Chapter Seventeen

Cameron

Sophie was all I could think about. Naturally, I had to send her another quote. This time, I wondered if Peter Ustinov could talk sense to her: Love is an endless act of forgiveness, a tender look which becomes habit.

I spent hours sorting through the boxes. Mostly, I made short work of them. It was a mindless task and very little of it had meaning, other than the pictures. Every single one of those, I kept and collected in a smaller photo box. Bit by bit, I began taking out the unwanted items and carrying them straight to the trash can.

“Done already?” my mother asked as she worked on planting some bulbs out front.

I nodded sadly before responding, “Yes. Need my help with something?”

“I have more junk that needs to be tossed. Check the piles in the garage.” She sat back on her heels and studied my face. “And when you’re done, you could call Sophie. Maybe I could drop you off at your vehicle, and you could go find her . . .”

I crossed my arms over my chest, still feeling incredibly cowardly. “I do need to reclaim my truck,” I admitted, but the idea of seeking out Sophie had butterflies stirring in my belly. “I don’t know if I’m tough enough to handle more rejection from her.”

“What makes you think she’s going to reject you?” My mother’s brow rose. “And need I remind you, you’re a marine. You don’t back down, and you most certainly do not shy away from confrontation.”

“We might if our hearts are on the line.” I sighed.

Mom tilted her head, and I could tell something was on her mind. “I’m going to need you to climb up in the attic over the garage. The Halloween decorations are there. Your father isn’t as spry as he used to be. Can you get them down for me?” She offered me a big cheesy grin. “Pretty please?”

I rolled my eyes. “Of course. Anything to keep Dad from breaking his neck.” I walked back into the house, then through the steel door to the garage. After turning on the light, I lifted the garage door and started to carry the bags and boxes to the bins. Soon my mother joined me, peeling off her gardening gloves and shaking them out on the lawn.

“Great. That’s all of the junk.” She walked over to the rope hanging from the spring-loaded door and tugged.

“Wait,” I urged. “It’s heavy. I’ll get it.” I yanked on the cord, and the door dropped open, the ladder sliding down until I just had to unfold the bottom portion. Once I tested it and made sure it was sturdy, I turned and asked, “Want to come up with me?”

Mom shook her head. “Oh hell no. That place creeps me out. Just find the ones marked Halloween and carry them down for me. I’ll be right here.”

I laughed, then began to unload my pockets of everything that would impede my mobility. Soon my wallet, keys, and phone were on the workbench, and I was hiking up a ladder that wiggled and groaned under my weight. “Any idea where the decorations might be?” I called out. “Who put them away last?”

“Your father,” Mom responded. “I’m thinking way in the back. I’m pretty sure that’s where we keep the Halloween stuff.”

I followed her directions, carefully moving from beam to beam, since the floor was nothing more than the Sheetrock. The last thing I needed was to slip through and land on the cement garage floor. After some careful maneuvering, I managed to reach the area she’d suggested. I moved some boxes around, careful to read the labels. “Not here,” I called out. “I’ve found Easter and Saint Patrick’s Day. When did we ever decorate for Saint Patrick’s Day?”

“Oh, that was a while ago. Try the other side,” she suggested.

I tried not to sigh, but damn, I was getting annoyed. This attic covered a two-car oversize garage. I was beginning to think I’d be up here all day. The beams creaked as I made my way to the opposite side of the space. A smaller pile of containers greeted me there. I read the labels and peeked inside a few that weren’t marked. “These are from your wedding. Really, Mom?”

“Try the front of the garage, near the window.”

Up in the eaves, I could hear her humming. At least one of us was having fun. There was no air circulating up here, and though the fall temperatures were nice, it was unusually warm in the attic. Finally I reached the boxes near the window. Squatting down, I saw the labels and grumbled, “I’ve had enough.” Standing again, I called down. “These are from when P. J. and I were babies. Are you sure the Halloween stuff is up here?” I glanced around. “The only boxes left are the ones closest to the ladder.”

