“I’ll go.”
Cameron stopped talking, and his eyebrows drew together. “Are you sure?”
“I’m sure.” After all, he’d already met Cameron’s immediate family. They seemed to like him, so that was really all that mattered. “How bad could it be?”
“You don’t know my aunts and uncles.”
Asher chuckled. “It’ll be fine. Do I need to bring anything?”
“Mom said no, but if you feel like you need to, desserts are always appreciated.” Cameron sighed and arched up to press their lips together again. “Did Becca call?”
“She did.” Part of him wanted to launch into their plans for the Marshall Kane book right away, but where was the fun in that? Besides, it was probably better to get the bad news out of the way first. “My publisher wants me to rewrite the chapters I submitted.”
“No.” Cameron jerked backward and shook his head. “Why?”
“They feel that since I’m out and proud now, having the titular character go undercover as a drag queen might be construed as me ‘pushing an agenda’ to my readership.”
Cameron let out a humorless laugh. “You have got to be kidding me. That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.” He stared up at Asher with narrowed eyes. “You’re not going to do it, right? Please tell me you’re not going to rewrite those chapters.”
“If I don’t, they’re threatening to terminate my contract.” It was kind of mean to keep stringing the conversation along, but he was enjoying Cameron’s reactions too much to give up the game just yet. “Plus, the studio might be postponing filming forInjustice.”
“Oh, my god! Why? What the hell?”
“Well, apparently, the lead actors are possibly in the middle of a divorce.”
Cameron gasped. “No! Really?”
The entire world had been enthralled with their romance for years, so it was no surprise that Cameron was distressed by the news. Asher imagined it was going to come as quite a blow to a lot of their fans. Drew and Carleigh Wade were the darlings of Hollywood, and by all accounts, they’d had a picture-perfect marriage. With accusations of infidelity now in the mix, Asher had no doubt that things were going to turn ugly fast.
Cameron stared somewhere near the vicinity of Asher’s sternum for several seconds, his gaze unfocused,before he finally shook his head. “I’m sorry. I guess that’s not really important. I am sorry about the movie, though.”
“I’m sure it’ll be fine. They’re just postponing it, not canceling production altogether.” At least, he hoped they wouldn’t. On the flip side of that, he wasn’t too keen on the idea of recasting the part of Detective Marshall Kane, either.
“Back to your book. Can your publisher really terminate your contract just because you won’t make the changes they want?”
“They can.” Cameron sounded so sad Asher couldn’t keep up the pretense any longer. “Which means I’m free to do whatever I want with it. If I want to sign with a new publisher, I can. If I want to self-publish, I’m free to do that. If I decide to give it away when it’s finished, no one can stop me.”
Cameron’s eyes widened, his breath caught on a little hiccup, and he swung his hand out to smack Asher square in the chest. “You are such an asshole.” He was smiling ear-to-ear when he said it, though, and his tone lacked any heat. “You could have just told me that in the beginning.”
Asher smirked. “Where’s the fun in that?”
“Such an asshole,” Cameron grumbled under his breath. Then, at a normal volume, “So, what are you going to do?”
Still laughing at Cameron’s exasperation, Asher shrugged. “I’m not sure yet. Since it’s the last book in the series, I’m leaning toward publishing it myself.”
“You’d definitely have more control over it.”
“Exactly.” He’d been thinking the same thing, but it felt validating to hear Cameron agree with him. “Becca’s working on getting me out of the contract. She doesn’t think it will be an issue since my publisher is so adamant about the changes.”
“When will she know something?”
“Next week.”
His lips parted in a wide grin. “Well, whatever you decide, I think it’s great that you’re going to be able to tell the story the way it deserves.”
That damn flickering started in Asher’s chest again, and there must have been something in the air because his eyes stung like hell. His stomach did a funny little roll, and his throat tightened so that he had to clear it twice before he could speak again.
“Thank you. That means a lot.”
