I frown. “What do you mean more likeyou?”
He exhales again and takes a deep breath. “Moments when I thought we almost kissed,” he finally says. “Like maybe you had feelings for me. God, I am so out of my element right now. I don’t have issues talking to women, Juju. I think you’re the only woman who’s ever made me nervous.”
I put my hand on my cheek, still flushed from him saying he thinks we’ve almost kissed.So I haven’t been imagining it…
“Why do I make you nervous?”
“Because I’ve always cared what you thought, whether it’s trying to get a reaction out of you, making you mad to see how you’ll fight back, wanting to know what you think about my cooking, wondering if you’re having a good time, or if you want to kiss me as much as I want to kiss you…”
I move up to my tiptoes, put my hand on his cheek, and kiss him. In the next second, one hand goes around my waist, and the other goes to my cheek. He kisses me with everything he’s got.
I’ve tried to imagine what kissing Camden Whitman would feel like for a very long time, and this far surpasses anything I could have imagined. For how careful he’s been to say things right in the past few minutes, there’s nothing careful about theway he’s kissing me now. He’s bold and self-assured, like he knows exactly what I need and is making sure to deliver.
My legs feel weak. My heart is racing. My hands explore his chest, his back, his hair.
He makes me feel things I’ve never felt.
Someone clears his throat behind us, and we break apart, both dazed as we turn to look at the person.
An older man points to the restroom that we didn’t realize we were blocking.
“Hated to interrupt that, but duty calls,” he says, chuckling.
We get out of the way, and then Camden leans his forehead on mine as we smile at each other.
“Holy fuck,” he whispers. “Did that just happen?”
“Yes, he really had to go,” I whisper back.
His lips are back on mine when he says, “That’s not what I meant, and you know it.”
“I’m not sure it did, so you should kiss me again…just to make sure…”
His kiss is slower this time, but when the man comes out of the bathroom a few minutes later and we’re still kissing, we all three laugh. Camden pulls away and takes my hand, bringing it up to his lips.
“I don’t want to stop,” he says. “But I guess this isn’t the place to kiss your face off.”
“It was working for me.” I lift my shoulder in a shrug, unable to drop my smile.
“I’ve stayed in town longer than I intended. Do you have to get back tonight? Could Hector and Hal cover for you?”
I make a face. “I wish, but no. I should get back, and I should probably go soon so it’s not too late. Plus, we should pick up our things from the store.”
“Right.” He nods, but I can see the disappointment in his face. I’m disappointed too. It feels like we just opened a wholePandora’s box, and I don’t like saying goodbye immediately after all that. On the other hand, maybe it’s good to get some distance so I don’t do anything crazy with him.
We can see how things are back in Windy Harbor…
“I really don’t want to leave you, but I understand. I should get back too. I just wish…” He reaches out and runs his thumb over my cheek.
“I know. Me too,” I tell him.
He smiles. “Should we go get more icicles in our noses?”
I laugh. “When you put it that way, what are we thinking? Let’s never step outside again!”
He laughs and puts his arm around my shoulder. “I’ll keep you warm.”
The walk to our cars is much sweeter than it was before. He keeps me as warm as possible, which is to say, we’re both shivering when we get to our cars. He opens my car door for me and gives me one quick kiss before shutting my door.
