“That sounds wonderful,” I replied.

  He grinned, obviously pleased. “I’ll leave you to get dressed.” Then, he did one quick scan of my towel-clad body, winked at me, and closed the door.

  I took a deep breath, then walked over to the mirror to see how ridiculous I looked. My wet hair was lying flat, which was better than what it had looked like when I woke up. My face was flushed and no longer looked pale. It wasn’t as bad as I had imagined.

  Reaching under the cabinet, I pulled out a second towel and began to dry my hair.

  He had been here a few days now, and I knew he’d seen the pictures around the house—possibly even Cam’s room—yet he never asked about anything. I wondered if he hadn’t snooped at all. That was impressive, if it was a fact. I wasn’t sure I could have done the same in his position. There was plenty I didn’t want him to see, but I’d been so sick that none of that mattered. I knew, now, it might matter a lot.

  I brushed out my hair and continued to dry it. I would worry about this later. I had to get my hair dry and get dressed. After all, Dean Finlay was in my kitchen, making me breakfast. I didn’t need to keep him waiting.

  fifteen

  dean

  She was better. I was making sure she had something to eat, and then I was leaving. Staying here would lead to me doing things I’d regret. Twice, when her fever had gotten high and she’d begun tossing and turning in her sleep, she’d asked about Cam. That was the only thing that kept me grounded.

  However, where the fuck Cam was, I didn’t know. Why hadn’t he called? Why hadn’t he shown up? Not my fucking business.

  I would admit, I cared too much where Brielle was concerned. It was more than lust, and I knew that. This was a first for me. Wanting something that wasn’t good for me. Typically, the only wanting I did was for a hot fuck. With her, I enjoyed her company—when she wasn’t being a smart-ass. Oh, who was I kidding? I liked that about her. She had no problem with putting me in my place.

  Staying here and seeing how she had made this small apartment so comfortable and homey got to me. That was fucking stupid, and I knew it, but it did give me warm feelings I needed to get over. Her colorful paintings, pictures of her family—or at least, her younger brother—vanilla-scented candles, and mismatched china patterns should not make me feel anything.

  The more distance I put between us, the better. She had Cam—wherever the fuck he was—and I had my life. One very different from this apartment. From her world.

  I finished placing the last blueberry pancake on the plate and put one pat of butter on top before walking over to the table and setting it down. She could eat this and carry on with her life again. I would make my exit and flush this woman from my system.

  I heard the hair dryer and decided to step out now rather than talking to her again. I wasn’t sure I trusted myself to leave if I had to look at her one more time. I’d want to ask her things. Find out about her younger brother. Where the rest of her family was. Where she had grown up. If yellow was her favorite color—it was in almost everything she surrounded herself with.

  I placed a fork and napkin beside her plate, walked over to the sofa, and grabbed my duffel bag. Then, I headed for the door. Best that I go and stop this now. It wasn’t leading anywhere. The less I knew about Brielle McGinnis, the better.

  After a shower and breakfast, I took a COVID test to make sure I was in the clear before I headed for Rosemary Beach. I was supposed to have dinner with Rush and his family last night, but I’d called and explained my absence. Today, I would go spend time with my grandkids at their pool. Getting out of the apartment building had seemed like a top priority. Not that Brielle would come up to the penthouse and ask me why I’d disappeared, but what if she did? I wasn’t sure I could make the right decisions. Not yet anyway.

  Rosemary Beach was the same. It never seemed to change. I drove down Highway 30A until I came to the driveway leading up to Rush and Blaire’s home.

  When I had bought this place for Rush when he was a kid so he’d have a decent place to live, I’d not imagined him growing up and raising a family in it. He turned out so much better than I could have hoped for. There was a time when I saw his life going in a very different direction. I worried about him. I thought my lifestyle and the way he’d been raised in it had ruined him for a normal life.

