Kate

Much to my surprise, no one seemed the wiser about Cam and me or our change of status…except for Evander, who had pulled me aside after our junket suite wrapped that evening.

“You smell like sex and Jo Malone’s Cologne Intense, girl. Anything you want to tell me? And before you try to deny anything, I know Cam’s fragrance. Picked it out myself,” Evander said deadpan with his arms crossed in judgment.

I felt like a deer in the headlights at that moment but was thankfully saved by the bell when Megan called after me from down the hall, presumably to go over some more of her favorite pieces of tour minutiae.

“I should really go and deal with that, but we should catch up later, Evander,” I said with a nervous grin.

“Mmm-hmm,” was all he said as he gave me a look that was one part “you go, girl” and two parts “don’t you dare try to hide shit from me.”

---

Once I finished confirming logistics with Megan at the junket, I headed back to my hotel room with the hopes of processing this insane day. I was, however, happy to find that Cam had already made himself at home, lounging on my bed, watching BBC News as though this was just what we did—and I guess now it was, and I was more than okay with that. I dropped my bag and folder of schedules on the coffee table before crawling onto the bed next to Cam, stopping to give him a sweet hello kiss before he nestled me into his side. Cam stroked my back methodically as I shut my eyes for just a minute, wondering to myself why on Earth I had waited this long to feel this amazing with this man.

“So, just as an FYI, Evander is definitely on to us,” I said as I half listened to the news report while drawing tiny designs on Cam’s chest with my fingers.

“You thought we could keep this from him?” he said, erupting into a lazy guttural laugh, genuinely amused by my stupidity.

“I don’t know. I guess not, but I thought it would take longer than a day!”

Cam grinned. “What gave us away?”

“I apparently have your scent all over me,” I said with a bit of irritation.

Cam smiled like the caveman he was, quite pleased with himself as he nuzzled into my neck teasingly. “Mmm, he’s right! Jo Malone and sex. I love it.” I shoved him playfully and made a move to leave, but Cam held me tightly. “Where do you think you’re going?”

“To take a shower.”

“Katie, you know I’m just going to get you all loved up again soon anyway. There’s really no point.”

I hated how right he was. We hadn’t been able to keep our hands off of one another for any more than a couple of hours up until now. I sighed and just assumed my new favorite spot in Cam’s nook and rested my hand on his chest, which he promptly took in his hand and mindlessly kissed as we watched the news together. This all felt so normal and strangely familiar; like we’d been doing it for years.

“I’m actually surprised Lizzy hasn’t been all over us today. Where did you send her off to?” I asked.

“She’s visiting with Ethan and his family.”

I sat up a bit and regarded Cam with knitted brows. “Really?”

“Yeah, she wanted to see our niece, Maggie before we left town.”

I thought about it for a moment. Lizzy was indeed Maggie’s aunt. I guessed I could understand that.

“Are you okay, with that?” I asked cautiously.

“Of course. Why wouldn’t I be?” he asked starring down at me curiously as he attempted to decipher my murky expression. Understanding, however, soon dawned on him and he smirked humorlessly. “You know about Ethan and Jules, don’t you?”

I nodded feeling a bit guilty as he regarded me.

“And which of my busy-body family members shared that little nugget with you?

“Your mother,” I said, instantly feeling bad for ratting her out.

Cam softened as he took in the genuine concern in my eyes and stroked my cheek gently with a smile.

“I’m honestly fine, love,” he said gently. “If anything, I feel bad for not seeing Maggie, myself. She’s my niece, too. It’s certainly not her fault that her parents are assholes. I’m…just not ready to be a part of all that yet, I guess.”

“Are you sure you’re not sad or angry or…”

Cam chuckled at my intense concern. “Katie, I’m fine, I promise. I actually hadn’t even thought about any of this until now. In case you hadn’t noticed, I’ve been entirely wrapped up in this gorgeous, smart-mouthed brunette all day and loving every minute of that,” he said, nestling me back into his nook and brushing a slow, soft kiss across my lips that made butterflies dance wildly in my stomach.

I grinned as I allowed myself to relax into his embrace and soon couldn’t wipe the smile off my face as I began to realize how quickly I was falling in love with this man.

