Page 87 of Pitcher Perfect

The thought was loud in my mind, all-consuming, attention-grabbing, like a digital billboard on a stretch of desolate highway in the middle of the night.

Caleb reached out and gripped my arm. “You okay?” he asked for my ears only.

“I will be.”With you here.

CHAPTER27

CALEB

“I was hopingwe could do a little father-son interview for the show. What do you think, son?” Henry turned his fake smile on Austin, and I wanted to melt it off his face.

I’d never seen Austin angry before that moment. He vibrated with it. “You’ve got to be kidding. I need to go to the bathroom.” He stormed off.

I moved to follow, but Ethan grabbed my arm.

“Give him a minute,” he said.

Ethan had known Austin way longer than I had, so I took his advice. I could understand him needing a moment to collect himself without me breathing down his neck. He knew I was there for him. I read it on his face. If I stayed, I could at least keep my eye on Henry and make sure he didn’t follow Austin.

I looked back at Henry Hewitt, the man I’d idolized for years, the man whose cookbook had not only been a much-needed focus at the worst time in my life but had shaped my career, my livelihood. I waited to feel excitement, the itchy kind of nerves when meeting a celebrity, something. I felt something, all right. Disgust. I wanted to tell him off for hurting Austin. I wanted to tell him every amazing thing I knew about his son to make him feel bad for missing so much of Austin’s life, but I didn’t. It wasn’t my place to fight Austin’s battles.

“Henry,” Aunt Carolyn said tersely. “You didn’t tell me you were coming.”

“I didn’t know I needed to clear my movements with you, Carolyn. How are things?” His tone dripped with false politeness.

Before she could say anything else, fans accosted Henry for autographs and selfies.

I caught Frank Ambrose standing a short distance away, shooting a death glare at Henry as though his stare alone could make the man spontaneously combust.What happened there?

When I went to turn back to my dad, I saw Dom, Ty, and Ethan watching me with wary expressions.

I looked at Henry then back at them. “Fuck that guy.”

They instantly relaxed. Even Dom smiled in a way I hadn’t seen before. I was used to his teasing smirks, but the full, toothy smile startled me. I’d passed a test I didn’t know I was taking.

“Everything okay?” Dad asked.

I pulled him away from the group. “Yeah. That’s Austin’s dad.”

“Figured that part out. He seems like a bit of an asshole.”

I laughed. “He is.”

“I always thought he was a bit, I don’t know, smarmy, but you admired him so much, so I never said anything.” His eyebrows pinched. “When you met Austin, did you know he—”

“No! I had no idea until we were already… friends.” I thought back to our first kiss and how I’d thought I’d lost him before I’d had him after he had fled my apartment that night. “He might be a great chef, but he’s a shit father.” That was all I would say on the topic because I didn’t want to betray Austin’s confidence. That much, at least, had been obvious to anyone who’d watched the scene go down.

He cupped my shoulder next to my neck. “Austin seems like a good man.”

My cheeks burned, and I looked down at my feet. “Yeah, he is.”

“Does he know how much you care about him?” My dad’s eyes were kind.

“I hope so.”

“Have you told him?”

I blew out a breath. “Probably not in the way I should.”

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