  Blaire had walked into his world and changed all of that. My boy fell in love. Sure, they had faced some hard times, obstacles that seemed too big to overcome, but in the end, love had won.

  Rush had the life I would never have. A wife who loved him, living in a house with his kids, and raising them together. Here in Rosemary Beach, they had a community of friends that were like family.

  I parked my Harley just behind Blaire’s Tesla and pulled off my helmet just as the front door opened, and Nate, my grandson, came barreling out of it, headed straight for me. The kid was his dad’s replica. He even had his eyes.

  “DEAN!” Nate called out as he ran my way. “Give me a ride!”

  I chuckled as he came to a sliding halt in front of me.

  “The girls call me G-man, you know. I should get something more than Dean if your other grandfather gets called Grandpop.”

  “But you’re Dean,” he said with a wiggle of his eyebrows, “the Finlay.”

  I laughed and grabbed him, pulling him in for a hug. “Well, Dean the Finlay is terrified of your mama, and there is no way I am giving you a ride on my bike. You know she doesn’t want you on it.”

  Nate sighed loudly. “Dammit.”

  “Language, boy. You want your mama skinning us both?”

  Nate shot an amused grin up at me. “Mama don’t skin no one.”

  “You upset her, and your daddy will though.”

  Nate shrugged. “Not really. He acts tough, but he’s not really scary.”

  I squeezed his shoulder. “Don’t let him know that.”

  Nate nodded. “Yeah, I won’t.”

  The door opened again, and three-year-old Phoenix stepped out in a pink polka dot swimsuit that had sparkles on it, her red hair wild with curls.

  She waved at me. “G-man!” she called out to me.

  “There’s one of my favorite princesses!” I said as I made my way to the front door.

  “Ophelia is at Lila Kate’s. They had a sleepover,” Nate said, sounding disgusted with the idea of it.

  Ophelia was the middle child and often the most difficult. But I loved her spunk and sass. She was never settled and always full of energy.

  “Come swim with me!” Phoenix said as I reached her.

  I bent down and picked her up to spin her around. She squealed with delight.

  “Come on in, Dean!” Blaire called from inside the house. “I’ve got my hands covered in cookie dough.”

  I followed Nate into the house with Phoenix still clinging to my neck. This place had once seemed so cold when Rush was a kid. I’d hated the way his mother made it a showplace rather than a home. Blaire was his mother’s opposite. The place was a home now with the smell of baking cookies, toys on the living room floor, music playing through the house, wet footprints on the marble floor, and laughter. Always laughter.

  When life seemed hard or I felt as if it was slipping from me, I came here to visit. This place and the people in it made every day I had lived worth it. Today, it would get my mind off a certain brunette who was entirely too young. I would be reminded of just who I was. A grandfather, a dad, someone for my family to love and respect. I had to keep that as my focus.

  In this house, I wasn’t Dean Finlay, the rock star. I was G-man, the grandfather. And I was fucking happy about it.

  sixteen

  brielle

  Before the sun had come up, I had showered, dressed, dusted and vacuumed Cam’s room, made his favorite brownies with icing on top, and changed the sheets on his bed even though they didn’t need it. The past eleven days had been confusing and disappointing. From the moment I had walked out of my bedroom to find an empty apartment and blueberry pancakes on the table with no good-bye or note, I’d been a mix of emotions.

  Cam coming home, however, made my world right again. This summer had been a weird one, and I found myself looking forward to the routine the new school year would bring. Knowing what to expect and not being confused by my landlord. I wasn’t even sure he was living upstairs anymore. I hadn’t seen him since the morning he’d opened my bathroom door to ask me if I wanted pancakes.

  Those few days he had taken care of me while I was sick now seemed like a dream. Almost as if I had made it up. Cam would make life better again. I needed him here. Even if he was going to be let down because I hadn’t gotten Dean’s autograph.

