Page 37 of Be Mine Forever

“Yes, you did. It’s a great dress.”

“I wasn’t talking about the dress.”

Jo turned in her seat, leaning her back against the window, settling in for whatever Cam had to say. He could read the phone book. Recite the Bill of Rights. She really didn’t care, as long as he was talking to her and not running in the other direction.

“If not the dress, then what?”

“I chose well last night.” Cam reached across the console to stroke each finger one by one. “In the gazebo.”

“It took you long enough.”

Jo laughed when his face told her he wasn’t sure if she was joking. She could joke now that he was hers. And he was. Whatever defense he had built up against her before had completely fallen. He might still have some secrets to share, but his heart…it was in every glance, in every touch, in every kiss. His mind might still be figuring things out, but his body told her in every way it could that he knew he was hers.

Cam opened the passenger door for her, helping her out of the car. He trapped her between his body and the Land Rover Aunt Kris had left him. He bent the few inches until their mouths were close, but not touching. His words humid and sweet on her lips.

“I’m sorry it took me so long to choose you, Jo.” His eyes, beautiful cloud and stormy sea, softened. “It’s not because I never wanted you. I didn’t think Ishouldhave you. That I deserved you. I still don’t. I just can’t fight it anymore. Do you get that?”

Jo didn’t respond. Her elation that he wanted to be with her had risen to the top, but just beneath lay a heap of rejection and hurt, accumulated and nursed for years. Watching him choose everyone else with not even a sign that he would ever choose her—yeah, that was like a splinter she was still coaxing out from under her nail.

“I assume food is part of this first date.” Jo pressed her hand to his chest, her smile sweeping away some of the painful residue.

“Of course.” He led her to the cluster of restaurants bordering the square, stopping in front of Stream, a seafood spot she had been wanting to try.

“This okay?” He gestured to a strip of bistro tables dotting the sidewalk just beyond the restaurant sign. “We could go somewhere else. I didn’t think you’d want anything formal after such a long day, but if you want, we can—”

“It’s fine. It’s perfect. You know I love eating outside.”

Jo reached up to kiss him on his stubbly cheek, loving that he had left some bristles for her on the strong line of his jaw. Cam had cleaned up. None of the usual paint under his nails. Hair tamed into dark half waves, half curls past his ears and just shy of his shoulders. Dark jeans and a well-tailored chambray shirt. Even out of his brash T-shirts and battered jeans, there was still something provocative and exotic about him. Something that drew and wouldn’t relinquish your focus. Jo braced herself for the inevitable attention that came with Cam. It had taken her this long to get him. She certainly wasn’t sharing him now, but she could be civil to any women wanting to express their admiration. Like their server, who couldn’t seem to look anywhere but at Cam. He didn’t even notice.

“And with the Chilean sea bass”—Cam glanced up from the menu—“you think the pinot grigio, Jo?”

Jo bit her lip. She hated bass. She should have been paying attention instead of glaring at the girl salivating over Cam.

“Sorry.” She ran her eyes down the menu. “Could I have the Maryland crab cakes instead?”

“I thought the sea bass might get your attention.”

“So you’re not ordering sea bass?”

“I am, but I rememberedyouhate it. Figured that would jerk you out of wherever you went in your head.”

Jo grinned, returning her menu to their server. He knew her as well as she knew him, and yet he carried so much mystery. His eyes harbored it. And she knew, even though he hadn’t shared yet, that his dreams kept his secrets.

It was only when Jo was with Cam that she realized how much more she enjoyed him than anyone else. They didn’t have to talk, to stuff every quiet moment with chatter to feel comfortable with each other. And, yet, sometimes she couldn’t get the words out fast enough. All the things she had hoarded all day that she only wanted to share with him.

After they’d finished eating, Cam gave the server his credit card and looked back to Jo, expectation on his face.

“You want to know what’s next?”

“So now you have your own Black Card, huh?” Jo nodded to the invitation-only card she had pocketed for years.

Cam just smiled and pulled her to her feet.

“Do you or do you not want to know what’s next?” He pushed one hand up under the hair at her nape and curled his arm around her waist, pulling her close enough to feel body heat through his clothes. “Or do I choose for you?”

“Are you going to be a bossy boyfriend?”

Something shifted on his face, and Jo realized she had called him her boyfriend for the first time. She refused to take it back. She had lived for years on a diet of imagination and ambiguity. She had no problem defining this relationship. If he did, she needed to know that. Now.

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