Green Mountain Collection 1 by Marie Force (13)

Will was holding her so close to him that he was aware of the exact second she fell asleep. How in the world could she sleep when he was strung so tightly he felt like he was going to implode any second?

Ninety days? He wouldn’t survive nine days wanting her as much as he did. This was truly an unprecedented situation for him. Sure, he’d known desire in his life, but nothing to compare to the needy hunger she aroused in him. With her warm and soft in his arms, he took advantage of the opportunity to run his hand over her back in small circles.

“Hmm,” she said, snuggling in closer, her breath warm against his neck.

Her closeness, her warmth, her breasts pressed against his chest, her breath sweet against his neck … The combination was both bliss and torture. How was it possible that she already meant so much to him? How was it possible that he couldn’t wait for tomorrow so he could spend more time with her?

He’d never felt these things before. Not even when he’d been all wrapped up with Lisa, and he’d been wrapped pretty tightly back then.

What was it about Cameron that had him feeling this way? For one thing, he’d admired her fortitude after arriving under less-than-ideal circumstances. Despite her injuries, she’d pressed forward with the presentation without an ounce of vanity, at least as far as he could tell. He’d appreciated her interest at what she’d found in the store and he’d enjoyed her obvious delight with the gifts he’d left for her.

Underneath her sophisticated veneer, he’d seen hints of the lonely young girl who’d been raised by nannies and relied on TV families to keep her company. Her loneliness touched him deeply. The only time he’d ever been truly lonely was right after Lisa left him. But surrounded by his big family, he hadn’t been allowed to wallow for long before they forced him out of his misery and back into life.

He knew what it felt like to be lonely, but he couldn’t possibly know what it had been like to grow up as alone as she had. She had great friends, people she loved and enjoyed being with, but other than her father, she had no real family. He wanted to surround her with all the things she’d lived without for so long.

No wonder why she fell in love so easily. She was always looking for something she’d never had. He wanted the chance to give her those things.

Which took him back to his original thought—how could he feel so much so soon? And why was he lying here so peacefully when he should be thinking about how to extricate himself from this suddenly intense situation?

He ran his hand over her long hair, letting it spill through his fingers, soft, silky, curly and fragrant.

No, he wasn’t thinking about extrication, he decided as he yawned. His eyes closed. He wasn’t thinking about getting away from her. He was thinking about how he might keep her right here with him for as long as he possibly could.

“Will. Will.”

“Mmm.”

“Wake up.”

“I’m awake.”

“Open your eyes.”

“They’re open.”

“No, they’re not.”

As he forced his eyes open to find her looking at him, he smiled. “Hey.”

“We fell asleep, and it’s almost three.”

“It’s okay.”

“No, it isn’t. I have to go to Hannah’s or your whole family will know I stayed here with you.”

“I don’t care what they think.”

“I care. Not just because of what they might think of me with you, but because of work, too. Please, Will? I know it’s cold, and you don’t feel like going out, but I need to go.”

“I don’t mind taking you.” He couldn’t resist one last kiss before he set about extricating himself from her sweet embrace when extricating was the last thing he wanted to do.

As she withdrew from him, she covered her chest with her arms, her face flaming with color.

Will’s hand landed on her bra, which he gave to her.

“Thanks,” she mumbled, standing to dress with her back to him.

Something about the fragile curve of her neck and the fumble of her hands as she tried to put on her bra called to him. He stood, wrapped his arms around her and kissed the spot where her neck met her shoulder, reveling when she trembled. “Let me.”

Her hands fell to her sides.

Will hooked her bra and rested his hands on her flat belly. “Don’t start having regrets.”

“I’m not.” Her hands covered his at her waist.

“Are you lying?”

She shook her head.

“Turn around.”

Reluctantly, or so it seemed to him, she turned and looked up at him with those expressive hazel eyes that got to him every time. He took her hands and raised them to his shoulders and then rested his on her hips. “No regrets,” he whispered as he kissed her and let his gaze wander down to the fetching sight of her breasts covered by sheer fabric.

“This always happens,” she said sadly.

“What does?”

“I jump in with both feet, and I always regret it.”

“Not this time. You won’t regret it.”

“Yes, I will.” Even as she said the words, her entire body arched into him. While her words were saying one thing, her body was clearly saying another. “I need to go.”

