My face flushed, burning hot. I blamed it on the weather and not on my dirty thoughts. Church never failed to remind me of my morals. Even when I wanted to shuck them out the door.
Dylan stood by my parents with his hands in his pockets. It was so natural. That feeling of right crept into me again. I stopped a foot away from them, hoping to catch a word.
“No, I can’t let you do that,” Dad said. Mom held his arm, keeping him steady. “Take Cami out for lunch. We’re going to head home, watch the game.”
“It’s no problem. We can eat wherever you’d like,” Dylan said.
Dad’s face clouded over. I saw the storm brewing in his eyes. Dylan didn’t get why Dad turned down the offer of lunch. It was a matter of pride. Dad couldn’t afford to take us all out. He didn’t want some twenty-one-year-old doing something for his family that he himself couldn’t do. And Dad hated people seeing him like this. He tried to stay lighthearted and carefree, but his disability bothered him a lot.
“How’d I sound, Daddy?” I asked, innocently interrupting.
He tore his gaze away from Dylan and smiled at me. All the anger was gone. “Like an angel, Pumpkin.”
“You really did,” Mom added, squeezing Dad closer to her.
“Thank you.” I bounced on my heels and faced Dylan. The hungry look from earlier was back. It turned my insides into molten lava. “Ready?”
He nodded, shoving his hands farther down into his pockets. “You hungry?”
“Not really.” I shrugged and turned toward his car. Over my shoulder, I waved goodbye to my parents. “You wanted to talk about that review, remember?”
We stopped beside the passenger door.
“Cam, I really don’t think we should be alone together.” He leaned closer to me, whispering so only I could hear.
“Why’s that?” I asked in the same manner.
“You know why,” he said. Then he stepped back and rounded the front of the car.
He was right. So very, very, very right. If we went somewhere alone, he’d break his promise to himself. I didn’t want to be the cause of that. If I was, he’d resent me. I opened the passenger door and climbed in.
“Let’s go downtown. There’s a café there I think you’ll like.” I buckled my seatbelt and smiled brightly. “Okay?”
Dylan started the engine but didn’t back out of the spot.
“What’s wrong?” I touched his hand.
“Your dad was right,” he said before looking up at me. The heat in his gaze went straight to my toes. “You sounded like an angel.”
“When you mean what you sing, you sing better,” I said.
Dylan turned his hand over and entwined our fingers together. He lifted them to his lips, kissing the back of my hand. That simple gesture made me want to pull him into the backseat then and there.
“Diner?” I croaked.
“This is hard, isn’t it?” he asked, kissing each of my knuckles. “For you too?”
I swallowed hard. “Yes.”
“But kissing is still fine?” His nose skimmed over my fingers.
“Better than fine,” I said breathlessly.
Dylan dropped our hands and leaned toward me, pressing a very hot, very chaste kiss on my lips.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
His hands were too busy with lunch to do anything else. It was actually nice though. Instead of making out or doing other things, we talked and just enjoyed being together. Well, I enjoyed it. I could only hope Dylan did too.
“Okay,” he said after he finished his open-faced beef sandwich. “We really do need to talk about the review.”
“It’s not like I’ve been avoiding it,” I said, setting my fork on my plate. The southwestern salad had been delicious, but the mention of the review made me lose what was left of my appetite. I’d only eaten about half of it.
“Yeah, but I have.” He leaned back, stretching his arms to drum his fingers against the table. “Like I said, Dad’s going to be pissed tonight.”
“I don’t get what that has to do with me.” I sipped my water. Since I started the show, I’d been more conscious about eating healthy. It helped with my energy levels. Junk food made me feel sluggish. Some days called for that but not every day. I needed every bit of energy I could get.
Dylan closed his eyes and let out a long breath.
Patience had never been my strong suit. “Dylan?”
His eyes popped open. “The review wasn’t all that great for Dad.”
“Wait, I thought you said—”
“It was great for you.” He shook his head. “The guy loved your impromptu songs. He thought it was Hank being a decent human being and letting new talent show off. You and I both know what really happened.” He leaned forward and took my hand. “Cam, most of the review was about Hank’s discovery of you.”
Uh-oh. This wasn’t good at all. Hank already hated me.
“He’s going to make your life hell,” Dylan said, squeezing my hand before letting go. “I can only do so much to protect you.”
“I don’t need you to protect me.” I stared at the table. “He can’t fire me without a replacement.”
“Not necessarily.” Dylan’s eyebrows scrunched together. “Pamela came back last night.”
“So?” I lifted my head.
“She’s the one who has the audition list.” He bent his head to the side. “He could find someone from that, and you’ll be gone. All we can do is hope he’ll play nice.”
“If he replaces me, then he’ll look like an ass, Dylan.” I shook my head. Hank would be crazy to drop me after that review.
“He can just say you left to pursue a new opportunity.” Dylan’s voice hitched a notch. “He can ruin you with every music exec out there. Just because he can. Think about it, Cam. Hank Walker won’t stop until he’s destroyed you.”
“Why would he do that? This isn’t my fault,” I said, reaching for
