Page 128 of Out of Bounds

“You’re right, Cam. He does,” Meg chimes in, bobbing her head. “That’s when the book really gets good. When all the secrets come out and he professes his love for her. Oh—that’s the best part.” Meg clutches her necklace, swooning over Mr. Darcy.

Cam straightens his shoulders and strides over to me, right through the center of the book club circle. Heat shoots all the way from my chest to my face and my heart’s racing.

He sinks down until we’re face-to-face and grabs my hands.

“Cam—don’t,” I whisper, my throat so tight I barely manage to squeeze out the words.

“Sloane Carter, I love you. And I screwed up, big time. Just like Darcy. I should have told you the truth from the beginning and I’m so, so sorry. But I can’t take it back.”

The entire book club circle shifts in their seats, leaning in closer so they can hear every word of Cam’s confession. Blood whooshes loud in my ears and my stomach twists into a knot so tight a sailor in the Coast Guard would be proud.

“What I can do is admit that I was wrong. Wrong to take advantage of your trust, your goodness.”

“Ohhh—” Ms. Mabel murmurs, glancing from me to Cam. “A man admitting he was wrong. That’s a good one there, Sloane. He’s a keeper.”

A tingle runs down my spine as Cam grips my hands tighter, moving in close, so close his familiar woodsy scent winds around me.

“What I can do is fight for you. I don’t want to quit on us, Sloane. We’re a good team—a great team—and that’s tough to find and even tougher to keep. Please don’t quit on us.”

Tears well in my eyes as I take a shuddery breath. “I don’t know, Cam. You hurt me, broke my trust. How do I know you won’t do it again?”

“You don’t,” Ms. Mabel says. “It’s called faith, child.Elizabeth didn’t know if Darcy would keep more secrets. But she bet on him and took the risk.”

Took the risk.

Some people stay.

Cam wants to stay. He could have left. Left Thunder Creek for good without ever looking back.

But he didn’t.

Instead, he took a risk and busted into book club to profess his love for me.

I inch to the edge of my seat, so close to Cam I feel his breath on my skin, our noses almost touching.

“Yes. I’ll take the risk, Cam.”

His tense face breaks into a smile and he presses his mouth to mine, seizing my lips in a passionate kiss. Applause breaks out around us, but all I care about in this moment is Cam.

Eventually, he breaks away. “I love you, Sloane Carter.”

“I love you, too. Have you ever readPride & Prejudice,by the way?”

Cam grins, his teeth gleaming in the bright library lights. “No. Me and Coach watched the movie this afternoon. You know, to get ready for book club.”

I smack him lightly in the chest. “You talked to mydadabout this?”

He nods. “Yeah. Who do you think told me to throw a Hail Mary?”

CHAPTER 45

SLOANE

Cam moves down to Fort Lauderdale as planned for pre-season, but I still have some things to take care of in Thunder Creek.

The End-of-Summer Reading Bash goes off without a hitch, with tons of kids and their parents all showing up for the party. We have cookies and lemonade and Abigail wins the award for the most number of books read over the summer.

“Thanks, Ms. Sloane.” She smiles sweetly at me, clutching her gold medal and the gift certificate to Swirly-Q, a Thunder Creek tradition.

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