by Erin Kern
“Just would have been nice to see some emotion from her. Instead of forcing false happiness all the time.”
Audrey immediately thought of herself and how she’d continually smiled for Piper in the days and weeks following Dianna’s death. How she was always so worried about how Piper was adjusting. “She probably thought she was doing what was best for you. Maybe she saved her tears for when she was alone.”
Cameron shook his head. “I’m not so sure. My dad was an even worse husband than he was a dad. He and my mom had been growing apart, and I think the only thing she missed was the income he brought in. After he left, she had to find a second job so we wouldn’t lose our house.”
Audrey placed a hand on his arm. “She did that for you.”
A muscle in his jaw ticked. “Yeah,” he said after a moment. “She’s the strongest woman I know.”
“It’s obvious how close the two of you are,” Audrey agreed. “And she was really good with Piper.”
Cameron smiled for the first time since mentioning his dad. “I think she sees Piper as a pseudo-granddaughter. She’s pretty much lost hope of getting any grandkids out of me.”
Something inside Audrey twisted at his words. Don’t ask. It’s none of your business. But then her mouth disconnected from her brain. “You don’t want kids?”
His shoulders moved, and Audrey wondered if it had more to do with restlessness. “Sure, someday.”
“But it’s not a priority for you,” she added, because she was masochistic like that.
He turned his head and winked at her. “Got to have a wife first.”
She nudged his shoulder with hers. “Look at you being all traditional.”
His grin widened. “Surprised?”
She shook her head. “No, just…” Then she laughed. “Actually, yeah.”
His look sobered. “Just because I like to have a good time doesn’t mean I don’t want to settle down one day. I meant it when I said I haven’t met a woman worth settling down for.”
Audrey ignored the sharp pain in her stomach. “Think you ever will?”
His gaze dropped to her mouth. “Maybe.”
She licked her lips and did a mental happy dance when his blue eyes darkened. “What if you’ve already met her and you haven’t realized it?”
Stop baiting him. Stop pushing his buttons.
Cameron angled his body toward her and rested one elbow on the railing. “What’re you saying, Audrey?”
Yes, Audrey. What are you saying?
“I just mean…” She cleared her throat. “That what if in the middle of all your…” She broke off, searching for the right term. “Good timing, the woman for you was already there? Only you didn’t notice her, and she moved on to someone else?”
Cameron seemed to think this over for a moment, although Audrey wasn’t so sure, because he moved closer and fixed his attention on her lips again. They actually tingled. “I don’t think so,” he finally said.
“But how do you know?” Did she have to sound so breathy?
The corners of his mouth turned up, and he trailed one finger along the edge of her jaw. “I just do.”
“Always so sure of yourself,” she whispered.
“On this? Yeah.”
She tilted her head at him. “That cockiness works on a lot of women, doesn’t it?”
His voice dropped an octave. “Obviously.”
“How is that supposed to be obvious to me?” Really? You need him to show you?
“Oh, Audrey,” he chastised. “Your naïveté would be sweet if you weren’t such a big faker.”
Cameron shifted, and then his lips were just there, touching hers, and Audrey didn’t have time to wonder how that had happened so fast. One second she’d been trying to talk herself out of kissing him, and the next she was clutching his shoulders and sliding her tongue along his.
She shouldn’t have been surprised at how good it was. After all, they’d kissed a few times already, and each time it knocked the breath from her lungs. So Audrey was surprised at how, well…surprised she was. Cameron really was a skilled kisser. Each time he made it feel like it was the first time, and every time he knocked her off her feet.
He changed the angle of the kiss without breaking contact, using his hand to cradle the back of her head and guide her. Audrey went with the flow and allowed him to maintain the control, even though she wanted to climb his body. Cameron must have sensed her desperation because he grinned against her mouth and kissed her harder, as though he suspected she wanted to pull back. Maybe he’d taken her gasp of breath as hesitation, but the feeling coursing through her system was anything but.
Audrey couldn’t help feeling a sense of rightness. Like they belonged. Like she’d been born to kiss this man, feel his fingers biting into her hips. To place her hand over his heart and wonder if she was the one who made it beat faster.
Yes.
The word whispered in the back of her mind, sounding strangely like Cameron’s, as though offering confirmation to her own musings. Audrey spared about a second trying to push the thought away, then gave up. Surrendering to the knowledge that whatever was between them was real and not going away anytime soon was easier than her continued denial, than her fruitless efforts to push the man away with childish games.
So she pressed closer, needing to feel more of him, needing to know how she affected him. The evidence was there, nudging her belly and causing another wave of shivers to snake down her spine.
Then something flashed out of the corner of her eye, followed by a yelp.
Cameron slowly lifted his head. “Don’t hold me responsible for what I may do to these women.”
Audrey blinked. “What?”
But Cameron had already shifted his attention to whatever had interrupted them. Audrey followed his line of sight and bit back a grin at the four women gawking at the two of them. Their signature beehives left no doubt as to who they were and what they were doing with their camera phones. Someone seriously ought to start reporting these ladies.
