13. Chapter Thirteen
13
Mia
I was more than okay to sit back home, let Evan have his time with our son, but when I stayed put instead following them toward the front door he frowned at me. When he said he wanted to come here and spend time with Liam in person, I had assumed he meant alone. After getting Liam to beg me to come along on the ride with them, I finally let Evan lead me out of the house with his hand pressed against my back.Liam bounces excitedly in his car seat as Evan coasts down the road in my car, eager to figure out where we could possibly be going. Unfortunately, I can’t tell him because I don't even have a clue where Evan is taking us.
When we first arrived, it was filled with introducing Kenzie to Evan. She wouldn’t say it aloud, trying her best to be calm, but I know she was freaking out inside at meeting someone from her favorite band. After a little while had passed with Evan and Liam playing together on the floor, which was a sight I didn’t realize I had been missing in my life, Evan finally decided it was time to go out with Liam.
It almost felt normal, except when my head chose to remind me of our work relationship and it was anything but normal.
Evan keeps looking at the directions on his phone, taking each turn slowly, and I smirk in the passenger seat. “You do realize you don’t have to drive like a grandma, right?”
His shoulders shake as he chuckles, and the hands that were gripping the steering wheel until his knuckles turned loosen. “I just want to do everything right.”
Finally, after taking careful turns, Evan pulls into a packed parking lot. I glance around, noting all the family’s walking hand in hand with their kids, then focus on the sign above the building. If he wants to impress Liam, he’s going to hit out of the park once he sees where we are.
Evan climbs out of the car, then walks around until he stops at the back door when Liam is sitting. His tiny head is tilted up as he tries to see where we are, but he groans when it doesn’t work.
Play Palace is something I try to do with Liam every weekend, at least when I’m home. Evan bringing us here is not only exciting for our son, but me as well since I haven’t been able to spend time with him.
“You ready, bud?”
Liam nods his head as he jumps from the car and plants his feet onto the pavement, his green eyes shining as much as his father’s are. His chubby hand wraps around three of Evan’s fingers, making my eyes sting with the hurricane of emotions, and I quickly turn away from the two of them before Evan notices.
“Play Palace?” Everyone who’s standing in the parking lot glances in our direction as Liam’s voice booms through the air, and I chuckle with a shake of my head. “This is the best day of my life!”
I’m ahead of them as we walk toward the front entrance, but it only takes a few seconds for Evan and Liam to go past me. Evan glances over his shoulder, eyes widened in surprise, as Liam pulls him eagerly to the double doors that lead inside. I shrug my shoulders, then give him a small wave as they disappear through the doors.
When I step through the door, I’m already pausing because it never fails that a few kids will run out in front of me. Sure enough, just when I think I’m out of the woods, a couple kids squeal while being chased by someone I’m assuming is their older brother. I smile at the sight, then carefully make my way across the carpeted area and glance through the crowd for my family.
My family.
I wish it were that simple, but I’m not so sure it ever will be.
Evan is leaning against one of the arcade games while Liam sits excitedly in the seat and leans forward with concentration. When I approach them, I crack a smile at the game Liam is playing. If it weren’t for other kids needing a turn as well, this is the only game Liam would play when we come here.
He frowns as he gets eaten by the little ghosts, but that doesn’t deter him. He sticks his tongue out of the corner of his mouth as he starts one more time.
After the fourth game, with still no luck of him winning, I notice that there’s a few kids who keep walking past and looking at the game with longing. I’m about to open my mouth and let Liam know it’s time to let other kids play, but Evan surprises me by leaning forward.
“Why don’t you let the other kids play? Maybe later you can show me how to be as good as you.”
Liam’s eyes brighten at the praise and he nods his head excitedly. “For sure, Evan!”
Evan’s smile drops slightly, and I wonder if it’s because of Liam using his name, but it’s back in place before I can think too long about it.
Liam pulls him toward another game that happens to be one of my favorites. I’ve watched him play this one and was surprised that he enjoyed it.
I remember being a little girl and playing Super Monkey Ball all the time with Kenzie. It wasn’t until my mother would come into my room, letting me know dinner was ready, that I realized how long we had been playing it. Kenzie would eat dinner with us, and then her parents would come and take her back home, only for everything to be repeated the following day.
Granted, instead of a Game Cube — like we had — Liam just rolls a ball on the panel in front of him and tries to catch the bananas. I’ve found myself a few times wanting to jump in, but caught myself and only watched at his side.
Evan is a different story, though. As soon as we come to a stop in front of the game, his eyes light up exactly as Liam’s does, and his mouth pops open. “Oh, I used to love this game as a kid!”
“I bet you can’t beat my high score,” Liam says, his hands on his hips as he stares at his dad.
“Is that a challenge, bud?”
There’s a glint in Evan’s eyes and he smiles before cracking his fingers like this is a wrestling match. I scoff but let them carry on.