  Glancing at the clock, I jumped up from the table, where I had been drinking my third cup of coffee, and walked over to the window to look outside. Cam should be here any minute. Thirty minutes ago, he’d texted that they were back in town and that his best friend, Jeremy’s, dad was there early and bringing him home.

  I was sad that I hadn’t been there to see him get off the bus, but I had been told they wouldn’t arrive until ten. Instead, they’d gotten back at eight forty-five. I couldn’t wait to get my arms around him. His arriving early just meant I got to see him sooner.

  I gave the apartment one more look around to make sure it was perfect for his return home, then went down to wait on him outside. Mrs. Jo had made me promise to tell her when he got home, but I wanted him alone for a bit first. I had to hear all about his summer. The stuff he hadn’t texted me about or told me in a call. The older he got, the less he let me in on his life.

  That was the hardest part of being a mom, I’d decided. The time when your kid wanted their independence. When you didn’t feel as needed anymore. It hurt, although they didn’t mean for it to. It was just part of life. I knew that, but it didn’t make it less painful.

  I stepped outside the building just as Jeremy’s father, Pete, drove up in his old blue Ford truck. Pete and Nora had divorced two years ago, and last spring, Pete had asked me to coffee one morning. I made an excuse. Then, he’d sit by me at the boys’ baseball games. I remained friendly, but I also made it clear I was not interested in more. Eventually, he’d left me alone.

  When the truck came to a stop and the passenger door flung open, Cam jumped down from the seat and grinned at me. Just last year, he would have run into my arms for a hug. But not now. So much had changed in a year. Instead, he walked over to me and let me hug him. He returned the hug, but not as tightly as I was doing. I knew I was embarrassing him in front of Jeremy, and I tried to think of that, but I was just so happy he was here that it was hard.

  “Missed you too, Mom,” he said, stepping back from me.

  “You’ve gotten taller,” I told him, holding his arms and looking at him for any other signs of change.

  “Mom,” he said with a sigh. “I was just gone for six weeks.”

  I wanted to laugh at that. Just six weeks. It’d seemed more like twelve weeks.

  “You grew,” I repeated, then pressed a kiss to his forehead.

  He was going to be taller than me before I knew it. The thought made my throat clog with emotion.

  “Here’s his suitcase,” Pete said, walking up and putting the suitcase down beside him. “Sounds like they had a good summer. Hope you did too.” He smiled. It was the too-friendly smile I wanted to avoid.

  “I did, and same to you. Thanks for bringing him home,” I told him.

  “No problem. Anytime you need help, you’ve got my number,” he said.

  I hadn’t needed help today. I just hadn’t known they would arrive so soon. I was always available to pick up my kid. But I didn’t say that to him. He was just trying to be nice.

  I managed to simply nod.

  “See you later,” Cam called out to Jeremy, who looked up from his cell phone and waved.

  I put my hand on Cam’s back, and he grabbed the handle on his suitcase and rolled it as we walked back to the building’s entrance.

  “I’m going to need to hear it all from the beginning, but first, I made you brownies.”

  “With icing?” he asked.

  “Oh, you wanted icing?”

  He paused and looked at me like I was crazy. I managed to keep a serious expression for a few moments, but I cracked and laughed. He grinned.

  My boy was home. Life was good again. I would be fine. No more time to think about men … or one man. The summer of the rock star was over. Besides, I might never see him again. There was a good chance he had moved back to Beverly Hills.

  When the elevator doors opened and we stepped out into the hallway, Cam paused and let out a low whistle. “Wow. What happened to this place?”

  I had forgotten about the fact that he didn’t know about the new paint, lights, hardwoods. When we had talked, we had spoken about his day, not what was going on here.

  “You should see the new loungers at the pool,” I told him. “New owner bought the building and fixed things up.”

  I left out who that new owner was. That wasn’t something he needed to know. Cam would stalk the place until he saw a glimpse of Dean.

  “Who cares about loungers? What about a slide?” he replied.

  “No slide. Sorry, kiddo,” I said as I unlocked the door to our apartment.

