My chest tightens.
“The museum and the charity outings went well,” Marissa adds quickly. “Low risk. High reward. We’ll plan more moments like that.”
I stare at the coffee table. At the ring of condensation under my water bottle. At anything except Cam.
“And the kiss,” Marissa continues, almost gleeful. “That was lightning. Fans went feral. Couples like you don’t just drop into our laps every day.”
Drop.
Into.
Our.
Laps.
Cam shifts beside me. I feel it more than I see it.
He clears his throat.
“If it helps stabilize things,” he says slowly, “yeah. I’ll keep doing it.”
The words are calm. Thoughtful. Measured.
But he doesn’t look at me when he says it.
My vision blurs around the edges.
The balcony fades. The way his thumb traced my cheek. The way the stadium disappeared for one breathless second.
All of it shrinks. Reframes. Becomes something staged.
Something I fell for anyway.
Marissa smiles like she just won something. “Perfect. That’s exactly the consistency we need.”
George nods enthusiastically. “Your compatibility score jumped again after the public kiss. It’s fascinating data.”
He's still smiling.
“Cam,” he adds, “this is the best publicity you’ve had in years.”
I wait for Cam to say something.
Anything.
To laugh it off. To correct them. To say,That’s not why I kissed her.
He doesn’t.
He nods once, jaw ticking like he’s holding something back.
George barrels on. “Honestly? Lila is the best thing that’s happened to your brand this year.”
Something inside me goes very still.
This is Reid all over again. Different face. Same outcome. Men standing taller in my light while I absorb the heat.
I’ve seen this ending.
