“I just can’t believe you’re keeping her from us. Breaks my heart to think my sweet baby boy is so ashamed of his family.”

Camden’s eyes rolled toward the ceiling as he abandoned the punching bag and started pulling the tape from his hands with his teeth. He should have known better than to answer his mom’s call in the middle of a workout, but if he’d blown her off, he never would’ve heard the end of it. Now his workout was shot, he was still just as tense as he’d been for the past three days, and he could add a motherly guilt trip like only a Catholic mom of multiple boys could pull off on top of all the other shit swirling around the toilet bowl that had become his life.

“Christ, Ma. I’m not ashamed of you guys. You know better than to say that.”

“Well, it’s the only reason I can think of why you haven’t already brought that pretty girl to meet your loving family.”

He had plenty of good reasons—he just couldn’t share any of them with his mother for fear of giving her heart palpitations. For starters, Sutton had barely spoken three words to him in as many days. His calls went unanswered, she only responded to every fourth text, and that was akways to say she was busy and she’d get back to him. She never did.

She’d gone cold again, and all he could think was that it was because she was still pissed about Wednesday night. It wasn’t like he fucking meant to miss dinner. He’d actually been looking forward to it, and getting to know her sweet neighbor better. It had been clear the old woman had a soft spot for Sutton, and he’d really loved that. But no matter how many times he tried to explain or apologize, it did nothing to lessen the chill from her freeze-out.

He was at a loss, and that pissed him right the fuck off. He couldn’t fix whatever was broken between them if she didn’t let him in. He’d given her time, allowing her to ice him out for three days, and he was quickly reaching the end of his patience.

Then an idea hit.

Turning back to the conversation as his mom rambled through the phone line, he said, “You know what, Ma? We’ll be there this Thursday.”

“This Thursday?” she screeched. “But… that doesn’t give me any time! I need to go to the butcher, scrub the house, get my hair set, let all the neighbors know, get the backyard ready for a party, and do the laundry so your father isn’t walkin’ around here in nothin’ but his underwear! Goodness. Oh goodness! There’s so much to do!”

The last thing on that list usually would have been the most disconcerting. Ever since his father’s retirement, the man had refused to wear pants, claiming it was his God-given right as an American who’d worked for most of his life to spend the rest of his days in comfort. As if him walking around in his underwear wasn’t bad enough, his dad preferred the hug of tighty-whities to normal boxers. And he wore them with socks and a T-shirt.

But that wasn’t what gave him pause. “Ma,” he started in a warning. “No party. It’s not necessary.”

“Of course it is!” she cried. “My precious baby boy is comin’ home for the first time in forever, and he’s bringing his girlfriend! If that’s not cause for a celebration, then I don’t know what is.”

“For Christ’s sake, I was there for Christmas.”

“But that was months ago,” she insisted. “And Maryanne Fortner from down the street has been braggin’ on that good-for-nothin’ son of hers now that he made manager at the Speedy Stop. Actin’ all high and mighty when everyone knows he’s sellin’ pot out back after closin’. Having my famous son home with his pretty little girlfriend is just what the neighborhood needs to knock that snooty woman down a few pegs.”

“You know I’m not comin’ so you can show up the neighbors, right? This is about you guys meeting Sutton, not scarin’ her so damn bad she runs screaming for the hills.”

He was having enough trouble keeping hold of her all on his own. Last thing he needed was for his insane family to make it that much worse.

“What are you talkin’ about?” she asked snappishly. “She’ll love us. Just you wait and see.”

“Ma, I’m serious. No. Party.

“Gotta go, sweetie. Things to do. Love and kisses, and I’ll see you soon!”

With that, she hung up, leaving Camden in even more need of a workout to relieve his stress.

* * *

Sutton

No getting around it, I was a terrible person. I’d been doing my best to ignore Camden for days, telling myself I needed to get my head together so we could go back to the way things were before we had sex. Incredible, earth-moving, turn-your-body-to-jelly sex.

Unfortunately, the more I avoided him, the harder it was to get us back on track. I’d reverted back into that awkward, unsure girl, afraid of taking the next step.

Sabrina had been no help at all. I’d spent the weekend at her place, using the excuse of missing my niece and nephew as a way to avoid my house. I knew Camden had come by a couple of times—Mrs. Whittaker had been all too happy to share that with me—but I hadn’t been ready. So, like a coward, I hid. Camped out in Sabrina and Bryan’s guest room instead of behaving like an adult. My sister, being the force of nature she was, had given me shit for being so flaky, so by the time I left there Sunday night, not only was my head still a mess, but the guilt was layered on thick as well.

