Chapter 24

 

Camden pulled the thin white blanket over him and snuggled into the pillow. The couch wasn’t very comfortable, but it was better than the floor. Kenzie came out of the bathroom, her long t-shirt hanging to her knees, her legs bare. “I hope that’s okay,” she said. “Are you too cramped on there?”

“I’m fine,” he lied. “It’s cozy.”

She tilted her head. “You look like you’re going to fall off.”

He chuckled. “I’m fine.”

She stood there for a few seconds longer, and Camden wasn’t sure if she wanted something else. Finally, he said, “I was proud of you this afternoon, standing up for yourself like that.”

“Thanks.” She took a step toward him. “I didn’t mean to cause such a fuss at the reunion, though.”

“It’s better to get the truth out.”

“You’re right. Even if it caused a scene.”

“Alfred took it well. Mason’s happy. Delores is thrilled. You don’t have to stay for the rest of the reunion. I’d call it a win.”

She smiled. “That is good.”

She continued to stand there, like she wanted to say something else but didn’t have the courage. He sat up and scooted over. “Come have a seat.”

“I don’t want to bother you. You look tired.”

He sighed and patted the couch. “Sit.”

She did as he said.

“What’s on your mind?” He ignored the fact that now he could smell the almond and coco butter from her newly washed hair.

She picked up the corner of the blanket and fingered the edge. “I never really apologized to you for getting mad at you for kissing me.”

Nice of her to bring that up. Camden refrained from cringing. “It’s all water under the bridge.”

“No, I need to tell you I’m sorry.” She didn’t look up at him.

What was she sorry for? He made advances, and she didn’t want them. End of story. She didn’t need to apologize for not wanting him. What did she want him to say? He swallowed the lump forming in his throat. “You’re forgiven.”

She raised her gaze to his, her lips trembling like she was struggling for words. “I didn’t want to hurt you.”

And he didn’t want to talk about it. Not when it still cut deeply. He enjoyed those kisses. In fact, he’d kiss her again right now if he thought she might change her mind. If he thought he had a chance that she could love him back.

But she didn’t love him.

Kissing her wasn’t going to magically make her feel what he was feeling. She didn’t want to explore a relationship, and he needed to control himself. He really needed to talk about something else. “You didn’t. Are you going to be okay flying back tomorrow?”

She swallowed. “About that. . .”

“We can take things slow, just like we did coming here.”

“I was thinking we could go a little slower?”

He narrowed his eyes at her. “How much slower?”

“Seventy-five miles per hour?” She smiled, looking at him through lowered lashes.

“You want to drive back?” He wanted to laugh, but held it in. She was serious.

“Please?”

He wanted to say no. Wanted to tell her he had meetings and phone calls and really needed to get back to work, but, looking at her sweet face, he couldn’t do it. “Alright.” Boy, he was a sucker.

Her grin widened to fill her whole face. “Thank you!” She threw her arms around his neck and pulled him close. He closed his eyes, careful not to breathe in the smell of her. He didn’t want to be thinking about pulling her closer.

Luckily, the hug didn’t last long, and she let him go. “Can we return the rental car back in Virginia?”

“I’m sure that will be fine. I’ll make the arrangements.”

“Okay. Good.” Her gaze once again went down to the blanket she was twisting between her fingers. “Can I ask you a question?”

He wasn’t sure where this was headed, but he nodded. “Go ahead.”

“Do you think I’m silly?”

No. He thought she was lovely and caring. She was passionate and thoughtful. She was everything—except for his. He blinked, pushing the thought away. “No.”

“I wasn’t trying to be silly when I married Mason,” she said, her voice almost a whisper. “I thought we were in love.”

The thought of Kenzie loving another man nearly tore his heart into two.

“We were going to build a family together.”

“He used you.”

She nodded, blinking fast, but a tear escaped. “We were in Tijuana, on our honeymoon, when he cheated on me.”

