Page 5 of Caught in the Middle

"Alright, I’ve been dying to know,” Cam said across the table after the waiter came with their drinks and left with their orders. “So how does a stunning woman like yourself end up kicking a half-naked man out of her room before the dinner rush?”

Emma picked up her water, one eye giving Cam a playful and irritated twitch at the compliment. She reminded herself the one-night stand distraction was old news and this was going to stay a friendly dinner with a stranger, albeit an incredibly handsome one. Choosing to ignore the stunning part, she took a drink before responding.

“I’d like to use this moment to put full blame on my ex-boyfriend,” she finally said.

Cam’s head tilted. “That was your ex?”

She laughed. “Ew. No. Absolutely not. I have standards.”

His brow quirked.

Emma rolled her eyes and laughed. “Fine, I’ll give you the detailed version.”

She leaned forward on the table, propping her chin in one hand and tapping her fingers on the water glass with the other. Cam did his best to hide his smile at her nonchalant demeanor.

“I was looking for a distraction.”

Cam waited. Nothing. “That’s it? That’s the detailed version?”

Her face squinted up as she thought. “Ehh,” she said. “I’m thinking about how much I want to share. If I scare you off then I’m stuck here eating dinner alone and left to my foreboding.”

He chuckled before taking a swig of his drink. “I promise I won’t judge. A distraction from what?”

“Fine,” she dragged out playfully. “I’m leaving for vacation this weekend, and I’m dreading it.”

“Why?” Again, he admired her casual manner as she spoke.

“Because my ex will be there.”

Cam made a face of distaste. “I could see how that would suck. Did you end badly?”

“Not really.”

“Did you break up with him?” Everyone knew that could be just as awkward.

“Nope. He dumped me.”

He wasn’t seeing the problem, considering she said it with all the emotion that one might say his shirt was black.

“So why are you going?” he asked.

“Because I had already committed and he wasn’t supposed to be going.” Emma sat back up and took another drink of her water. She should’ve ordered a glass of wine or another vodka tonic, but she didn’t want to send the wrong message. She didn’t want Cam to think this was anything fancy. But if she was going to have to face what her upcoming week entailed, then she should’ve ordered something besides water, she thought.

“Oh, okay.” He nodded in understanding. “So it’s a group trip then. With your friends?”

“Not exactly,” Emma replied.

Cam’s head dropped between his shoulders, an exasperated look on his face when he raised it. “You’re killing me, Emma. You’ve got to give me something.”

It felt weird hearing another man say her name. Of course, other guys had said it since the breakup, but none over dinner and with such attention. In fact, she hadn’t dated much since.

She sighed. “Every year I go on a vacation with my best friend and her family because they’d always been like a second family to me. Her dad insists on still doing family vacations even though we’re all grown.” She gave a small smile. “I actually grew up here,” she admitted, though she moved for college and never came back. Once she left, so did her aunt.

Aunt Mel had always wanted to check out the Carolina beaches, and once she did, she decided that was home. Which was perfect because Emma loved having her only family member nearby, and although she’d never admit it, it was what drove her to look in that direction for schools when she submitted her applications. She hadn’t cared so much about where she went after Dallas, just that she wanted something new. She had been craving change.

She appreciated the sacrifices her aunt had made to raise her and that she never took her away from the only stability she had when she moved in with her, part of which was school and her friends. But she was glad her aunt was living out her dreams now.

Emma sighed, then continued her explanation. “I hesitated this year but once I knew Asher, my ex, wasn’t going, I said yes.” She rolled her eyes. “But after I had made my arrangements and booked my flight here, I found out he was going too. If I backed out after the fact, that’d make me look–”

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