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I glanced around the empty and probably dusty room and frowned. “I was just here to pick up a few things, then I was gonna head back to Henry’s.”
Cameron nodded, scanning the space as well. “Hmm . . . looks like you don’t have many personal things here.”
I looked around with new eyes and realized he was . . . right. Huh. “You’re not wrong. I guess everything’s over at Henry’s.”
Cameron crossed his arms, cocking one hip. “And why haven’t you moved in with him yet?”
“Hey, he hasn’t asked me!”
One eyebrow quirked up.
“Well, he hasn’t,” I snarked.
The other shot up to meet it.
“Okay, I know he wants to ask, but I don’t see how we could explain moving in together without telling people we are together.”
My bestie’s eyes narrowed.
“Okay! Fuck. I’m scared. I love him, I want to commit to him, but the thought is terrifying. What if he leaves? What if we break up? What if he destroys my heart?”
Cameron’s face softened. “What if he helps put it back together?”
I froze in the light of his mic drop. Because I understood what he wasn’t saying.
Love was a risk; there was no way around that. Because to love and be loved required honesty and vulnerability. It required opening your heart to another person, giving them the power to hurt you. It required an incredible amount of trust. Trust I’d been hesitant to give to him, to anyone after what my parents and Chad did.
But who deserved my trust more than Henry? Henry was the perfect man for me, that beautiful, wonderful switchy Daddy, and we fit together so well. He was my missing piece, my anchor, my haven, my heart, my soul.
I wanted all of him. But more importantly, I wanted to give him all of me, too, fear be damned.
One corner of Cameron’s lip curled up. “I think I literally just saw the lightbulb turn on.”
I chuckled. “You probably did. I love him so much, but I’ve been scared to really go all in. But it’s time to give him every part of me, the good, the bad, and the ugly. I can trust him with my heart—he’s proved that time and time again. And Cameron, I want him so much. He’s my . . . shit, he’s my soulmate, the love of my life. And I know he’d say the same about me.”
Cameron’s eyes were shiny when he reached for both of my hands, stretching them between us. “Then talk to him, Tris. He deserves to see all of you, even if it’s terrifying.” He dropped my hands and leaned in for a quick hug before pulling away again. “Now let’s get you packed up, and you can head back to your man. Maybe get your brains fucked out of your body.”
I gasped in mock horror. “Cameringo! We are gentlemen here!”
My bestie tapped my shoulder playfully. “Didn’t we just talk about this a few hours ago? You know we are abso-fucking-lutely not gentlemen.”
I threw my head back and laughed, feeling lighter already. “You are abso-fucking-lutely right.”
***
Despite my revelation, my stomach was still in knots as I made my way back to Henry’s with even more things from my condo. I’d need to hire people to move all my stuff back out if the worst ever happened, which just proved my subconscious was already all in with my Daddy—my brain just hadn’t caught up.
But first, I had to tell Henry about what my dad did and hope he didn’t hate me.
I drew in a deep breath as I crossed the threshold of his front door, unlocking it with the key he’d given me months ago. He’d told me earlier to let myself in while he finished at Mix It Up.
As I carried my things to the top floor—our bedroom, as I’d come to think of it—I contemplated the best way to tell Henry what happened. My face wasn’t red any longer, so I doubted he would instantly be able to tell something was wrong.
It would be up to me to fess up. And shit, that was scary. But Henry deserved the truth. He deserved everything I could give him and so much more.
Less than twenty minutes after I’d sent him a text to let him know I was here, Henry walked into his bedroom in a black Mix It Up branded T-shirt and gray jeans. He looked positively edible, but I needed to wait until we talked before I could jump his bones.
I just hoped he still wanted me to stay when we were done.