They finished getting dressed, and Will went to find his keys, his mind racing as he tried to think of something he could say to convince her that this time might be different—for both of them. But how could he say that without scaring her off?

The thought weighed heavily on his mind as they emerged into frigid air that smacked him the rest of the way awake. He helped her into the truck before he went around to the driver’s side. With the engine running, he gave it a minute to warm up.

“Are we still on for tomorrow night?” he asked. “The dance?”

“Oh, um, sure. I guess so.”

Will gripped the wheel tightly, frustration making his teeth grit as he drove into town to his sister’s house. He brought the truck to a stop at the curb after a tense, quiet fifteen-minute ride.

“Will, I—”

“No.” He held up a hand to stop her. “Whatever you’re going to say, wait. Give me the weekend. Then you can decide if you can’t do this. But I want the weekend.”

“I …”

“One weekend, Cameron.”

She was quiet for a long moment, so long that Will’s heart began to beat faster as adrenaline zipped through his veins. Her answer was suddenly the most important thing in his life.

“Okay,” she said softly.

“Thank you.” His relief was palpable as he got out to round the truck and open her door.

“You don’t have to walk me in.”

“Yes, I do.” He kept a hand on the small of her back as they navigated the sidewalk that led to Hannah’s front porch. Under the glow of the light Hannah had left on for Cameron, Will saw her hesitation and uncertainty as she looked up at him.

“I had a good time tonight,” she said. “Thank you.”

“I had a great time.” He kissed her chastely, lingering longer than he’d planned when her sweet lips parted under his. Somehow he found the fortitude to pull back from her before another kiss could spin out of control. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

She nodded and used her key to open the door while he held the storm door for her. “Night.”

“Good night.”

She waited until he was back to his truck to turn off the porch light.

On the way home, Will plotted his strategy. If he had only one weekend to convince her to give him a chance, he planned to use every minute wisely.

This must be what it feels like to sneak into your parents’ house after staying out too late, Cameron thought as she crept up the stairs to the second-floor bedroom she’d chosen in Hannah’s home. Not that she’d ever had to sneak into her father’s home. Most of the time he wasn’t there to catch her, so she’d done more or less what she wanted after she outgrew the nannies. Now she was discovering that the fear of getting caught sneaking in at three thirty in the morning made her feel giddy and silly at the same time.

What would Hannah say if she knew that her thirty-three-year-old brother had been out with her until the early hours of the morning? Not much, probably, but still, Cameron was new in town and here to do a job, so it mattered to her that people not think poorly of her.

It mattered to her that the Abbotts not think poorly of her, she thought, as she brushed her teeth in the bathroom that adjoined her bedroom. The room was gorgeous with rose-colored wallpaper and Victorian-era furnishing that Hannah had told her were part of her late husband’s grandmother’s extensive collection of antiques.

The four-poster bed had a lace canopy, and the bedside lamp cast a rosy, romantic glow over the room, making Cameron wish that Will were there with her to enjoy the atmosphere. “You’re doing it again,” she said as she turned off the light and tried to relax. “You’re latching on to a guy who is all wrong for you, who lives six hours from you, whose life is as far removed from yours as it’s possible to get. And this time you’re doing it with your eyes wide open with full knowledge of what it will be like when you have to leave him.”

Even as she gave herself the stern talking-to, images from the evening they’d spent together filled her mind and heart. Building the snow monster, playing with the dogs, wrestling in the snow, making out by the fire. If only he’d been a lousy kisser … If only he’d given her one reason to resist him rather than a thousand reasons to want him.

She fell asleep reliving the bliss of how lovely it had felt to lay warm and safe in his arms, her breasts pressed against his chest. Remembering the divine tickle of his chest hair had her nipples hardening and her sex tightening with desire.

You need to stop this, she thought as she drifted off. Tomorrow she would put a stop to it, while she still could.

Cameron woke to a persistent tap, tap, tap on her bedroom door. She had no idea what time it was, but judging from her overall state of grogginess, it was far too early to be awake, especially after the late night she’d had.

She dragged herself out of bed, smoothing her bed head as she went to the door. Expecting to find Hannah, she let out a startled gasp at the sight of Will, fresh-faced, well-rested, hair damp from the shower and gorgeous. Flat-out beautiful. And then she remembered how horrible she must look and let out a squeak of protest that made him laugh.

“What’re you doing here? What time is it?”

“It’s seven thirty, and I’m here because you’re here.”