“Oh, that’s right. I think I know where the Halloween stuff is! Spare bedroom. Walk-in closet. That’s right. Sorry!” Then I heard her exit the garage altogether, leaving me to climb down and clean up.

When I finally found her in the kitchen nearly half an hour later, I frowned. “What was that all about?”

“What do you mean?” she murmured over the rim of her teacup.

“You always know where everything is. Hell, it doesn’t even have to belong to you. I could ask right now where I put my football mouth guard—”

“Top drawer of your nightstand,” she mumbled.

I snapped my fingers and pointed at her. “Exactly!” I leaned on the counter and studied her. “So what gives with the Halloween decorations?”

Mom shrugged. “Must be age catching up with me. You’re a mess. You should go change.”

My eyes narrowed. “Why do I need to change?”

“You have cobwebs in your hair, sweaty pits, and a layer of dust covering your skin. Before you even think about sitting on my furniture, go change.” Mom pointed to the stairs. “And be quick about it too.” Then she disappeared into her office while I stared after her.

“You were just digging in dirt,” I pointed out.

“My house, my rules, son. Go on.” Then she chuckled under her breath while I trudged up the stairs.

Sophie

 

I couldn’t bring myself to drive straight over to Cam’s parents’ house. For one, I wasn’t sure I could face them after the scene I’d caused the day before. Plus, what if he wasn’t even there? What if he’d left? Maybe he had to work.

Needless to say, by the time I’d packed up my SUV and started driving, I’d talked myself out of stopping there and had driven straight to the lake house instead. I hadn’t had a shower yet, so I did that first. Though I loved my bathroom, I couldn’t linger in there. After all, we’d had sex in that shower twice, as recently as yesterday. So I hurried through the entire process, dressing in fresh clothes as quickly as possible. Then I drank another cup of tea, hoping it would settle my stomach and my nerves.

I’d barely plugged my phone in to charge when the first text message came in. While opening it, I chewed on my lip, unsure of what to expect, but it was Cam. I smiled. This time, there was no cute quote. He seemed to actually want to talk.

Hi.

This felt like school all over again, only this time, he was the one initiating contact and I still had no idea what to say. Should I be funny, serious, aloof, witty? I took a deep breath and typed: Hi.

The wait lasted forever, or maybe five seconds, before he responded.

Any chance I can convince you to come back to my parents’ house?

I grinned as my heart raced. Maybe. Why?

You left something here.

Right. The casserole dishes.

I meant me.

I giggled. Then I laid a hand on my heart for a moment before responding.

 

Right. That too.

Can we talk?

I’d like that. And the casserole dishes.

Come over. Please.

 

I gnawed on a section of my hair. This was serious. I gathered my purse and keys, just in case.

When?

Now.

OK. See you soon.

Then I dropped my phone in my purse before I realized I had no idea how to get there. He drove yesterday, and as nervous as I had been, I didn’t exactly pay attention.

Address?

As soon as the text came through, I tapped it and opened it in my map app.

Twenty minutes, I wrote.

Perfect.

I rushed out of the cottage, locking the door behind me. The route was pretty painless. I kept myself busy during the drive by imagining every potential scenario. When I was done, I began working on the less plausible ones. I mean, I would’ve known if he were luring me over because the zombie apocalypse had begun. That would’ve made the news. If a meteor was about to hit the Earth, the radio would’ve had an emergency broadcast. I quickly ruled that out. Mostly, all that was left was fixing things between us. I wanted to be with him so much, it scared me. Soon enough, I pulled into the driveway and parked in the same spot I’d been in yesterday.

I ran my fingers through my hair and checked my face really quickly in the visor mirror, although I have no idea why I even wasted time looking, since I hadn’t bothered to put on any makeup after the shower. Well, he’d never be able to accuse me of being fake, at least. Pulling my keys from the ignition seemed to be more of a struggle than normal, and I suspected it had something to do with my hesitation to leave the SUV.

A second later, a knock on my window had me jumping. “Come on in, Sophie,” his mother murmured while motioning for me to join her.

