All You Need Is Love

by Marie Force

  “And I was lucky to have them.”

  “I might be a little bit in love with your family.”

  “You couldn’t pay me a higher compliment.” Molly’s eyes and smile were warm as she squeezed Cameron’s hand.

  Screaming from the family room preceded the sisters’ return to the kitchen.

  “Oh my God,” Hannah said. “They must pay these girls to be as hideous as they possibly can. How can they go on national TV and act this way?”

  “I bet most of them forget they have to go back to their real lives after the bachelor dumps them,” Ella said as she topped off everyone’s wineglass.

  “I’d do the show in a second,” Charlotte said. “Imagine how much fun it would be to get paid to be catty and nasty.”

  “Charley,” Molly said, frowning.

  “What? How could it be any worse than my dating disasters right here in Butler?”

  “She does have a point, Mom,” Hannah said.

  Charlotte tossed a handful of flour at her sister, narrowly missing a direct hit to Hannah’s face.

  “Girls!” Molly went from amiable to stern in the blink of an eye. “Do not start that!”

  “Used to happen all the time,” Hannah said, smiling at Cameron.

  “They’d make a bloody mess of my kitchen,” Molly said.

  When Will picked her up at ten o’clock, he teased her about the flour on her face and her slurred speech. She’d lost track of how many bottles of wine the five of them had consumed, but she was enjoying the blissful buzz of wine and sugar coursing through her veins as well as the ache in her ribs from nonstop laughter.

  Molly hugged her good-bye. “I hope you’ll consider our home your home whenever you’re in town, Cam.”

  “Thank you so much for a wonderful evening. I can’t remember the last time I had so much fun.”

  “We did, too.”

  When they got back to his place, Will enjoyed discovering that alcohol made her horny and had been more than happy to accommodate her every desire.

  On Wednesday, Will drove her to his grandfather’s for lunch. When they pulled up to Elmer’s house, Cameron laughed at the three-level sign that hung from his mailbox: JUSTICE OF THE PEACE, NOTARY PUBLIC, FREE ADVICE.

  “Is he really a JP?”

  “Sure is. He marries three or four couples a month, and he’s forever notarizing something for someone. Free advice is the backbone of his business, however.”

  “That’s fabulous. I love this town.”

  He gave her an odd look that she didn’t have time to question before Elmer was bounding down the stairs from the front porch to greet them both with hugs. Cletus followed him out of the house, and sure enough, the word clitoris popped into Cameron’s mind, making her want to bite her tongue so she wouldn’t call him by the wrong name.

  Will sent her a devilish smile that told her he knew exactly what she was thinking. And then he deliberately let his gaze wander down the front of her, making her desperately wish they were alone.

  Elmer said good-bye to Cletus and shepherded Will and Cameron into his cluttered house.

  “Welcome to Gramps’s museum, where everything he’s ever owned is proudly displayed.”

  “Don’t be insolent, young man,” Elmer said, his tone full of affection for his grandson. “I like to be able to enjoy my stuff, and what good is it if it’s all stashed in closets where I can’t see it?”

  “That’s very true,” Cameron said, earning her a wide grin from Elmer.

  “I like this girl, William. Don’t mess it up, ya hear?”

  “Ah, yeah, Gramps. I’ll do my best not to.”

  “If he does,” Elmer said, winking and nudging Cameron, “you know where to find me now.”

  “I sure do.”

  As Will groaned, Elmer drew a platter of sandwiches from the fridge and a bag of potato chips from the counter. “I didn’t know what you liked, Cameron, so I got some tuna and some turkey. Hope that’s okay.”

  She loved the thought of him going to the grocery store and thinking about what she might like to eat. “That sounds wonderful.”

  They passed a delightful afternoon with Elmer, poring over photos and ledgers and journals that detailed the store’s early history. He told her about the Depression and the devastating impact of rationing on the families in the valley. The store his parents founded had given them a way to help out during those sparse years, and they’d found their life’s work—and his—in the process.

  Cameron took photos of Elmer and filled pages in her notebook. Rather than take priceless items that could never be replaced if lost or damaged, Cameron photographed pages from the ledgers as well as the photos from the store’s humble beginnings.

  By the time she left with promises to return again soon, she was fully in love with another member of Will’s family, and Will said he’d learned a few things he hadn’t known about the store and its origins.

  Cameron spent time with each member of the family and gained in-depth knowledge of every corner of the business. She took hundreds of photos and spent hours exploring the store, befriending employees who were more than happy to share what they knew about the store and its products.

  On Thursday, she had lunch with Hannah, who’d come into the office to deliver her latest jewelry creations to Will.

  “I’ve been thinking about your suggestion,” Hannah said tentatively after they were seated at the diner.

  Cameron had been thinking about it, too, but she held her tongue to give Hannah a chance to share her thoughts first.

  “I love the idea of a sanctuary for other women who’ve been through what I have. I love the notion of keeping Caleb’s memory alive by using the home he loved to do something good for others.”

  “That sounds wonderful.”

  “Except . . .”

  “Except what?”

  “I wouldn’t have the first clue how to go about making it happen.”

