Close to You
“Because you’re Mia’s brother.” Her eyes find mine. There’s heat there, but there’s more. Fear? Uncertainty?
“I’ve been more than that for a long time, Cami.”
Redness fills her cheeks, and I suddenly feel like a grade-A asshole.
“Hey.” I tip her chin up so I can see her eyes. “It’s just dinner.”
“And maybe a kiss.”
“Probably a kiss,” I say with a grin. “I could just kiss you now to get it over with.”
“No, that’s okay,” she says quickly, placing her hand on my chest to push me away, but instead she grips my shirt in her fist. “I haven’t brushed my teeth.”
God, she’s so fucking adorable.
“Tomorrow, then,” I whisper before I lean in and kiss her forehead. Her skin is so damn soft. Everything about her is welcoming and sweet, and I want to stay and soak her in.
So I’d better go.
“Have a good night.”
She nods, staring at my shoulder.
“Cami?”
“Yeah?”
“You have to let go of my shirt so I can go.”
“Oh!” She lets go and tries to smooth out the wrinkles, which only makes me hard as a damn rock. Her small hands rubbing all over my chest—covered in a shirt or not—should be goddamn illegal if I don’t get to strip her naked as a result.
“I’m okay.” I take her hands in mine and kiss her knuckles. “Make sure you got all that glass.”
“Glass?” She frowns, and I can’t help but chuckle. “Oh! The glass. Damn cat.”
“Meow.”
I glance down to find Scoot sitting by my feet.
“Stop being mean to your mommy.” I point at him, but he just blinks at me. “And both of you be nice to each other.” I wink at Cami as I turn to walk away.
“Landon,” she says. I turn and raise a brow. “Are you sure?”
I’m going to do my best to wipe away any of that uncertainty. I smile at her and nod. “I’ll pick you up at seven.”
“I’ll be ready.”
“I know.”
Cami’s never late. And now I have to fill the next twenty-four hours until I can see her again.
“HEY BOSS, WE’RE gonna knock off for lunch,” Jay, one of my crew members, says the next day. “We’re just gonna go get some burgers. Welcome to join us.”
I shake my head and measure out a board. “Thanks, but I’m good. I’ll see you in a bit.”
The guys stow their tools and head out, laughing and giving each other shit, which is the norm. My crew is tight-knit and reliable, and I get along well with them, despite only being back for a short time. But most of them have worked for my dad for many years. Hell, a few of them taught me in the summers when I’d work for my dad, and not just about drill presses and table saws.
There might have been a few inappropriate magazines that made the rounds a time or two. I smile at the memory and measure a board.
“How’s it going over here?” Mia asks as she walks in carrying a covered plate.
“It’s going,” I reply.
“I saw the others leave for lunch, so I decided to bring you something to eat.”
“I’m quite sure you couldn’t have seen that from your kitchen lair,” I reply with a chuckle. “But thanks for the food.”
“Maybe I wanted to talk to you too,” she says in her direct way. Mia’s always been the kind of person who speaks her mind. You never have to guess where you stand with her. It’s one of the things I love the most about her.
“Is something wrong?” I take a bite of her lasagna with white sauce and sigh in happiness. “This is damn good.”
“I know.” She grins. “I don’t know if something’s wrong. That’s why I want to talk to you.”
“Okay.”
“What are you doing with Cami?”
“I’m not doing anything with her right now.”
“Don’t be a dick,” she says calmly. Mia can be wildly passionate, or the calmest person in the room. She would have made an excellent pilot.
As it is, she’s a scary woman.
“Why don’t you tell me what your concerns are?”
“My concern is Cami. I saw you yesterday, Landon. You weren’t just doing your harmless-flirting thing that you usually do with her.”
“No, I wasn’t.”
Her big brown eyes narrow. “You know, Cami is maybe the sweetest person I know. She’s giving and loyal and she’s the best person to have in your corner.”
“Yes, she is.”
“And she’s had a crush on you since the beginning of time. And you knew that. So don’t do the flirty thing with her and then turn around and date someone else under her nose the way you used to do when we were teenagers, Landon. It’s mean and she doesn’t deserve that.”
“I wouldn’t do that to her.”
“You have done that to her,” she says, getting heated now. “I know that you’re not thrilled to be home, and that you didn’t want to leave the Navy, especially the way it all went down. But don’t start something with Cami because you’re home and bored and want to fill your time with someone that you know will hang on your every word.”
“I’m not sure who you just insulted more; Cami or me,” I reply, and toss the disposable plate of food in the trash, not able to eat any more. “But I do know that if you were a dude, I’d be decking you right now.”