Page 116 of Fractured Rhythm

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

BASH

Her smile wastiny, but it was there. I’d needed to see it after her confession.

I hated that she was dealing with this. Parents were supposed to be there for their kids. Not disappearing when it suited them or lying and guilting them into giving them handouts. I couldn’t imagine what that was like. It killed me that she didn’t have to imagine it; she actually knew.

“Have you seen her since?” I asked.

“Thankfully, no. She said some nasty shit. She’s the one who told me about those pictures. Said rock stars were always the same and you’d never change.”

That infuriated me. Her own mother slinging that shit at her was awful.

“Please don’t let that get to you. I’m not that guy in those pictures. I’m working my ass off to not be that guy. To be the guy you’ve always deserved. Your mother was flinging garbage to antagonize you.”

She put her hand on my chest, stopping my words. “Bash. I know that. It took me a while, but I know that you aren’t that guy. In here.” She linked our fingers and put my hand over her heart. “In here. I’ve always known it in here. She was never an obstacle for us. We threw in enough roadblocks on our own.”

“You sure you want to put up with this?” I asked.

She grinned up at me. “You give really good…” She trailed off.

“Dirty, dirty girl.”

“Presents. I was going to say presents.”

“Sure you were,” I teased, leaning down and brushing a soft kiss across her lips.

I tightened my arms around her and broke the kiss. “I love you so much, Cassie. How the hell did I get so lucky?”

“I mean, you did fuck it up for a while,” she said, but there was no anger in her tone.

I laughed. “That I did. But never again. Good luck trying to get rid of me.”

“I have no plans to do that,” she said, her smile wider than before, and my heart flipped over in my chest.

“So, now what?”

“What do you mean?”

“With the band? I know the album is done and tour rumors are all over the place. Are you staying here?”

I couldn’t believe there was uncertainty in her voice.

“Where else would I be?”

“Your home is in LA.”

“No, Cassie. That’s a house, with every amenity you could want and an awesome kitchen, but it’s just a house. My home is with you. It will always be with you. If you want to pick up and go live in a mansion in LA, we can do that. Or we can stay here and buy a massive apartment anywhere in the city. Or we can do both.”

“But you guys are based in LA. You all live out there,” she said, and it amazed me that she still didn’t get it.

“I told Josh that if you managed to forgive me, I was going to stay wherever you wanted to live.”

“Really?”

“There are great studios in New York that we can record in. Maybe I’ll buy a place and build my own studio so the guys can come over and jam. We’ll make it work. This is worth whatever it takes to make it work. Haven’t you figured that out by now?”

“I’m getting there,” she said with a smile. This time it reached her eyes.

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