  Before we could go inside, the door to Mrs. Jo’s apartment swung open.

  “I thought I heard that familiar voice!” She beamed brightly. “And look at how tall you got!” she added.

  Cam cut his gaze at me, and I gave him an I told you so look.

  “Hey, Mrs. Jo,” he replied.

  “I made you an Oreo pie. You wait right there, and I’ll go get it,” she said.

  I didn’t even have to nudge him; he headed in her direction to go get his pie.

  “Bet they didn’t have pies like this at music camp!” Mrs. Jo called out from inside her apartment.

  “They sure didn’t,” Cam agreed as Mrs. Jo came back to the door and handed him the pie, then patted his cheek.

  “So handsome,” she told him. “Now, go give your mama all the attention. She’s missed you something fierce.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” he replied. “And thank you for the pie.”

  She smiled up at him. “Anytime you want one, you know where to go.”

  Cam was grinning at me when he walked back to our door. He was taller now, but when he smiled like that, all I saw was the little boy who wanted to hold my hand, follow me around the house while I cleaned, held on to my arm at night while we slept. He didn’t do any of those things anymore. Life was changing every day. But we had each other, and that was what mattered. He couldn’t stay a little boy forever.

  seventeen

  dean

  Kiro was bored. I had expected this from him. When he was bored, we went on tour. Every damn time. Our manager had tried to convince him to wait until next summer, but the best he could do was this winter. Kiro wasn’t waiting a year to get onstage and feel the power that came with fans screaming his name.

  Sitting through meetings at our Beverly Hills house with the rest of the band had been tedious. One week had been annoying, but two weeks had been brutal. Kiro and his social life had slowed over the years, but when he was going through shit mentally, he tended to fill the void with people. Mostly women. Lots of them.

  Once things were decided and tour stops chosen, Kiro had something to focus on, and I was free to go back to Florida. The only good thing to come of it all was, I’d been busy enough to keep Brielle out of my head. Not entirely, but for the most part.

  The August heat was like walking in a sauna. I considered putting on swim trunks and getting in the pool, but then I would be noticed. There was no hiding behind glasses and a hat in the pool. My Slacker Demon tattoo would be a dead giveaway, if nothing else.

  Staying inside with the air conditioner was the only way to get relief. Just as I settled on the fact that I’d be alone in my penthouse all day, my phone alerted me of a text. I looked down and saw the general contractor for the renovations to the building was asking me about the dead palm tree on the south end of the property. I wasn’t sure which one he was talking about, so I texted back that I’d meet him there in ten minutes. Then, I stood up and grabbed my hat and glasses before heading to the private exit.

  The oppressive weather slapped me in the face as I walked out of the elevator and through the gate leading from my garage to the apartment grounds. I hoped this shit didn’t take long. I glanced at the pool, and the image of Brielle’s bikini-covered ass popped in my head, and I jerked my gaze off the pool area and kept walking to the south part of the property.

  I wasn’t going to think about her. I’d been doing good. Out of sight, out of mind. Right?

  “Holy shit.”

  I paused and turned toward the voice.

  Standing on the sidewalk adjacent to the path I was on was a boy. He was older than Nate, but he was still young. Brown hair was long enough that he had it tucked behind his ears. My gaze went to the drumsticks in his hands. He was just carrying them around. Twirling them. Possibly playing on things other than drums when he felt the beat. I’d once done the same thing.

  The boy recognized me, and oddly, he looked familiar to me.

  I smiled at him. “Hello.”

  His jaw dropped slightly. “No way,” he muttered, then shook his head. “No freaking way.”

  “Nice sticks,” I told him, wondering what it was about the kid that was so familiar.

  It was clear we had never met. His reaction had made that apparent.

  He glanced at the drumsticks in his hand, then back at me. The awestruck look on his face made the bad shit in this life worth it. To this kid and others like him, I was important. I stood for something.