Page 45 of Pomegranate Kiss

“Nah, not necessary,” she murmured. “I set up a time next week to pick up my stuff. They broke radio silence for that. I think they’re still in shock to be honest.” She wished she could keep the twist of bitters out of her voice, but hell, the situation still hurt. Cam was far from over the fallout from this.

“This is my fault,” Lex said, pulling away to look her in the eyes. She cupped her face, the contact keeping Cam grounded.“If I had known the situation you were dealing with…that’s not an easy leap to make.”

“Hey, in the end I made the choice,” Cam said, wrapping her hands around Lex’s. “I just needed the push to get there. I don’t regret it.” Not like the way she regretted how she and Lex had splintered apart.

Lex led them over to the bright white pergola where dark hickory benches stretched out beneath the hatched overhangs. She hadn’t let go of Cam once, gripping her hand tight as they walked over. Cam’s heart lurched. She had told Lex everything she’d held back, by some miracle. The rest lay in her court.

Cam prayed Lex didn’t break her heart a second time.

Lex sat and patted the bench beside her. Cam couldn’t help but slide into the spot. As much as she wanted to lean in against Lex, the woman turned to face her, reaching out to offer her hand again. Cam grabbed the lifeline offered. She sailed on sheer adrenaline at this point, tiptoeing over glass shards and hoping she didn’t get shredded to pieces.

“Hell, Cam, I can’t imagine what you’ve been going through. I wish I had been there for you instead of drinking myself to a stupor,” she murmured, staring at the ground. “I’ve spent enough time being a fucking coward about this though. Camilla Muhuri, from the day I first met you here and didn’t try to get in your pants right away, I knew something was different. Romantic, right?” She flashed a smile that was pure Lex, all cocky disarray.

“I wanted to know every last thing about you—I still do. You’re the sort of fascinating someone could spend a lifetime trying to discover, and that’s what I realized I wanted to do. Way before we ever hit six months, I had fallen deep for you. I talked big on hating commitment, but I’d been hurt to the point I’d pretty much given up. Easier to fuck around than risk my heart. Exceptno matter what thick walls I hid behind, mere moments with you brought them crashing down.”

Cam swallowed hard, heat pricking her eyes. She’d barely dared to hope, even though she wanted Lex more than she could ever say. She gripped Lex’s hands even tighter, feeling the sweat from their palms mingle. Today had been an evisceration of a different sort, the kind that left her free-floating like she belonged amidst the puffy clouds in the achingly blue sky.

“I love you, Cam,” Lex said, meeting her gaze with a steadiness that didn’t have her just falling—she plummeted. She’d dreamed of hearing those words in a secret part of her soul she’d locked away, trying to keep some part of herself safe. “When you left, I had no interest in other women, because I’d already found the perfect one. I also had way too much interest in drinking myself into a stupor, which I’d be happy to never repeat. I meant to tell you on the night of Danny and Adrian’s wedding, but maybe we weren’t there yet. Maybe we both still had some growing to do.”

“I love you too, Lex,” Cam murmured, her eyes heating up with tears. The joy that welled up inside her was the extreme opposite of the depths she’d sank to the week before. Today, she soared. Lex’s thumbs grazed at her cheeks, wiping away the few tears that slipped past. The slant of her smile held all the cockiness she loved about the woman, the way she took the lead without blinking. Cam tried on a wry smile and sucked in a breath to steady her voice. “That mean you’re asking me to be your girlfriend?”

“Oh fuck yeah, babe,” Lex purred, almost climbing on top of her as she prowled forward. “That means PDA all over the place. We’re going to be the obnoxious couple that makes out in front of everyone. Even more annoying than Adrian and Danny.”

“No one will be able to tolerate us,” Cam said, slipping out her phone to fire off a text.

Lex’s brows furrowed. “I’m here trying to climb all over you and you’re whipping out your phone to text?”

“All part of the plan,” Cam reassured her, reaching up to place her palm on Lex’s cheek. “Trust me on this one.”

Before Lex could argue, Cam leaned in and pressed her lips to hers. She’d been dying to taste her ever since they’d crashed together when she came home. She savored the sweetness of her mouth, the way Lex wrapped her hand around her nape in a possessive grip that she loved. Around this woman, she felt safe and she felt free.

Cam hadn’t realized what she’d been missing until a stubborn as hell firebrand approached her on the back deck with a proposition she couldn’t resist. With Lex it had always been deeper than mind-melting sex. Lex was the loud she’d never be, the chaos opposite to her calm, and the fight to her peace. All the opposites rubbed off a little, teaching her how to stand up for herself and take risks.

When she was around Alexis Dukas, Cam wanted to freefall off the Church Flats Bluff, dive into the deepest part of the Atlantic, and speed along Savannah Highway at a hundred miles an hour.

This woman made her want to paint again.

Lex growled as she deepened the kiss, straddling her thighs. Cam knew she needed to put a stop to the very public makeout session, but after everything they’d been through, she couldn’t pull away if she wanted to.

With Lex now fisting her hair to pull her head back, Cam surrendered to the way she devoured her, with the desperation from before but also the tenderness she missed. Lex bit her lower lip, pulling it between her teeth and then sucked at Cam’s neck. She peppered her cheeks, her forehead, her collarbone with so many light kisses she might ignite. Already, her core throbbed in anticipation of what was to come.

If they were lucky, a whole lifetime of this passion.

“Ew, guys, get a room,” Danny’s familiar voice came from closer to the parking lot.

Lex pulled back at once, popping her head up to see who had arrived. Danny and Adrian approached down the walkway carrying a few coolers with them. Her brows drew together as she stared at Cam.

A smile widened on Cam’s face. “They’re not the only ones who’ll be arriving. Surprise.”

Chapter Twenty-Three

Lex couldn’t stop grinning like an idiot.

She couldn’t have hoped for any of this—Cam as her girlfriend, the fact she’d gotten her feelings out and hadn’t been struck by lightning, or this brilliant surprise Cam concocted. Placing her family on standby for a picnic was a stroke of brilliance. After months of hiding the way she felt about her, she wanted to shout it from the rooftops, tell strangers on the street, and even bring her crazy family into the mix.

Adrian and Danny walked closer, their supplies in tow. Danny offered a wave to them while Adrian did the head bob.

“I now know who you were texting, but what if this hadn’t gone well?” Lex asked, unable to hide her incredulousness. She ran her fingers through Cam’s hair and wrapped her other arm around her waist. Cam leaned into her like she belonged there. She couldn’t stop touching her—hell, she hadn’t been able to from the moment they arrived in this park.

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