Page 115 of Tempt Our Fate

He clears his throat, reaching out to run his knuckle along my cheek. I lean into his touch, welcoming the feeling of his skin against mine.

God, I’ve missed this man. Now that the stress of having to fight Jason to keep Wake and Bake has passed, I’m hit with the realization that I’m willing to try anything to make this work between us. He’s become too important for me to let go.

“I told you I’d fix it.” His voice is deep and raspy, sending tingles down my spine.

“You did,” I answer. “I should’ve believed you. I was just so worried about losing everything, about losing the only piece I still had of my mom, I took it out on you. I’m so sorry for leaving. I wasn’t thinking straight. I wasn’t thinking of anything but finding a way to save Wake and Bake.”

He nods. “I’m sorry for everything I’ve ever done to make you think I wouldn’t put you above anything or anyone else. I know there are scars from our past and that I haven’t always been a man deserving of your love. But you make me better, Pippa. I know little to nothing about love. Everything I know about it, you’ve taught me. But I’m an excellent student, and I want to spend the rest of my life learning new ways to love you the way you deserve.”

I told myself I wouldn’t cry. That I’ve cried enough in the last few days than I have in a lifetime, but a tear falls down my cheek of its own accord. I can’t control it, and I don’t even try to stop it. I allow it to fall, my heart swelling with the intense love I feel for the man standing in front of me.

“I love you,” I get out, my voice trembling with emotion. “I love you, and I’m sorry for ever believing for a second this love wasn’t enough to overcome any differences or distance between us.”

His silence unnerves me. It seems like forever that he doesn’t say a single thing. It’s long enough that my pulse spikes with nerves. Eventually, he takes a step forward, pressing our bodies together. His large hands rise to gently cup my face.

“Do you remember when you forced me to spend the day with you in Sutten?”

I smile. There’s no way I could ever forget the day that shifted the balance between us. It was easy to slip from hating him to feeling for him. “How could I forget?”

“There was something you asked me that day that’s really stuck with me.”

“What was that?”

“You asked me what group of people I’d want to be in. It was something I couldn’t stop thinking about. I’d find myself lying in bed in the middle of the night with answers to the question plaguing me by keeping me up all night. You see, until you asked me that, I thought I’d always want to be in the only crowd I’ve ever known. Never did I imagine myself in a place like Sutten. Until you. And the more I thought about it—the more I still think about it—I’ve realized I don’t care what crowd I’m in. As long as it’s the same crowd as you.”

“Camden,” I breathe, no other words coming to mind. He’s taken me by complete surprise.

“I love you, shortcake,” he continues, seemingly unaware of what his words have done to me. “I was so busy falling in love with you I didn’t even realize I’d fallen in love with this town, too. I’d never ask for you to give up your life in Sutten. All I’m asking is for you to welcome me into your life so we can create a life here together.”

A loud sob comes from my throat. My hand comes to my mouth as I look at him in disbelief. “You mean it? You’d be here with me?”

He leans in, his lips moving against mine. “I’d be anywhere with you. What else do I have to do to prove to you that I’m nothing without you?”

“Nothing,” I whisper, needing to kiss him for a moment before continuing. “I love you, Camden Hunter.”

“Not as much as I love you.”

“Are we going to argue about this, too?”

“Probably.” His lips tug up in a cocky smile. “But I’ve always loved fighting with you.”

“I know something else we’re going to fight about,” I offer, wrapping my hands around his middle.

“And what is that?”

“I have to pay you back for what you did today. I don’t havethatmuch money, but we did raise some, and I want to give it to you.”

His lips press into a hard line, the muscle in his jaw angrily ticking away. He doesn’t have to say a word for me to know he’s upset.

“We won’t fight about this.”

My head cocks to the side. “You’ll let me?”

He laughs. “Absolutely not. The first moment I can, the ownership will be transferred to you the way it was always supposed to be. I’m going to transfer the gallery to you, too, so you can expand like you’d always imagined.”

My jaw hangs open. “We can’t. What about the gallery?”

He nips at my nose playfully. “I’d much prefer Wake and Bake to have more space. I only want to showcase local talent. I think it’d be really special to create something together where people can celebrate art and drink coffee.”

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