I nodded and smiled nervously. “Sorry, just talking myself into not running away again. That was my mother’s advice. Don’t run. Stop running.” I chuckled. “You’d find this much funnier if you understood how sedentary a life I lead.”

Bonnie looped her arm through mine. “I understand. There are some things you need to know, Sophie. Give him a chance, OK?”

I nodded seriously. Before I could open my mouth, Cam had bounded out the door and stood in front of us.

“Sophie, what are you doing here?” His brows peaked, and he looked nothing like the cool, confident man I’d grown so accustomed to spending time with.

I frowned and started to open my mouth, but his mother interrupted.

“I invited her.” She smirked.

My shoulders dropped, and my heart sank. Cam hadn’t wanted this at all.

“I’m just going to go.” I struggled to extricate my arm from Bonnie’s, but she held on tighter.

“Hold up, hot shot,” she joked. “You’re supposed to stop running, remember?”

I sighed and nodded sadly.

“And you’re supposed to be brave, remember?” She gave her son a stern look. Then she glanced back and forth between us before adding, “Sometimes love needs a helping hand. And someday, Cam, you’re going to learn to stick a password on that phone.” She winked before releasing me and backing slowly away. “Talk to her.” She gave him a gentle nudge in the back.

Cam nodded and cautiously reached for me. “This is my idea of being brave, kitten. I want to touch you, hold you, even though I’m terrified you’ll push me away.”

“You’re terrified? I’ve turned fear into a way of life.” I sighed. “My fight-or-flight instinct is on overdrive, but the thought of an empty, safe life without you is forcing me to stick it out.”

“And my mother,” he joked.

“She’s tough.” I nodded and inched closer to him. “I guess we need to talk.”

“There’s so much you need to know,” he murmured.

I peeked up at his face and recognized the sorrow in his eyes. “We all make mistakes,” I murmured. “I don’t want something that happened back in middle school keep us from something wonderful we could have now.” I shrugged. “I guess I’m saying . . . I forgive you, and I want to move forward.”

His eyes widened. “You think I sent the text, and you still want me?”

I smiled shyly. “You’re nothing like that kid.”

Cam laughed. “I wasn’t that kid. My brother did it.” He hugged me tightly. “There’s something you need to see on Facebook. My mom tagged you.”

Frowning, I opened the app on my phone and searched through my notifications until I found the one from his mother. Together, we watched the video of what had happened yesterday. I covered my mouth with my hand while he held me close. “Your brother? For ten years, I blamed you and felt completely betrayed, except it wasn’t you, after all.” I shook my head as tears formed in my eyes. “I’m so sorry, Cam. I should’ve trusted you, should’ve believed in the man you’ve shown yourself to be. Can you forgive me?”

“There’s nothing to forgive. We’re not going to let any bit of the past ruin our future.” He chuckled, but his face fell when a car raced into the driveway. “You have got to be kidding me.” Cam sighed before taking my hand in his. “I’m sorry, Sophie. I’ll handle this, and then I have more to show you and tell you, OK?”

I watched as the doors on both sides of the vehicle flew open. Then P. J. and Katie leaped out. Sucking in a breath, it took everything in me to hold my ground. My mother would be so proud.

“How could you?” Katie hissed as she stepped closer to the three of us. Her eyes moved back and forth between my face and Cam’s. “I may lose my job over this.” Her nostrils flared in fury, but her eyes filled with tears that threatened to spill over onto her flaming pink cheeks.

“Actually, it was me.” Mrs. Everett stepped forward. “Blame me, if you’d like, or you can always take responsibility for your actions.” Her brow rose as she stared at P. J. “I realize this could be a first for you, but it’s about damn time.” Then she turned to Cam. “I’m going inside,” she muttered before stalking off toward the house.

“I have a meeting with the dean tomorrow about my future with the school. I bet you’re absolutely ecstatic right now,” P. J. sneered as he rolled up his sleeves.

Cam laughed. “What? You want to fight me now?” He crossed his arms over his chest and rocked on his heels. “I wouldn’t, if I were you. After all, aside from being significantly larger than you, I’ve been trained in close combat. Your only hope is I have enough honor to keep from killing you.”

