Donny is our dad, Dirk will be our uncle. It will be kind of strange calling Donny Dad, don’t you think?”
“But you want to, right?”
“Yeah, I want to.”
“Good, because I want to, too. Luke, this is the best day of my life.”
He smiles. “I’m glad you’ll have someone else to protect you.”
We do our secret handshake.
I wonder if we’ll teach it to Donny.
Chapter Eight
Ella
I stare at my phone, knowing what I need to do. It was stupid to think I could run away, and that would somehow make everything all right. I have to put on my big-girl panties and deal with my life.
I pick it up and dial. Liam answers, “Hello, wife.”
“I’m sorry, I can’t go with you.”
“But you said you want to get away from him. This is the perfect opportunity.”
“Leaving now would be avoiding my problems. It would be wishing them away, and for what? To return in April, knowing nothing has changed?”
“But what could it hurt?”
“I have a big meeting on Monday.”
“Fly down after.”
“It won’t work. The hotels wouldn’t have an art table.”
“I’ll buy you one. We’ll pack it in with our equipment.”
“I’ve heard running on the beach is hard on the ankles.”
“So we’ll run on the sidewalk.”
I close my eyes and lean back on the pillow. “I can’t.”
“None of those are good reasons, El. Unless you still love him.”
“Of course I do. It doesn’t just go away.”
He’s silent for a beat. “Just because you love someone doesn’t mean they’re a good person. It doesn’t mean they know what’s best for you, or that …” There is a long, drawn-out pause. “Or that they aren’t a monster.”
My eyes shoot open, and I wonder who he’s talking about. “Corey’s not a monster. He’s just a guy who cheated on me.”
“How about I come play you another song? Maybe if you see how much you inspire me, you’ll change your mind.”
“My decision is final, Liam. I’m happy to be your friend, but I’m not going to Florida.”
He sighs deeply.
“I think you’ll find I’m not really your muse. You most likely came out of your slump because you’re excited about going on tour. You’ll get down there, see the crowds and the fans, and you’ll forget you even asked me.”
“If that doesn’t happen, can I call you? Can we Facetime or something?”
“I can do that.”
“Call me if you change your mind, even if it’s weeks from now.”
“I won’t.”
“Way to kill a guy’s hopes and dreams, El.”
“I think all your dreams are about to come true, Mr. Campbell. When you get back to New York, you’ll be so famous, you won’t even remember who I am.”
“Not gonna happen.”
“Good luck, Liam.”
“Bye, Mrs. Campbell.”
~ ~ ~
I play Krista and Jenn the new music file Liam sent me. It’s him playing the guitar. No singing, no drums, no keyboard. It still astonishes me how there can be so much emotion without lyrics. I’ve never known any musicians before, but I imagine this kind of passion has to come from pain.
“Holy shit,” Krista says. “He wrote that because of you?”
“Tell me again why you changed your mind?” Jenn asks.
“Because I can’t do it.”
Krista gives me a hard stare. “Because you won’t do it.”
I sip my coffee and turn to watch the passersby outside the café. “It was crazy to even consider it. I don’t know him. I don’t know the band. They could be in a cult. He could be a serial killer.”
“Last fall, Crew sang a song in front of a thousand people, declaring his love for Brianna,” Krista says. “Does that sound like something someone in a cult would do?”
“If this were a random person asking me to accompany him to Florida for six weeks, you’d tell me not to go.”
“Yeah, but this isn’t some rando,” Jenn says. “This is Liam Campbell. You’d be on tour with Reckless Alibi. He already said you’d have your own room. He even said he didn’t want to sleep with you.”
I laugh. “That’s exactly what men say when they want to get you into bed.”
“Maybe you should sleep with him,” Krista says. “What better way to get over the dickhead than to bag a rock star?”
“I’m not sleeping with anyone.”
“I’m just sayin’. There could be worse rebounds.”
“I don’t need a rebound. I don’t need a man at all.”
Krista flops back on the couch cushion and screams in frustration. “I can’t believe you’re going to pass on the opportunity of a lifetime. Hey, you should introduce us. Maybe I can become his muse.”