“I got a good one, girlies!” Lois shouted as she waved her phone in the air. “This one’s going on the Instagram.”
“How many times do we have to say it, Lois?” Lois’s friend piped up. “There’s no the. It’s only Instagram. Not the Instagram.”
“I still think I got the better shot,” another one chimed in. “I have here a prime picture of Cameron palming the woman’s ass.”
Audrey couldn’t help the heat that flamed her cheeks. She wasn’t sure if it was from hearing the word ass leaving a seventy-something-year-old’s mouth or the fact that they’d so easily noticed Cameron’s firm grip on her derriere.
Cameron pinched the bridge of his nose. “Lois, if you post any pictures you just took to any social media site, I’ll sic Brandon’s dog on you.” Then he jabbed a finger at her friend. “Same goes for you, Beverly.”
“Already uploaded mine,” Beverly announced. Then she beamed at the rest of them. “Told you my phone was faster. The three of you need to get the new iPhone already.”
Virginia rolled her eyes and leaned heavily on her cane.
Cameron blew out a heavy breath and shook his head. “Son of a mother’s whore.”
“You watch your tongue, young man. We may be progressive, modern women, but we’re still ladies.”
Cameron narrowed his eyes at them. “Somehow I doubt that, Patty.”
Beverly gripped Lois’s skinny arm. “Let’s go get funnel cakes before they run out. I want hot fudge and powdered sugar on mine.”
The four women walked away, with Cameron’s gaze never leaving them. “I know where you live,” he called after them. Then he placed his attention on Audrey, and his gaze further darkened. “What’re you laughing at?”
“Nothing,” she immediately said. “But I think maybe you secretly love them.”
“Love them?” he questioned. “They’re a public menace. They need to be committed.”
“They also make you smile,” she point
ed out.
Cameron turned toward her and gripped her elbow. “That’s not a smile. It’s a grimace of pain.”
Audrey held back another grin as she allowed him to lead her to…“Where are we going?”
“The bumper cars,” he answered. “I need to bash my frustration out.”
The ride that Piper was on had just ended, and the girl came running around to the line again.
“I wanna ride with Uncle Cameron,” she announced.
Cameron glanced down at the girl as he passed over ride tickets to the attendant. “Just be sure to hold on tight.” Then he winked at Audrey and she had a feeling that maybe he was talking about both of them.
Sixteen
Later that night, Cameron was digging around in the fridge while simultaneously nursing a serious case of blue balls. He thought about jumping in the shower and giving himself some relief, but the thought didn’t hold much appeal. Then, as he’d been sniffing his way through leftovers, his phone dinged with another text from Tessa. The woman had been trying to get in touch with him for weeks. Normally, Cameron would have told her to come on over. But now…now Tessa didn’t interest him.
What he and Tessa had was casual anyway, and both agreed to stick with it as long as it was working. Well, now it was no longer working for Cameron.
That’s because she doesn’t have blond hair and make you hard as a rock.
Yeah, there was that.
Tessa had to know things would end between them sooner or later. In fact, Cameron was surprised she’d stuck around this long.
Cameron finally found something to zap in the microwave as his phone pinged again. With a sigh, he picked the device up and thumbed the message.
Busy tonight? I can be there in ten.
The one before that said something about missing him and how some guy she’d met while visiting her sister hadn’t come close to satisfying her the way Cameron could. The thought that she’d been with some other guy, and was now trying to get a booty call out of him, should have caused at least some jealousy. But nothing.
The microwave dinged as he typed his reply.
Tired tonight. Getting ready for bed.
He wondered for a minute if she’d see that as an invitation. But Tessa knew better than to show up unannounced.
You didn’t exactly put up a fight the last time she showed up unannounced.
But that was before Audrey.
He’d never talked about his father to anyone. Not even his mother. Not Blake and not Brandon either. But tonight, he had found himself spilling his guts to her, and all Audrey had to do was bat those long lashes at him, and he felt as though he could tell her anything, that she wouldn’t judge or make him feel like an insensitive prick for ignoring his sister all those years. She’d simply listened and comforted him.
Cameron blew out a breath as he gathered his leftovers from the microwave. After a second thought, he set them back down and picked up his phone again. He needed to send a clearer message to Tessa so she understood.
I think our arrangement has run its course, Tessa. We should probably go our separate ways.
Was that clear enough? Too abrupt? Shit, he didn’t want to come off as an insensitive ass. Normally he ended relationships in person, but what he and Tessa had wasn’t really a relationship, so…
Yeah, he supposed it would have to do.
Having Audrey here, and Piper too, had made him take stock of his life. It had made him wonder if he’d been truly happy before the two of them had come along.
A knock sounded at his door just as Cameron cut into his leftover grilled chicken. With a resigned sigh, he placed his dish on the kitchen counter and went to the door.
When he opened it, Tessa breezed past him in a cloud of perfume and determination that had once turned him on. Now he just wanted to scratch his head and ask himself what he ever saw in her.
“When you said you were going to bed, I figured I’d join you,” she told him as she kicked off her shoes and dropped her purse.
See? Invitation.
