Page 14 of Flawless

“Nobody’s perfect.” He reached for my hand and sighed, sitting back when I withdrew again. “So, that’s it then? You’re gonna shut me down ‘cause you don’t want to hurt my career? I don’t get a vote?”

When I didn’t say anything, he stood and tossed some bills on the table.

My heart was in my throat as I watched him reach for his cell phone. I wanted to beg him to stay, but I couldn’t do that to him.

“You have a nice life, Rylee.”

Chapter Six

Cameron

I’d said goodbye to my sister and Austin and was already an hour outside of the city when I pulled up at a stoplight and pounded the steering wheel in frustration.

Damn it, I didn’t want to leave her like this.

I’d walked out of Jimmy’s and never looked back. That was just two hours ago, and I couldn’t get out of town fast enough. But it didn’t feel right. It felt like I was leaving something important behind. Leaving too much left unsaid.

So, without overthinking it, I made a U-turn and drove back in the direction of her place, prepared to demand answers. Determined to make the girl who seemed so fearless face her fears about us.

Ten minutes into my drive back, Austin called. “Hey man, what’s up?”

“I just wanted to check in on you. You seemed a little off when you left. And it was kind of sudden. We thought you’d be sticking around a couple more days, at least.”

I’d been tight with my sister’s boyfriend in high school, but we’d drifted apart when Eden married someone else just out of college. I was glad they’d found their way back to each other. Made me feel like I was getting my old friend back too.

“It was kind of sudden.” I drummed the steering wheel, trying to decide how much I should tell him. I knew Austin and Rylee were close too, and I didn’t want to say more about our relationship than she would want him to know.

“A work thing?” Austin pressed.

“No, it was definitely personal.”

“How did it go with Rylee the other night? Did you end up going over there?”

I had a feeling he was playing dumb. Since we followed each other on social media, and he was living with my sister, he’d probably already seen the pictures.

“Yeah, I did.” The cop in me waited to see if he’d volunteer any information.

“And?”

“Quit playing games, Austin. Just tell me if you’ve seen the pics of us making the rounds online.”

Like I’d suspected, people at Jimmy’s had been posting photos and video of Rylee and her ‘new mystery man’ online all night.

He chuckled. “Busted. Y’all looked pretty tight. So, what the hell caused you to leave town in such a hurry? Did you get into an argument with her?”

“You could call it that.”

It still pissed me off to think that she’d decided she wasn’t ‘good for my career’. That was total bullshit. I’d busted my ass to move up the ranks. The goal was always to hold the position I had now. But after meeting Rylee, I had to admit my sister was right: there had to be more to life than work.

“You don’t want to talk about it, that’s fine. I won’t⁠—”

“She’s worried it will hurt my career if people think we’re a couple. I mean, it’s not like we are. We’re just getting to know each other. We haven’t even slept together yet.” Austin was a lifelong friend, which meant I could say things to him I wouldn’t say to my nosy little sister.

“Huh.”

“What?”

“You guys seem really into each other. But I get where she’s coming from.”