Page 146 of Already At Risk
I flashed him a shy grin. “Like a date?”
A shrug. “That’s up toyou, baby.”
I nodded, and Cameron’s smile grew more confident again.
“Dinner on Monday,” I said. “Yes.”
God, I couldn’t even get a full sentence out.
“I’ll leave it up to you if you want Chloe to come,” he offered. “She’s welcome.”
What was hedoingto me?
“Chloe would love to come,” I said honestly. If she knew I was getting dinner with Cameron, she’d beg for an invite. However, there were other realities that came with that. And I needed him to know that. “But you know…if we start dating, Chloe will likely begin to ask really intrusive questions.”
Cameron didn’t even blink, that was how unsurprised he was. “I would expect nothing less from her.”
I cocked a brow. Did hereallyknow what he was getting himself into?
“She’s going to want to know about things like babies?—”
“I like babies.”
“—and marriage and?—”
“I’d happily take your last name.”
“Cameron,” I scolded, laughter bubbling out of me. I just couldn’t remember the last time I’d beensohappy, even while there was so much up in the air. “I’m beingserious.”
His grin was full now. “So am I.” He leaned forward, and I could tell he wanted to reach out, wanted to touch me again, if just by the way his fingers flexed on the top of his desk. His voice dropped to a pitch that was throaty and thick, and I basked in it as he said, “I’ve been trying my best to act nonchalant, Natalie. Like I don’t want to punch the lights out of every man who looks at you a little too long, like that asshat at the baseball game. But it’s just that, an act. There’s nothing fucking casual about the way I feel for you or the way I want to keep you to myself. I want you to be mine, andGod, I want everyone to know it.”
I was lost for words, in awe of what he’d admitted.
And Cameron immediately misinterpreted my stunned expression for panic.
“When you’re ready, of course.” He dropped back to a crouch in front of me, gripping the arm of my chair. “Because we’re not going to go off my timeline or Chloe’s. We’ll move at your speed, Natalie. Always your speed.”
“It’s okay, Cameron,” I reassured him. “I…want everything you’re saying, too.” He stared, seeming shocked by my response, while I cocked my head to the side, considering the full picture. “Does moving slow mean we’d have to stop…” I raised a brow, checking behind me again to look out the small window. For a moment, I’d forgotten we were still here, sitting in Cameron’s office. Back where it all started.
When I looked back at Cameron, he was fighting a grin.
“Having sex?” he finished for me. I nodded, and he said, “If that’s what you want.”
I shook my head becauseno, it wasnotwhat I wanted, and Cameron’s laugh coated me in the most wonderful feeling in the world.
“Glad we’re on the same page,” he murmured before pushing to his feet and offering me a hand. “Would you like to maybe talk to Juniper? Before you decide for sure what you’d like to do?”
I released a breath. “Yeah, that sounds good. If she’s available.”
Cameron’s fingers closed around mine, holding it tight, and I realized then how much he’d been like a lifeline to me these last months. An anchor in this stormy season. And the idea of getting to weather other seasons with him was just a treasure. Something I couldn’t quite yet fathom.
“Okay. Let’s go, Sunshine,” he said, making me really, truly believe the thought he kept putting in my head every time he called me that.
Sunny days were ahead.
They might even be here right now.
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
