Chapter 8
Cami
My body becomes stiff and I open my eyes to realize I’m still on the couch, wrapped in Jace’s strong arms.
I bring my hand up to rub at my sore eyes before resting my hand back down against his chest. I can’t help but breathe him in, knowing that the second he wakes, he’s going to bolt out of here like his ass is on fire.
He was incredible last night. He held me through one of the hardest moments of my life and put his issues aside to be there. I know that deep down, he was probably thinking about getting out of here and coming up with his excuses as to why he should leave. But what counts is that he didn’t.
It probably wasn’t great for my heart, seeing that sensitive and caring side of him as I know I won’t see it again. I can guarantee the second he wakes up, I’ll be watching that wall slide down behind his eyes.
But what hurts the most is the when he told me he loved me and that the baby wasn’t his. It was like a sick joke that cut more than losing my store. It’s like he enjoys playing with my heart. I mean, if you love me, then come and be with me. Instead, he’s always just out of reach and it kills me that I don’t know why. At least he doesn’t have a kid though. I guess that’s always a positive.
But it leaves me wondering why the hell I’m not enough for him? What it is about me that makes it so damn hard for him to commit?
I give myself a moment to take advantage of being in Jace’s arms before allowing reality to hit. He may say that he loves me, but he’s not mine and I need to put this shit to rest before he manages to draw me back in. After all, I just spent seven months away trying to forget this feeling.
Quite honestly, I’m surprised he’s even still here. Jace King is notorious for trying to escape awkward situations where he might have to actually reveal some sort of emotion.
I push myself up out of his arms and the movement has him stirring beneath me. His hand remains on my waist until I get myself far enough away for him not to reach. I walk over to the kitchen without looking back at him and flick the kettle to boil. If I’m going to make it through this day alive, then it’s going to have to start with a killer caffeine hit.
I listen as Jace pushes himself up into a sitting position and groans in his sleepy haze, only then do I glance over my shoulder to look at him. He rests back against the couch, rubbing his eyes as he checks his phone.
I stand with my back to him as I go about making myself a coffee and decide to be a better host and grab a mug for him.
I hear Jace push up off the couch and walk towards me. The sound of his footfalls has me frozen in place. Last night I was a mess and it was acceptable for me to fall into his arms, but now, he’s the guy who broke me.
He walks right up behind me and places his hands on my waist. I feel his wide chest pressed up against my shoulder blades and I forget how to breathe. I want nothing more than to lean back into him and allow his hand to circle my waist, maybe travel down and show me what it feels like to be alive. “How are you feeling?” he murmurs in a low tone that has my insides clenching.
“Better,” I say before sliding his coffee aside.
As he releases my waist to grab the mug, I take the opportunity to step out of his arms. “I um… I have a lot to do today,” I say, already starting with my excuses as to why he should hurry up and get out of here before I get on my hands and knees and beg him not to walk out that door again.
Those green eyes of his pierce into me and hold me captive. He slowly brings the mug up to his lips and takes a sip of the scalding coffee before nodding his head. Shit, even while my world is crumbling around me, he still manages to turn me the fuck on.
I go to step away and scram down the hallway when he pushes forward and steps right into me. Just as I had thought, I watch as the wall comes down behind his eyes. “Don’t think for one second that you and I don’t have a lot to talk about,” he tells me, bringing back the usual hard Jace that I’ve become so accustomed to over the last two years.
I mean, he’s always so hard to read. One day, he’d be my best friend, wanting to share every detail of his life with me, the next, he’s the man who slowly kills me.
I step back away from him in my need to maintain our distance. “There’s nothing left for us to talk about,” I tell him, before turning on my heel and walking away.
I listen out, waiting to see if he’s going to follow me and try to get all his answers. I know he’s desperate to lose his shit at me. It wouldn’t be Jace if he didn’t put me in hard situations where I didn’t want to be. I know it’s killing him to not demand an explanation so there’s no doubt in my mind that it’s coming. The question is when.
I hear his movement in the kitchen and I brace myself for what’s going to come next, only he doesn’t follow me. He walks through the living room, shuffles the broken door around, and leaves.
I let out a breath of relief as my heart starts to ache for him.
There’s nothing worse than when he walks away from me. Even though it’s what I need, it still hurts. It will always hurt.
