Liner Notes by A. M. Madden

Author:A. M. Madden [Madden, A. M.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: General Fiction
Published: 2019-06-25T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 20

Lori

Cannon barely glanced at the opulent lobby as our clacking footsteps echoed off the high ceilings. Nor did he seem impressed with the first-name greeting the doorman threw my way with a wink. Since getting into the cab to head over to the Lairs,’ he’d been very quiet. Something had him on edge, and it wasn’t truly evident until the sliding heavily polished brass door isolated us in the elevator.

With each floor we climbed, he repeatedly clenched and released his hands into fists. That, as well as the thick layer of uncertainty veiled in his silence, forced me to finally ask, “Are you okay?”

It was as if the sound of my voice had reminded him that I was even there. “Yeah, I’m cool.” The climb to the penthouse seemed to take forever as I wondered what was bothering him. Just as the doors opened, he said, “Fuck, I’m lying.”

Without thinking it through, I pressed the button to have the doors slide closed while holding us on the floor. “Talk to me. What’s wrong?”

A long moment passed as he stared at me before blowing out a resigned breath. “This is so out of my league, Red,” he finally admitted.

I was just about to ask what was when it hit me. Until then, I’d only seen tiny blips of his vulnerability, but it suddenly flashed brightly through his uncertain gait. “Hey, they’re just like us.”

“It’s not only that they are the Lairs. You’re used to greatness, success that brings all this,” he said with a wave of his hand. “What if I fail?”

Not caring if we rode right back down to the lobby, I released the button to place my hands on his shoulders. Our breaths came short and quick, the moment laced with that pesky attraction we shared. Ignoring it was hard, but necessary. He needed me, and the genuine response I was about to voice needed the touch that came with it to prove a point.

“It’s me who has failed, and because of it I refuse to again… especially not with you. The difference between then and now, I don’t think I ever truly believed in Cliffhangers the way they deserved.” As he eyed my hands falling off his shoulders, I quickly went on. “My support for them was tightly wound around my love for them. We grew up together, and they were the family I chose. When emotions that run as deep as ours had created the foundation to a working relationship, I may as well have built their success on a mountain of dry sand.” I waited for him to absorb my claim before adding, “I believe in you, Cannon. With every part of me I know you have everything it takes to get all this. I won’t allow anything to hamper that.”

The words were dual edged—needing to support him while discouraging what continued to grow between us as each day went on. The part I held back on was actually saying that maintaining a personal relationship while building a brand didn’t mix well.

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