Stepping back, P. J. glared. “My own mother ruined me. And you helped her.” He shook his head in disgust.

“I’d have a lot more sympathy if you didn’t deserve it, and if you hadn’t done far worse to Sophie.” Cam narrowed his eyes at him.

Katie whimpered, “I get P. J., but why me? Why turn on me? You always knew how I felt . . .” Her voice trailed off, and she glanced at me.

With a shrug, I sighed. “I know everything, Katie. I know how you chased after Cam. I read the letters Dylan left.”

Her eyes widened, and she took a step back before scrunching her face up. “How?”

“I went to your house yesterday and picked up my old idea books. I found the false bottom in the drawer. I cleaned it out.” I stared at her sadly.

She gasped. “How could you? That was personal and private!” Her fists balled at her sides.

“Yeah, I get that. Personal and private, like Dylan’s suicide notes, right?” I glared at her and watched as she shrank back slightly. Feeling emboldened, I continued. “Be glad I only found out now. Who knows what might have happened if I’d have discovered sooner that you used me to get into NYU?” I tucked my hair behind my ear and chewed on my bottom lip for a moment before speaking. “I don’t want to know you anymore.”

“If we marry, you might not have a choice,” P. J. challenged as he held a hand out to Katie.

She grimaced. “You’re about to get kicked out of school. I’m about to lose my job. This . . . is the Titanic, and quite frankly, the smart move would be for us to distance ourselves from each other.” Then Katie turned her back on him and pulled her phone from her purse. “I’m calling an Uber,” she announced. “Goodbye, P. J.” Without saying another word, she marched down to the end of the driveway.

“Are you fucking kidding me right now?” P. J. roared. He glared at Cam before whipping around and focusing the whole of his rage on me. “You! You wreck everything you touch. Get out of here!”

Cam stepped in front of me. “As my guest, Sophie is more than welcome to be at this house. You, however, no longer live here. You should probably go.”

I peeked around Cam and watched as P. J.’s face turned several shades of red before he backed toward his vehicle and finally dropped into the driver’s seat. We watched as he drove away and released a collective sigh of relief.

When he’d disappeared, Cam spoke. “Will you come up to my room?”

“Yes,” I responded without hesitation.

“Let’s go.” He grabbed my hand and brought me into the house and straight up the stairs to his room. Cam sat on the floor beside his bed and patted the carpet, signaling for me to join him. Then he lifted a photo box and passed it to me. I started to lift the top, but he stopped me. “I feel like a fraud right now. I want you, Sophie. I want forever. And yet, I have nothing to offer you.” He blew out a breath. “You saw how quick Katie was to ditch P. J. when he had nothing to offer.”

“What are you talking about? First, I’m not Katie. Second, how can you think you have nothing to offer?” My brow furrowed as I tried to process his words.

“I lost my job as a firefighter because I couldn’t leave you,” he admitted quietly. “I only took the job because it was what I’d been trained to do in the marines and because it kept me so busy, I could forget about Afghanistan.” He studied my face. “Basically, I’m a big loser right now. Might be for a while. My mom thinks I should go to college, and I don’t even know what I’d study.”

“What do you like?” I asked calmly.

“Football. I love football.” Cam laughed. “Hard to parlay that into a career at my age.”

“You’re twenty-three, you knucklehead.” I sighed. “Hell, I watched you tackle your brother yesterday. Trust me. You’ve still got it.”

“And nothing to do with it.” He rolled his eyes.

“Train for the Panthers now and walk on over the summer. Wofford College in Spartanburg.” I smirked when I saw his jaw drop. “I may have been planning this a while.”

His brow shot up. “But I’ll be an hour and a half away. Aren’t you afraid some chick will try to snag me while I’m at camp?”

“Please. You’ve had ten years to get over me. I doubt camp is going to end us.” I smiled. “Oh, and you forget, I can work anywhere . . . or not at all.”

“What does that mean?” He frowned.

