Page 168 of Ashley & the A-Listers

River rocked back and forth with him, heart cracking wide open, tears threatening to spill, but he held them back. Cameron loved him, Riverknewthat. Of course he did. He wasn’t waiting for something, someone better to come around. He wanted River.

And River wanted him.

“Alright,” River said. “You just let me know when I can be there for you. Do you want me to be there when you talk to Christian?”

“No, I need to do this myself. And I know exactly how.”

“The interview at the start of next week?” River asked, gulping. That was so soon.

“Yeah, that one,” Cameron said, his smile pure. “That’s the perfect opportunity.”

“You’ll do it?” River asked, hopeful and hesitant.

“I will. It’s time. I promise.”

“I love you,” River said, burying the words in Cam’s wet hair.

“I love you, too,” Cam said. “I can’t wait to prove it.”

River sighed, his entiresoulrelaxing at the promise of this weight being lifted off them.

He hoped it was a promise Cameron would keep.

37. THE TRUTH

CAMERON

Cam was in the makeup chair with a beta dabbing concealer under his eyes as Denise, the nice manager—also a beta—sat across from him and asked him prep questions for an interview. Dylan was buried in a book in the corner, brow furrowed as his eyes raced across the pages.

“How have you been spending your time preparing for the role?”

Cam looked toward the ceiling as requested, and hummed. “Mostly I’ve been in the gym. This is my first time doing all my own stunts, so I’ve been training in multiple types of offensive and defensive fighting, meeting with stunt professionals, and studying.”

“How do you get in the mindset of Axel Stevens?”

Cam parted his lips to answer, but was distracted by the familiar steps of his other manager, Christian. “Sorry I’m late, how’s it—woah,” Christian said, coming to a halt beside the chair. “Why do you smell like that?”

At his tone, the beta makeup artist took a step back.

Christian tended to have that effect. He was an alpha, and unfortunately he liked to throw his weight around. Asshole.

“What do you mean?” Cam said, playing innocent.

Christian leaned far too close, in Cam’s opinion, and sniffed. His nose wrinkled. “You smell like an alpha.”

Cam smelled like Ashley. And River. Where he’d normally be a ball of stress, he felt calm because of their familiar scents. This interview was going to be a breeze.

Especially because Cam was finally going to tell the truth. Fuck management. They could deal with the aftermath. It’s what they were paid to do, after all.

“An alpha that has scented me no differently than River has,” Cameron said.

“Leave us,” Christian told the makeup artist. Cam frowned at his snappy demand, and offered an apologetic smile to the beta before she skittered away. “You know why an alpha is different than River. What’s going on? Did you meet an alpha?”

“It doesn’t matter. River matters. And I’ve kept him in the dark long enough,” Cameron said. “I want to take our relationship public.”

“Now?” Christian snapped, face going red.

Cameron swallowed, but felt Dylan’s presence and put on a brave face. “It’s been too long. We want to settle down, and we can’t even go to fucking dinner together because of this stupid facade you’ve created! And I’m tired of living by it. And I’m going off suppressants,” Cam added. In the few days after he’d resumed his medication, it feltwrong.The fog was more noticeable than ever and he missed feeling like an omega.

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