Page 135 of Already At Risk
I knew I was already at risk.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
cameron
“NO LITTLE VISITORS TODAY?” Daphne asked, poking her head into my office.
“Not today.”
I hadn’t been entirely sure how Daphne would react to Chloe’s coming to work with me yesterday, but she’dlovedit. She viewed it as me going the extra mile for my client, even though we both knew it was bordering on unprofessional. Luckily, Daphne’s obsession with the Londons trumped that.
Chloe had been a little celebrity yesterday. She’d bounced back and forth between my office and the Briggses’, depending on what we had going on. Most of the time, she spent reading her book or doodling on her tablet. We deemed one of my pens on my desk to beRiptide—Percy Jackson’s sword that appeared as a disposable ballpoint pen when in its dormant form. Chloe used a permanent marker to scribble “Anaklusmos” on its side, and I’d smiled to myself.
Overall, it really hadn’t been a problem at all. If she’d been a more challenging guest, Daphne might have felt differently. But as it stood, she’d been thrilled.
“That little girl adores you,” Daphne cooed, which sounded a little strange coming out of her mouth when I was so used to thecommanding, authoritative tone she usually used. But I nodded, trying to ignore the lump in my throat.
“She’s a sweet kid,” I said, attempting to sound as bland as possible. “The Londons are a great family. My sister went to college with Noah, so I’ve known them for a long time.”
There. That sounded neutral, right?
Not like I was completely obsessed with my client and had grown attached to her daughter, too.
Not like I had a text sitting on my phone from that same client that was destroying me inside every time I looked at it.
SUNNY: I think we need to end this, Cameron. Can we talk later?
I’d been staring at the text message from Natalie all morning, wishing my heart didn’t feel so constricted.
End this.
Endwhat?
Daphne flashed me a polite smile and then disappeared from my doorway, which was good.
I needed to return to torturing myself by staring at Natalie’s message.
Did she want me toendthe way I couldn’t stop thinking about her?Endhow I felt about her? Did she want me toendcaring for Chloe?Endthe way we were sneaking into each other’s beds at night?
She needed to tell me what we were ending because it was driving me wild. Mostly because I was afraid she was going to say all of the above. And while I’d always known that there might come a time where she cut me off, I didn’t expect it to be so soon, not before we even finished our arrangement. And I certainly hadn’t expected it to be after the last night we spent together.
But then again, Natalie never asked for the things I’d been giving her.
She hadn’t asked for flowers or baseballdates. She hadn’t asked for someone to make her tea after late-night shifts or wash her hair. And while I knew she was appreciative of the things I’d done for her and Chloe because she’d made a point to tell me on more than one occasion, they still weren’t things she asked for. She’d wanted a guy who could treat her right in the bedroom, not a guy who could treat her right everywhere else, too.
Was this her finally realizing that it was all too much? Too soon? I’d pushed too far, crossed a boundary I shouldn’t have, and now I was going to regret it.
Fuck, I wasalreadyregretting it. Because whatever she meant by that text, I didn’t like it. As far as Natalie London was concerned, I didn’t want to end a single goddamn thing.
I wantedallof it.
My phone lit up, and for a second, I thought Natalie might be calling. But it wasn’t her. Of course not.
It was my mom, calling back about visiting this upcoming weekend, I was sure.
“Hey, Mom,” I said, answering.
“Oh, hi!” She sounded almost surprised that I’d answered, making me think there were more times than I realized that she called and I didn’t pick up. “I hope I’m not catching you at a bad time.”
