Page 47 of Sunny Skies Ahead
When a new email arrived from the official Warrior’s Foundation address, I gasped out loud.
“Holy crap,” I shouted, dropping my tablet like it burned me. Kameron whipped his head into the living room from the kitchen.
“What? What happened?”
I was still staring at the email on my upturned tablet when Kam came to stand over my shoulder.
“Winding Road has advanced to the last stage of the grant process,” I said, still trying to wrap my head around it. “They want you to come present to the selection committee in person in Seattle next month.”
I turned to face Kameron, unable to control my smile as it spread across my face. I grabbed both of his biceps—against my better judgment—and shook him gently, trying to break him out of the trance.
“Kam, you did it. Only three people made it to this stage. Your chances of getting this grant are high. Sky high, because you’re amazing at rallying support, and Winding Road is—”
My rambling was thankfully cut short as Kameron stepped forward and picked me up, spinning me around while whispering “oh my God” over and over again. I let out a joyous laugh and squeezed him back, not wanting this moment to end.
Everything he had worked so hard for was coming together. Kameron’s energy was infectious. There was no doubt in my mind that when Kameron got into that boardroom and made his presentation, the grant would be his.
Kam put me back down on the ground, but his hands didn’t leave my hips.
“Oh,” I whispered, staring into his eyes.
I washelpless. Absolutely freaking helpless every time this man looked at me with that level of devotion and care.
Which is why I couldn’t be blamed for standing up on my tiptoes and kissing him.
Kam let out a sound of surprise, his lips parting on a gentle gasp as he wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me in close. The gentle scratch of his beard against my jaw set my skin on fire. The push and pull of him, this connection between us, the delicate string that pulled us back to one another like moths to a flame.
It had never felt this good kissing someone. I didn’t know a kiss stoke this kind of desire, to be utterlyconsumedby someone.
I never wanted it to stop.
But just a few seconds later, it did, and I found myself still staring, unable to stop myself. There was a flush high in his cheeks, and his eyes were dilated, entirely focused on me.
“Sorry,” Kam said, his thumb still hovering over my pulse point. If I could feel my pulse hammering against my skin, I knew he could, too. I was surprised the sound of my heart racing wasn’t audible in the space between us. “Got carried away.”
“It’s great news,” I said, my voice still raspier than usual. “I don’t mind. We should celebrate this.”
Kameron let me go, and I felt the absence of his hands as an ache in my chest. That wasn’t normal, right? It wasn’t normalto miss someone who wasn’t yours. Someone that you couldn’t have because things would get messy.
Nope,I thought to myself. Not going there.
“I hope you weren’t planning on quitting on me now that the renovations are done, because I’m going to need your help.”
I shook my head gently, clearing all thoughts of my negative emotions away. I focused entirely on Kameron, who was reading over the forgotten email.
“They want a bunch of deliverables, mainly graphics about revenue and plans for the next five years,” Kameron said.
“Well,” I said, sitting down on the couch. “The good news is Winding Road hasn’t been in operation long enough to need some of what they’re asking for. And lucky for you, one assignment I’ve given myself over the last few weeks is to organize your shared drive. It might take a while to create the presentation, but it won’t be difficult to do.”
Kameron smacked a messy kiss on my cheek. I let out a noise of fake disgust, even though my stomach tumbled.
“We’re going to need more coffee for this.”
I made a promise. There would be no more relationships, because I couldn’t trust myself to make the right choice.
It was theonlypromise I’d ever made to myself.
So why did I have this ache in my chest that only disappeared when Kameron’s lips were on mine?