“Hannah …”

“Is working at the farmer’s market. Most Saturdays.”

“Oh.”

“Can I come in?”

“I’m a wreck.”

“You’re stunning.”

“You’re crazy!”

“Maybe so, but I still want to come in.”

I’m the crazy one, she thought, as she stepped aside to admit him, closing the door behind him. “Be right back.” She ducked into the bathroom to brush her hair and teeth, trying not to look at the mirror so she wouldn’t know how truly frightful she probably looked. Bruises and bed head and morning breath. Now there’s a sexy combination. What was he doing here so bloody early?

Prepared to pose that very question she opened the bathroom door to find him reclined on the unused side of her bed. He patted her side.

“What are you up to, Will Abbott?”

“Come here.”

Warily, Cameron approached the bed, keeping her eyes on him the whole time. “I’m here.”

He held up the covers for her. “All the way.”

With her better judgment telling her to run for her life, she ignored her better judgment and slid into bed.

He settled the covers over her before curling up to her, his arm around her waist, her back tucked against his front.

“Go back to sleep. It’s crazy early.”

“Yes, it is, which goes back to my original question. What’re you doing here so early?”

“I missed you the minute I left you last night. I only have one weekend to prove to you that I’m worth the huge chance I want you to take on me. I can’t waste any time.”

“Will,” she said with a sigh. “You’re battering my defenses.”

“Good.”

“That wasn’t a compliment!”

His soft laughter sent shivers dancing down her spine and every other part of her. “I couldn’t wait to see you again. I couldn’t wait to touch you, to kiss you, to hold you. I loved having you sleep in my arms last night. I want to do that again.”

“Stop,” she whispered, desperately afraid of the emotions he stirred in her with a few softly spoken words.

“Those guys you fell for … Did they fall for you, too?”

“Not the way I fell for them. With hindsight, I was able to see it was mostly a one-way street.”

“This, most definitely, is not a one-way street. This is a four-lane superhighway.”

She couldn’t help the laughter or the joyful hope that flooded through her as he tightened his hold on her. “This is the third day I’ve known you, and you’ve worked your way into my bed and into my every thought. How have you managed to do that so quickly?”

“The same way you’ve managed to do it to me. Go back to sleep for a while. We’ve got all day to spend together.”

She took his hand and rested it flat against her fast-beating heart. “How am I supposed to sleep when you’ve got that going on?”

“You’ve got the same thing going on over here. Want to feel?”

She very much wanted to feel. Cameron turned to face him and placed her hand on his chest. Feeling the fast but steady beat of his heart, she glanced up at him.

“Told you.”

“I’m scared.”

His eyes widened with distress. “Of me?”

She shook her head. “Of this. Things like this never, ever end well for me.”

“That doesn’t mean it never will. That doesn’t mean this can’t be something amazing for both of us.”

“It already is something amazing, and that’s what scares me so badly.” She took a breath, trying to clear her muddled brain. “Before, when it didn’t work out, I was a wreck and it wasn’t anything like this. It was never anything like this. What will happen to me if I get all caught up in you, and then I have to go back to my real life? What will happen—”

He kissed the words off her lips. “I don’t know what’ll happen. All I know is I want to find out. I want that so badly I don’t want to think about how it’ll end. I want to think about how it’s begun, and how thrilling it is to feel this way. I don’t care that we just met. I don’t care that we have totally different lives in different states. All I care about is the way I feel when you’re in the room.”

Cameron swallowed the huge lump that had formed in her throat as she listened to him and forced herself to meet his intense gaze. “How do you feel when I’m in the room?”

“Hopeful. Excited. Intrigued. Fascinated. Curious. Horny.” He said that last word with a shrug and a self-deprecating smile that wiped out the last of her defenses.

She reached up to bring him down to her, losing herself in the slow, sensual mating of their mouths, the dance of tongues, the gentle sighs of pleasure. As he moved to better align their bodies, she wasn’t thinking about all the reasons this was a bad idea, because nothing about it felt like a bad idea. It felt like the best idea she’d ever had.

And then his hands were under her T-shirt, warm and rough against her back as his erection pulsed between her legs.

He tore his lips free, breathing hard against her shoulder. “I didn’t come here for this. I wanted to spend time with you …”

She cupped the back of his head, cradling him against her. “I love kissing you. I can’t get enough of it.”

Releasing a tortured groan, he dropped his head to her chest. “Were you joking about ninety days last night?”

