Chris sighed. “I know enough.”
My heart started pounding wildly as I tried to piece together what he was so vaguely trying to say, but I couldn’t do it. He wasn’t giving me anything to go off of.
“Just call her,” Chris repeated.
A knock on the door sounded, and one of the production assistants stuck her head in. “We’re ready for you guys.”
“We’ll be right there,” I said, heaving myself to standing as a girl from make-up came in to give us touch-ups.
“Oh, and by the way, I have the results of the fight you were interested in,” the assistant said, looking down at her iPad. “Javier Rios won.” She looked back up at me. “Is that good news?”
My face broke into what I knew was an elated grin as Dillon came from behind me and pulled me into a hug that felt like an excited choke hold.
“Are you serious?” he asked.
The assistant nodded. “Yup. It just ended. It was apparently an upset, and anyone who bet on Rios got paid big.”
“Holy shit,” I hissed, relief coursing through me.
Preston had bet right. For once in his life, he’d made the right decision, and it had paid off big. I was going kill him for putting all of us through what he did, and if Callie let him back into her life, he’d be lucky, but at least he wasn’t going to get killed. That was the bright side. He was still an idiot, and he’d get an earful from me, but he was going to be okay – for now. I could only hope he learned his lesson and wouldn’t do something like that again, but with my brother, I never had a guarantee. I could only hope.
Five minutes later, feeling a little lighter, we were waiting to go back on stage, ready to get out there and start the countdown to midnight. My mind was suddenly racing, buzzing with the realization that everything with Preston wasn’t going to blow up in my face, but I was also thinking about everything Chris had said about Andi.
I was suddenly questioning every decision I’d made over the past week and kicking myself for being a stubborn ass. I should have just called her. I should have asked her about Reid and the pictures and learned the truth. I should have told her about her parents and told her I didn’t care what they thought and I hoped she didn’t either, because I loved her, and when you loved someone, you loved all of them and they loved all of you, regardless of all the other bullshit and opinions and things out of your control. But I’d been afraid. I shouldn’t have been such a pussy.
Veronica wouldn’t look at me as we waited for our cue to head to the stage, so I turned away from her. This would be painful. She’d turn on the charm, and so would I, but getting through the next fifteen minutes and then having to hang around and celebrate the New Year after the stroke of midnight was going to suck.
I was going to call Andi when I got back to my room. It would be late in New York, but I didn’t care. I needed to set things right. I needed to tell her I loved her and let her make the decision for herself. I’d go nuts if I didn’t do that.
I might actually go nuts as I waited to talk to her, the minutes ticking by slower than ever. That was when I decided to fuck it all and just call her. Before I knew what I was doing, my cell phone was in my hand, and I was dialing her number.
She picked up on the second ring as my breath hitched and my heart started pounding wildly.
“Cam?” she said in a hushed whisper, like she couldn’t believe I was calling.
I couldn’t believe it either, but now, hearing her voice, it was like a balm to everything I’d been feeling over the past week. God, I’d missed her.
“Hey,” I said, my voice sounding hoarse.
“What are you doing?” Dillon asked me as we were suddenly being ushered to the stage.
My phone was still attached to my ear. “How are you?” I asked Andi, waving Dillon off as the lights of the stage briefly blinded me. I ignored them.
“Why is he on the phone?” I heard Veronica ask Dillon, but I tuned them out, plugging my other ear with my finger.
“I’m not so good,” Andi said, her voice breaking and making me wish I was next to her.
“Yeah, me neither,” I admitted.
“Cam, I didn’t cheat on you,” she blurted out. “I swear. Reid and I were just talking, and he kissed my cheek, and it looked like more, but it wasn’t. I promise it wasn’t. He left after that, and I didn’t see him for the rest of the time I was home.”
“Yeah?” I questioned, wanting so badly to believe that was the truth.
“Yes,” she said softly, her voice breathless. “You have to believe me. I love you. I’d never cheat on you. I swear.”
The desperation in her voice made my throat tight.
“You love me?” I choked out, my heart pounding out a wild rhythm in my chest as her words, however strained they’d sounded, resonated in my mind. She said she loved me. Had she really said that?
“Yes! Of course I do. Please, you have to believe me. This has been the worst week of my life. I miss you so much, and I can’t live with the fact that you hate me.”
“Andi, I don’t hate you,” I said softly.
“You don’t?”
“No. There was just some stuff that got in the way, and then there were those pictures. I thought you’d picked him over me, and it about killed me.”
“I didn’t. I wouldn’t. I promise, he’s just a friend. You’re so much more. You’re everything. You have to believe me. I know what my parents said to you. How they treated you, and I’m so sorry, Cam. They’re wrong. They’re so wrong. I’m so sorry they couldn’t see the beautiful, kind, good-hearted, wonderful boy I fell in love with, because he’s incredible. He’s everything to me, and I love him so much, and I just want him to forgive me. I want him to know that I’m sorry, that I don’t agree with anything my parents said, that I think he’s the most amazing guy I’ve ever met, and if I could change what happened between us I would, because I never wanted to hurt him. Nothing happened with Reid, but I know it looked like it did, and I’m so sorry that hurt you. Please, Cam. Please.”
