Page 26 of Camden

“Fair enough,” I agreed. “I know how she acts around men. I also know the douche doctor was a little aggressive with her.” Which put it nicely. When Mason shared the texts with me, I wanted to drive straight to the hospital, wring his neck and tell him to stay the hell away from her. It wasn’t exactly my place, but I couldn’t say I wasn’t happy when we found out he transferred to a different hospital not too long after.

I fucking hated the thought of her being uncomfortable at work.

Plus, I worried she couldn’t handle that shit and would move away. She wasn’t from Sweet Springs and from what I could tell, Rylie was her only connection to the town. What would hold her back from packing up and moving away? The thought pissed me off more than I cared to admit.

“Right, that douche. Well, she has other things in her past that make her hesitant to trust. What she went through with her ex was much worse than what Jake did.” Mason growled when she said his name. She smiled lovingly at him and pressed a kiss to his cheek to calm him down. “So, I can’t say I blame her, but I want to help her move on and find a good guy. I want her to be happy and not have to relive what happened over and over again. Which I know she does.”

My chest constricted and I tightened my hold on the beer bottle, ready to kill anyone that laid a hand on her. I shouldn’t jump to conclusions, but when Rylie said it was worse than what Jake did, I could only think about the day he assaulted her outside of her apartment. Because according to Ry, that was the worst of what Jake had done.

“What do I need to do?”

“Keep doing what you’re doing. I’ll do some recon and find ways to push you together.” I knew I liked Rylie for a reason.

Asher cleared his throat. “As much as I am all for Cam getting the girl, don’t you think she’ll be a little pissed at the two of you if she finds out what you’re doing?”

I glanced at Rylie, her lips pursed. “Maybe.”

“I don’t want you to get into a fight with her, Ry. Your friendship is too important for us to mess with.”

Her expression softened. “See, this is why I think you would be perfect for her. You care about her. Like truly care about her wellbeing.”

“Of course I do.”

“Fine. How about this? If I think it’s something that you need to know, I will tell you specifically, but otherwise, I just won’t tell you what I’m doing so that you can’t be held accountable if she gets pissed.”

“Rylie,” I warned, but she waved me off.

“It’ll be fine.” She smiled and popped off of Mason’s lap when the doorbell rang. “Pizza’s here.” Mason stood and followed closely behind her. Knowing Mason, he didn’t want her answering the door. He wasthatprotective of her. A few minutes later, he walked past carrying three boxes of pizza followed by a grumbling Rylie.

A smirk tilted my lips as I watched the two of them together, happy for my best friend.

“You know nothing good can come from having Rylie interfere right?” Asher whispered, so Rylie wouldn’t hear.

I ran a hand through my hair and scratched at my growing beard which was already too long to be considered okay for work. I needed to shave soon. “I know. I’ll talk to Mas about it. I’m sure he’ll be able to talk her down.”

“Or at the very least, he can distract her.”

Laughter floated toward us from the kitchen as Mason wrapped his arms around Rylie, nuzzling his face in the crook of her neck. “Yeah, he can do that.” I rubbed my chest. Damn it, I wanted that.

And I wanted it with Stephanie.

CHAPTER EIGHT

STEPHANIE

The bowlof chips in my hand flew everywhere when the door to my apartment banged against the wall, startling me

Everywhere.

The floor. The counter. In the sink. Down my shirt. “I’ve got the booze!” Haley called out as she shimmied her way into my kitchen, skidding to a stop when she saw the mess surrounding me. “Did you know you have chips in your hair?”

Apparently, in my hair, too.“Did you know you don’t have to bust into my apartment like a battering ram?” I countered and fished a chip out of my boobs.

“Sorry.” She winced and sat the pre-made margaritas on the breakfast bar. Grabbing a chip from the counter, she popped it into her mouth. “Look at the bright side,” She said, and I paused my attempt at cleaning up to look at her. “At least you didn’t have the quac in your hand.”

Rolling my eyes, I tossed a chip at her, which she not-so-gracefully attempted to catch in her mouth. “You’re ridiculous.”

“It’s a gift. Where’s Rylie?” Haley hopped up on the counter, her bare feet swaying.

---