As I sat at my desk, aimlessly doodling on a notepad instead of working, I tried to figure out how to make the transition back to good between us. I was in the middle of drawing my name in bubble letters when the sound of someone clearing their throat startled me from my trance.

My head shot up and my eyes went big at the sight of a very pissed-off Camden standing in front of my desk.

“C-Cam? What are you…? Uh, I mean, um… hi.”

“Hey,” he said on a grunt, his eyes flat as he lifted his chin in that macho guy way, where a wave or handshake is just too bothersome to deal with. “I’m here to see Tate.”

He spoke in that same cold, detached tone he used to direct at me back before we got to actually know each other. That stung like hell, but it was my own damn fault.

He was here for Tate. Not me. And damn, that stung too.

“Uh… y-yeah. Sure. Just g-go on in.”

He regarded me like some uninteresting specimen beneath a microscope. “You’ll need to be in there too.” He looked from my eyes to my notepad and curled his lip in a sneer. “That is if you can pull yourself away from your work. I know how busy you’ve been the past several days.”

Well shit. Yep, I was a terrible person. And now Camden knew it too.

My knees wobbled as I stood, and I had to brace myself on the desk before finally moving around it. He waved me to precede him, and when we reached Tatum’s office door, he stopped so close I could feel his breath on the back of my neck.

I somehow managed to knock and turn the knob with my shaky hand when she called for us to come in.

“Cam? Hey. I didn’t know you were stopping by,” she said, her eyes alight with curiosity and happiness at seeing her friend. But when I looked back, I saw that his hard expression hadn’t changed in the slightest.

“I needed to talk about this arrangement,” he stated plainly, and just like that, my stomach plummeted.

“Okay, well you guys come on in and take a seat.

This was it. It was finally over. He’d been blowing my phone up for days, and I’d left him hanging. It was obvious that my avoidance had finally pushed him over the edge, and he was here to put a stop to this whole sham. God, I was such an idiot.

Tate looked at me, her expression growing concerned before she turned back to her friend. All the while, I fidgeted uncomfortably in my seat, rubbing my damp palms across my designer skirt and biting on my bottom lip as I waited for the bomb to drop.

“So what’s up?” Tate asked, leaning forward and resting her clasped hands on the top of the desk.

“I know Sutton and I are supposed to be seen on another date this weekend…”

Here we go. Just rip it off like a Band-Aid.

“…but I need to change the schedule. I’m taking her to meet my family in Boston for a long weekend.”

There, it’s done—wait…

“What?” I squeaked, spinning in my chair to face him.

“That’s a fantastic idea!” Tate cheered. “I’m actually a little pissed I didn’t think of it myself. I mean, it’s the next logical step. The media has already gotten off the sex tape scandal and are speculating about when you guys are moving in together, so meeting the parents will only hype that up more. Brilliant, Cam!”

“Wait.” I gave my head a hard shake. “It’s barely been a month!”

Tate shrugged like it was no big deal. “People dig an insta-love story between a Hollywood star and the girl next door. Hell, that’s the basis of most Hallmark movies. This is what we wanted. And besides, you’re gonna have the best time. Val and Callum are the very best kind of people.”

“Val and Callum?” I asked, looking between Tate and Cam curiously.

“My folks,” Camden replied, his tone toward me glacier cold while his eyes warmed on Tate. “I’ve taken Tate home with me on a couple visits.”

A spike of jealousy lanced through my chest at hearing that. I knew Tate was happily married to the love of her life, but that didn’t mean hearing Camden had cared for her enough to take her to meet his family didn’t hurt. Because it sure as hell did.

I’d never actually asked about the specifics of their friendship. I knew it was platonic now, but had it always been? I just didn’t know, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to, no matter how badly the question needled at me.

Pushing those ugly feelings down into the pit of my stomach where I’d been keeping all the other unpleasant emotions lately, I reengaged in the conversation. “I’m not sure—”

“Nothin’ to be sure of,” Camden broke in, still as icy as ever. If he kept this up, I was going to need a freaking parka to ward off the chill. “Mom’s been on my ass for a while now, and she won’t be put off any longer. I already told her we’d fly up on Thursday.” His gaze finally came back to me, skewering me in place. “And I love my mom. I don’t like disappointing her.”

The way he said it left no room for argument. No way in hell was he letting his mom down.

We were going to Boston.

And I was going to play the doting girlfriend if it killed me.

Anything to make those dark blue eyes of his warm again, because I missed it desperately. And I was pretty sure I couldn’t survive the frostbite they were giving me.