Page 34 of The Billionaire Offer
I chuckled and shook my head. “No, not really. I’ve jotted down a ton of ideas, but I haven’t had time to turn them into anything more than that yet. I did get a new client yesterday, though, so that’s exciting. She commissioned one song to start with, but she’s interested in building a relationship if she likes what I come up with. In her words, she’s got the voice of a nightingale but the songwriting ability of a six-year-old. I like her. She’s honest and funny, and she’s been doing really well for a while now, so I hope she likes the song I’m writing for her. We get along great and a client like her would mean a steady income for me.”
“As long as she knows your availability will be limited once you get to work on your own album, that sounds good.” He grinned and perked up. “I can’t fucking wait to hear your songs. Is that where we’re going? Are you going to sing for me?”
“I should’ve thought of that, but no. We’re doing something for you today.” As we pulled up at the stadium, I put the car in park and turned to face him, knowing that this was the moment of truth. “I hope I’m not crossing a line here, but I noticed that near the top of your dad’s bucket list, written in really faded pencil, he wrote that he wanted to go to a game with his son. It looked like one of the first things he wrote down, and I know he’s not here in person, but he is here in memory. So we’re going to watch a game together today.”
His grin faded, and for a minute, I thought maybe I had crossed a line. His dad’s bucket list was his thing, and I knew it wasn’t my place to decide if and when he ticked off an item on it. Nerves crashed into me again, but then Bart did, too.
He lunged at me so suddenly that I didn’t see it coming at all. One second, he’d still been sitting there staring at me, and the next, I was in his arms and he was holding me so tightly I almost couldn’t breathe.
He whispered in my ear. “This is just… thank you. This is perfect. I can’t believe you did this for me. Are they selling tickets at the door?”
“I don’t know, I already bought ours,” I said, hugging him back and relishing the fresh, clean scent of him and the amazing feeling of having him so close to me. “That’s the other thing. Everything today is on me. You’re not allowed to offer to pay or to just go ahead and pay.”
“That hardly seems fair,” he protested. “This is for me. I should be paying. You’re spending your money on me.”
“I am,” I insisted. “I might not have moneybags strapped to my back, but I got an advance from this new client and I want to spend some of it on you. The balloon ride was for me, and I didn’t pay for it, so you can’t use the argument that you should pay just because I’m doing it for you.”
As we separated—reluctantly—I gently took the cap out of his hands and put it on his head. Then I did the same with the one I’d brought for myself. When we got out of the car, I got sucked in by the atmosphere around the stadium pretty quickly.
I’d gotten us decent seats, and I treated him to the entire experience. Before I even knew what was happening, we’d grabbed a ton of snacks, drinks, and memorabilia. The game started soon after we sat down.
“Can you believe Tanner used to be down there?” Bart asked with a slight smile on his face. “One of my biggest regrets is not bringing Dad to see one of his games. He asked about it often, and I know he really wanted to see one, but every time I offered, he was busy. When he could come, I couldn’t, and then he was diagnosed and everything changed. He watched every game he could on TV, though.”
“I came to a few of his games,” I admitted. “I even performed at one of the parties after the game once. Did he ever tell you about that?”
“No.” He scowled, but I could see he was just joking. “The asshole. To be honest, no one said much to me about you at all after we broke up. I think they were too scared of bringing up what they thought was a painful memory for me.”
I bumped my shoulder into his. “As far as breakups went, we did have a pretty cool one, didn’t we? They might’ve thought it was a painful experience, but it wasn’t really. I mean, I missed you and my heart was definitely broken, but I’ve never looked back at it as a painful time of my life.”
“Neither have I,” he said. “It hurt, but you’re right. For a breakup, it was pretty cool. I’m glad we didn’t walk away from it hating each other. That would’ve made all this a lot more awkward.”
Before I could reply, there was a roar from the crowd and we both turned our attention back to the field as someone on the opposing team scored a home run. Bart groaned, fully focusing on the game now that it was properly underway.
I watched him watch it, so relieved that he seemed so happy about being here that I could cry. I’d been so worried, and today had definitely put a dent in my pathetic bank account, but I realized now that I shouldn’t have been so stressed about it and that it was definitely worth the money.
All I had to do now was hope that he understood I’d done this for him because I cared. It felt too weird to say it out loud.What would I even say? I brought you here to show you I care?
It seemed to go without saying that it meant that.Why else would I have brought him here, after all?
It was obvious that Bart had become quite a fan of Tanner’s old team, and it was great to see him having such a good time. It was also funny since he never used to like sports before. He’d always supported his friend, but he hadn’t been a fan in general.
Now, though, he cheered and hollered with the rest of the crowd. He leaped to his feet at times and sat with his head in his hands at others. Through it all, I was right there with him, animatedly yelling my own comments at the players just like Shawn had taught me.
While I wondered if Bart was missing his dad, I didn’t ask. I didn’t want to ruin the experience if he was enjoying himself without longing for different company to have been with him today, and if he wanted to talk to me about it, I knew he would.
Now that I knew he wasn’t afraid to voice his feelings, I also knew that I didn’t have to ask. He would simply speak if he felt the need to, and that was okay with me.
Toward the end of the game, we collapsed back in our seats after one of our players struck out. Bart smiled as he turned to me. It wasn’t just a smile, though. It was a genuinely happy one that made his green eyes light up like precious gems in the sun and seemed to make his entire being beam. Seeing it absolutely melted me. My bones turned to liquid and I nearly flowed out of my chair.
“What?” I asked when he didn’t turn away again immediately. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Because you, Serenity Ramirez, never fail to amaze me.” His gaze burned into mine. “No one has ever done anything like this for me.”
“It was the least I could do,” I muttered. “You took me to Iceland, and on a hot-air balloon, and you’re taking me skydiving tomorrow. A measly ballgame is nothing in comparison to all that.”
“Sure, but it’s not just a measly ballgame. It’s a game at Tanner’s old stadium and you brought me here because it was on my dad’s list. It means a lot to me. That’s all I’m trying to say.”
I smiled back at him, reaching for his hand before I could stop myself. Then I decidedto hell with itand held it instead of immediately letting it go again. “We’re pretty good at making each other happy.”
