Chapter Thirteen
<^> <^> <^>
Ria said the words she’d longed to shout since waking up in Cam’s bed the morning after her karaoke bar adventure. He was perfect in every way and each day they’d been together proved that truth a little more.
Each time the phrase, “I love you, Cam,” bubbled up inside her, she’d tamped it down because she was afraid he wouldn’t reciprocate. What if he planned to be through with her once she was gone? What if he didn’t want to hurt her feelings before she was safely away from Earth and locked in a life she hated on another planet? A tiny, depressing voice inside her head warned he was only counting down the days until she left, being nice only because their time together was limited and if something happened to end her stupid arranged marriage, he would stutter and find some reason to break her heart.
An equally vocal optimistic voice was certain that of course Cam loved her as much as she loved him. They were obviously meant to be together forever and if she could get out of her engagement to Dirt Bag FitzOsbern, he’d drop to a knee and propose earthling-style in an instant. She wanted that so much, it brought tears to her eyes whenever she thought about it, so she shoved it from her mind as much as possible on a daily basis.
At this juncture, Ria simply hoped he cared about her and didn’t want her to leave him forever, never to be seen again on Earth.
Once the provocative, “I love you, Cam,” hung in the air, Ria became hyper alert to everything Cam did. Good news, he didn’t stiffen in her arms so much as startle the moment she uttered the heartfelt but totally inflammatory phrase. It felt more like he was surprised rather than horrified. She hoped. Was that a good sign? Or a bad sign? Or perhaps an indifferent sign? Unclear.
She squeezed him harder, afraid he would say that although he really liked her a lot, he didn’t feel the same deep affection she’d expressed. Or worse, somehow dismiss her feelings as foolish or impulsive or silly schoolgirl fodder. He didn’t. He also didn’t move or utter a single syllable. But she got the sense he was at least carefully considering what she’d said. Perhaps he wanted to ensure he responded the right way. Or perhaps he’d never respond, ignoring her earnest declaration of love no matter how many times she repeated it. Should she repeat it? No. Shut it.
They remained silent and still, watching the beautiful water together. The surface of the lake was mostly smooth, but every so often a leaf or something would fall from one of the many impossibly tall trees and the resulting ripples near the shoreline were mesmerizing. Then the wind came up and gentle waves grew in the center of the small lake, rushing toward shore. Ria could have sat with Cam until the sun set.
After a long silence, he shifted and said, “Want to see inside the cabin?” His voice was hushed, but after so much silence it seemed loud. He didn’t sound dismissive or angry, so she decided either he didn’t hear her declaration or didn’t plan to address it quite yet.
“Yes,” she said. “I’d love to see inside the cabin.”
He stood up, reached a hand down. She placed her palm against his and he pulled her to her feet. He didn’t try to hug her or kiss her before starting toward the tall cabin. She grabbed his hand as they approached the porch steps, slipping her fingers in between his. He squeezed her fingers as they walked.
No matter what he said, she loved him. She would love him until the day she died. She wished above all else that he at least cared and would remember her fondly once she was gone.
He entered a six-digit code—that she memorized without meaning to—into the number pad mounted on the doorframe and opened the rustic door to reveal an equally rustic interior. All wood as far as the eye could see. Dusty surfaces as far as the eye could see, too.
She sneezed twice in rapid succession.
“Bless you,” he said. “It’s pretty dusty in here, but—”
“I love it.”
“You do?”
Ria nodded. She couldn’t help the goofy smile that shaped her mouth as she tilted her head to look up at the tall ceiling. Both walls on either side came up at long, straight angles to connect at the apex of the ceiling in a point. An elaborate fixture with many lightbulbs and clear crystal ornaments hung from a metal pole in the center of the ceiling.
“It’s like a cathedral I saw a picture of once from another country on this planet.”
Cam also looked up. “This cabin is what’s called an A-frame design. Like the capital letter A in the alphabet, I guess.”
She nodded. “Like two cards of chance leaning against each other. It’s very tall.”
“Three stories,” he said proudly.
He was right to be proud. She could see two staircases from the front door and straight ahead. One went from the ground floor left to right and from the floor they were on to a platform on the next level. The other went from the right on the next level to the left up to the top platform. It was all open to the three-story high room they stood in.
Windows filled the front of the cabin, giving them a wonderful view of the lake.
“What’s up there?” she pointed to the upper levels.
“There is a bedroom on the second floor and a bathroom, more or less, since it’s pretty old and ugly, plus another bedroom on the third floor loft space.”
“And on this level?”
“We’re standing in the living room.” He gestured to the right and a tall counter with two stools like at a bar, and beyond it to what looked like a kitchen that had seen better days.
Cam said, “The kitchen is old and needs a desperate makeover, but I think it would be possible to remodel it. Down the hallway there is another bedroom, another bathroom, a small pantry and a place for a washer and dryer, but I don’t know if one was ever installed.”
“Are you going to live here someday?”
“That’s my plan. I mean, I’ll fix it up and everything.”
She nodded, wishing she could stay and help him fix this place up. She could add it to her bucket list, remodel a house and make it a cozy home. Probably she’d need more than two days to make that happen. A sudden and heartbreaking sadness filled her. She wouldn’t be the one helping Cam make this place amazing. She would be a galaxy away and miserable.