  “Well, that’s where I come in. I could help you set up a website and Facebook presence and anything else you might need.”

  “That’s very nice of you, but I couldn’t afford to hire you.”

  “You wouldn’t have to hire me. I’d love to do it for you pro bono.”

  “I couldn’t let you do that! You have a business to run!”

  “You have to understand . . . I know what happened in Iraq had very little to do with 9/11, but at the time we thought it did, and it was my city that was attacked by terrorists. This feels like something I could do to give back to people who gave so much after that horrible day.”

  Hannah’s eyes filled as she shook her head. “Caleb had interest from professional hockey teams, but he chose to follow his father into the army. The 9/11 attacks happened a couple of months after he was commissioned.”

  “Let’s work on this together and make his sacrifice continue to count for a long time to come.”

  “I’d love that, Cameron. Thank you.”

  “I’m not being entirely altruistic,” she said with a smile, hoping to cheer the other woman. “It’ll give me more excuses to come visit your brother.”

  “I’ve never seen him so happy, but I worry about him, too.”

  Cameron sighed at the reminder that the fantasy wouldn’t last forever.

  “Do you two talk about what happens at the end of next week?”

  “Not if we can help it.”

  “I hate that it’s such a quandary. Instead of celebrating the fact that you’ve found each other, you have to think about how you’re going to make it work long-distance.”

  “Does anything ever really work long-distance?”

  “It can. I’m sure.”

  Megan dropped their plates on the table with as much finesse as she normally did. This time, however, she stared down Cameron who refused to wilt under her glare. “When are you leaving?”

  “Very soon.”

  “Good.”

  Cameron and Hannah burst into laughter as soon as Megan stormed off.


  “At least he’ll have Megan to soothe him when I go,” Cameron said jokingly, even if the thought of another woman soothing him made her seethe.

  “God help us,” Hannah said. “More important, God help him!”

  God help them all, Cameron thought as she dug into her salad. They were going to need all the help they could get.

  CHAPTER 16

  Love leaves you grinnin’ like a mule eatin’ saw briars.

  —The gospel according to Elmer Stillman

  When they weren’t working, Cameron and Will continued to exist in the fantasy world they’d created for themselves. In that world, no talk of next weekend was permitted.

  As lunchtime on Friday approached, Cameron tried to take advantage of the office Internet connection to focus on her overflowing e-mail inbox while Will worked on his computer. They’d fallen into the habit of using opposite ends of his desk even after Hunter offered to find her a space of her own.

  “I’m fine here,” she’d said, knowing Hunter was wise to the fact that she wanted to be near Will.

  Now she watched Will’s eyes dart back and forth over the screen and his sexy mouth purse in thought before he began typing again. She bit her lip to contain her smile as she moved slowly to remove her sock and slip her foot under the hem of his jeans.

  The second her bare toes made contact with his leg, his eyes heated, but he kept them on the screen as he continued to type.

  Her e-mail chimed with a new message.

  I want you. Right now.

  Delighted by the message and the fact that he’d sent it when he was sitting a foot from her, she kept her toes on his leg as she contemplated her response.

  Here?

  I have to go home to let the dogs out. Come with me.

  Let me think about it.

  The nonchalance belied the fact that his opening statement had set her blood on fire.

  Are you done thinking?

  Not yet.

  I’m going to spank your bare ass for torturing me this way.

  What are you waiting for? Let’s go.

  She wasn’t sure who moved first, but they were out of the office and in his truck less than five minutes later. The ride to his house was marked by tense, edgy silence. Cameron had enough time with her own thoughts to accept that this relationship, or whatever it was, had gotten totally out of hand. She wanted to spend every second of every day and every night with him. None of her past disasters could begin to compare to the obsessive need she felt for Will Abbott.

  Even knowing it was totally out of hand, even knowing the crash and burn was coming soon and was going to hurt worse than any other, she was powerless to resist him and had no desire at all to try. For as long as the fantasy lasted, she was all in. Everything she had was his.

  Outside his house, he tugged her toward the porch, let the dogs out and then stripped her naked right inside the door. He produced a condom from his pocket, dropped his pants to his thighs and lifted her onto his rock-hard erection.

  Cameron clutched handfuls of his hair as he surged into her, pressing her against the door so tightly she had no choice but to surrender completely to him. When he made good on his threat to spank her bare ass, the orgasm hit her like a fiery flash of light and heat and overpowering emotion that sent tears streaming down her cheeks.

  “Christ, Cam.” He went perfectly still and kissed the tears from her face. “I’m so sorry. Did I hurt you?”

  “No, no.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and burrowed her face in the rough fabric of his shirt.

  “Are you sure?”

  She nodded, and he began to move again, slowly, gently, reverently, which did nothing to quell the flood of tears.

  He gripped her bottom and shuffled to the sofa, coming down on top of her without losing their deep connection. Gazing into her eyes, he seemed undone by her tears. “What is it, sweetheart?”

  “Nothing bad. I promise.” Cameron wrapped her legs around his hips and raised her arms above her head, surrendering to him, giving him everything she had to give.

  His fingers dug into her bottom as he bent his head to lave at her nipple.