“Sort of.” How to explain this without sounding like the total loser in love that she’d always been? “After the last disaster, I promised myself I wouldn’t ‘do what I do’ anymore.”

“And what is it that you do?”

“Did.” She combed her fingers through his hair, loving the silky texture as it slid between her fingers. “I always leaped first and thought later. I’ve never been promiscuous or anything like that, but I didn’t exactly play hard to get with guys I really liked. And once that happened, I was sunk. For me, sex equals love and that often spells disaster. I’m not capable of casual sex.”

“Does anything about this feel casual to you?”

“No,” she said, taken aback by the intensity of his words and his stare. “Nothing about it feels casual. That makes it extra scary.”

“Then we can be scared together.”

“You’re scared, too?” she asked.

“Terrified, but so glad I met you. So glad.” Keeping his eyes open and fixed on her face, he brought his lips down on hers again, softly, devastating her with just the gentle brush of lip against lip. “Do you want to go back to sleep?”

“Ahhh, no,” she said, laughing. “You’ve got me wide awake.”

“Then let’s get going.” He lifted himself off her. “We’ve got a lot to do today.”

His abrupt withdrawal made her want to moan in protest, even though his actions showed that he’d heard—and respected—her concerns.

As she dragged herself into the shower, she decided she needed to stop sending herself mixed messages. It was becoming harder and harder with every minute she spent with him to remember anything, or anyone, that had come before him.

Cameron couldn’t recall a day she’d enjoyed more than the one she spent with Will. He took her to Waterbury where they toured the Ben & Jerry’s factory and fed each other samples of the ice cream, particularly her favorite, Chunky Monkey. He kept a near-constant hold on her hand, and when he wasn’t holding her hand, he was touching her lower back or shoulder.

She was acutely aware of him all day, as they checked out the scenic Trapp Family Lodge and strolled through the picturesque town of Stowe. After a leisurely lunch at a restaurant in Stowe, he took her on the gondola ride to the top of Mount Mansfield. Since they had their car all to themselves, Cameron snuggled in close to him for the ride up the mountain.

“This has been so much fun. Thank you.”

“It’s been fun for me, too.”

She glanced up to find a pulse of tension in the side of his face and traced a finger lightly over it, making him gasp. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong. You’re missing all the scenery.”

“I can tell something is bothering you. You’re all tense.”

His laugh sounded tortured. “It’s nothing a cold shower won’t take care of when we get back to Butler.”

She let her gaze drop to his lap where she saw obvious proof of his “problem.” Before she took the time to consider the consequences, she straddled his lap and wrapped her arms around his shoulders.

“Christ, Cam, have mercy on me, will you?”

“I’d rather kiss you.”

Hours of pent-up desire came bursting forth in a kiss so potent that Cameron wondered what she’d unleashed with her forward behavior. He positively devoured her as his hands found her bottom to bring her in tight against his arousal.

Cameron couldn’t seem to get close enough.

He broke off the kiss, gasping for air, his fingers digging into her cheeks. When he trembled, Cameron tumbled off the cliff she’d been clinging to as she tried not to repeat her past mistakes. She’d officially lost control of this situation.

“This is nuts,” he whispered as he held her.

“Totally nuts.”

“And yet …”

“And yet.”

“Is it still day three?” he asked, his lips warm and soft against her neck.

Cameron laughed and shivered at the same time. “Still day three.” With her hands on his shoulders for balance, she got up from his lap and returned to her seat next to him.

As he had all day, he reached for her hand and linked their fingers.

Cameron rested her head on his shoulder, feeling content and aroused and conflicted. Her ringing cell phone surprised her. “It’s always a shock to me when I have service here.” She glanced at the caller ID and was doubly shocked to see her dad’s name. “Dad?”

“Yes, Cameron, it’s me.” Patrick Murphy’s deep voice was as distinctive to her as anything in her life. She’d know it anywhere.

“I realize that. I have this new invention known as caller ID on my phone.”

Will chuckled at the comment.

“To what do I owe the honor of this call?”

“I heard you were in Vermont with Lincoln, and I wanted to see how it’s going.”

“It’s going well.” She gave Will a small smile. “We got the job building the site for the store.”

“Very good. I told Lincoln he could do much worse than my daughter’s company.”

No doubt her dad thought that was high praise, but as usual, his “praise” left her wishing for more.

