Page 73 of Flawless

He kissed my cheek. My cheek? What was that about?

“Uh, thanks. So do you.” Why did this feel so awkward? “Are you okay?” When he didn’t respond, I sighed. “Are we okay?”

“I don’t know, Rylee.” He studied me. “You tell me.”

I flattened my palm against his chest, knowing this was the moment to go all in. “I love you,” I whispered, wrapping my arms around his waist. “That’s not gonna change.”

“But…?”

I frowned. “Why would you think there’s a but?”

He shrugged. “Because there usually is. This is the time when you start to list all the reasons why it won’t work or we should take it slow.”

Ouch. He was right. No wonder he’d been distant.

“Look, I’m sorry about⁠—”

“We should talk about this later, shouldn’t we? I don’t want to be late for your appointment.”

Shot. Down.

“Um, sure. Okay.”

I locked the door to my condo and dropped the keys in my purse before leading him down the hall to the elevator. Punching the button a little harder than necessary, I snagged my phone from the back pocket of my jeans and started scrolling. I didn’t give a rip about social media posts, but I refused to look him in the eye, in case he saw the tears I was fighting. Damn pregnancy hormones were making a mess of me.

We stepped onto the elevator in silence before he stabbed the button for the ground floor. I snuck a peek at him. His jaw was clenched and he was staring straight ahead, refusing to look at me.

“Why are you so pissy today?” I demanded. “You didn’t have to come to this appointment with me, you know. I could have gone by myself.”

“Don’t.” He raised a finger in warning. “Do not test me today, Rylee. I’m so sick of this back-and-forth, push-and-pull crap. I’m telling you; I’m done with it.”

Those tears I’d been holding back started spilling down my cheeks and I quickly swiped them away when the elevator landed on the ground floor and the doors slid open.

There was a little old lady, mail in hand, waiting to step on. Looking from me to Cam, her eyes widened when she saw my tears, before glancing at the gun strapped to his waist.

“Is everything okay, honey?” she asked, reaching for my wrist as she cast a nervous glance in Cam’s direction. “Do you need help? Should I call someone?”

Cam rolled his eyes before reaching into his back pocket and flashing his badge. “Everything’s fine, ma’am. My girlfriend and I just had a little disagreement, that’s all.”

“Oh!” Her eyes softened before she withdrew her hand from my arm. “I know what that’s all about. Me and my husband, Norm, we still bicker constantly, after fifty-three years of marriage.” She winked at me. “Keeps him on his toes. If we never fought, how boring would that be?”

I smiled politely, nodding. “True. Have a nice day, ma’am.”

I ran-walked to the front doors, waving to the security guard, who called out a greeting.

I didn’t even know whether Cam had flown and rented a car or driven to Nashville, so I scanned the parking lot, hoping to see his vehicle as I continued swiping at the tears that wouldn’t stop.

He ushered me off the walkway to a nearby bench and hauled me into his arms. “I’m sorry, okay? I shouldn’t have snapped at you. It’s just…” He sighed, resting his chin on the top of my head. “Ry, this is gettin’ old. Seeing you the odd weekend⁠—”

“I know.” I tipped my head back, still sniffling. “I’m sorry too. I hate that I’ve brought so much stress and upheaval into your life. I’m like a tornado⁠—”

“Baby,” he said, cradling my face in his hands and wiping my tears with his thumbs. “If you’re a tornado, then I must be the storm chaser. Because I can’t stay away from you.”

I closed my eyes, resting my head against his chest. “I hate myself for doing this to you. You don’t deserve this. When you said on the elevator that you’re tired of the push-and-pull, I get that. I know I’ve been sending you mixed messages, but⁠—”

“Sweetheart,” he said, silencing me with a kiss. “I know we need to talk about this. And I want to. But I’ll be honest, I’m nervous as hell about this appointment. I just want to see our little peanut on that screen and hear their heartbeat, so I can breathe again. Okay?”

Just when I thought I couldn’t love him anymore, he said something like that and challenged my belief. Men like Cam didn’t fall for girls like me. Yet somehow, he had. So, why wasn’t I rushing to put a ring on his finger?