  She arched her back, wanting to be as close to him as she could get.

  “You’re so beautiful, Cameron. So hot, so sexy, so sweet.”

  His words were every bit as powerful as the deep thrusts of his cock and the bite of his teeth on her nipple.

  “Come with me, baby,” he whispered against her breast. “I’m so close.”

  Seduced by his words as much as the heat of his body, she clutched his head to her chest and gave up the last remaining piece of her heart, the one she’d tried to hold back so there’d be something left for when this ended.

  He came with her, thrusting and groaning and holding her so tightly, so perfectly. Their lips came together in a hungry frenzy of tongues and teeth and breathless moans.

  “God, you’re amazing,” he whispered. It seemed he was also well aware that what had transpired between them went far beyond sex and into the realm of lovemaking. “I keep thinking this is too much, too fast, but I don’t care about any of that. What does it matter how it happened?”

  “It doesn’t matter.”

  “It’ll matter in a week.”

  She rested her fingers over his lips. “We’re living the fantasy, remember?”

  “How could I forget? But all I can think about is what happens next weekend when you have to leave.”

  “We’ll worry about all of that in a week. Until then, I want the fantasy.”

  “I feel like I’ve known you forever and can’t begin to imagine what I’ll do without you when you go.”

  Cameron gave herself over to his passionate kiss, knowing full well that their lovely fantasy had just taken a hard turn toward reality.

  • • •

  Everything was different over the next week. Every word they exchanged had deeper meaning, every look was fraught with expectation and every touch set her on fire. Leaving him would be the hardest thing she’d ever done, but it was time to go. She had a business to run in the city and had more than enough information to put together the first cut on the website.

  After consulting with Lucy, she’d concluded her photographs were more than sufficient, so she canceled the professional photographer she’d hired to supplement her efforts.

  “I can see how much you love it there just by the photos, Cam,” Lucy said on Thursday afternoon. Will had gone to meet with the beekeeper who provided honey to the store, and as much as Cameron wanted to go with him, she’d declined his invitation. She needed to start spending some time away from him to begin gathering her wits for Saturday morning’s departure.

  Nolan had promised her car would be ready by Friday afternoon. Her research was completed. Nothing was holding her in Vermont except for the man she’d fallen madly in love with.

  “How’re you doing?” Lucy asked gently.

  Cameron had shut the door to Will’s office to ensure privacy when she called Lucy. “Awful. I feel sick to my stomach the way I did when Jimmy died.” Thinking of the beloved terrier who’d kept her company for most of her lonely childhood could still bring Cameron to tears.

  “It’s grief. You’ll be losing something important when you leave there.”

  “I know I shouldn’t have let this happen, Luce, and as bad as it hurts, I can’t bring myself to regret that it did. He’s . . . He’s everything.”

  “Why does it have to end? There’s got to be some way you can keep it going.”

  “We live six hours apart, and he doesn’t even have a cell phone.”

  Lucy laughed. “He has a landline, and there are things called airplanes and trains and cars.”

  “For how long? A year, maybe two? And what happens then? I’ll still be in love with him, and I’ll still live six hours from him.”

  “You could always move up there.”

  “How do I do that and continue to run our business in the city?”

  “Maybe you don’t
. Maybe you recognize that things change and nothing is forever and you move on to something different.”

  “I couldn’t do that to you.”

  “This isn’t about me, Cam. It’s about what’s best for you.”

  Cameron clung to the hope that Lucy dangled before her like a lifeline. “What about my dad?”

  “What about him?” Lucy asked testily. “When has he ever considered what was best for you when making a decision about his life?”

  “I know he’s a selfish bastard sometimes, but he’s still my dad, and I’m all he’s got.”

  “That doesn’t mean you make life decisions based on what’s best for him. If you love this man, Cameron, and he loves you as much as you think he does, then how do you walk away and go on with your life knowing he’s out there somewhere wanting the same things you do?”

  The words broke the fragile hold Cameron had on her emotions, and her eyes filled.

  “Oh, honey, I’m so sorry you’re feeling this way. You should be so happy.”

  “I am happy,” Cameron said. “I’m so happy, but I love my life in the city, too. I have you and Troy and all our friends. My apartment and our business. That’s my life.”

  “Maybe that was your life.”

  “Stop saying this stuff, Luce. Stop acting like it could really be that simple. We both know it wouldn’t be.”

  “He could move here.”

  She’d considered that possibility and dismissed it almost immediately. “That’d never work for him. He’d absolutely hate it there.”

  “Not if you’re here he wouldn’t.”

  “Yes, he would. He’d hate the city. He’d hate living away from his family and his work and his mountains. Eventually, he’d end up hating me, too.”

  “I wish there was something I could say to make you feel better.”

  “I appreciate that you want to, but this is a mess of my own making. I’ll get through it. Somehow.”

  “I’ll be waiting for you on Saturday.”

  “You’ve got to primp for the ballet.” Cameron had given those very expensive tickets her dad had sent her to Lucy, who actually enjoyed the ballet. Like always, she’d tell her dad how much she enjoyed it, and he’d be pacified, thinking he’d done something thoughtful for her.