“Cam, I don’t know how to tell you this. Just I and my accountant know, but if we’re getting serious, I need to be honest.” I stared at him evenly before blurting out, “I’m a millionaire.”

His jaw dropped. “Six zeros?”

I squinted. “More like seven.”

“You’re a multimillionaire? How?” Cam rubbed his face with both hands.

“YouTube, smart investments, real estate, and deals with other companies. Apparently, I’m kinda gifted at business.” I shrugged.

“I feel a little silly right about now.” He shook his head. “I was going to show you this when the time was right. And now is pretty much the best opportunity I’ve got. So here goes.” Cam moved his hand from the top of the box. “Now you may open it.”

I slowly lifted the lid and surveyed the contents. At a glance, it appeared to be filled with school pictures. Some of them had Post-it notes on them. I picked up the one on top. “Preschool.” I laughed.

“Here you are,” he murmured as he pointed to me, sitting in the center of the front row. “There I am.” Cam pointed to a little boy, sitting in the row behind me, staring at me. Silently, he passed me one photo, one book, after another until we’d studied the entire contents of the box. Again and again, he was in the background or sometimes beside me. In each one, Cam couldn’t take his eyes off me.

“This long?” I swallowed hard. “You’ve got it bad.” My cheeks flushed. My eyes watered.

“No tears, kitten. This is just proof I’ve always loved you. I always will.” He leaned in and kissed my temple, but I couldn’t stop crying.

“You don’t get it. In these photos, I see so much wasted time, so many years we could’ve spent together. So much I missed.” I sniffled loudly.

“Don’t cry, Soph. You missed nothing. Look.” Cam stood, opened his dresser drawer and pulled out a carved wooden box. “Here’s the class ring I saved for you. No other girl has ever worn it.” He grinned as he slid it onto the middle finger of my right hand.

The ring rolled around on my finger, many sizes too large. I stared at it a moment, then crushed it to my chest. “Thank you.” I smiled through what few tears still fell.

Next he pulled out a small white heart-shaped velvet box. “I bought this right after we graduated. I used to carry it with me, hoping I’d see you.” Cam pushed the lid back. “This is a promise ring. Our names are on it. And of course, the solitaire diamond is in the middle.” He reached for my right hand again and slid the ring onto the fourth finger of my right hand. “Almost a perfect fit.”

I studied it and saw our names truly were engraved on the outside of the band: Cameron on one side and Sophie on the other. My heart raced, and I thought I’d explode from all the emotions racing through me. “You’re amazing. I love it.” I cupped his cheek with my left hand and leaned in to kiss him gently on the lips.

Then Cam grabbed one last item from the box. This time, a black velvet box. I held my breath. This was positively too much.

“So I saved every penny I could while I was in the service. And when I was done, I had a nice little nest egg. This is what I spent it on.” He pushed back the lid, and inside was a three-stone diamond engagement ring. “A diamond for the past, present, and future. Notice the center one is largest? That’s because we’re going to live in the moment and treasure every second. The best years are ahead of us. I just need to make sure I lock you in once and for all.”

“Oh, really, mister romance? And just how do you propose to do that?” I laughed and dabbed at my eyes.

“I thought . . . something like this.” Without asking, he slipped the diamond engagement ring onto the fourth finger of my left hand.

I smiled as I stared at it. “What? No question?” I leaned in and nuzzled his neck.

“Nope. Marines are men of action.” Cam chuckled.

“Worried I’d say no?” I teased as I kissed my way to his lips.

“Never. How could you say no to all this?” He grabbed my wrists and ran my hands down his muscular torso.

“I say no all the time.” I captured his lips with mine.

“True, but your no is followed by ‘don’t stop.’ It’s not the same at all. Allow me to demonstrate.” He leaned over and found the hollow of my neck. Murmuring against my skin, he asked, “Scared?”

I shook my head as I bit down on my bottom lip. “Not anymore. Not of anything that has to do with you, or loving you, at least. Don’t worry, we have plenty more phobias to conquer.”

“We sure do,” Cam admitted. “And a lifetime to do it.”