Page 16 of Big & Burly Rockstar

I give her a rueful smile. “It didn’t work. And then Finn and the boys decided it was time for an intervention. I hated them for it, at first. But now I’m grateful. I wish I could go back and change things, but—well.”

Elli shrugs, smiling at me. “We all fuck up, Dev. And we can all change. You did.”

Some of the tightness is my chest dissipates. “I’d like to think so.”

“And the journalist you punched?” Despite the question, there’s no curiosity on her face. Only something that looks an awful lot like compassion. As if she truly cares. Not because it’s gossip about a famous person, but because she cares about me. I clear my throat. “I was visiting Amy when she was having chemo. The guy followed me, sneaked into the hospital to get some pictures, find out who I was seeing. It would’ve destroyed Amy to have pictures of her being so vulnerable out in the open for the world to see. I lost it. I know I shouldn’t have, and I regret it, but—”

“Well, I’m glad you hit him,” Elli interrupts me. “He deserved it. Trying to make money off someone’s sickness…” She shakes her head. “It’s disgusting.”

My shoulders sag in relief. I didn’t know I needed to hear her say it until I did. I don’t need absolution. Normally, I don’t give a shit what people think. But what I did, punching the journalist until blood gushed from his nose and mouth, it hurt all of us.

“Thank you.”

She cocks her head to the side. “What for?”

“For understanding.”

Her smile fills me with warmth. “You’re welcome. I promise I’ll be the best fake girlfriend in the world. People will love both you and me, and Amy will get the treatment she needs. I promise.”

I should feel grateful for her support. I do. But I can’t help the small twinge of sadness at the words fake girlfriend. Because, just for a moment, I’d forgotten that it wasn’t real. I force a smile onto my face. “You’re pretty awesome, Elli, you know that?”

She grins. “I’m well aware.” She tugs at my hand. “Let’s go to bed. I’m exhausted.”

When we lie down, Elli drifts off quickly, but sleep evades me. I stare at the dark ceiling, too aware of her warm, soft body next to mine. Her sweet scent of vanilla and cinnamon and the soft sound of her even breathing envelop me, filling my mind and body until there’s no room to think about anything but her.

She’s so much more than I thought she’d be. There’s a whole world behind those pretty eyes of hers, and I want to explore it. Want to know everything about her. But most of all, I want to find Elli’s stalker. Stan brought her laptop over to Nick. He’s a friend of Finn’s and a former cyber security consultant turned private investigator. I pray he’ll find something. Because I need to keep her safe, no matter how.

I look at her face, barely visible in the dark, and fight the urge to trace the lines of her face. I look and look until I feel drowsy and my eyelids grow heavy. And when sleep finally claims me, I’m filled with a feeling that’s become unfamiliar over the last few years: Hope.

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