Max pointed at me. “Okay, Dad. What’s the plan?”
I sighed. “I amnotyour dad.”
Julian raised a hand. “Emotionally, spiritually, and organisationally? You absolutely are.”
The group nodded in unison.
“Okay, the plan is… wecanbe demo-ready. Two songs.” I folded my arms. “Perfected. No cracks. No safety nets.”
Julian scoffed. “That’s it?”
“That’s everything,” I snapped. “If we can’t deliver two flawless tracks, we have no business on a stage.”
Silence again.
Then Oliver nodded slowly. “That’s fair.”
Finnley hesitated before speaking. “And if we nail them?”
I met their eyes, one by one. “Then I’ll book us a gig myself.”
Several sharp intakes of breath greeted my announcement. I hadn’t made the tension disappear, but I’d changed its shape.
“Is it okay to say this terrifies me?” Liam blurted.
“You and me both,” Elliott muttered.
Cameron spoke up. “If you weren’t scared, it wouldn’t matter this much.” Nine heads turned toward him, and he flushed. “You’re building something new. Something big. The nerves just mean you care about getting it right.”
Sebastian sighed. “That’s true.”
I gave Cameron a small, private smile that hopefully meant more than anyone else in the room would notice.
Cameron smiled back, gentle and warm.
Max clapped his hands. “All right then. Let’s do a run. Two songs. Clean, tight, and sexy so Theo doesn’t explode.”
“I’m not going to explode,” I muttered.
“I disagree.” Julian grinned. “You already look like a man about to combust.”
“Spontaneous combustion is not covered by our contract,” Zane added.
Liam gave an eye roll. “We don’thavea contract.”
“Exactly.” Milo folded his arms. “Which is something else we need to discuss.”
We weren’t perfect, but we were making progress. We were going to make it.
All of us.
Together.
Cameron
Going to Balan’s had been Julian’s idea—of course it had—but I had to admit his instincts were on the money. We needed to decompress, to talk, joke, relax…
“When are we going back to that leather bar?” Elliott demanded. “That was a cool place.”