“That’s terrible.”

Her gaze fell to her lap. “He wanted me to stay and enjoy the rest of the honeymoon with him. Can you believe it? He thought I’d pretend nothing had happened.”

“What did you do?”

“I packed my suitcase and used my credit card to get home. He stayed in Tijuana for the rest of the week.” She broke down and sobbed.

“He’s not worth your tears.” Before he could stop himself, he reached around her and pulled her close to his chest. She laid her head on his t-shirt.

“I know.” She sniffed. “It just hurts so bad.”

Her voice broke and his heart shattered. He had no words of healing for her. He couldn’t kiss away her tears. The most he could do was gently press his lips to the top of her head and hope she didn’t notice. He rubbed her back and let his fingers trail up her arm. “Forget him.”

He knew that was easier said than done. Kenzie had put her trust in someone, given her all to him, and he treated her like worthless trash.

A knock came on the door. Kenzie wiped at her cheeks. “I’m a mess.”

“Don’t worry. I’m sure someone’s at the wrong door. I’ll tell them to go away.” He stood and crossed the room. When he opened the door, Mason stood on the other side.

“Is Kenzie here?” he asked, his smile wide. “I want to thank her. She did awesome! She was such a flake, my mother no longer cares if I’m married or not.”

Camden didn’t think. He punched the jerk in the face. Mason’s head snapped back and his hands flew to his nose. He pulled a hand away to see blood. “What was that for?”

“Go away.” Camden shut the door before he hit Mason again and got himself sued.

Kenzie stared at him. “Did you just. . .”

“Yep.” He clicked the lock and came back to the couch.

A loud laugh came out of Kenzie, and she clapped her hand over her mouth. “You’re going to be in trouble.”

“I don’t care. That felt really good.” He smiled and Kenzie laughed again. He studied her face. “You okay?”

“Yes. Thanks for letting me blubber on you.”

He took her hand, refraining from pulling her close again. She looked at him, and he got lost in her eyes. They were sea green. Full of life and love. She leaned toward him, and for a split second he thought she was going to kiss him, but he backed away. What a ludicrous thought.

“Anytime,” he said, meaning it.

 

***

 

Kenzie lay in bed, listening to Camden’s slow breathing. The clock said it was almost five in the morning. She’d fallen right to sleep after talking to Camden, but something had woken her and she couldn’t get back to sleep.

She couldn’t believe he’d punched Mason in the face. How she wished she’d been sitting at a better angle so she could have seen it. She could only imagine how Mason reacted to both the right-hook and the door being slammed in his face.

Camden deserved sainthood for it. Okay, that was extreme, but what a knight in shining armor he’d turned out to be. He not only came to her rescue at the wedding, he’d come to her rescue several times since.

Just thinking about Camden sent her heart into overdrive. She almost broke down and kissed him when they were sitting on the couch. How stupid would that have been? She saw how he moved back to avoid it. He probably thought she was crazy, just like Mason’s mother did.

She took in a deep breath, letting it out slowly. She was crazy. What was she doing? Falling in love with another guy she barely knew. The thought of spending the next few days with Camden . . . riding in the car and talking like they were buddies . . . the thought made her heart ache. She’d end up falling for him more. And maybe doing something stupid again.

Why couldn’t she be normal? Like Tessa? Date a guy for a year and fall in love slowly. Fall for a guy who would be safe. Rich guys weren’t safe; she’d found that out. She glanced at the couch. All she could make out was Camden’s outline in the moonlight.

She couldn’t tell him she was in love with him. She couldn’t make the same mistake again. And she couldn’t allow herself to be with him for several days, knowing she would probably not be able to resist his charm.

Her heart squeezed, and she knew what she had to do. She slipped out of bed and dressed in the darkness. She picked up the hotel pen and wrote a quick note on the back of the room receipt. Then she set it in the middle of the desk before stuffing her things in her suitcase.

She slipped out before the sun rose.