“Interesting place up there, isn’t it?”

Cameron pretended not to hear the sarcasm in his tone. “It’s beautiful,” she said as she gazed at the snow-covered valley below. “I love it.”

“I’ve only been there once for Linc’s wedding. Told him he was making a huge mistake giving up a job on Wall Street to take on a girl from Vermont and her family’s Podunk store, but I guess he’s made a go of it. Not surprised. The guy is positively brilliant. I hated to think of him wasting his talents in Siberia when he could’ve been a titan on Wall Street.”

She had no idea how she was supposed to respond to that statement with the man’s son sitting less than an inch from her—and probably able to hear her father’s every word.

“Still there?” Patrick asked brusquely.

“I’m here. The cell service is spotty up here, so you’re breaking up.”

“I won’t keep you, then. You got the ballet tickets I sent?”

“Yes, thank you.”

“They were hard to come by. Make sure you’re back in time to use them.”

“I’ll be back in time.” Her stomach turning at the reminder that she’d be returning to New York in two short weeks.

“Call me when you’ve returned to civilization.”

“I will.”

He was gone before she could tell him she loved him, that she missed him … His habit of ending the call before she was done talking dated back to her childhood. Patrick Murphy hadn’t changed one iota since then.

“Dear old Dad,” she said with a small smile for Will as she stashed the phone in her pocket.

“He likes to do the talking, huh?”

“Usually.” She didn’t mention how wildly out of character it was for him to call her. Most of the time, if they talked at all, it was because she called him.

“What do you have to be back in time for?”

“The ballet. Two weeks from today. He got prime tickets from someone and gave them to me because he wouldn’t get caught dead at the ballet. Now he wants to make sure they don’t go to waste.”

“Doesn’t he have other things to worry about than whether ballet tickets he got for free go to waste?”

“And there you’ve stumbled upon the paradox that is Patrick Murphy. Richest guy in the known universe despises waste of any kind. It goes back to his hardscrabble upbringing when he had nothing. And I do mean nothing. He’s a fanatic about not wasting anything. Always has been.”

“I respect a guy who can go from nothing to what he has now. That doesn’t just happen.”

“No,” Cameron said with a sigh, “it doesn’t. And of course I respect him, too. I know better than most people how hard he worked to get where he is. It’s just …”

“What?”

Smiling, she shook her head. “It’s not worth talking about.”

He took her hand. “I want to hear it anyway.”

This thing that was happening between them was most frightening to her at moments like this one when he demonstrated his genuine interest in truly getting to know her. That, alone, made him different from every other guy she’d given her heart to. “Sometimes I wish he enjoyed his life more than he does. He’s all work, all the time. There’s not much room for anything else in there.”

“Including a daughter who adores him despite his failings.”

She nodded and shrugged. “What can I say? He’s my dad, and I love him, even when I want to shake some sense into him.”

“If anyone can, I bet you can.”

“I don’t know … All these years, and he still hasn’t figured out I hate the ballet.”

“Wait. If you hate the ballet, why does he send you tickets?”

“Because I loved ballet class when I was six and walked around on my toes for a year. He didn’t notice when I grew up and lost interest.” Cameron was appalled to realize she was telling him things she never talked about with anyone—even Lucy, who loved the ballet and made sure Patrick’s tickets didn’t go to waste. “He’ll never change. I’ve had to accept that, you know?”

“To a much lesser extent, I do get that. My dad drives us nuts sometimes with his desire for bigger, better, more, more, more … What’s wrong with what we have?”

“Nothing that I can see. However, I do think the website will enhance what you already have, so in that way, your dad might’ve been a teeny, tiny bit right.” She used her thumb and forefinger pressed together to make her point.

His eyes widened with disbelief. “Are you taking his side against me?”

“Perhaps,” she said, holding back a laugh.

He attempted to look sinister but failed miserably, and she couldn’t help but laugh. “Disloyalty and laughing at me. I’m making a note of these failings of yours.”

“There’re a lot more where they came from.”

As the gondola reached the mountaintop, Will guided her out of the car. “I look forward to discovering every one of these so-called failings of yours.”

She shivered from the cold as much as the promise behind his words.

They returned to town late that afternoon, and Will pulled up in front of Hannah’s house. “I’ll pick you up around seven, okay?”

“What should I wear?”

“Whatever you want. You’ll see the full range of attire, from jeans to dresses and everything in between.”

