Page 57 of Caught in the Middle

Emma laughed. “You out-fished him?”

“At first, but it was just luck. We both brought in a good amount.” He was still grinning, probably hadn’t stopped since he made his first cast. It’d just been one of those really good days where he got to do something he loved without a care in the world.

Well, besides a little someone who he now stood in front of again. All afternoon he’d thought how lucky he was to be out fishing and get to come back to this room and spend time with Emma. He was just glad she was actually here and not still hanging with her friends, even if that did make him selfish. As the week came closer to its end, he found himself wanting to soak up his time with her.

“What’d you do with the fish?” she asked, wondering if Henry had some sort of plan to fly it back home with them.

Cam shook his head, a look of disbelief and awe crossing his face. “You won’t believe this,” he started, continuing into the room. “Henry told them to prepare it like normal and paid in full, refusing to let me chip in or add to the tip of our charter, then he said give the fish to the next customer who didn’t have any luck or someone who could use it.”

She nodded, not looking too surprised. “He’s a generous man. Always has been. If you weren’t there with him to know about it, I can guarantee you he wouldn’t have told us either. He’s not one of those who brags about his good deeds.”

Cam leaned against the wall, not daring to get comfy before he showered. Hell, he was probably already stinking up the place. Though, the way Emma’s eye kept sliding over his body made him feel like he couldn’t be that gross. Or maybe he was reading too much into it.

“I wonder why,” he said aloud, his hand rubbing his chin.

Emma hesitated, not because it was a secret or that Henry would care, but as someone who didn’t like people discussing her when she wasn’t there. She decided to explain though. “He grew up with nothing. Then whenever he got a dime to his name and his good looks as he likes to say,” she let out a laugh. “He met his ex-wife, Lulu and Lauren’s mom, who thought he was loaded. Whenever she realized a life with him meant constant giving back and keeping what she considered to be very little, she left him and took everything she could.”

At Cam’s raised brows, all of this being new knowledge to him, she added, “It’s no secret. He talks about it whenever it comes up. He says he doesn’t and will never regret his decisions. Says he came from nothing and can take nothing to the grave, so why not share his good luck with others.”

“More like hard work,” Cam said, thinking about the man’s time and commitment to get to where he was today.

“You say hard work, he says a lucky blessing to be able to do something he’s good at for as long as they’ll let him.”

Cam smiled at that. The more he learned about Henry, the more he aspired to be like the man in more ways than one. “Interesting.” He let out a sigh then scooped his hat off his head and tossed it by the TV.

For some ridiculous reason, Emma found that to be a very sexy act. His untamed hair was sticking up all over the place and she found herself wishing that Lauren and Asher would take their old room back after all, if for nothing more than to sweet talk him into the real deal next time.

“Where’s your mind at?” Cam asked, noticing the hungry look in Emma’s eyes.

She snapped to attention, hoping her cheeks didn’t start turning red. “Nothing. Nowhere.” She knew better than to indulge in the delicious delicacy that was standing right in front of her. It would be too messy, or maybe not with the week almost over. Which meant it could be too risky and dangerous, if not for her charade then for her heart.

He walked by her, a slow and sexy grin spreading on his face. “If you say so.” He bent to grab his suitcase from where it sat zipped and upright on the floor, but something else caught his attention. He reached out, grabbed the phone off the bed, and took a closer look.

It took Emma a moment to realize what was happening then she was shooting across the hotel room to try and wrangle her phone from his hands.

“Oh no you don’t,” Cam said, raising his arms to keep it out of her reach.

“Give that to me!” She tried jumping which only resulted in him laughing. So she went for his arms, working to pull them back down.

“Was somebody creeping on me again today?” he asked in a teasing voice.

She jumped again, catching part of the phone and pulling it down, then it was a rush of tangled arms and hands, both trying to secure the small device.

“You wish,” she shot.

He let out a laugh then a grunt as her elbow accidentally made contact with his stomach. She shot him an apologetic look, though still unwilling to stop her determined attempt to get her phone back. Cam twisted her around until she was in his arms, the phone in her hand but unable to be moved as he held her there.

Emma was instantly more aware of the muscles wrapped around her and the pool of liquid it stirred in her than the phone now.

“I think you were,” Cam said against her ear.

She shrugged. “Maybe I was. So what?”

“Did someone miss me while I was gone today?”

She tried to play it off, though her body was vibrating with alertness at being this close to him again. Then she felt the unexpected.

Cam grazed his teeth over her ear before rolling a small part between his lips and letting go of it. “I think you did.”

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