Page 120 of Already At Risk
I’d been waiting for thatbut.
Natalie didn’t accept favors without arguing about them first. But this wasn’t that for me. A favor. This was something else, something I couldn’t fully explain.
“Do you feel uncomfortable with me spending the evening with Chloe?” I asked.
“No, of course not. But?—”
“Do you think Chloe would be uncomfortable with me alone at your house?”
Natalie snorted. “Are you kidding me? She’s probably going todemand you give her piggyback rides up and down the stairs. She’ll be ecstatic.”
“Then we’re not going to argue about it,” I said, once again firm. “I’ll take care of Chloe. You go to work, save lives, and get home when you can.”
An indistinguishable sound filtered through the speaker, and I stopped pacing, standing still in the middle of my office. My pulse thrummed, loud and insistent in my ear as I waited for Natalie to say something else, anything else.
But eventually, I couldn’t take it anymore.
“Sunshine?” I ventured. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah.” She released a shaky breath, her voice thick with an emotion I couldn’t place. “Yeah, I’m okay. Thank you, Cameron. I—I don’t even know what to say.”
“Don’t say anything. Can you just take a few deep breaths for me before you put the car in drive?”
“Mhm,” she hummed. “Yeah. Yeah, good idea.”
“Good girl,” I said when I heard her inhale, nodding with encouragement, even though I couldn’t see her and she couldn’t see me.
Maybe I should change that. Ineededto change that.
“I wanna see you. Just for a sec, okay?”
Since we were on a time crunch, I didn’t wait for her response before I switched the call to video. She could choose not to accept it if she wanted to. But she didn’t do that, and within seconds, I had a visual of Natalie sitting in her car, looking as gorgeous as ever. Her hair was pulled back, giving a clear view of her face. Of the way she was biting her lip anxiously and wiping beneath her lash line. Of her vibrant green eyes as they sought mine and her pinkened, pretty cheeks.
“Hey, baby.”
She flashed me a weak smile, but her gaze sparkled at the soft tone I used. At my words.
“Hi, Cam,” she whispered.
“You good?” I wouldn’t blame her if she wasn’t, not in amillion years. Fuck,Iwasn’t good right now, even if I’d pretend to be for her sake. I needed this moment just as badly. “Should we take another deep breath together?”
When she nodded, I nodded, and then she breathed in, and I breathed in, a feeling of syncopation, even though we weren’t even in the same room.
I wantedsobadly to be in the same room.
I’d never longed to hold someone like this before. Never been this desperate to wrap my arms around another person’s shoulders or lift them into my arms. My hands itched to grab hers, and it killed me that I couldn’t.
“I’m good,” she said after a few moments of breathing, and I was so fucking relieved to hear that shesoundedlike she was good. Natalie’s voice held steady, in control. There was squareness in the way she looked at me now, like she was ready to face things head-on, ready to tackle whatever lay ahead of her. And thank God for that. Because I couldn’t even begin to imagine what she might deal with today. “I’ve got this.”
“I know you do, Sunshine. You’re so fucking amazing and talented.” Her eyes rounded at the reassurance, letting it fill her. “Did you eat something before getting in the car? Hydrate?”
She nodded and picked up a half-eaten sandwich of some kind, a bag of some veggies, and a bottle of water to show me. It wasn’t much, but it was something.
“That’s my girl. Do you need me to bring you anything else? Chloe and I could deliver dinner later.”
“No, I’ve got more food in my bag. This is just for now.” She visibly swallowed before adding, “But thank you. I owe you.”
All I could do was shake my head.
