Page 75 of Best Part of Me

I press my forehead against hers and nod.

“Will you make love to me, Mav?”

My stomach clenches, and I stare at her wide-eyed. She has yet to use that term with me. My first instinct should be to run in the opposite direction. But with Cammie, the term doesn’t feel as scary.

I nod again.

CHAPTER22

Camille

Me

On my way home.

Rosie

I’ll be over with rum and ice cream??

Me

You know me so well.

Rosie

That’s why you love me.

Me

Yes. And for many other reasons.

* * *

When the sun is high in the sky, I leave Maverick to pack up and go on a hike by myself. My scraped knee screams at me so I don’t make it far from the campground. When I reach the edge of a clearing with the river below, I take a seat on a flattened rock. As crushed as my spirit feels, I still slide my phone out of the side pocket of my yoga pants and take a picture.

It gets added to my secret “Road Trip” album.

My mind works over the entire trip. Mostly, it works over last night. To our love making. Despite neither of us wanting to admit it, that’s exactly what it was. Maverick can try to deny it all he wants, but something shifted between us. We went from hot, frenzied, animal sex to making tender love with one another.

When we awoke, we weren’t wrapped in one another’s arms like we have been the past other mornings. Instead, Maverick had his back to me. Instantly a chill entered my bones, and I haven’t been able to shake it since.

He let me in. And now, we have to say goodbye.

“Hey,” Maverick calls behind me.

I don’t turn around. Bringing my knees to my chest, I wrap my arms around my legs and hug them close. I feel him as he sits next to me.

He exhales a long sigh. “You okay?”

“If by okay, you mean more screwed up than I was ten days ago, yeah, I’m fucking fantastic.” I bark out an exaggerated laugh.

“This is exactly what I was afraid of.”

I whip up my head to look at him, my eyes burning, while I wait for him to say what I’m hoping to hear. That he’s fallen for me. That he can’t go on without me. That we will figure out how to make this work once we’re home.

“I fucked everything up. I fucked you up.” He picks up a small rock and chucks it below into the river.

Anguish pushes through the cloud of hope, combusting it. “You didn’t. I did. I should’ve never said that last night. Changed the rules. I never should’ve...” my words die in my throat because I can’t say,I never should’veasked you to make love to me.

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