Page 110 of Once Upon a Boyband
With Jace. Who learned, the day Adam walked out on the band, that his wife is filing for divorce even though she’s currently pregnant with their second child.
Adam seems anxious to see them again, which makes me love him more. These men are a part of his heart. It will be good for all of them to be back together.
We’re in Asheville, in line at airport security, the first time Ifeelsomeone figure out who Adam is. My skin prickles with a strange sense of awareness, then I look up and see a couple of women who look to be about my age staring directly at us.
I squeeze Adam’s hand. “Hey. Um, pretty sure thosewomen recognize you.” I tilt my head in the direction of the two women, and Adam turns to look.
“It appears they do,” he says.
“So what do we do?”
“Nothing.”
“We just ignore them?”
“We do.”
“What if they try to talk to you?”
“Then I’ll say hello and pose for a picture and send them on their way.”
He makes it sound so easy, but once we reach our gate, that’s exactly what happens, and it isn’t all that bad. Adam introduces me as his fiancée, we all shake hands, I take a picture of the three of them, they tell him how excited they are about the reunion tour and they’re hoping to get tickets, then they leave us alone.
Easy.
We’re on the plane and settling into our seats when I ask Adam, “Hey, did it bother you that they called you Deke?”
He shakes his head. “Nah. I’m happy to be Deke to them.” He leans over and presses a quick kiss to my lips. “As long as I’m always Adam to you.”
“I actually know a thing or two about being in love withDeke,” I say. “And it was pretty fun. But I don’t need you to be Deke.” The thought fills me with a sudden urgency to make sure he understands, so I turn in my seat and reach over, wrapping both hands around his forearm. “Actually, it’s important to me that you know that. If you do these concerts, then decide you never want to leave Lawson Cove again, that would be okay with me. I fell in love withAdam.That’s the only person I need you to be.”
His expression softens, and he leans over and kisses meone more time. But then he grins. “I don’t know, Laney. Those scrapbooks were pretty telling.”
My eyes widen. “You are not allowed to make fun of those. It was an act of kindness to share them. You can’t laugh!”
“The MASH games were my favorite,” he says. “But I veto us living in an apartment when I already own a house. And six kids, Laney? That feels like a lot.”
“Please stop,” I say, lifting my hands to cover my face. “I can’t handle this kind of embarrassment.”
“I particularly loved the fanfiction at the back of Year Three,” he says.
I drop my hands. “What? There wasnotfanfiction in there.”
“Oh, there totally was,” he says. “A beach vacation. The band playing a venue nearby. Deke, out for a walk on the beach…”
I reach over and press a hand to his mouth. “Please stop talking. Neverevertalk about this again.”
He wraps his hand around my wrist and pulls my hand away before pressing a kiss to the pad of my thumb. “The writing was actually pretty decent. I think you could do something with this talent of yours.”
I drop my face onto my knees and wrap my arms around my head, letting out a low groan. “I can’t believe you read that,” I say. “I can’t believe I gave it to you!”
He chuckles as he drops a hand to my back, rubbing slow circles across my shoulder blades. “I’m glad you did,” he says, and I sit back up. “But I’m glad you like the Hope Acres side of me more.”
I will always like the Hope Acres side of Adam best.
But itisfun to see him reunite with his band in the greenroom ofThe Tonight Show. It’s fun to see them perform live for the first time in eight years. Fun to hear the fans cheering, screaming when the guys walk out and sit on the interview couch.
And I won’t lie. It’s also pretty fun to have everyone on set treat me like I’m someone special too, simply because I’m here with him.