---

Despite Cam’s earlier promise of more bedroom Olympics, we actually turned off the TV, ordered a bottle of wine and a killer cheese plate from the room service menu, and cuddled up to continue reading a few additional chapters from Harry Potter. After our day of naughty behavior, it was nice to know that we could do PG-rated, too.

Neither of us was in any hurry to leave our little cocoon, but around 10:30 pm Cam’s stomach began to growl, interrupting a very crucial chapter in the story.

“Should we order something else?” I asked this time as I reached for the room service menu, already zeroing in on a toasted ham and cheese sandwich for myself. Yum-o!

Cam stared at me for a moment as though he were pondering something. “How about I take you out for second dinner tonight?”

“First of all, I don’t think we ever really had ‘first dinner’ tonight. And second, I’m not sure that a public outing is the best option for us…besides, it’s almost eleven, Cam.”

“I know just the place. It’s low key, has the best fish and chips in town, and I can almost guarantee that I know every person in the place—all trustworthy—like family.

“Sounds a little too good to be true,” I said incredulously.

“Come on. Let me take you out, love.”

I couldn’t help but grin at him. “Why, Cam, are you asking me out on a date?”

“I suppose I am. Just say yes.”

I sighed, knowing full well that I should stick to my guns and order up that ham and cheese sandwich, but the look on his sweet face killed me. I wanted to give him whatever he wanted at that moment.

“Fine. What do I wear to this magical place?”

“It’s totally casual. Whatever you like.”

---

Fifteen minutes later, Cam and I snuck out of the hotel with zero fanfare, looking like two grungy college students. Cam had forgone his usual slick leather jacket and overpriced hipster streetwear for a zip-up hoodie, a faded concert tee, worn-in jeans, and a pair of beat-up Converse—he still looked ridiculously hot, of course. I had thrown on some black leggings and a super comfy, oversized Cambridge sweatshirt that I had borrowed from Cam’s closet—simply because I can do that now. Tee hee. And a pair of UGGs. We were patently ignorable, and to my delight, that was precisely what happened when we walked through the hotel lobby. It was for that reason that Cam and I decided to press our luck entirely and hopped the 390 bus from Oxford Circus and made our way back to the Camden Market area near where he had grown up.

I had been terrified that Cam would be recognized, especially without Tony by our side. Cam, however, had reasoned that no one would expect to see him on a London bus, and he was correct. As a result, I got to enjoy the unique sightseeing opportunity of riding a nearly empty bus with Camden Atwood as my tour guide. He pointed out landmarks that he promised to take me to on our next visit together, which made my heart soar at even the remote possibility that there might be something substantial after this press tour ended.

We walked hand in hand around the neighborhood that Cam must have traversed a thousand times in his youth, and I could see the nostalgia in his eyes as he took in the familiar surroundings. When we finally approached the Galway Arms, a tiny, hole-in-the-wall pub tucked away on a quiet neighborhood side street, I saw Cam’s face light up. I felt a wave of nervousness wash over me as Cam tightened his grip on my hand upon entering. Not just for the fact that I didn’t want Cam to be recognized, but our arrival had the feeling you get when you’re preparing to meet someone’s family for the first time—that is, of course, when you weren’t tricked into it.

The bar was tiny and really could have passed as a large living room in a lot of ways if not for the bar itself, which took up the entire right side of the pub. The other side was made up of three, six-top benches in front of a bank of tall windows bearing worn green velvet curtains. The old oak floor itself looked as though it had seen the entirety of British history with its dips and striations. The dark pub was cozy, though, and the fireplace in one corner made the room appear warm and welcoming. There were only eight people in the entire pub, including two men tending bar, a table of four men about Cam’s age, and a couple looking as though they were perhaps on a date at a table toward the back.

“Well, look who the fuck it is!” came a booming voice from behind the bar. Cam’s face lit up as a guy who looked like a slightly aging grunge band member with a handsome face left his perch and approached Cam, pulling him into a warm hug. The two regarded each other for a moment, seemingly in mild disbelief to be seeing each other. The guy immediately reached past Cam and flipped the sign in the window to “Closed.”

