I didn’t know what to do. The self-preservation part of my brain wanted to deny her accusation. But there was another part of me that was relieved she knew. If there was anyone on this earth whom I would want to discover my secret identity, it was Sabrina.
I wanted her to know.
But I also didn't want to give it to her that easy.
“You must be delirious. Do you have a fever?” I asked. Samuel started to stir, so I continued humming and bouncing him at the same time. “I'm Liam Carmichael, lead singer of the famous band Fading Atlas.” I gave her my signature wink.
She didn't look amused. “I can't believe I didn't recognize your voice,” she said as she walked into the living room and sat down slowly on the couch.
She wasn't looking at me now. Instead, her focus was on the window in front of her.
I wasn’t sure what to say, so I didn’t say anything. I just continued bouncing Samuel and humming to him while she digested.
Finally, it seemed as if the shock wore off as she glanced over at me. She studied me for a moment before her gaze dropped to Samuel. She frowned.
“How long has he been up?” She stood and walked over to me.
Her focus was on Samuel as she dipped down to give him her full attention, but my heart sang from her proximity. I loved having her here with me. I loved feeling her warmth and hearing the softness in her voice as she spoke. I loved how gentle and sweet she was.
And I was going to miss her like crazy once I did what I knew I needed to do. In order to protect her, I needed to let her go.
“He was up when I got back.”
I couldn’t help but stare at her. I wanted to memorize everything about her. I wanted to remember the wave of her hair. The soft freckles that dotted her nose. I wanted to remember the curve of her lips and the way her brown eyes darkened when she stared up at me.
“How was the gala?” she asked.
“Boring once you left.” I knew I shouldn’t be so forward, but what did it matter? Tomorrow, I was going to send her back to Harmony. Tomorrow, she was no longer going to be my assistant, and I was no longer going to hold her back. Was it wrong to hint at how I felt—how I was always going to feel?
She blinked a few times, like my answer startled her. But I could see the shift in her gaze as if she had talked herself out of something.
“Bonnie and Katie secure some sponsors for you?” She reached out and ran her hand across Samuel’s hair, smoothing the wayward strands.
“Don’t know.” I sighed. “Don’t really care.”
Her gaze was back on me. She knitted her eyebrows together before she shook her head. “You don’t mean that.”
I studied her. I wanted to tell her that I was tired of the band. That I was tired of the lifestyle. That I wanted out. But then I remembered what I owed Frankie. The state of my finances. If I didn’t pay that man off, something could happen to her. To Samuel. To Ana.
I didn’t have the luxury of quitting. This was my life until I climbed out of the hole I was currently drowning in. What did the truth matter if it didn’t change my reality?
“Yeah,” I said. “I think they got some good ones.”
Sabrina smiled and my heart sang. That was all I’d wanted from the day I walked into the library in Harmony. All I wanted was to see her smile.
“I’m happy for you.” She paused. “I wonder if you could get even more if they knew that you were Drifter.”
I loved that she knew my secret, and that I could trust her to keep it a secret.
I sucked in my breath. “Yeah, not going to do that.”
Her smile was soft and caused my heart to sing. “I figured.” She paused before she shook her head. “I still can’t believe that you’re Drifter.” She closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose.
“Are you feeling okay?” I asked as I took a step closer to her.
She opened her eyes. “I just have a terrible headache.” She squinted her eyes and then closed them before she rested her forehead in her right hand.
I shifted Samuel’s weight to rest fully on my left arm and used my right hand to gently grab her free arm.
