“But whether you love her or not will define that bond,” the pushy woman insisted.
He remained silent, and then his expression altered to one that was less guarded. “I came on here to end the mystery that is Trey Taylor. You all know everything that I’ve been through, and the media has been relentless in airing every bit of my dirty laundry. And that’s fine. I’m a rock star… one who f—up often.” He rolled his eyes, and Debbie chuckled at the word the station had beeped out. “Sorry. As I was saying, being tracked like an animal comes with the territory. But I won’t have the same thing happen to my daughter, or to my…”
“Your?” she prompted, leaning in closer as if it were just the two of them casually chatting.
His jaw clenched before he blurted out, “To my girlfriend. The truth is, we are seeing each other. And besides that, there’s nothing more to tell. I’ve been very open with you and promise to continue to be. All I ask in return is for you all to respect our privacy.”
Debbie gripped my hand with a teary smile lifting the corners of her lips. A picture flashed on the screen of Trey holding Alivia as I wedged close to them. It was the same shot that had been leaked. The only difference was it came from one of our phones—no graininess, no shadows. Trey must have given it to the producers. It was a clear, perfect shot of how happy we were at that moment.
Right then I dared to believe that we would have many more moments just like that one. But at least the world would now see it as a beautiful thing and not a dark, scandalous secret.
One would think after the day I’d had that I would’ve passed out the moment my head thumped against the pillow.
But getting no sleep the night before, enduring all the emotions that consumed me during Trey’s interview, and playing with my daughter on the beach for hours were no match for the thoughts running rampant in my head.
He’d announced to the world I was his girlfriend!
For the first time in days the smile planted on my face wasn’t a forced one for Alivia’s benefit. This man who’d upturned our lives continued to surprise me at every turn.
When I thought he’d fight the reality of being a dad, he embraced it with two eager arms. When I assumed I was the only one dealing with emotions, he confessed he had been too. When I harped that our world would never be the same and feared Alivia would forever be affected because of it, he took matters into his own hands by defusing the madness.
I had no idea what would happen the next couple of weeks, years even, but one thing I was sure of—we’d face it together. Romantic connection or not. Trey and I were forever bonded, and we respected each other enough to make that bond work in any capacity.
The realist in me tried to rear her ugly head, wondering what would happen with my business, or Alivia’s schooling, or my sweet little apartment that had been home for the past seven years. But the newfound optimist, something novel that I couldn’t afford to be once I’d become a mother, made it a point to tamp down those worries for now.
As Leila had said while the three of us enjoyed a glass of wine on the deck after the girls were in bed, “Things happen for a reason.”
Frustrated and horny, I punched the pillow before flipping over for the hundredth time since getting into bed.
I watched his interview on my phone for a second time. Without the concern of the unknown to interfere, I focused on the sexy, courageous man who opened his heart for the world to see. At the end of her interrogation, he even chuckled in relief that it was over, and that sound did things to my libido.
Suddenly, a beam of light sliced through the darkened bedroom, forcing me to sit up, assuming Alivia needed me. But the form in the doorway wasn’t of a small girl… it was the silhouette of a tall, muscular man who filled the space.
“Trey?”
“Yeah, it’s me.” He entered and closed the door behind him before stalling in the middle of the room. Sitting up, I tucked the comforter around my hips and turned on a lamp on the nightstand. “I came as soon as I could.” He wore the same clothes and looked utterly exhausted. My heart went out to him as a lump formed in my throat because of what he’d had to endure today. Shit, forget today, what he’d had to endure his entire life.
He was wrong. He did deserve to be happy, and at that moment, whether things worked out for us or not, I vowed to try my damnedest to bring him as much happiness as I could.
Starting right then.
When I held out my hand, he first searched my face before taking the steps to accept it. A smile I couldn’t hold back spread when he entwined our fingers and sat on the side of the bed. “Thank you.” He looked away, almost shyly, until I cupped his jaw to force those crystal-blue eyes back to mine. “What you did today was beyond amazing.”
“I can’t take all the credit. A friend thought of it.” He shrugged. “I don’t know if it will help, but I needed to try.” I watched as he scrubbed a hand over his face before saying, “I’m sorry, Camilla.”
“Trey, stop.”
“No, let me finish. I pushed and pushed, and maybe we should have taken it much slower.”
“Would it have mattered?” I asked with a small smile. “In hindsight, I’m almost glad it happened, so maybe we can move on, learn from it?” He didn’t look all that convinced, but I meant every word. “There is no way to predict what would’ve happened if we took things slower. Maybe months from now it would’ve been so much worse. Like Leila said last night, ‘Things happen for a reason.’”
He rolled his eyes on a sigh. “That little pain in the ass is always right.” When I giggled, he finally cracked a smile… but the more he stared, the more his expression became serious. He cupped my cheek before placing a kiss on my forehead. “Can I ask you something?”
“Of course.”
“Can I sleep with you? Just sleep?” My immediate response was to shift over and pat the mattress. He toed off his shoes, shut the light, and slipped in fully clothed beside me, placing his head on my chest and his arms around my waist.
This man needed love.
Here was this cocky, heavily tattooed rock star with obvious vulnerabilities. Over the past two years, he might have nourished his body with food and water, but by denying his heart love he’d caused an obvious deficiency that needed to be filled.
Right then, I vowed that Alivia and I would be the ones to fill it to capacity… and it had to begin by admitting my love first.
I needed to say it first.
Now.
“Trey,” I whispered while running soothing fingers through his hair.
“Hmm?” At my pause, he shifted enough to stare up at me with those gorgeous blue eyes.
“I love you.”
A myriad of emotions passed over his features, but I couldn’t be sure what they all meant. A few months ago, his silence would’ve caused a surge of insecurities to make me regret my words, to backpedal in order to protect my own heart.
But I knew why this man often held back, and after what he’d been through, he had the right to.
So instead of internally shriveling from his lack of a response, I kissed the top of his head as he lay on my chest and held him tightly in my arms to support my words.
His breathing evened, having me assume he’d fallen asleep. But then, minutes after my admission, he quietly said, “I love you too.”