I smile, and when she smiles back, hope blooms in my chest.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
THE TRUTH ABOUT MOODS
JULIANA
It’s an understatement to say that my mind has been all over the place in the span of twenty-four hours.
My fingers grip the edge of the counter like it can anchor me. I need something to keep me steady.
All I can think about is Camden.
The way his lips felt on mine, the warmth of his palm cupping my jaw like I was something sacred…the kiss—slow and deliberate, like he was savoring every second and never wanted it to end.
I’ve been swimming in that memory all night and all morning, letting it settle into me…adjusting to the way it feels to have Camden’s affection versus his annoyance.
I far prefer it.
In fact, last night, I was giddy about it. I thought it was the start of something big—the start of us.
And then he saw Jackson.
He took one look at my brother, and it was as if the entire day we’d spent together vanished. He stiffened, eyes like a caged animal, and then he ran. Not literally, but close enough.
Jackson pops into town without warning all the time. But Camden hasn’t been here long enough to know that yet. And even though they’ve practically shared brain cells for years, he acted like seeing Jackson was a shock to his system.
God, why are men so complicated?
I press a hand to my forehead, trying to rub away the pressure. I don’t have time to have a headache or to overthink everything, for that matter.
I just thought yesterday meant something. The way Camden looked at me was like hesawme. Like I wasn’t Jackson’s little sister anymore.
Maybe he’s going to tell me later that the kiss was a lapse in judgment, a heat-of-the-moment kind of thing.
But if things are anything like the past, I think he’s scared of Jackson. Well, not scared exactly…more like loyal. He practically bleeds honor, and my guess is that kissing your best friend’s younger sister after promising to never date her checks all of his dishonor boxes.
If that’s what this is about, I swear…
It was one thing when we were younger. I hated it then, that he dropped me like a dirty shirt because my brother said it was weird that we were close, but so help me, if that’s still really going to be an issue…
I shouldn’t get ahead of myself. It was one kiss. One great day after many horrible days. But he watches me when he thinks I’m not looking. And yesterday I remembered the guy who really knows me. I felt like I remembered who he was too.
Which is what makes all of this so frustrating.
He’s infuriatingly closed off. I could always get him to talk when he went quiet. Sometimes people accused him of beingmoody, but I knew it was just that he kept so much inside. He felteverythingbut said very little. When Camden’s siblings or Jackson thought he was in a bad mood, it was usually because he was worried about a grade or he needed some quiet for a while…or sometimes, he was sick and didn’t want to bother anyone about it.
I used to get such a thrill from thinking I knew Camden better than anyone. That’s why it hurt so much when it felt like, all of a sudden, I hadn’t really known him at all.
Well, guess what, Whitman? You’ve let me in a little bit now, and I don’t plan on letting you pretend otherwise.
Unless he’s a better actor than I’ve ever given him credit for, he wanted that kiss to happen yesterday.
When I get off work, I still haven’t heard from Camden, and since he’s working by now, I don’t know if I will.
Jackson keeps asking if I’m okay, and I keep lying and saying I’m fine. He left a little while ago to go see Camden…another reason I don’t really expect to hear from Camden.
I drag myself up the steps of the porch, exhausted. My shoulders ache from a long day of distracted work while I dissected the inner workings of Camden Whitman’s mind. I can’t wait to sink into Mildred. My feet are tired from all the walking I did yesterday in new boots.