I was an idiot to think my seven months away would be able to dull these feelings for him. Instead, all it managed to do was make me long for him more. He’s like my drug and I haven’t had a fix in so long. I need that carefree Jace to come back. The one I fell in love with right at the beginning. The one who hadn’t broken me.
With Jace gone, I give myself a second to pull my shit together. I’m a business owner and an independent woman. Yes, my personal life is in a mess and now so is my professional one. I’ve had the night to break down and mourn the shop I lost, but now it’s time to build myself back up.
Cameron Drew is not a quitter. Hell, that’s clear in how many times I’ve gone back to Jace.
It’s time to pull up my big girl panties and get shit sorted. I have a business to save.
But first things first, I need to sort myself out. My eyes are sore and puffy and my shower last night did absolutely nothing to get the ash and smoke out of my hair.
I get myself ready for my day before remembering to call for the door guy. He shows up half an hour later and gets stuck right into it, probably wondering what the fuck is going on for me to be calling for replacement doors so often.
As he fixes it, Kelly pops her head in and I give her the rundown of my night while she reminds me that I’m a strong woman, capable of getting this shit under control.
I leave my apartment an hour later and get my ass down to the store to check out the damage. As I stand out the front of the store, unable to pass the police tape, I look in and realize just how close I came to meeting my maker last night.
The fire tore through here in the blink of an eye and destroyed everything in its path. From what I can tell, it looks as though the fast food place had a bit of a mishap in their kitchen, and I was the one who suffered from it.
My chest aches as I take in the damages. I mean, I knew it would be bad, but seeing it in daylight just makes it seem so much worse. The whole place is going to have to be knocked down and rebuilt, but I guess that’s what I pay insurance for.
Do not cry again. Do not cry again. I’m a strong, independent woman. I can handle this shit.
I let out a breath and start rebuilding it all in my mind. Maybe this is my chance for a new beginning. There are so many things I could do with the store. Maybe try a new layout, add a few more change rooms, make space for more storage and displays.
This is going to be a good thing. It will suck for a while, but then it will come good. It has to. No one is allowed to have this much bad luck, right? I mean, eventually, it has to turn around.
A gasp beside me has me turning to see my store assistant, Bec, standing beside me looking at Style me Crazy in horror. “What the hell happened?” she says, wide eyed.
“There’s was a bit of a fiery explosion in the kitchen next door,” I explain.
“Shit,” she sighs. “Tell me you weren’t here when it happened?”
“Yeah,” I say. “I was out the back. My phone is still back there so I couldn’t call you guys to tell you not to come.”
“Hey, don’t worry about us. All that matters is that you’re ok.”
“Yeah, I guess,” I say, still not completely in agreeance as my heart still aches. “So, unfortunately for you, Lilly, and Kim, you’re all out of jobs.”
“Doesn’t matter,” she tells me. “You just focus on rebuilding this place so we can kick some sales ass when we get back. Just think about it, it’s an excuse to have a massive re-launch party.”
I can’t help but smile before pulling her in for a hug. “I knew there was a reason I hired you.”
“I know,” she laughs. “I’m pretty darn cool.”
I roll my eyes and let her go. “Why don’t you get out of here? Go spend the day with that little girl of yours.”
“Ok,” she smiles. “Is there anything you need me to do first?”
“Nah,” I say. “I just have to call the girls, cancel a few orders, and ring the insurance company.”
“Alright, sure. Well, I’ll call the girls for you. One less thing for you to worry about. Keep me updated and let me know if you need a hand and I’ll be here before you know it.”
“Thank, Bec,” I smile. “You’re a life saver.”
With that, she gives me one more big hug. “I’m glad you’re ok,” she tells me before turning away and heading back towards her car.
I let out a breath and turn back to the store. I should have brought a notepad or something, at least that way I can start jotting things down. If only I could go in and get my handbag, at least then I could start making some calls and get my car keys so I don’t have to keep using Taxies.
“Cami,” I hear my name being yelled from down the street. I flick myself around and see my best friend, holding onto her protruding stomach as she attempts to run to me. My bottom lip instantly pouts out. The second she places herself before me, she grabs my shoulders and looks me up and down with her eyes roaming all over my body while pulling at my heartstrings. “Are you ok? Jace told me you were in a fire, I’ve been so worried.”
I place my hands over the top of hers. “I’m ok,” I tell Rylee. “It was too close for liking though.”
