I pulled up Cam’s contact, my thumb hovering over the message field. What was I meant to say? Hey, so I know I keep running away but I’d really like to kiss you again? That sounded insane.
“Just be honest.” Mia was reading my mind again. “Say what you feel.”
I typed slowly, deleting and retyping three times before I finally settled on something that didn’t make me want to throw my phone into traffic.
Hey. Can we talk? Maybe tonight after the girls are in bed?
I hit send before I could second-guess it, then immediately wanted to throw up.
“There.” I set my phone down hard. “Done. Happy?”
“Very.” Poppy was beaming. “See? That wasn’t so bad.”
My phone pinged almost immediately, making my heart leap into my throat.
Of course. I’ll text you when they’re down.
I turned the screen to show Mia. A smile curved her lips. “See? He wants to talk too.”
“Or he wants to let me down easy.” The fear was creeping back in, cold and familiar.
“Stop it.” Hannah covered my phone with her hand. “Take the win, Emily.”
I nodded, but my stomach twisted. I promised to talk to him. I didn’t promise to survive the fallout.
EMILY
My phone buzzed on the kitchen counter, just as I was stacking the last plate in the dishwasher. Maya’s wide-eyed gaze met mine. I reached for my phone with shaky hands.
Girls are down. Come through the side gate when you’re ready.
I stared at the message, my heart doing that stupid fluttery thing that was fast becoming its constant state.
I’d been rehearsing this conversation in my head all day. Trying out different ways to say what I needed to say. Practiced in the shower, in front of the mirror, while I was drying my hair.
None of it sounded right.
“Emily.” Maya knew exactly what I was doing. “Quit stalling.”
“You’re right.” I squared my shoulders and loosened the choke hold I had on my phone.
“Good luck.”
“Thanks.”
“I’ll be here to hug you if it goes pear-shaped.”
“Double thanks.”
I shoved my phone into my back pocket and headed for the back door on legs that felt like jelly. Down my porch steps and across the grass to the side gate. The bolt slid open easily now. Oh, had he greased it? He must have. Somehow the knowledge settled the butterflies rioting in my belly.
Cam was waiting on the back veranda, sprawled in one of the recliners like he’d been there a while. The porch light cast shadows across his face, highlighting the strong line of his jaw, the slight scruff he hadn’t shaved today. He looked relaxed, but tension tightened in his shoulders when he saw me.
“Hey.” He didn’t get up, just watched me approach.
“Hey.”
I dropped into the recliner next to his, feeling the warmth radiating off him. How easy would it be to reach over and touch him?
