It’s hard not to touch her after last night. She looks gorgeous, even more than I remembered.
I keep replaying last night in my head, how gooditfelt, how goodshefelt.
Should I bring it up?
No. Not unless she does. I don’t want to make her uncomfortable.
“And this is one of the spare bedrooms,” I push the door open. “It’s got its own en-suite and a walk-in wardrobe. There are two spare rooms free at the moment. This one’s my favourite, it gets great light in the afternoons.” I glance at her as she steps into the room, taking it in. She brushes her fingers along the edge of the timber dresser I made, like she’s still deciding whether any of this is real.
“I’ve got the master, and Tyler’s in the room furthest from me. This one’s closest to my room and the other spare room is between this one and Tyler’s. So, you can take whichever suits you best.” She walks slowly to the window, then back toward me. “You can look around a bit more if you want, think it over. There’s absolutely no pressure to stay. But if you do decide to, just so you know… There’s no deadline. No pressure to find somewhere else. Stay as long as you need. I’m here to help you.” She looks up at me, her eyes softening. A little glassy, like maybe she’s trying not to tear up.
“Thank you,” her voice is quiet. She glances around the room once more, then meets my eyes again. “Everything is so clean.”
I rub my hand on my neck nervously. I really wanted her to think it was clean, because truthfully, the place was a bit of a mess before she texted me. Not filthy, just messy. We were due to do a general clean. SoTyler and I spent the majority of the day cleaning up before she came over.
“I love it. I’ll take this room, please. It’s beautiful. This whole place is beautiful.”
“It’s yours, Camille. No timelines. No pressure. Just… whatever you need.”
And I mean it. The protective side of me is very happy about her living here, safe and close to me.
16
Mute
Fuck, I’m so bloody cringe.
I want to bring up last night but I don’t know how to.
So I end up putting myself on mute instead, because that’s normal.
Lucas showed me around his house and managed to fill my awkward silence. It turns out he’s not just a builder but he’s got his own construction business, and this place is one of his most recent builds.
I am obsessed. It felt like home the moment I walked through it. I don’t know if it’s the house itself… or if it’s him.
I had to stop myself from reaching for his hand more than once.
Being around him feels like standing too close to a fire in the cold—you know you should take a step back, but you just want to get closer.
Honestly, I think I stayed quiet mostly so I didn’t accidentally blurtout something insane likebend me over the kitchen benchortake me against that beautiful white wall.
I picked a room to stay in, and we walked back into the living space just as Tyler came through the back door, yelling out to me, “so, you gonna stay?”
He’s shirtless and sweaty. His body is insane. Not quite as solid as Lucas, but very athletic, all lean, defined muscle.
The moment he hugs me. I freeze.
I glance at Lucas, who’s now standing with his arms crossed, watching us. His expression’s unreadable, but I don’t miss the way his jaw twitches. There’s something sharp in his eyes. Something protective? Jealous, maybe?
I always hated jealously with Sean. He was possessive and controlling, he had no trust in me.
But for some sick reason, I don’t mind seeing Lucas a little jealous. To see that he wants me.
I pull away, then look back up at him and give Tyler my answer. “Yeah, I’m gonna stay. Just for a little while, ‘til I find a rental for Danielle, Gizmo and me. I don’t wanna intrude on this bachelor pad any longer than I have to.” I laugh a little and glance toward Lucas. “Thanks so much, Lucas. Really appreciate you both letting me stay. Promise I won’t overstay my welcome.”
“Cam, it’s no worries at all,” his voice calm and warm. “You’re welcome as long as you need. We’re happy to have you.” We smile at each other for a second too long, and I quickly turn back to Tyler.
“So… can I ask for another favour?” I’m a little hesitant to ask.