He should have listened to his own warnings.
“Tessa,” he said on a tired breath. “I really am going to bed.”
She smiled at him. “I know. And I’ll join you.”
“I don’t think you understand.” He gripped her shoulders. “I’m going to bed alone. And did you not get my second text? This needs to end.”
She blew out a breath and took a step back. “I met someone,” she said.
Cameron waited to feel something. A flicker of jealousy, betrayal, anything. But nothing.
“That’s great,” he told her.
She blinked at him. “You don’t care.”
He shrugged. “I’m happy for you.” When she didn’t respond, Cameron ran a frustrated hand through his hair. “Tessa, you’re the one who wanted this casual. No questions, no commitments. Remember?”
“Yeah, I just…” She broke off and looked around. “I thought maybe you’d feel something.”
“Tessa, what’re you doing here if you’ve got a guy waiting for you?”
“We haven’t made anything exclusive yet,” she answered with a shrug.
“So you thought you’d stop by for one last booty call?”
Tessa made an impatient noise. “You never seemed to mind before.”
He crossed his arms over his chest. “Well, I mind now. You need to go.”
She laughed. “Why, you have a woman stashed in the back?”
Audrey’s face immediately flashed across Cameron’s mind, but he shoved it away.
“Ah, shit,” Tessa muttered, obviously taking his silence the wrong way. Or maybe she took it exactly as he’d wanted her to. Either way, he didn’t care. He just needed her gone.
Cameron shook his head. “There’s no one here,” he told her, not really sure why he felt the need to correct her assumption.
Her eyes dropped closed for a second. “Can you just be straight with me for a minute? What’s going on? You’ve never shoved me out the door like this before.”
He blew out another tired breath and wrestled with whether or not to be straight with her. Despite how pushy she could be, Tessa was a good woman. She was nice and fun to be around and could offer some other guy a lot. Just not him.
“We’ve run our course, Tessa,” he told her.
“Really?” she asked, as though she didn’t believe him.
“Yeah,” he confirmed.
She came closer, and Cameron automatically recognized the look in her eye. It was the one she’d shown him when they’d first met and all he’d been able to focus on was her long legs and come-hither smile. And damn if his body didn’t react. He was still a man, after all, even if his thoughts were on Audrey and finishing that kiss.
Cameron lifted his hands to hold her away, but somehow he found himself gripping her shoulders. Tessa must have taken the gesture as an invitation because her smile grew.
“I don’t think so,” she muttered.
“Tessa,” he warned.
She either didn’t hear him or chose to ignore the edge in his voice. Her hands crept up and slid over his chest. His body reacted further, and Tessa’s grin widened when she felt the evidence pressing against her thigh.
Her gaze dropped to his erection. “You’re still going to ask me to leave? Come on, Cameron.”
His back teeth gritted together in agony as she pressed a soft kiss to his neck.
Push her away. Put her in her place. You’re trying to be a better man for Audrey.
His hands tightened around her shoulders, but his movements were halted when he felt her tongue.
She’s doing that thing you like, his evil side whispered.
What would Audrey have to say about this? his more sensible side countered.
Ultimately, Cameron found the strength to shove Tessa back. He was just about to tell her enough already, when a movement out of the corner of his eye caught his attention.
Cameron held his breath, because he knew what he’d f
ind before he even turned his head.
Audrey’s expression was full of disappointment and hurt, and a thousand other things he couldn’t name.
He opened his mouth to explain, anything to chase away the disgust darkening her whiskey eyes. But nothing came out, because deep down he knew he’d lost her. He’d lost whatever trust he’d managed to gain in the past few days. Then she was gone, pivoting on her heel and disappearing into the moonless night.
Tessa made a noise behind him. Cameron really didn’t care, because his heart was currently plummeting to the bottom of his stomach.
When he turned, she was slipping her shoes on. She offered him a sad smile. “We’re not all that different,” she told him. Then she scooped her purse off the floor and slung it over her shoulder. “I’ll see myself out.”
He watched her walk out, his gaze dropping to the perfectly round ass that had attracted him in the first place. Yeah, Tessa was beautiful. She was ambitious and aggressive and outspoken and good in bed. But she wasn’t the one who squeezed his heart whenever he looked at her. The honor belonged to a blond, pushy, gorgeous woman that he’d let slip from his grasp.
Audrey’s hand trembled as she splashed a healthy amount of red wine into a glass. She still shook as she raised the glass to her lips, and the sweet liquid rolled over her tongue and burned all the way to her stomach. She immediately pulled another sip, before the first one was able to fully settle in the pit of her stomach. After the first glass she poured another, thinking the alcohol would have steadied her hand by now. But the damn thing still shook like a leaf in a storm. Like…
Like someone jealous.
The word burned across her mind, furthering her anger and disrupting the peace she’d finally settled into.
For the first time in a long time, she’d felt a sense of peace with her life. That things were finally clicking into place. That maybe…
Maybe she’d finally settled where she was supposed to be.
Then reality had come smacking down and reminded her that no.
There would be no peace for her. No comfort. No settling down.