Cameron crosses his arms. “You left,” he says quietly. “Didn’t say goodbye.”
I squirm. “Sorry,” I say. “Sorry. It was rude. I just…” My eyes flick to Alec, who’s back against the far wall, his face half in shadow. “I couldn’t stay. I didn’t mean to be dramatic, I just…think I got in deeper than I meant to.”
“Aye,” Cameron growls. “Alec told us everything that happened. Trust me, we had words.”
“Plenty of them,” Fraser says, teeth glinting as he smiles humourlessly.
I nod awkwardly.
Cameron shifts his weight. “Can I sit,” he says. “Leg’s stiff.”
“Of course.” I try to bundle up my skirts as he drops down next to me. It doesn’t work, and the fabric immediately puffs out as soon as I let it go. He looks at the pink frothing over his knee with an expression I can’t read.
“Me too,” he says roughly.
“What?”
“I…” It looks like he’s struggling to get the words out. “I got in deeper than I meant to.”
“As did I,” Fraser adds cheerfully. “I think we all knew that. But to avoid any doubt—” He sits on my other side and smiles down at me. “I love you, Summer. Miss you. Want to be with you always.”
My heart stops. “What?” I croak.
“Aye,” Cameron says. “Me too.” I stare at him, and I swear his cheeks dust with pink. “Love you, I mean,” he says gruffly.
Ten seconds pass. Twenty.
“What?” I say again. I’m shaking. My skin is cold. I feel a bit like I might faint. “You can’t justsaythat,” I burst out.
“I want to be with you,” Cameron says levelly. “All the damn time. Hurts me when you’re hurting, and makes me feel good when you’re happy. I want—” He pauses, eyes narrowed on me. “She’s not okay,” he announces to the room.
That’s a bit of an understatement. My heart is flopping in my chest like a fish. I can’t process this. For the last four days, I’ve been getting used to the idea of being alone. And now Cameron and Fraser have flipped everything on its head again.
A foot steps in front of me. I look up to see Alec standing over me. Even though he’s obviously exhausted, he still looks unfairly beautiful, his black shirt open at the collar and exposing the line of his throat.
“Me too,” he says quietly. “I am so, so sorry, Summer. You scared me, and I massively overreacted. I should have never let you go. I love you.”
His words hit me like a bucket of cold water. The dizziness fades away, and my head clears. A hot feeling pricks at my stomach. It takes me a second to realise what it is.
Anger.
“I don’t believe you,” I say.
SEVENTY-FIVE
SUMMER
Alec physically flinches.
“I mean,” I continue slowly, “you asked me to be your girlfriend, and then immediately changed your mind. And now you say youloveme?” I look out of the window. London moves below. Even though it’s one in the morning, the city is still awake. “People always seem to treat loving me very casually. Like it’s something that can just change at any time. ‘I love you today, but I might not tomorrow.’ Like all of my followers if I post something they don’t like. Or my mum if I fail a test. I think I need to stop putting up with that.”
“Summer—” Alec starts, looking strained.
I cut him off. “You couldn’t even be with me for twelve hours without wanting to give me up. I’m not going to uproot my life to date someone who will just get sick of me. Again, I’m sorry that I scared you when the barn collapsed, but you didn’t even want to talk about it. You just told me to go. What am I meant to do with that?” I turn to Cameron and Fraser, who are both watching silently. “I’m sorry. You should go back to Lochview. You’ll get over me.”
Cameron stays silent. Fraser smiles sadly. “Never,” he says, his voice soft. “Never getting over you, sunshine.”
Alec takes another step forwards, his silvery eyes suddenly burning. “I know you don’t trust me,” he says. “And you have no reason to. But, Summer, if you can find it in yourself to let me, I promise Iwillprove myself to you. You’re right. I’ve had my priorities wrong. I have for years.”
