Page 76 of Hidden Truths

Dammit. The man knows me too well.

I take his hand and let him lead me out into the spotlight. The lights are hot. I can see why they’re all so sweaty. Cal’s grip on my hand tightens. I’m sure he can feel how my whole body is shaking with nerves right now.

Cal looks at Willa and nods. She bangs her sticks together and then they start playing Firecracker. Cal keeps his eyes on mine and my hand in his for the entire song. He’s singing into a mic, and I know everyone else in this stadium can hear him, but it feels like he’s just singing to me. Every word he sings is done with intent and emotion. I feel every moment of the song in my soul.

When the last note fades, the crowd erupts into enthusiastic cheers. My breath catches, my mind remembering where I’m standing right now. I look out into the sea of people. The lights make it so I can’t make out their faces, but I still know they’rethere. And I know I’m not wearing make-up, and I have no idea what my hair looks like.

Cal grabs my face, forcing me to look at him. He conveys so much with a look that most people would have trouble doing with words. He’s telling me he’s here, he’s mine, and he loves me. Then he kisses me deeply.

He keeps my hand in his when he turns back to the mic. “Thank you, Boston! We love starting our tours off in this city! You’ve been the best, as always! Goodnight!” Then he leads me off the stage.

I take a deep breath. Did I breathe at all the entire time I was out there? I must have if I didn’t pass out, right? I close my eyes tightly, focusing on slowing my breathing. When I open them, I see Cal’s sweaty shirt.

“When the hell did you get a tattoo?”

He just laughs. Probably not surprised that was the first thing I said to him. He takes his shirt off, pulling it over his head with one hand. Why is that so hot?

“This morning. I won’t be able to spend as much time with my girls as I want to while we’re on tour. I wanted to keep you with me at all times.”

I look at the tattoo directly over his heart. “Cal,” I breathe. There are two brightly colored fireworks exploding, one into my name and one into Cora’s.

“What if we have more kids?” I blurt, my eyes going wide when I realize what I just said. I slap my hand over my mouth, but the words have already escaped.

Cal’s smile brightens even more. “You want to have my babies, Firecracker?”

“Uh, maybe? I just meant, you know, in the future. If we want more kids, that is. Not that we have kids right now. You have a kid. Not me. But I think we’re headed in that direction. Do you? We should have talked about this sooner. . .”

Cal kisses me to get me to stop talking. “We have a child. I want more children with you when the time is right. Make no mistake, Harlow. I want everything with you. Marriage, children, pets, arguments, and make up sex. Everything,” he says, kissing me again. “And you are Cora’s mother in all the most important ways, and I hope that she’s your daughter too.”

I smile through watery eyes. “Cora is my girl. I was just too scared to let myself believe she’s mine.”

“She’s yours, baby. We both are.”

I kiss him then. I kiss him, trying to show him everything I’m feeling. Everything he makes me feel. Cal pulls away and smiles, telling me he knows exactly what I’m doing.

“I got small ones too,” Cal says softly, showing me the inside of his wrist. There sits an unlit firecracker and a pomegranate with the seeds spilling out to spell “family.”

“A pomegranate?” I ask. The firecracker I understand, obviously.

“Did you know that Cora is another name for Persephone? I thought that was cool. It was part of the reason I chose that name,” Cal says, his voice taking on that almost embarrassed tone.

“I didn’t know that, but I love it,” I tell him honestly, pushing up on my toes so I can kiss him. He picks me up by my thighs, wrapping my legs around him. His kiss deepens and turns more demanding. I grip his shoulders and pull myself as close to him as I can get, not caring about how sweaty he is.

“Can you at least wait until we get on the buses? You have your own now,” Mav says, laughing as he passes us. He did end up wearing a lace shirt. His is black like Willa’s, and he wore it with black jeans and black boots. Combine that with his black hair, and he almost looks threatening.

I pull back from Cal and look around. There are people everywhere, packing up the equipment and breaking down thestage. A few fans that scored backstage passes are getting autographs from Willa and Kai. Belle is kneeling on the floor, speaking with a young fan and his parents.

“Go talk to your fans. I’ll meet you on the bus. I need to relieve your dad anyway.” Jason is going to be with us on part of the tour, but he can’t join us for another couple of weeks.

Cal grumbles into my neck, making me laugh. “I’m going to be with you for three months with no break. I think you’ll be okay for an hour or so.”

“Fine, but I get you to myself tonight,” Cal says. I nod and untangle myself from him. Neither of us has any idea how Cora is going to adjust to sleeping on a bus. I don’t want to jinx it by saying something, though.

I should’ve said something.

“Firecracker?” Cal’s voice is thick with sleep.

“I’m here,” I whisper from the end of the bed.

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