Page 47 of Her Beastly Billionaire Rock Star
“I didn’t cause that accident. The one that killed Sunny.” From there, without any interruption from his grandpa, Malakai poured out his confession…from start to finish. When he finished, his grandfather, a man who thought long and hard about his words before saying them, let the line stay quiet.
After an excruciating amount of time, he replied, “Apology accepted. I knew you hadn’t done it, but I also knew you had to figure a few things out on your own before you were ready to hear anything I had to say.”
Malakai set his elbow on his knee and put his head in his hand as the emotion hit him, making his eyes burn with tears. His grandfather had known he was innocent. He’d been floored that Charlotte believed him, but his grandfather? He was…grateful…and humbled by it. The tightness in his chest had him gasping for air with sheer relief.
“I thought you would be disappointed in me. I thought you’d be angry that I’d lied about never touching the stuff again.” And he didn’t think he’d given his grandfather any reason to trust him.
“What you did in the past is in the past. We were square when you apologized the first time. I love you, boy. There isn’t a thing you can do to change that. I’d be disappointed in you only because I know you’re capable of being a better man.”
Straightening, Malakai wiped the tears from his face with his free hand and brushed it down his jeans. “I’ve missed talking to you. I’ve missed you. There are so many times I’ve wanted to call. I’ve missed your wisdom.”
“Boy, don’t you ever not call because you think I’ll not want you to. I’ll always want you to call me. Always.” He took a breath, and Malakai could hear him switch ears. “Have you called your mom and dad yet?”
Shaking his head, Malakai said, “Not yet. I think it’ll probably take more than a phone call. I bet Dad is furious with me still.”
“Oh, I don’t know. Give him a chance. Give your mom a chance too.”
“I will.” Malakai swallowed hard and wondered if it was too soon to be asking for advice. “I thought I’d apologize publicly and then call them. That way their friends can see it first.”
“I hate that, but it’s probably true.” He slurped his coffee. “You hired an image firm and you’ve been planning on fake dating someone?”
Malakai winced. “Uh, a little more than that. Marry her.”
“Boy, what on earth were you thinking? Marriage ain’t some funny business. That’s serious.”
“I know, and it was stupid. But…”
His grandfather laughed. “You like her, huh?”
A smile lifted the corners of Malakai’s lips. “I’ve fallen in love with her. She didn’t think I’d relapsed either. No good reason to even believe it,” he said. “I don’t know how she feels about me. I mean, all the things I’ve done. I’m an ex-addict. She could certainly do better.”
His grandfather snorted. “I can see you being worried about that, but someone who loves you won’t see your past. They’ll see the future they have with you.”
“You think so?”
“Yeah, and if you aren’t the kind of man she can love yet, work on it until you are. Love her and be patient until she loves you. Keep trying. In the process, you can be the man you want to be too. The kind that can look back at you without shame in his eyes.”
How much better would Malakai’s life be had he been talking to his grandfather this whole time? Then again, he wouldn’t have met Charlotte, and that grieved him as much as not talking to his grandfather. “Would you mind if we paid you a visit soon?”
“You know you’re welcome anytime, son, and I’d like to meet her. If you love her, I suspect she’s something special.”
“More than you know, Grandpa.”
They talked until Malakai was exhausted and could barely keep his eyes open, but the call was one he’d needed for so long. It ended with him promising to make time to visit and to be the kind of man his grandpa could be proud of.
Now he had to keep his word. To heed the wisdom of his grandfather and keep trying if Charlotte didn’t feel the same way.
Even as he thought it, it was about more than her. It was about him. Malakai was tired of looking at the angry, hopeless, lost man he saw in the mirror. He wanted to be a man with a purpose.
Yeah, Charlotte had kick-started it, but he was going to finish it. He owed it to the people he loved and himself.
Chapter 23
The press conference was the next day, and Charlotte was already sweating bullets. Octavia had sent her an email with responses to any questions the reporters might ask. That was typical too, and now Charlotte felt a new level of sympathy for the people who had been in her shoes in the past.
Her phone buzzed on the bed next to her, and she answered it. “I’m memorizing them now.”
“That’s not why I called. Why didn’t you inform me that Bella was in town? It makes me wonder what other things you might be keeping from me.”