“Andi,” I said softly, her name feeling so good on my lips.
“Please Cam,” she said again, and I heard the emotion straining her voice.
“Don’t cry,” I said softly. “Please don’t cry.”
“You have to forgive me,” she said, her voice thicker as her emotions started to take over. “I didn’t do anything wrong. Please. I love you. Please.”
“I love you too,” I blurted out. “I love you, Andi. I love you so much, and I’m sorry. I was a jerk, and I hate myself for it. I never should have assumed. I should have called you and told you everything and let you explain. I never should have left. I should have fought for you and told your parents what you mean to me and why I was worthy. Fuck, if I could take it all back, if I could do things over, I would, because I love you, and I need you to know that.”
“It’s okay,” she said quickly, almost in relief, and then she was crying. “It’s okay. It’s okay.”
“Oh, God, Andi. I’m so sorry. I’m so fucking sorry.”
“I know,” she said through her tears. “I know.”
Dammit. I just wanted to hold her. I wanted to make the tears stop, because we were okay. We were alright.
“God, I miss you,” I whispered. “I miss you so much. You have no idea.”
“I miss you too, Cam. This past week has been the worst, and I just want to see you.”
“I know.”
“Come see me,” she said softly, and I honestly debated how quickly I could get to the airport and on a flight to New York.
I looked up then, ready to head for the exit when I realized for the first time that not only was I on stage, but my mic was on, and the entire club was staring at me, listening to my entire conversation, hearing every word I’d just said to Andi.
“Oh fuck,” I hissed, and the entire club started laughing.
“What’s wrong?” Andi asked in a panic, probably assuming it had to do with her. It so didn’t.
“I, uh, I’m actually on stage right now, and I just sort of said all that stuff I said to you to a room full of people.”
“You did what?!”
“Yeah, that just happened. Oops,” I said as a smile spread across my face. I couldn’t help it. “So, yeah, all these people now know that I love you.”
“Oh, my God,” she said, laughing lightly. “You’re crazy.”
“I swear I didn’t realize I was doing it. You answered, and I heard your voice, and I just tuned everything else out. Now there’s a chance the whole world might know by the end of tonight that I’m in love with you.”
“Good,” she said through her sweet laughter. “They should know. It’s not something I want to hide.”
“Yeah, I guess I don’t either,” I said, looking sheepishly out at the club.
I could honestly give a shit that I’d just gone very public with not only our relationship – that I hoped like hell was still a relationship – but also with a very private moment, laced with personal details and things I never would have revealed to anyone under normal circumstances. But these weren’t normal circumstances, and as I’d realized that all wasn’t lost and Andi really did love me, I couldn’t bring myself to care that the whole world was going to know about this conversation – especially since there were people in the club who’d been filming it on their phones.
Oh well. Nothing to take back now. Might as well own the whole fucking thing.
I looked up at the audience. “Yeah, so you guys heard all that, didn’t you?”
An array of responses came back to me that I didn’t bother deciphering. Fuck it.
I grinned. “Yeah, so here’s the deal. My girlfriend and I got into a thing, and there was some stuff, and it sucked, and that was us making up. We were making up, right?” I said into the phone.
Andi laughed. “Yes, we were.”
“God, I wish you were here,” I told her.
I wanted her there. I wanted to hold her and kiss her and tell her I loved her to her face. I wanted to look in her eyes as I said it, and I wanted to watch her when she said it back. I’d never felt this full of something in my whole life, and I just wanted to be with her while I was feeling it all.
“I am here,” she said softly.
“What?” I asked in confusion, not sure what she was talking about.
“I came to Vegas. I wanted to talk to you. I had to tell you how I felt, because I didn’t want to spend one more second without you, and I needed you to know that you’re the only guy I want to be with.”
“You’re in Vegas?!” I asked, looking out into the crowd, wondering what the chances were that she was really here and that she’d been here this whole time.
“Turn around,” she said, and I spun so I was facing the back of the stage so fast that I practically flew off my feet.
Then there she was, wearing a short, strapless red dress and sky high heels, looking sexier than I remembered. Before I could think about where I was or how Andi could be standing in front of me, I crossed the stage, pulled her into my arms and kissed her hard as cheers erupted throughout the club.
“I fucking love you,” I growled against her lips, holding her tight to me, her body pressing against mine.
She giggled. “I love you too,” she said, and then she kissed me again.
We were suddenly one of those cheesy couples who make out in public, but I didn’t care. This was Andi, and she was here, and she loved me, and all was forgiven or forgotten or pushed to the side for the night, because in that moment it was just us. I’d probably loved her the second I’d laid eyes on her, and now I was saying it and feeling it, and it was fucking incredible.
“So apparently you have been in love,” Veronica’s voice said, breaking through the moment. I figured she was bitter, but I didn’t give a shit.
I turned to face her, putting my arm around Andi as the familiar scent of her perfume engulfed me. Shit, I’d missed that scent.
“Told you,” I said haughtily. “Everyone, this is my girlfriend Andi. She’s pretty amazing.”
