She nodded. She gathered her belongings with the delicate hands he had dreamed about last night, and they headed for the elevator.
The tension between them crackled. Every move she made echoed in his body, as he waited for that first touch. She was all buttoned up in that suit, and her hair was twisted into a tight bun like she was waiting for someone to take it down.
Please let itbe me.
The elevator doors opened, and she stepped in and pushed the button. She didn’t look at him until the doors closed.
“I thought you didn’t fly.”
He crossed his arms. “Until yesterday I didn’t.”
“And then you suddenly got over your fear?” She raised an eyebrow.
“Not quite,” he said. “The real story involves a shitty day on my part when you left, enough tranquilizers tosubdue a horse and a really big favor by Simon.”
Her eyes softened. “He came with you? You told me he was never coming back to the US again.”
“He wasn’t. As I said, it was a really big favor.”
“Oh.” She looked down at the floor.
He frowned. It was the second flight Simon had coached him through, and Cameron hoped to God that it was the last time he ever had to ask for a favor likethat again. He hoped that the next time he had to force himself onto a plane, Jackson would be sitting next to him instead. He shuddered. Just thinking about climbing into that metal coffin was going to flip the switch back into that awful abyss. And he wasn’t going back there. Not now. Not if he didn’t have to.
After descending a few more floors, she turned to him again. “Why are you here?”
He blinked. Did she really not understand?
“I’m here for you,” he said slowly. “Because your career is at stake while the board just thinks Harlan Blackmore’s stubborn son is acting up again. And if you got fired and I just got a new PR plan, then...”
She looked up at him, eyes wide. He couldn’t stop himself this time. They were still in the elevator of his father’s building, wherethey were probably being watched by someone, but he couldn’t wait any longer. He turned to her and ran the backs of his fingers down her cheek.
“Then none of this could work out right,” he whispered.
The elevator dinged, and the doors opened into the lobby. Their shoes echoed as they crossed the stone floor, but she didn’t say a word. They walked out into the November wind. Damn, it wascold. Why the hell did anyone live in this climate? Cameron put on his jacket and zipped it up, then he looked down at Jackson. She had some sexy little pair of shoes on, and she was already shivering.
“Can we find somewhere to talk?” he asked. “Somewhere a little warmer?”
She studied him. “I don’t know. I really appreciate that you came all this way to help me out today, especially consideringyou never fly. But spending time together is only going to make the goodbye harder.” She blinked up at him, and for a moment, she looked young and vulnerable. This was the same woman who could handle Harlan Blackmore and his board. But the way she was staring up at him, so lost and worried, he wanted to hold her and make her smile again. He was so gone on this woman.
He gently interlaced hercold fingers in his. “Jackson, let’s get a taxi and go somewhere far from here. Somewhere warm. Then you can spend all the time you want telling me why we shouldn’t do this.”
She smiled, and some of the lost look faded. Finally, she whispered, “Okay.”
The taxi ride was quiet, and the car dropped them off in front of an old-fashioned Italian café. He held the door open for her, and thewarm air flooded out. The place was nearly empty. Jackson sat down at one of the tiny tables by the window. She crossed her legs and rubbed her hands together. God, she looked cold. She belonged in Sydney with him. But they were a long way from that.
The waitress came up to take their orders, but Cameron had no idea what the hell he was supposed to order in a place like this. There were allsorts of girly-looking breads and desserts, but he wasn’t hungry. Jackson was the only thing on his mind right now.
Thankfully, she just ordered a coffee. He did, too, and the waitress disappeared, leaving them in silence.
“Where’s Simon?” she asked after a while.
“Miami.”
Her eyebrows rose. She waited for more, but he wasn’t going to get into that.
Simon hadn’t said a wordabout his plans, but Cameron knew what he was doing. If Simon had flown to Miami, he was going to the house of the woman he’d never got over. Who he thought he never deserved in the first place. Who was now married. Even moving halfway around the world hadn’t helped that wound heal. But that was Simon’s shit to tell, not his.
Besides, he hadn’t come here to talk about Simon. It was time toclear the air. “First, about that email my father showed you. I wrote it the morning before we met.” Cameron added, “Before we met in the office. As soon as I saw who you were, I called that off.”