This is a side of Evan I haven’t been able to see, and it only makes what I’m feeling toward him that much more difficult to ignore. It was one thing to see the man from my past, privately thinking about him when I lay in bed at night because I know what his mouth feels like, but it’s an entire other thing to see him being a father.
This might be much harder than I thought, and the gleam in Liam’s eyes isn’t making it any easier.
As we drive back to Kenzie's, the car filled with Liam's excited chatter, I can't help but feel a bittersweet ache in my chest. Watching Evan with Liam today... it was everything I never knew I wanted.
Evan catches my eye in the rearview mirror, his smile soft and genuine. For a moment, I let myself imagine this as our new normal. Then I remember - I'm his bodyguard. He's a rockstar with a stalker. This isn't our reality. Not yet. Maybe not ever.
As much as we all wish we could stay in this bubble forever, real life beckons. With heavy hearts but renewed spirits, we say goodbye to Liam and head back to the whirlwind of the tour.
***
After finishing all the shows taking place in Illinois, we finally make it to Michigan. I’ve never understood why musician go on tour, play in a state during the first half, then go to another state close to it in the second half.
Wouldn’t it be simpler to just do them all at once, so you don’t have to go back and forth?
All of the guys, including Donny who showed up out of the blue, are chanting the band name as we ease our way through the crowd located outside a famous nightclub. This isn’t my scene, usually, but Evan insisted this is what we needed to do tonight.
Unfortunately, he also insisted that I look the part — and that was much more difficult than anything else because I hadn’t brought clothes for an outing like this. All I had was my bodyguard gear, which is exactly why I managed to sneak away in Detroit and go shopping for a new dress.
I wasn’t sure what to wear, or what would look okay since the last time I was in a club was six years ago. Judging by the look Evan gave me when I walked out of the tour bus, I’m willing to bet it was a good choice to go with the tight red dress that I’d normally never be caught dead in.
Not since being a mother, anyway.
As we approach the club, anxiety tightens my chest. "Evan," I murmur, catching his arm. "Are you sure about this? With everything going on..."
He gives me a reassuring smile, but I see a flicker of concern in his eyes. "It'll be fine. We've got security, we're in the VIP area. Plus," he adds with a wink, "I've got you watching my back."
I nod, not entirely convinced. But as we enter the club, I'm on high alert, determined to keep Evan safe, no matter what.
The bass is pounding, reminding me of that night I shared with Evan, and I stop walking for a minute. Everyone was eager to go to the club, needing to celebrate yet another sold-out show, and the only reason I’m here is because of my obligation to Evan.
It’s not because I want to see if he can dance with me the way he did back then — at least, that what I’m trying to convince myself. There’s a bouncer standing at a set of stairs that lead to the second floor of space and he nods at Brent before letting us all saunter through. The further up we get, the easier it is to realize we’re in a VIP area.
There’s a bar located along a large wall, two bartenders scurrying behind it as they pour drinks for others, and I’m surprised when not a single one does a double-take at the sight of Raising Havoc. That’s how I know they’re used to dealing with celebrities.
Until one of them comes up to the guys and stares entirely too long at Evan, which makes me clench a fist at my side.
Whatever, it’s really not my business as long as she doesn’t cause him any harm.
I’m not jealous.
I fidget uncomfortably behind the guys, darting my eyes every which way to make sure nothing is suspicious. I try tugging the bottom of my dress down. It doesn’t budge, which shouldn’t surprise me. When I went to the cashier counter to check out, the sales associate behind it guaranteed that I’d blow men away with it.
I’ve expertly styled my hair into loose waves that cascade down my back, something anyone rarely sees from me anymore, and the new pair of black heels that make my legs look longer than they actually are. Evan glances at me as he leans against the bar, waiting for the bartender to finish up their drink order, and I watch as his gaze trails over me from head to toe for the third time tonight.
I notice his jaw clench as a group of guys nearby eye me appreciatively. He steps closer, his hand hovering near the small of my back, not quite touching but clearly staking a claim. The possessive gesture sends a thrill through me, even as I remind myself of our complicated situation.
Maybe that cashier was onto something after all.
But as flattering as Evan's attention is, it's also dangerous. My job is to protect him, not fall for him.
Ever since I had Liam, I’ve been self-conscious about my body, and the attention I'm getting tonight has my cheeks flushing—for a third time. I’m about to walk over to him and stick close to his side when an unfamiliar hand wraps around my elbow.
I turn, looking into the handsome stranger's eyes, and frown at the deep brown color. They’re nothing like the green I daydream about. The stranger flashes me a grin, likely one that he uses on all the women, and runs a hand through his short strands of hair.
“Could I get you a drink?”
A throat clears, then a drink is being pushed in front of me, and Evan says, “She won’t be needing it.”
When I look at him, the coolness in his features makes me wonder if he’s angry, and I’m surprised when he levels a hard stare in my direction. “Aren’t you supposed to be working?”
Is he kidding me?