted anyone that much.
This was the first time I was trusting a man around my son. Granted, it was a famous man that my son idolized, but still, this was a big step for me. I was trusting Dean with Cam, and I hadn’t realized I was doing it until now.
Was this a mistake?
“Mom! You want a soda?” Cam asked me.
I shook my head. “A water is fine.”
“Can I have some candy too?” he then asked me.
I glanced at Dean, who was looking at me with a go on, let the boy have some candy expression.
I nodded. Why not? I was letting all this happen and not thinking of the repercussions. What harm would some candy do?
I filled three bags with popcorn and handed them out before going to find a seat. Cam took a chair in the row in front of me, and Dean took a seat in a chair two seats down from mine. We were all spread out. Somehow, I hadn’t expected that.
A part of me had thought Dean would sit beside me. I was reluctant to admit I had wanted him to. My feelings for him had taken a turn tonight, or maybe it was that I was willing to accept how he made me feel now that he had made Cam so happy. Before, I had fought it and denied feeling anything for Dean. After all he had done for Cam, my walls were down.
Dean’s, however, seemed to be going up. I glanced at him and watched as he took a drink of his soda, then tossed a handful of popcorn in his mouth. Not once did he look in my direction. His gaze was locked on the screen in front of him. So much so that it seemed forced. Was he trying not to look at me? What had I missed? Normally, he did all he could do to get me to talk to him. He would go as far as baiting me with his words just to get my attention.