Page 81 of Caught in the Middle

“No.”

Aunt Mel laughed. “Honey, this isn’t about choosing between a man and a job. It’s about choosing the right path for yourself. If you decided this wasn’t the gig for you or in your best interest, that doesn’t mean the next thing you line up wouldn’t be the right fit. And who says you can’t choose love and happiness while having a fulfilling career?”

Emma shook her head. Then shook it again. “I don’t know, Aunt Mel. This is all too much.”

Her aunt rose and came over to wrap her in a hug. “I know, sweetie. So I’ll leave it at this, if you want this job, then take it without any remorse or guilt over chasing your dreams. If it’s not what you want, then don’t let society or fear of judgment force you into living in any way that isn’t true to you.”

Emma didn’t bother blinking back the tears as she squeezed her aunt tight. “I love you so much,” she said.

“I love you, too.”

Chapter 29

Sunday afternoon, Cam found himself surrounded by his friends at Derek and Slone’s house for a little get-together. Although they wouldn’t admit it, he knew they planned it the moment he landed back home Friday and had to face them with the disastrous truth of the end of his spontaneous vacation. They could say it was already planned all they wanted, but he knew them enough to know this was pulled together last minute to keep him from sitting at home by himself sulking.

Not that he’d admit to sulking, even if he did spend the flight home Friday and all day Saturday feeling like he’d had his heart ripped out. For someone who was known as being a nice guy, he sure didn’t make himself any friends while traveling home as he’d had a permanent scowl on his face.

One that apparently hadn’t left him yet, as his friend Gary clasped him on the shoulder on his way to take a seat. “You look like someone ran over your dog,” he proclaimed.

“Nope.”

Gary’s brow rose. “That’s it?”

“Yup.”

His friend chuckled, even if Cam was being an asshole. “Whew, she really did a number on you, didn’t she?”

“Who did a number on who?” Derek asked, coming outside with a tray of salsa, hummus, and other enticing-looking dips. Nate followed with an oversized bowl of chips and Jim behind him. They all took up seats among the patio furniture.

“No one did any numbers,” Cam growled, not wanting to get into this. He knew he’d have to face his friends at some point, especially since the last they’d heard all was great back in St. Croix. They were as surprised as him to learn he’d be coming home heartbroken.

“That glare says otherwise,” Nate said offhandedly as he reached for a chip and dunked it into a cheese sauce of some sort. Cam only shook his head.

“I thought you two finally hit it off,” Jim questioned, but before Cam could respond, he heard Katie’s shout from the doorway behind them.

“Hey, I thought we agreed you’d wait!”

“We are, babe. Just getting him warmed up.”

Cam looked at Nate with disbelief. Nate only smiled and shrugged.

“Don’t say anything else until we get out there,” she warned.

Derek’s brows rose as he looked at Nate. “If any of your employees slack off, I suggest siccing Katie on them. She’d whip them in shape real quick.”

They all laughed, Nate included, especially since he knew his girlfriend’s marketing team would be baffled to have her yelling at them like that. However, the same couldn’t be said for their friend group which was more like family than anything.

“Maybe we should have her question your newfound love, ask her why she dumped your ass,” Gary joked to Cam.

He wasn’t impressed by the joke. That was a terrifying idea. “No, Katie would like her too much. Hell, all the women would probably team up and kick me out of the friend group and bring in Emma as my replacement.”

Jim huffed out a laugh. “What’d you do wrong to deserve that?”

Cam sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. “Honestly, I didn’t,” he trailed off as he rehashed everything in his mind. “I guess my mistake was thinking it could work out.”

Derek reached over and slapped his knee before going for some chips. “Nah. That big ole heart of yours hasn’t steered you wrong yet. Once the women get out here you can start from the beginning. We’ll get this thing figured out.”

He looked up at the sky and groaned. “No, there’s nothing to figure out.”

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