Page 72 of Hard Rock Sin

"I mean, we've been doing a lot of promo stuff," he continued weakly.

Grant nodded distantly, as if not really hearing the words. "Good, good. It's important to have a good team behind you."

"You said you had something to talk to me about?" Cameron asked, forcibly changing the conversation.

Sharon cleared her throat and placed both clasped hands on the table.

"As you know, I've been a member of quite a few boards for a few non-profits."

"Right. Save the whales and all that."

"I'm not sure how much attention you've been paying to local politics recently—"

"The answer would be none," he joked.

"I've been approached by some interested parties about running for office," she said matter of factly.

Cameron's brows furrowed. "Like city council or something?"

"No. For mayor."

Cameron's eyes grew wide. "Holy fuck."

"Language," Grant warned.

Cameron slumped back in his seat. "Sorry."

I'd never seen Cameron look so abashed. He never listened to anyone, and he certainly never seemed to care whether his foul-mouth would offend someone.

Cameron was trying so hard to act… well,good. Well behaved and well mannered. I had no idea he even cared about that. Cameron was the type to do whatever he felt like and say fuck it to anyone who complained.

"I guess I should say congratulations, Mom." He still looked taken aback. "This is a pretty big deal."

Sharon looked at her husband. He nodded. She turned to Cameron.

"We need to talk about what this means for us. For our family. For you."

Cameron froze. He slowly glanced between his parents.

"Right." He stretched out in his seat, running a hand through his hair in a fake-casual motion. "I get it." He forced a grin. "Same deal as always?"

"We'll obviously need to work through the details, but I don't think you'll have a problem with business as usual?" His mother seemed oblivious to the strained tone in Cameron's voice.

"It's cool." He gave her a wavering smile. "I know the drill."

"Wonderful," Sharon said blithely.

I was befuddled at the exchange taking place in front of me. There were undercurrents to this conversation that I was clearly not privy to. The corners of Cameron's lip threatened to twitch downward into a frown as he tried to keep the pleasant smile plastered on his face. His parents didn't notice the struggle.

I was contemplating what to say when the waitress arrived with our food.

"Congratulations," I told Sharon as we made small talk over the food. "This must be very exciting for you."

She flashed me a bright smile. "It is exciting. There are lots of challenges to consider, of course. I'm still not sure what's going to happen, but the next few months are certainly going to be interesting."

"More like years, if you go through with it," Cameron murmured low enough so only I could hear.

For all that he had tried to seem happy for his mom, the words only came out sounding oddly sad.