Page 105 of Hard Rock Sin

I tugged him along toward the back door, avoiding the controlled chaos of roadies and tech crew and assistants.

"We can't take off yet," Cameron said, worried. "I've still got to do the encore. We're just taking a break."

"This will only take a minute."

We turned the last corner. Cameron stopped, almost tripping in his surprise.

"Mom? Dad?" His voice was full of disbelief. "What are you doing here?"

His mother gave him a wavering smile. "We wanted to see you play one of your shows."

It was almost gut-wrenching, to see a hint of hope flicker across Cameron's face before it was replaced with a look of cynicism.

"How did you even know there was a show tonight?" he asked, brow furrowed.

"Lily invited us."

Cameron looked to me in confusion. "Why did you…?"

"I think you guys should talk." I faced his parents. "Tell Cameron why you've never come to one of his concerts before."

Sharon's expression turned hesitant. "Sweetie, we're not exactly the rock concert type." She gestured to herself and her husband, indicating their business suits. "Wouldn't it be embarrassing to have your boring old parents show up?" She gave him a small smile. "You certainly wouldn't be able to get up to your usual antics with mom watching over your shoulder."

Cameron looked utterly befuddled.

Grant continued. "Growing up, you were always off having fun with your friends, playing music, and getting into trouble. We knew the last thing you wanted was your mom and dad hanging around."

"I would have loved for you to come to one of my concerts," Cameron said. "I thought… you didn't care."

"Cam, honey, of course we care," his mother said, gently admonishing him. "We always knew you'd accomplish great things. We just wanted to stay out of your way and let you live your own life."

She took him in her arms. He stood stiffly, his own arms at his sides.

"We never meant to make you feel like you weren't welcome in our lives." Grant shifted awkwardly from foot to foot, looking uncomfortable, but powered on. "We never invited you to our business events because we knew you'd hate them. Hell, I hate them half the time. Boring and stuffy, full of snobs and suck-ups." He shook his head ruefully. "The last thing we wanted to do was subject you to those things."

Cameron's frozen stance softened. He slowly brought his arms up to return his mother's embrace.

"I always thought—" Cameron's voice cut off, not finishing the sentence.

"You were always such a free spirit," his mother said, smoothing his hair back, revealing both blue eyes. If she was taken aback by the heavy eyeliner, her expression didn't reveal it. "We never wanted to do anything to discourage that."

"I'm sorry if we hurt you, son." Grant clapped Cameron on the shoulder, giving his shoulder a squeeze. "You should know that we've always been proud of you."

Cameron swallowed hard. That hopeful look had returned.

"If you want to be involved in my run for mayor, you're more than welcome," Sharon told him.

"I dunno," Cameron said with a choked laugh. "My fans might not be the kind of people you're targeting for votes."

Sharon and Grant shared the laugh.

I breathed a sigh of relief. My chest felt a million times lighter. I had worried whether or not making Cameron confront his parents was the right thing to do.

When Sharon had texted me back, wondering why I'd ever thought she didn't want Cameron to be there, I'd been astonished. She and her husband honestly had no idea what their words and actions had done to their son over the years.

As soon as I told her, she insisted on talking to Cameron then and there. The fact that he was currently on stage at a concert made no difference. Sharon and Grant had left in the middle of a dinner to make their way to the venue.

Cameron's mom had said the only important thing was setting things right with their son.