“Oy, you lot,” the guy yelled to the couple in the corner. “We’re closed. Grab a to-go cup at the bar.”

The couple looked a bit put out—as well they should—but nevertheless, got up to leave. As the couple passed us, Cam ducked his head out of view, avoiding their gaze as they headed out the door. I could feel everyone else’s eyes in the room, however, now on me.

“And who’s this, then?” the loudmouth said with a grin.

Cam wrapped an arm around me possessively. “This is…my Kate,” he said a bit awkwardly since we hadn’t exactly discussed what we were yet in any official terms.

“Your Kate, huh?” he said, regarding me approvingly. “She’s very pretty,” he said as he eyed Cam with an appreciative grin.

“Hey, address your compliments to me, please,” I said with a cheeky grin. “My looks aren’t any of his doing.”

All of the men in the room laughed heartily. “I like you. You won’t take any of this one’s shit, will you?” he said, smacking Cam on the back of the head playfully. “I’m Colin, by the way. An old friend of Cam’s.” He extended his hand to me as the older gentleman, who had also been tending bar, approached our group with a smile and immediately hugged Cam before regarding me.

“And I’m Thomas. Pleased to meet you, my dear,” he said with a soothing grandfatherly tone.

Colin turned to the table behind him. “And the lads back there—that’s Petey, Sam, Ned, and Declan.” I waved as I watched Cam head over to hug the men huddled around the table.

“Your mum told me you were in town. I didn’t think we’d get to see you, though,” Thomas said.

“Well, I told Katie here that you had the best fish and chips in town,” Cam said as he encircled my neck with both of his arms from behind and kissed my head.

Thomas frowned. “Oh, no, you know the rules, boy. Kitchen closes at ten.”

“Come on! Are you really going to let this beautiful Yank go home without having had the finest fish and chips that London has to offer?”

“I’ve just cleaned up the kitchen, Camden. Forget it.”

“But I’m so hungry!” I said, making a dramatically sad face that Cam also mimicked, making us the very image of melancholy and starvation.

“Oh, you two are made for each other, you are.” Thomas sighed. “Tell you what, why don’t you play for it? You and Colin? You win, I’ll feed you. Colin wins, fryer stays cold, and I pour you a couple of pints.”

“He’s never been able to properly beat me,” Colin warned me.

“That is categorically untrue,” Cam protested with a grin.

“Well, stop yapping and prove it, then,” Thomas said as he pushed both men in the direction of a dartboard at the back of the room.

“This is going to be easy,” Colin quipped as he picked up his three darts and handed a set to Cam. “After you, Hollywood.”

“No, please. You first, Colin,” Cam said, feigning politeness.

Colin stepped up and began his turn, handily nailing a twenty-pointer right off the bat.

“You can give up now if you don’t want to embarrass yourself in front of your bird,” Colin said, eyeing me. I could do nothing but shake my head at the truly ridiculous proceedings.

“My baby wants fish and chips, she gets fish and chips,” Cam said definitively. “Shut up and finish your turn.”

Colin released another dart, this time hitting fifteen points.

“Uh-oh, are we losing our edge there, Colin?” Cam teased, getting under Colin’s skin just enough. For his final throw, Colin hit another fifteen.

Everyone in the room clapped and patted Colin on the back, puffing him up like he was about to defeat Godzilla or something. Men.

“That was impressive, but we all know that I’m about to demolish you,” Cam said, stepping into Colin menacingly.

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll believe that when I see it.”

“You’re the one who’s never been able to beat me,” Cam said defiantly.

“That’s rubbish. You never win when we play, Atwood.”

“So, not true. I always win when it counts, Colin. You know very well that…”

“Oh, for God’s sake,” I yelled and took the darts out of Cam’s hand, and rapid-fire threw all three darts right at the bullseye, nailing each one beautifully and leaving every jaw in the room agape.

“Bloody hell!” Colin said completely stunned.

I just smiled smugly and crossed my arms defiantly. “I can do that all day long,” I said to Colin just before turning to Thomas. “Are we good here? ’Cuz I’m starving.”

Everyone turned to Thomas, who was still slack-jawed behind the bar. “I…I’ll go fire up the fryer.”