I looked over to see Andi’s cheeks flush, but she was grinning as the audience went wild.
“I swear this wasn’t planned,” she said, leaning forward so she could speak into the mic clipped to my shirt.
“It wasn’t,” Veronica agreed. “But who doesn’t love a happy ending on New Year’s Eve, right?”
“And on that note, it’s just about midnight,” Dillon chimed in. “So grab the person you’re going to kiss, and if you all don’t mind, I’m going to grab my girlfriend so I can kiss her in about a minute when the New Year rolls over. Mere, can you come up here?”
That was planned, so Meredith had been waiting in the wings. She was suddenly at his side, her hand sliding into his. “Hey baby,” she said softly, and he leaned over and kissed her.
“Well, who the hell am I going to kiss?” Veronica asked playfully, looking to the audience for an answer. “My co-hosts both have girlfriends.”
“Any volunteers?” I asked the audience, just to get back at her for what she’d done to me.
A thousand male hands rose into the air, and Veronica picked a dark-haired guy in the front row and dragged him up on stage just as the countdown started.
I turned to face Andi as we counted down from ten, my eyes locked on hers. She mouthed ‘I love you’ when I got to two, and my lips were on hers before I got to one. Then the New Year was suddenly upon us, confetti was falling from above, and the deejay was playing an amped up version of Auld Lang Zine. It was quite possibly the most perfect moment of my life.
“I’m not letting you go,” I told Andi when I pulled back from the kiss and wrapped my arms around her, holding her tight.
“I’m not going anywhere,” she whispered back, telling me exactly what I needed to hear.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Andi
It was late, and I was in Cam’s arms, basking in the glow of what had turned out to be one of the most perfect nights of my life. Everything felt right now that I was with him again. It was as it should be, regardless of all the other stuff hovering just above the surface of where we were floating. Tonight wasn’t the night to deal with any of it.
I’d call my parents another day and confront them about what they’d said. Cam would deal with the shit with his brother tomorrow. We’d figure out everything else later. For now, we were happy, and we were in love, and that was all I wanted to think about that.
“I’m sorry,” Cam murmured as he pressed his lips to my bare shoulder.
“Don’t be. It’s over and done with.”
“You keep saying that, but I want to be sure,” he said determinedly. “You don’t know how awful it was to think that I’d lost you. I need you to know how sorry I am for fucking everything up.”
“You didn’t, Cam. Trust me. I was never going to let you get away. And after spending a week without you, I was done. I hated being away from you.”
He smiled down at me. “I think I hated it more.”
I smiled as I snuggled closer to his warmth.
“This thing with your parents,” he ventured. “It’s big, isn’t it? They really don’t like me.”
I sighed. “I don’t know. I feel like I don’t know anything anymore. I always knew my parents had certain expectations of me, but I never thought they’d treat someone I cared about like they were worthless. It bothers me so much.”
“And you’re sure you really want to be with someone your parents hate?”
I tucked in closer to him, wanting to take on some of his pain just so he wouldn’t feel it. When we’d talked about that night, about what they’d said, I’d seen how rattled he was to retell the story, and I could only imagine how hard it had been when he’d been sitting there as they berated him. I hated that he’d had to go through that, that two people I loved could be so heartless and so cruel, and that they could make Cam feel like he wasn’t good enough for me. I didn’t want him to have doubts about who he was and whether
or not we were right together. He was exactly the right guy for me, and he needed to know that.
I sat up and looked at him. “You are a wonderful person, Camden. My parents have no idea how wrong they are about you, and I’m going to tell them that.”
“What if they don’t come around? What if they never like me?”
“Then it’s their loss,” I said firmly, so strong in my convictions. “I love you, and because of that, they should be supportive of what I want. And I want you.”
“Andi,” he whispered, so I kissed him, doing my best to silence any protests he might feel the urge to make.
But I could only hold him back for so long. He looked at me thoughtfully when I pulled back from the kiss and smiled at him, willing him to let it go. It was a topic I didn’t want to broach, because I knew it would only make him feel worse. I hated that.
“What they said wasn’t untrue,” he said softly. “They got my history and my present pretty spot on. I mean look at Phillip. Look at my brother. I didn’t go to college, and I got arrested when I was seventeen. Those weren’t lies.”
“They’re also not things that make you a bad person. Everyone has people in their lives that make mistakes, and everyone makes mistakes. It doesn’t mean you’re not a wonderful guy with a great heart.”
“You really think that?”
“Of course, I do. I love you, Cam, and I promise there is nothing I’m ashamed of when it comes to you.”
I wrapped my arms around him and snuggled close.
“I love you for that. I do,” he said softly, pulling me tighter against him.
“I’m glad.”
Cam shook his head. “Your dad was so nice to me at Thanksgiving,” he marveled, which made me chuckle. “I don’t understand what changed.”
“Back then you were just a musician giving his daughter a ride home. You weren’t dating her and threatening to marry her.”
“Yeah, I guess that makes sense.”
“I mean, it’s crazy that my parents are even thinking about us getting married. It’s way too soon for us to even consider, and they’ve already got me walking down the aisle. It’s so typical of them.”
Westside Series Box Set Page 40