She found that she was reluctant to leave him. “I had fun today.”

“So did I. A lot of fun.”

With his gaze locked on her mouth he leaned in, and Cameron met him halfway, placing her hand on his face. The sweet, chaste kiss made her heart pound and her mouth go dry. She’d never wanted anyone the way she wanted him, and the desire was every bit as frightening—and stunning—as the emotional wallop of his eyes connecting with hers.

Fortunately, he seemed as stunned as she felt. His thumb caressed her cheek. “I’ll see you soon.”

Frazzled and off kilter, she gathered up her purse and the bag containing the Chunky Monkey T-shirt she’d bought at the Ben & Jerry’s factory.

“Cam.”

She looked over at him, her belly flip-flopping at the very sight of him. This was so, so bad and getting worse with every minute she spent in his irresistible presence. “Yes?”

He gripped the wheel so tightly his knuckles were white. “I … Will you come home with me tonight? I want you to come home with me and spend the night with me, even if we don’t do anything but sleep in the same bed. Will you?”

She licked lips that had gone dry. “I’ll think about it.”

He zeroed in on the movement of her tongue over her lips, and her entire body heated. “Okay.”

Cameron fumbled with the door handle.

He reached across her body to open it for her.

“Thanks.” She got out of the truck, closed the door and forced her legs to carry her up the walk to Hannah’s front door, all the while she was acutely aware of him watching her go. Her fingers had turned into thumbs as she used her key in the door, closed it behind her and leaned against it, trying to regain her equilibrium.

“Hey,” Hannah said as she came into the foyer from the kitchen, carrying a steaming mug. Her dark hair was piled on top of her head in a messy bun, and she wore red flannel pajama pants with a green I LOVE VERMONT sweatshirt. “I thought I heard you come in.” She took a closer look at Cameron. “Are you okay?”

“Um, yeah. I’m good. Sorry, I was …” She sighed. “No, I’m not good. I’m freaking out, and none of my friends are here, and I can’t get a good cell phone connection to call them, and I don’t know what to do, and you’re Will’s sister, so you’re the last person I should be freaking out all over.”

Laughing, Hannah stepped forward to hook her hand around Cameron’s arm, compelling her toward the cozy sitting room where a fire burned brightly. “Sit.” Hannah directed her to a love seat and curled up across from her on the sofa, next to Homer, who dropped his head on Hannah’s leg.

Mortified by her outburst, Cameron did as she was told.

“Speak.”

“You’re his sister,” she said miserably.

Hannah stroked Homer’s silky ears, and the old dog sighed with pleasure. “I’ll do my very best to not be his sister for a few minutes.”

“I really, really like him,” Cameron said, her eyes filling with tears that infuriated her. She was all done crying over guys. Those days were over. Or so she’d thought …

“He’s a really, really good guy.”

“You’re not his sister right now,” Cameron reminded her sternly.

“My apologies,” Hannah said, her lips quivering with amusement. “Please continue.”

“I’m scared.”

“Of Will?” Hannah asked, seeming truly stricken by the thought.

“Not of him, but of how I feel when I’m with him. I just met him, Hannah. It’s happening so fast. I feel like I’m on a luge track flying down the icy hill, totally out of control. And I just know I’m going to crash and burn at the bottom, and it’s going to hurt like hell when that happens.”

“Why are you so sure you’ll crash and burn?”

“Because I always do, and I already like him more than I’ve ever liked anyone, so the crash and burn will be worse than ever. And there’ve already been some bad crashes. Some really bad crashes.” She slumped into the comfortable love seat. “Even knowing the crash is coming, I can’t seem to stop wanting to be with him.”

“You sound like a woman in love.”

Cameron gasped. “No! I’m not in love with him. I just really, really like him.”

“So you’ve said. A few times now.” Hannah took a sip from her mug and put it on the coffee table. “I knew my husband, Caleb, since sixth grade when he moved here after his dad retired from the army. He was friends with Hunter and Will, so he was around our house a lot. He went out of his way to bother me and was like an annoying extra brother to me. He pulled my hair on the playground almost every day until I punched him in the face when we were thirteen.”

“You did not!”

“Yes, I did. I got in big trouble at home and at school, but it was well worth it to get him to leave me alone. Then one night a group of us were out at the quarry, doing what kids do. Drinking beer, talking trash. We were sixteen that summer.” Hannah seemed a million miles away, lost in her memories.