“I bet,” she says before looking across at the store while my eyes instinctively go down to her baby bump. “Oh, shit. He said it was bad, but I didn’t expect this.”
“I thought you didn’t want to talk to me anymore?” I question quietly.
“I’m not a complete bitch,” she defends with a scoff. “I tried to call, but you weren’t answering. You’re my best friend and I was so angry at you, but I’d never not be there for you. Especially with this shit.”
“Thank you,” I murmur. “I would have called you back, but my phone is in there,” I say, hooking my thumb towards the burnt mess.
“Oh,” she says, averting her eyes and appearing slightly awkward, though, out of every disagreement or fight we’ve ever had, she’s never appeared awkward. I guess that just goes to show how badly I’ve pushed her away this time.
I let out a breath and wait until her eyes meet mine. “I’m sorry, Rylee,” I tell her. “I’ve been so selfish.”
She just stands there, looking at me with a crushed soul. “I really needed you here. I wanted to share all this with you and I feel like you took that away from me. But I get it. You were hurting and you needed to do what was right for you.”
I nod my head and reach out to squeeze her hand. “I hate that I wasn’t here for you. I wasn’t ready to face reality and I was so scared that when I called, you’d ask why I left and that conversation was going to kill me. I wasn’t thinking about anyone except for myself, and I swear to you, Rylee, I’m going to make it up to you, over and over again.”
With that, tears spring to her eyes and I race forward. It’s like a general rule that Rylee does not cry. Not once in the years that I’ve known her has she ever cried. “Shit, Ry,” I say as I throw my arms around her. “Don’t cry.”
“I can’t help it,” she tells me as she squishes herself into me while desperately trying to get a hold of her emotions. “It’s these damn hormones.”
Her stomach starts to move and I gasp before jumping back. “Rylee,” I shriek. “It’s moving.”
“Yeah,” she chuckles as she wipes at her wet eyes. “He does that.”
My eyes stare down at her stomach when it really begins to hit me. This beautiful woman before me is bringing a life into this world. She’s going to have a baby to care for. A little creature who she’s going to love unconditionally and I couldn’t be happier. “You’re going to be a mommy,” I tell her. “You’re having a boy?”
She nods her head. “Yeah, he’s going to be a ratbag just like his daddy.” I can’t help but laugh when she reaches out and takes my hand. “Here,” she says. “Feel this.”
She places my hand on her stomach and we both wait patiently until this little version of Cole starts wriggling around. “Oh, my god,” I breathe as the emotions start to well up inside me. “He’s going to be perfect.”
At that, the tears spring to my eyes and we stand out the front of my burnt down store, crying like idiots over the little bun currently baking away in her guts.
“I’m scared,” she says once our estrogen fest is finished.
“Don’t be,” I tell her. “Just like everything else you’ve ever done, you’re going to be amazing. That little boy is going to be so loved that he’ll be sick of it.”
“You think?”
“I know,” I tell her.
She wipes the tears off her face and tries to bring back her tough exterior. “Ok, enough of this gooey shit,” she says before grabbing the police tape and tearing it in half. “Let’s get in there and check out the damage.”
“Shit, Rylee,” I gasp. “We can’t. We’ll get in trouble.”
“Bullshit,” she says. “This is your store and we can do whatever the hell we want. The police aren’t going to stop us.”
“No,” I say shaking my head. “Not trouble from the police, trouble from the boys. Cole will kill me if he found out you went in there.”
“What Cole doesn’t know won’t hurt him. Now, stop being a pussy and get your ass inside. I want to see just how fucked up this place is.” With that, she leads the way and I can’t help but follow her in. After all, if something were to happen, it would be best that she has someone with her, right?
“You’ve got insurance, right?” she questions.
“Sure do.”
“Excellent,” she grins. “I’ve been wanting to change that awful paint since you first put it up. What do you think about purple and black?”
An hour later, we walk out of Style me Crazy, covered in dirt but with a whole new plan of what this place is going to look like, and for the first time since being back a week ago, I feel excited. Things are finally starting to get back on track.
While it’s been a really shitty week, I now have my best friend right by my side and that’s all I could ever ask for. “I missed you,” I tell her.
“Oh, please,” she scoffs. “The time for that sappy bullshit was over an hour ago. It’s time to move on. How do you feel about picking up your shifts at The Dark Room again?”
I can’t help the grin that rips across my face. “I love you too.”