“I’ll figure that out when I actually finish the book.” Jumping up from the sofa, he patted both hands against the pockets of his navy-blue lounge pants. “Where’s my phone? I need to call Becca.”
“Downstairs.” Cameron chuckled. “In the kitchen beside the coffee maker.”
“Perfect.” Crossing to him, Asher dropped a kiss on the top of his head. “I’ll order lunch, too. Any preference?”
Cameron decided not to point out that it was barely nine o’clock in the morning. “Anything is fine.”
“Yeah, pizza sounds good.”
Cameron snorted. He clearly wasn’t needed for this conversation. “Go on. I’m going to jump in the shower.”
Reaching the double doors, Asher paused and looked over his shoulder. “Cameron?”
“Yeah?”
“I love you.”
His heart melted. There was something extra special about those three little words when Asher offered them without prompting.
“I love you, too.”
~
“Have you lost yourdamn mind?”
Asher had expected the reaction, but it still made him laugh. “Come on, Becca, it’s perfect, and you know it.”
“I’m not sure that’s the word I would use,” she grumbled.
If he didn’t know better, he’d say she was concerned about losing out on her cut of the royalties, but he did know better. He’d known Becca Taggard for a long time, and while she was tough and didn’t put up with bullshit, she was also the kind of person who would give a stranger the shirt off her back.
She had more than proven herself worthy of his trust. The most recent occasion being when she’d backed him against Atrea Press. Besides, if it wasn’t for her negotiating such an ironclad contract for him, his plan for the Marshall Kane series wouldn’t even be an option.
“What about this new book?” she demanded, echoing Cameron’s concerns, only with a lot more accusation in her tone. “What are you going to do with that when you finish it?”
Asher laughed again. “I’ll let you shop it around,” he promised. “Not with Atrea, though.”
“That goes without saying.” There was venom in her voice, and since it wasn’t directed at him, he adored her for it. “Are you going to tell me what it is?”
Asher considered it, but he wasn’t ready to share the secret just yet. “I will soon.”
“Not even a hint?”
When he was ready, Cameron would be the first person to know all the details. Asher owed him that much. “Soon,” he repeated. “Let’s just focus on one book at a time for now.”
They discussed how to proceed with the last Marshall Kane book for ten more minutes, though they never really reached an agreement. Becca wasn’t completely convinced that self-publishing at a fifty-percent discount was the way to go, but she promised to send him a list of editors she thought would be a perfect fit for the series.
Asher agreed to table the conversation until after Christmas, but honestly, he’d already made up his mind. He valued her opinion, and he appreciated her counsel, but he wouldn’t be swayed, not this time. It was time for him to take back control of his life, and that started with the future of his writing career.
For years he’d catered to his publisher and his editor. He couldn’t count the number of changes he’d made or scenes he’d altered to pacify their vision for his books. Not all of them had been a big deal, and some had even made the story better. Just as many changes, however, had undermined the plot and made his hero act out of character. He hated those books. Not surprisingly, they were also the books with the least favorable reviews.
He was also adamant about donating the royalties fromUninvitedto Reach Out. For days, he’d scoured the internet, researching every charity under the sun. It hadbeen Reach Out that had really grabbed his attention. Based right there in Dallas, the nonprofit organization provided shelter and resources for teens who had been abused, neglected, or abandoned by their families.
It was a safe haven for kids who had nowhere else to go. They even offered counseling for those who needed it and provided legal representation for teens who wanted to become emancipated.
He hadn’t lied when he’d told Cameron he wished there had been somewhere like Reach Out when he’d been a kid, but that hadn’t been the whole truth. If there had been a place like that for Kyle when he’d needed it, maybe things would have turned out differently for him. If there had been someone to care about him and lead him down the right path, maybe he would still be alive.
One day, he’d tell Cameron, explain his reasons. For now, he couldn’t bring himself to cause the guy any more distress. Cameron thought he was hiding it well, but Asher knew he slept fitfully at night. He knew Cameron sometimes woke up in a cold sweat from a nightmare. He saw the way Cameron flinched every time Kyle Ander’s name was mentioned.
