Page 71 of The Fallacy of True Love
“Yeah, well. I was pissed when Nikki told me about your sister because you gave me that talk about you not being rich, and I hate liars,” she said as she stared straight ahead. “But I should have asked you outright instead of being passive aggressive about it.”
“I get why you’d come to that conclusion. It’s not something I advertise cause that’s my sister’s story, not mine. As it is, she has too many people invading her privacy and judging her. I’m not using her or her relationship to earn popularity points.”
“I respect that.”
Three words, and she’d managed to ease the tension from my shoulders—the same tension she’d caused.
“I need this job because my income from freelancing isn’t cutting it,” Cam said. “I lost one of my regular clients, and then something came up that requires more money. If I had a full-time job, I wouldn’t have to worry as much about making ends meet, and the best part about this opportunity is that I can work from home. So here I am.”
Her admission caught me by surprise. She was usually direct and honest, but she limited the personal details she revealed. This felt like a truce of some sort. “I hope you get the job.”
“Yep, or I would have gone to Manila for nothing.”
“You got to hang with me. Consider yourself lucky.”
She snorted and looked my way for a brief moment. “Sure. Lucky me.”
Maybe I was a fool, but I celebrated that she didn’t deny my words or use that deadpan voice she often did. It was enough to prompt me to ask something I’d been wondering about since we met. “Why did you seem to hate me from the start? Was it just that I was a noisy guy from the city?”
“I overheard you and your friends talking about my ink. Your girlfriend?—”
“Ex.”
“—ex made some comment about me, and you went with it. Then your guy friend kept saying how you wanted a tatt, but one word from your ex and you’re changing your mind. I thought it was fake of you, that you’d pretend to be someone else just to be liked.”
My mouth went dry. It was the first time anyone had ever accused me of that, and I felt called out because I’d thought the same thing about myself. That I had been so desperate for Dani and her family’s approval that I’d been willing to compromise my own wants.
“I know, that was none of my business and I didn’t really know you. It just reminded me of people I used to know when I lived in Manila, and I couldn’t get over it.”
“Ahh. I guess me crashing into you didn’t help, huh?”
She harrumphed. “You were an ass when I was trying to get you to the clinic. But I understand why you acted that way.”
“It wasn’t my best moment,” I murmured.
“What did your ex say?”
My head turned so quickly I got whiplash. “What?”
“When you told her about me. How did she react?”
There came that familiar pain in my chest. It was no longer as sharp, yet it still remained. “She got upset, but she wanted to work through it. I couldn’t see how we could, you know?”
“Trust is important,” she said simply.
“Yeah.” My guilt over what happened between us reared up again. Clearing my throat, I said, “By the way, I’m sorry for taking it too far that night.”
Her brows knitted together. “What do you mean?”
“When we kissed. I practically mauled you against that wall. I’ve never acted that way before, and I’m sorry I did.”
For a long moment, there was only silence. And then she said, “Wait. Is that why you called it a mistake?”
“Yeah. Why else?”
“I thought it was because I wasn’t your type and you regretted kissing me. That’s why I got pissed.”
I frowned. “I thought you reacted that way because I took advantage of you.”