“We had a fire going, and Hunter was roasting marshmallows. I remember Caleb saying how gross they tasted with beer. That made me laugh, and when I looked over at him, he was looking back at me with this expression on his face I’d never seen before. It was like everything changed between us in that one moment. I was completely overwhelmed and extremely confused, so I got up to walk down to the water. I remember my mind was racing. I couldn’t make sense of what that look had meant. I’d never seen it before from him or anyone.

“He followed me, calling my name. It was dark away from the fire, so I couldn’t see him, but I knew he was right there. And then his hands were on my face and he was kissing me, and my whole life changed in that one second. I’d known him for years, actively hated him for most of that time—or so I thought—and it took one second, one kiss, for everything to change.”

Cameron realized tears were rolling down her face, and she brushed them away. “I’m so sorry for your loss. I can’t imagine …”

“I hope you never have to find out. You know why I told you this, don’t you?”

Cameron nodded. “Thank you for sharing that with me. It helps to clarify things.”

“I hope so. Life can be precarious, Cameron. If you find someone who makes you feel special, that’s something to be treasured. All the obstacles are just that—obstacles. You can work them out if it’s meant to be. You can work out anything if you find the right person to work it out with.” Hannah reached for her mug. “And now I’m going to be Will’s sister again, and tell you he’s one of the very best guys I’ve ever known. I don’t know what I would’ve done without him and Hunter, in particular, after I lost Caleb. They took turns staying here every night for months afterward.”

Cameron could easily imagine him dropping everything for his grief-stricken sister, and that made her care for him even more than she already did. “I can so see him doing that.”

“That’s who he is.”

Feeling like she’d made a new friend in the last few minutes, she met Hannah’s dark-eyed gaze. “He wants me to go home with him after the dance.”

“Is that right?” Hannah’s smile conveyed her approval. “Do you want to?”

“Well, yeah. I want to. It’s just that I’m staying here with you, and I wouldn’t want you to think—”

“Stop.” Hannah held up her hand. “No worries there. You’re a fully grown adult, and so is he. No judgment here—and no gossip either. I promise.”

“You’re making this too easy,” Cameron said with a teasing smile.

“I’d love to see Will happy with a nice girl like you.”

Touched by Hannah’s kind words, Cameron said, “That’s very sweet of you. Thank you.”

“He’s been burnt badly in the past, so if he’s willing to take a chance, that’s a good indication he’s pretty invested, too, so please don’t hurt him.”

“I won’t. I couldn’t.”

“Good.”

Cameron rested her head against the back of the love seat, enjoying the cozy room and the chat with Hannah. “This is a really amazing house. It must be a lot to take care of on your own.”

“It is, but it gives me something to do when I’m not working, and I like to think I’m doing it for Caleb because he loved this place so much. That’s why I could never sell it.”

“Do you ever give any thought to maybe opening an inn or something?”

“That’s just what Vermont needs—another B and B.”

“Maybe you could do a different sort of inn.”

“Like what?”

“Thinking out loud here, but what about a place where other war widows can come and meet people who understand what they’ve been through. Like a sanctuary of sorts.”

Hannah didn’t say anything, which led Cameron to wonder if she’d overstepped her boundaries. “Sorry. That’s probably an awful idea. The last thing you need is to be around other people dealing with grief.”

“It’s not an awful idea. It’s actually a really good idea.”

“You think so?”

Hannah nodded. “Definitely worth considering.”

Since she didn’t want to push her luck, Cameron decided to change the subject. “Are you going to the dance?”

“Nah.”

“You should come. I could use a girlfriend with me when the whole town comes out to get a look at the girl who hit Fred.”

Hannah laughed, a delicate sound that lit up her face and eyes. “That might be fun to see.”

“Please? I’d love to have you there.” Thinking of what Will had told her earlier, Cameron also thought it might do Hannah good to get out, but she kept that thought to herself.

“Oh all right. I’ll go for a little while.”

“Yay! It’ll be fun.”

“If you say so.”

“You have to help me figure out what to wear.”

“Right back atcha.”

They got up and went upstairs, chatting like they’d known each other forever. After talking to Hannah, Cameron felt lighter and less burdened by her worries about what was happening with Will. She was determined to let down her guard and see what might be possible. And if she crashed and burned at the bottom of the hill, well, she’d deal with that when it happened.