Page 18 of Among the Stars

Chapter Five

The kiss Camplaced on Veronica’s forehead had made her heart flutter, and when they first sat down, the looks Cam tossed her way set off flutters in other regions.

But then something changed. The next time she glanced toward his end of the table, all expression had left his face. Stony, closed-off Cam was back, and Veronica had no idea why. She tried to enjoy her food and keep up with the conversation around her, but the distraction was too much. Would he confess the truth to her family? Make her look like even more of a loser—the unmarried daughter who had to coerce a man to pretend to be her boyfriend?

Had Nick asked too many questions? The family ones had set him off in the car so that might be it. Or Penelope was bothering him, but she didn’t look to be paying him too much attention. She certainly wasn’t crawling all over him or anything.

The meal wound to an end, and Veronica’s plate remained full. Cam hadn’t made eye contact once in the last twenty minutes, and from what she could tell, he was barely talking to Nick, who seemed to get the message and had directed his comments to Olivia on his other side. As chairs were pushed back from the table, the men gathered the dishes, as was the family custom. Mama had declared decades ago that if the women could make the meal, the men could clean it up. Why hadn’t she thought to warn him of this part?

Catching on quickly, Cam gathered his own plate along with Penelope’s and the empty roll basket. Veronica opened her mouth to speak as he went by, but one harsh word cut her off.

“Outside.”

An incredibly rude command that flipped a switch in Veronica. So someone had pried into his precious personal life. What had he expected? This was a family gathering, and they’d let everyone believe they were dating. Make something up, for heaven’s sake. The Hamiltons were never going to see him again, so what did it matter?

Grabbing a blanket off a living room chair, she marched through the French doors to the patio with no idea if Cam saw her go out. If he wanted to speak to her so badly, he could hunt her down.

No hunting was necessary. He caught up before she’d even shut the door. He closed it for her and turned steely black eyes her way. “I don’t like being lied to, Ms. Shepherd.”

They were being formal now? Really?

“I haven’t lied to you.”

“That sob story about drinking away your ex and this being your first Christmas without him. Nick let me know you’ve been divorced for years.”

“Yes,” she replied, hugging the blanket tight around her shoulders. “So what? This is the first Christmas in ten years that he isn’t here. And if I decide to spend one night drinking away the reality that he’s replaced me with the one woman he always wished I was, that’s my prerogative.”

Veronica held the tears back by sheer force of will. She would not cry, damn it.

“I thought you just got divorced,” Cam growled through clenched teeth. “I felt sorry for you.”

Those were the wrong damn words. “Well, Mr. Rhodes, you can take that pity and shove it up your ass, though you’ll have to remove the giant stick that’s in the way first.” Veronica paced away, swamped by humiliation and anger. “Not everyone is as impenetrable as you are. Some of us have feelings. We get sad and hurt and scared.”

“Scared of what, Veronica?” His voice no longer held the heat of anger, but she was too incensed to notice.

“I don’t want to die alone, okay? Look around. My sisters have perfect marriages with perfect children, and I’m the pathetic one. I’m the failure.” Dropping onto the wicker sofa, she dropped her head into her hands. “I’m the one who put off having kids for my career, and now I’m thirty-four, the clock is ticking, and time is running out.”

The frozen cushion dipped as Cam sat down beside her. “Children weren’t a part of our agreement.”

Veronica snorted and had to wipe her nose on the blanket. “I wasn’t asking for a sperm donation.”

“That’s good. I never give those on the first date.”

She leaned up, astonished. “You’re making jokes.”

“Yes, I am.” Cam met her gaze. “I feel things, Veronica. Not as loudly as you do, but I feel them.” She couldn’t be sure if there was an insult in there or not. “Thirty-four isn’t old, and you aren’t going to die alone. Plus, based on the amount of liquor in Nick’s punch, and the way Olivia cringes when Chet says something inane, I doubt your sisters have perfect marriages. You need to stop judging yourself for what you aren’t, and appreciate the things that you are.”

With a heavy sigh, she stared at her toes. “What am I?”

“Beautiful,” he started, “passionate, daring, successful.”

Because she wanted to believe him, Veronica forced herself not to argue. Instead, she asked, “You got all of that in less than four hours of fake-dating me?”

“I got all of that before you woke up this morning.”

The simple statement sent a tear down her cheek. “That might be the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me.”

A dark brow arched. “I hope not.” The man was way too literal.

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