Page 40 of A Billionaire Rebel

They smiled at me, but I knew they were going to reserve their judgment for the moment. I’d do my best to show them I would never hurt Damon, no matter where things ended up with him and me. It was nice to know that he had such good friends.

“We should go find our seats,” Kalini said. She held out a program to Damon. “It’s about ten minutes until it starts, and we’ll want to be available if Z or Haje need to talk to us about anything last minute.”

“Thanks.” He looked down at me. “Ready?”

I nodded, and we fell in behind Kalini and Hawk. I could do this, be here for him the way he needed me to. If nothing else, he would know that he had a friend he could count on. No matter what.

Twenty-Two

Damon

It was over.

I felt relief that it was done, that I’d gotten through both the prepared speech I’d given in front of everyone, as well as the press release I’d read and the subsequent questions after the service. Kalini and Hawk had offered to stand with me, but I’d told them that they didn’t need to get caught up in all the questions. Taking that burden from them had been the least I could do.

Besides, Jae had been there for me the entire time. Of course, that’d meant several of the questions thrown my way had been about her, but I’d simply answered the first one by saying she was a friend and then deflected the rest, reminding them why I was here: to honor Bair Appleton, a talented and fun-loving man whose life had been cut short.

It wasn’t until after we’d finally made it back to the car and were waiting in traffic that it suddenly hit me that I might’ve hurt Jae’s feelings when I’d simply called her a friend. We hadn’t talked about what this was or what we were, but I could’ve handled it better.

“What’s wrong?” she asked before I could say anything. “Is there anything I can do?”

“I need to apologize to you.”

She frowned, confusion written on her face. “What for?”

“When that first reporter asked who you were, I shouldn’t have just said a friend and left it like that. It was dismissive and not even close to describing how grateful I am having had you with me this past week.”

She put her fingers on my lips, and I stopped talking. “I am your friend, Damon. I’m the one who should be apologizing. That question never should have been asked in the first place. Today is about you honoring and saying goodbye to Bair. I’m here foryou.”

The relief made me close my eyes. “Thank you.”

She leaned against me as she kissed my cheek, then took my hand when she settled back into her seat. I couldn’t begin to describe what it was like, sitting here with her and knowing she had no expectations, no ulterior motives. Supporting me like this, in this situation, wasn’t even close to what I’d asked of previous flings or casual girlfriends. Something this heavy usually came with a more serious degree of involvement.

I opened my eyes. “Would you like to come home with me? For the night, for a few hours. It doesn’t matter.” I paused before adding, “I’m not ready to be alone yet.”

She thought for a moment, and I appreciated that she hadn’t immediately said yes. I didn’t want her making some snap agreement because she felt sorry for me. I was assuming a certain level of sympathy simply because she was that sort of person, but I still wanted her towantto be with me, circumstances aside.

“I have to work tomorrow,” she said. I had a brief moment of disappointment, but then she added, “We’ll have to stop by my place so I can pack a bag.”

“No problem.” I leaned forward and tapped on the glass separating us from the driver. I gave him Jae’s address and then settled back in my seat. She leaned against me, and I put my arm around her shoulders, liking the way she felt as I pulled her against my side.

I enjoyed being with people, and that included women even when it wasn’t about sex, but I’d never had this…tranquility before. Not with anyone. Not with my family or the other members of the band. Jae calmed the restlessness inside me in a way that no one else ever had. I’d always been an energetic person, but even when I did eventually get tired, I’d always had this need to fidget and thoughts bouncing around in my head.

Jae calmed all of that. I was emotionally drained, and having her next to me helped me simplybe.

Thanks to traffic, it took us nearly a half hour to get to her building, but I didn’t mind. There was no reason to rush today. I drifted in and out of that place that wasn’t quite sleep but still allowed me to rest.

With Jamie and Kevin both gone, the apartment was quiet when we went inside. I lingered in the main room while she went to her bedroom to collect what she needed, and found myself staring at the couch, remembering what had started there last night.

“Did I tell you about what I found in my brother’s house?” The question was out of my mouth before I realized I was going to say it out loud.

“No, you didn’t. What was it?”

Answering that question honestly had a variety of possible responses, some good and some not. At least the one thing I didn’t have to worry about at all was her going to the press. I could trust her implicitly on that front. She’d already shown she had no interest in that aspect of my life.

“A sex room.”

Silence.

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