Total pages in book: 108
Estimated words: 103721 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 519(@200wpm)___ 415(@250wpm)___ 346(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103721 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 519(@200wpm)___ 415(@250wpm)___ 346(@300wpm)
Quinn gives her a little side hug. “Yeah, you good?”
Okay, so I get why Evan tenses like he’s squeezing his butt cheeks when I hug Callie. I don’t like anyone touching Cameron. “Great. Heard you got yourself a new girlfriend.”
He gives a little nod and looks at Ava. “Yeah, so let’s get this done. Ava, this is everyone.” He moves his hand toward them. “My brother Evan, his fiancée, Callie, and her best friend, Cameron.”
Ava only nods, a tight smile on her lips. Doesn’t say a damn thing. And why aren’t they touching each other?
I just don’t get it.
Everyone gives a collective “Hey,” and as I assumed, even they look confused. I want to yell, “Yeah, welcome to my world.” But just like I’m refraining from gathering Cameron in my arms, I don’t allow myself to yell that. I might come off as rude, and Ava doesn’t like me as it is. After Quinn set this up for me, I get the impression he wouldn’t like that. I’m just glad I’m not the only one who feels like this seems off.
Much to my surprise, Ava points to Cameron. “Isn’t that Benson’s girlfriend too?”
All eyes whip to Cameron, and I grin at the flush that fills her beautiful face. I love when she wears her hair down; her eyes are stunning with the way it frames her face.
“Sure is,” I say, and the flush on her face deepens in color.
An awkward silence fills the room as my eyes stay locked with Cameron’s, until Evan claps his hands. “So, I can’t wait to see how this night plays out. Who’s ready for some dinner?”
“Me,” Quinn and Callie say, but I don’t move until Cameron looks away, as Quinn leads Ava into the kitchen behind Callie and Evan. Then I’m walking toward Cameron. I can’t stop myself.
When she looks up, her eyes widen as I stop before her. “Hey there, Houdini.”
Her lips quirk at the side. “I have not disappeared. You’ve been texting me all week.”
“Yeah, I have been texting you. And you’ve been deflecting, making excuses, and basically being a huge pain in my ass.”
That makes her grin appear, her eyes dancing with mine. “I think that’s your issue because I’ve just been doing my thing.”
I step closer, leaning in, and just like I want, she backs into the wall. “Maybe. But still, it’s a bit rude.”
I move even closer to her as she presses her palms to the wall, her chin tipping back to see me. “Is it now?”
“Yes. Why did you make me employ my best friend to get you in my presence?”
Her eyes widen. “So, this was your doing?”
I shrug. “Yeah, I wanted to see you.”
“For what?”
“What the hell do you mean, for what?”
“Why did you want to see me? Remember, that’s the great—”
“Let me stop you there,” I say, pressing my palm to the spot beside her head, leaning in. “I don’t want to hear that bullshit.”
Her breathing stops, her eyes widening even more as she gazes up at me. Her cheeks flush with heat, and fuck me, I want to touch her everywhere. I want to drown myself in her brown eyes. Get lost in her touch. Become fucking one with her. I watch as her eyes travel down my face, stopping at my mouth before snapping back to my eyes.
I lean in closer, my nose almost touching hers. “Do me a favor, eh?”
“What?” she squeaks.
“Breathe.” Her mouth parts as she draws in a deep breath. “Better, yeah?”
Her eyes narrow, that defiant little tip of her chin leaving me with no room in my jeans. I should have worn sweats too. “I am just fine, thank you.”
“Eh, are ya, though?”
“I am. You have no effect on me,” she lies, and I’m sure she knows I know that. Or at least, that’s what her blush tells me.
Fuck, I want to kiss her.
I grin. “Ah yes, that’s right. It was nerves I was cleaning off your thighs,” I say under my breath, and boy, do her eyes flash with heat.
“We aren’t speaking of that. It had been a long time for me. I don’t let people touch me.”
“And why is that?”
She swallows. “I don’t trust anyone.”
“But you trust me?”
Her eyes flash once more. “I do.”
I nod slowly, pleased by that.
“How could I not, with everything we went through?” My grin falters a bit, but then pride swells in my chest. “We’re friends—”
“Stop.” Her brows knit at my demand, but those beautiful pink lips press together. “I don’t want to hear that bullshit.”
“It’s not bullshit.”
“It is,” I tell her simply. “There is only one reason I’ve been trying to see you.”
I wait as she breathes in deeply then lets it out in a hard whoosh. “Which is?”
“Because I wanted to.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Cameron
Benson could tell me to breathe a million times, but there is absolutely no way breathing is an option after that statement of his.