Commuting from Alpha-Prime would be impossible, of course. A swell of anger rose within her and burst, but she tried her best to tamp it down. It didn’t do any good to be angry. Mentally, she inhaled and exhaled the foolish anger out, telling herself to focus on the precious time she had left with Cam and not to waste her energy on the overwhelming feelings of unfairness that took up too much space in her mind.
Cam said, “Once upon a time I’d thought about just bulldozing the whole grimy, filthy place into a pile of kindling and starting fresh—”
“Oh, no. You aren’t really going to do that are you? Don’t tear it down.” Her gaze scanned the dusty surfaces and spider-web-filled corners with horrified dismay as if a demolition crew would blow the place up in front of her eyes.
“Nah. I decided not to re-build. The thing is, I love all the views from this place. My favorite part is the view from the bedrooms. They are all gorgeous.”
“I’ll bet they are. I’m glad you are fixing it up and not tearing it down. I love this place. I’d live here in a second.” I wish I could stay and help you make it perfect.
“Would you like to see the rest of it, dusty corners and all?”
“Yes, please. Give me the grand tour.” She’d read that phrase in her book. The grand tour was probably always the best one anyway. “I’d love to see all of it, the dusty corners, too.”
Cam walked down the dark hallway and opened a door on the left. A vast amount of light escaped from the open door. She followed him into a lovely room that had already been cleaned up, dust removed and there wasn’t a single spider web in sight. The bed was made up with a charming quilt like what they’d seen at the carnival. The spotless floor-to-ceiling windows facing the lake gave a spectacular view of the dock, the trees and the water. This was heaven.
She sucked in a breath and raced to the window. “Oh my goodness, it’s so beautiful, Cam. I’d give anything to wake up to this view every single day.”
“Would you?” he said from a distance behind her.
She spun around. He had an odd expression on his face.
“I would,” she insisted.
He didn’t say anything at first, but seemed unconvinced.
“With me?” The look on his face and the sound of his voice said he didn’t expect her to want to live here with him, which was completely crazy.
“Of course with you, Cam. Who else would I live with?” A thrill ran down her spine at the mere idea of running away from her odious arranged marriage to a pampered, spoiled-rotten man she loathed and all the obligations she faced on Alpha-Prime. Leaving it all behind to stay here in what was surely paradise—dusty corners and all—with the man she’d fallen in love with was as perfect as a dream. Because she did love him.
Ria loved Cam with all her heart and soul.
She didn’t care they’d only known each other for a week or so. She didn’t care if they lived in this dusty cabin forever. She didn’t care if they never had two nickels to rub together, like she’d read about in her almanac, as long as they were together.
From the moment she’d spoken to him at the karaoke bar, she’d known he was unique, special and perfect. She’d never wanted anything as much as she wanted to spend the rest of her life with Cam.
Not only because of the time they’d spent together in bed, which had been utterly amazing. She genuinely liked him. She liked talking to him. She liked doing everything with him, from fishing to grocery shopping to playing pool while drinking beer in a biker bar. She liked being his biker babe.
She liked when he protected her from rowdy guys in biker bars. She liked when he stared at her as though she was the only girl on the planet after getting her nails painted. She liked that he chose the honorable path with regard to her coming arranged marriage, although she hoped she could get out of it.
Ria especially liked sitting with him watching a calm lake while they held hands and didn’t talk at all. She liked getting up early, sipping coffee and taking little road trips around the area of Alienn with him as he pointed out things in the scenery and the wonderful world of Earth.
The amazing and exciting days she’d spent with Cam made Ria realize she could not marry Dirt Bag FitzOsbern. She just couldn’t. But she was trapped.
There were only two ways out. One was abuse. Dirt Bag wouldn’t even look at her let alone touch her, romantically or otherwise. He considered her tainted with the formerly-rich-but-now-impoverished disease. Unless he became a wife-beating monster, Ria’s only way out of this coming wedding was the second option. Her mother had to break the marriage agreement with the FitzOsberns.
Ria moved closer to Cam. “If I didn’t have this arranged marriage hanging over my head, I’d bop you over the head and drag you into my life forever.”
One corner of his mouth turned up. “Is that so?”
“It is.”
“You wouldn’t have to bop me over the head, you know. I’d come willingly.”
“Good to know.” Ria didn’t trust herself not to tackle him to the bed surface and have her wicked way with him. He was trying to be honorable and she was trying to let him.
“So what would it take, do you think? Money?”
“To get me out of this arranged marriage?”
He nodded, staring at her as if he had a few less than honorable thoughts circling around in his head, too.
“Even if Dirt Bag wanted to call it off—I’m pretty sure he does—my mother has the final say. She is the only one with the power to veto or discard the agreement signed twenty-five years ago. Trust me. She wouldn’t do that in a million years.”
“I see.”
“What are you thinking? Do you have some sort of plan? Maybe it’s one I haven’t considered.”
“What if you get married to someone else before the ship comes back?”
Ria’s optimism died. A long, forlorn sigh escaped her lips. She’d thought of that. “My mother would have the option of dissolving any partnership so I could complete the terms of the arranged marriage.”
He drilled an intense gaze into her face and opened his mouth, but Ria knew exactly what he was thinking. “Not even if I carried another man’s child would the arrangement be called off.”
Cam’s lips flattened. “That’s really too bad.”
“Why?”
“Because I love you, too, Ria. I’d love to marry you. I’d love to live here with you. I’d love to have babies with you, as many as you want. And I’d love waking up to this view with you every single day for the rest of our lives.”