“Everything,” Derek blurts out, tucking the boy under his arm, who’s now fully engrossed in the toy motorcycle he’s pulled from his jacket pocket. “Daniel is my reason for pretty much everything I do, Josie. That’s the point.”
“And he should be,” I reply without hesitation. “But, are you really trying to tell me you made me feel cheap and used in the name of your son?” It’s a low blow, but my defenses are high and my ego still bruised.
“Yes,” he breathes out. “Well, kind of. No. Just let me explain.”
“I’m listening.”
Derek turns and gives the boy an affectionate pat on the head, before turning back to me and lowering his voice. It’s a conversation meant only for us. “Rhonda and I were together for only a short time,” he explains. “I’ll never call it a mistake—never—but Daniel was born a few months after we’d already gone our separate ways. It was a mutual split, and I’m lucky enough that she and I are both very much involved in Daniel’s upbringing. I think we get along better now than we ever did as a couple.”
The hint of a wry grin forms on his mouth, but it disappears almost immediately when he realizes I have no intention of smiling back. I’m still listening intently, trying to understand.
“Daniel’s with me every second week,” he continues after clearing his throat. “We didn’t need the court system to decide on a custody schedule; we just worked it out ourselves. We both work around that schedule, and I’m only on the roster for Thunder And Lightning during the weeks I don’t have Daniel with me. Sometimes, though, Rhonda’s in the city when I am, and so I make sure she comes by the venue so I can see my little man.” As an afterthought, he adds, “In the lounge area backstage, where everyone has their clothes on. Completely kid friendly, I swear.”
That makes me smile crookedly. A faint crack in the foundation of my anger. “So, he wasn’t staying with you this past week.”
“Right.” He nods. “And sometimes, if I know I have consecutive shows on consecutive nights in the city, I’ll just book a room somewhere away from the Strip instead of going home to my place.”
“Which is how you ended up at the Bermuda.”
“Exactly. I prefer to keep the craziness limited to only during showtimes. The hotels and resorts off the Strip are more appealing to me, quieter, less populated.”
My brain is struggling to catch up, and I squint my eyes, running my finger through my hair again. “Well, that explains why you were there,” I mutter. “Now, tell me why you left.”
Derek’s throat moves visibly. “It was Rhonda on the phone that night,” he states simply. His eyes are apologetic. “I call Daniel every day, usually multiple times each day, and at bedtime, no matter what.” His eyes lock on mine. “Until the night I was with you.”
A wave of guilt washes through me, like I’ve done something wrong. My rational brain knows I haven’t, but the idea that this little boy didn’t hear from his father because I was taking up his time makes my heart constrict.
“He had a bad dream,” Derek continued in a whisper, not wanting Daniel to hear him. “Rhonda called me, seeing as I was the only one he was wailing for.”
“Why didn’t you just tell me, Derek?” When I think of all the hurt feelings and drama we could’ve avoided, I have an overwhelming feeling to slap him.
“Like I told you before, everything I do revolves around Daniel.” He says it like that should explain everything. When I’m still looking at him, just as clueless as before, he sighs. “I keep my son out of the nightlife of Las Vegas as much as possible. The revolving-door lifestyle and fakeness of it all is something I don’t think he needs to see.”
“Revolving door, huh?” I arch a brow.
Derek must realize what his statement implies. “I don’t mean me, Josie. I’ve dated a little in the years since Rhonda and I split up, but nothing serious. And I’m not the one-night-stand kind of guy you seem to think I am.”
I catch the edge in his voice, but bite down on my bottom lip to keep from offering up a snippy comment.
“I don’t tell everyone I meet about him immediately. That was nothing personal against you,” he insists quickly. “I just prefer to keep him safe.”
“I can’t and won’t fault you for that.” My eyes roam to where the little boy is rolling the toy motorcycle along the back of the chair beside him. “But, like I said before, you could’ve told me.”
“I’m overprotective of him, I know.” He turns to watch the boy, too. “Maybe too much. But he’s all I’ve got. All I’ve had for a few years now. And I didn’t mind keeping it that way…” He turns his gaze back to me, and his eyes are smoldering with a newfound heat. “Until the night you showed up.”
For a moment I don’t say anything, content to bask in the fire of his eyes. “I should be furious with you, you know.” It’s the best reprimand I can come up with considering the stare he’s got fixed on me.
“Perhaps,” he agrees with a nod. “But I didn’t plan on meeting you at the show, and I certainly didn’t plan on seeing you the next morning at the pool of that hotel.”
“You could’ve knocked me over with a feather when I recognized you,” I admit.
“I’m still sorry about getting your book all wet,” he chuckles wryly.
“You should be.” I’m grinning now.
“You took
me by surprise, Josie.” Derek’s words come with a renewed urgency. “I need you to realize that. I was so caught up in you that night in your hotel room, so overwhelmed with how amazing we were together...when Rhonda called about Daniel, it crashed me back down to reality, and I panicked. Plain and simple.”