And with that, Thomas headed for the kitchen, and I became a living legend at the Galway Arms. The rest of the guys encircled me, paying their respects just before Cam pushed them all aside and grabbed my face in both of his hands as he overwhelmed me with a kiss that completely melted my insides. The rest of the boys cheered him on crassly.

“Where on Earth did you learn to do that?” Cam asked when he finally released me.

“My mom. She’s terrible at shooting pool. Darts is her bar hustle. She’s never paid for a drink in her life.”

Cam laughed. “I can’t wait to meet this woman.”

I avoided Cam’s gaze for a moment, remembering that I wasn’t exactly sure where things stood with my mother at this point. Cam, sensing my reticence, stroked my cheek sweetly and led me to the bar.

“Speaking of parents…this is actually where mine met,” he said.

“You’re kidding!”

“My mum use to tend bar here, and Dad frequented the place.”

“He was an embarrassingly bad tipper,” Thomas said as he returned from the kitchen, “but Cam’s mum set him straight one day and handed him a bill for all of the missed tips she believed she was owed. He was hooked from that moment on and asked her out every day for a year until she finally said yes. The rest is history.”

Cam looked a bit sad at the thought.

“Sounds like being set straight is something that all the Atwood men require of their women,” I said with a grin, hoping to lighten his mood.

Cam smiled and pulled me into him as he sat in one of the bar stools. I wrapped my arms around his neck and gave him a slow burn of a kiss, one that was interrupted by a camera flash. Cam and I turned to find Thomas snapping a cell phone picture of us on Cam’s phone, which he had left on the bar only seconds before.

“You should send that shot to your mum. I think that’s the very spot where she and your dad had their first kiss. She’ll get a kick out of that,” Thomas said before heading back to the kitchen to respond to the timer that had just gone off on the fryer.

Still holding me tightly in his arms, Cam looked deeply into my eyes as though he had volumes of beautiful things that he wanted to say to me but instead pulled me in for a long, meaningful hug.

“Thank you,” he whispered, still holding me close.

After a long moment, I pulled back, regarding him curiously. “For what, love?”

“I don’t know. You’re making it feel good to be here again, and I haven’t had that in so long.”

Just then, Thomas laid out two plates of the most beautiful looking golden fish and chips with a side of bright green steamed peas.

“Ok, that’s making me feel good to be here,” I said, lightening the mood and earning a chuckle from Cam.

“Hey, how about some for us over here, too, Thomas?” yelled Petey, who was now playing the other “lads” at the dartboard.

“Hey, how about you fuck off.” Colin waved them off.

“I fucking love this place,” I said, diving into the most delicious plate of fried food ever.

---

It had been just after 1 AM when we had finally decided to call it a night and had flagged down a black cab. Cuddled in the backseat in an exhausted but comfortable silence, we occasionally stole kisses here and there as the car wound its way through the city. When we made it back to our hotel, we both gravitated toward my bed, never giving a thought to sleeping separately in our assigned rooms. We were together in every sense of the word, and all of the little intimacies that we had shared over the course of the day had cemented us far closer together than I think either of us had ever imagined we would be.

Cam crawled into bed next to me, nestling himself into my nook and tugging me tightly to him so that there wasn’t an inch of space between us. We lay there for a while as I gently stroked his hair and he ran a thumb back and forth across the silk of my nightshirt.

“Kate?”

“Mmm-hmm.”

There was a long silence. “…Nothing.”

“What is it?” I asked.

“Nothing.”

We lay there for a bit longer, and then I smiled to myself knowingly. “Cam?”

“Hmm?”

“I love you, too,” I whispered.

Cam sat up a bit to look me in the eye. “How did you know I was going to say it?” he laughed.

“I just felt it. I’ve felt it all day.”

“I wanted to be the one to say it first,” he said, kissing my neck in a ticklish kind of way that made me grin.

“As far as I’m concerned, you’ve said it to me in a million different ways over the last few weeks, Cam. It was just my turn.”

A slow smile crept across his face as he leaned in to give me a sweet kiss, that in seconds ignited into yet another sheet gripper of an orgasm fest with Cam that lasted well into the wee hours of the morning.