“You thought right.” Jo squeezed his hand, making her eyes frank and sure. “I’m in love with Cam. I have been for years.”
Hope sagged and disappeared from Peter’s expression. His mouth attempted a halfhearted, one-sided grin.
“Why do the good girls always fall for the bad boys?”
“Cam’s not a bad boy. He won’t hurt me.”
Jo tugged at the hand Peter still gripped, but he didn’t let go. He pulled her close until mere inches separated them. He grabbed her other hand and pulled them both to his chest. He squatted the few inches it took for them to be eye level.
“I’ve never met another woman like you, Jo.” Eyes earnest, he caressed her hand. “I care about you. If things don’t work out with Cam…”
His words trailed off and he slipped a hand to the back of her head, lowering his head and brushing his lips over hers. Jo jerked back, firmly pulling her hands away.
“Peter, no.”
“Jo, if you’d just consider—”
“She said no.”
Cam’s voice behind them jerked her around. The ice in his eyes sent a chill across Jo’s bare arms.
“Cam, you’re back.” Jo took a small step away from Peter.
He nodded, pulling her to his side and dropping a quick kiss in her hair, but remaining silent.
She looked at the hand holding hers, no ice cream in sight.
“Mocha chip?”
“We have ice cream at home.”
Peter glanced down at the ground, slid his hands into his pockets, and rocked back on his heels. He twisted his mouth into the closest he could probably come to an affable smile.
“Well, the guys are waiting for me. I’ll see you in the morning, Jo.” He looked at Cam, nodding toward Jo. “You’ve got an amazing woman here.”
Cam tilted his head and narrowed his eyes, pouring his tension into the tight line of his lips. Jo had seen him look at her boyfriends that way in the past, but this time there seemed to be an extra layer of lethal.
“Peter, I’ll see you in the morning.” Her eyes pleaded with him to go and let her deal with Cam’s obvious displeasure.
He hesitated, glancing at Cam’s hand linked with hers.
“Okay. Yeah.” He nodded, his face softening by degrees. “See you in the morning.”
Peter turned and walked away.
And now for the fun part.
“Cam, I—”
“Don’t.” Cam looked toward the square where people were setting up chairs and blankets on the grass for the concert. “Let’s just go.”
Jo couldn’t take the silence in the car and eventually turned on the radio, closing her eyes and allowing Adele’s epic voice to wash over her, but it did little to calm her nerves.
They entered the house, and Jo stood in the foyer, unsure of what would happen next. Would Cam march back out to his car and drive home, leaving her here alone? Would he drag her upstairs and make love to her until she could barely walk? If he was taking suggestions, that was hers.
“Come on.” Cam headed toward the kitchen, turning his head just enough for her to hear his words. “You wanted ice cream.”
“We really do have ice cream, huh?”
“I said we did, didn’t I?”
Jo followed, steps lagging behind, mind racing ahead. Cam, already in the kitchen, took out two spoons and a carton of unopened mocha chip ice cream. Jo sat on the stool and followed their time-honored tradition of digging right into the carton with her spoon. Cam sat on the stool beside hers but didn’t look up from the counter.
“Why are you mad at me?” Jo asked when the silence got to be too much.
“I’m not mad.” Cam rolled his eyes and then met hers. “Okay, I’m irritated.”
“I didn’t know Peter would be there.”
“Did you know he’d kiss you?”
“Cam, listen—”
“You like him.” Cam studied her face as if her expression might tell him something she might withhold, but she had nothing to hide.
“Yeah, I do.”
“A lot.”
“Yeah, a lot.”
“He’s kissed you before?”
“You know we’ve been on several dates the last few weeks.”
“Don’t hedge. Isn’t that what you always tell me?”
Jo turned the spoon to cup her tongue, knowing her answer would displease him but wanting to be honest.
“We’ve kissed.”
“You liked it?”
Now Jo rolled her eyes, setting the spoon on the counter with a clatter.
“This isn’t fair.”
“Have you slept with him?”
“What if I have?” Jo gave in to the indignation she had barely checked since Cam went all cold and prickly on the sidewalk. “You and I have been together all of a day, and you have the nerve to question me about what I did before? After what you’ve put me through?”
“I wasn’t judging you.”
“Good, because you don’t get to.”
“I was just asking—”
“If I’d slept with Peter. I heard you.”
Jo dipped her spoon back into the carton, teasing the mocha chips out of the ice cream.
“What if I have? Would that make a difference?”
Cam looked away, gripping his spoon until she thought it would bend. He put the spoon down, still not giving her his eyes. He swiveled on the stool, resting his elbows on the counter and his feet on the stool rung.
“It wouldn’t make me want you less, if that’s what you mean.” Bits of shrapnel lodged in his deep voice. “But it would make it harder for me with the two of you working so closely.”
Jo slipped from her stool and stood in front of him, sliding her hands under the sleeves of his shirt, skidding her palms over taut skin and hard muscle. He drew in a sharp breath, finally looking up to meet her eyes.
“I didn’t sleep with Peter.”
Only when his shoulders dropped, releasing tension, did she realize how much her answer mattered to him. He rested his palms on her lower back and drew her between his thighs. His lips journeyed up her neck until he reached her ear.
“I’m glad.”
Jo fought off the little imps stealing all her sanity with every kiss he feathered over her skin. She drew back and met his eyes.
“And what about you?”
“I haven’t slept with Peter, either.”
“Come on, I’m serious. If you get to ask me who I’ve slept with, it’s only fair that I get to ask you.”
“Ask me anything.”
“Etinette. How many times have you slept with her?”
“Never.”
“Don’t lie to me, Cam.”
“I’m not lying. Never. I used her to throw you off the trail some, but those kisses you saw in New York were as far as it ever went.”
Jo pressed her nose into his neck, inhaling him and twining her arms around his back. She nuzzled beneath the collar of his shirt, pressing a kiss to the warm skin there.
“Promise?”
He pulled back, brushing the hair behind her ears and cupping her face, caressing her cheekbones with his thumbs.
“I promise.” He bent to tuck his chin between her neck and shoulder. “And I’ve never wanted anyone the way I want you.”
“Then why…?” The unfinished question was a Rubik’s Cube she kept twisting and turning, examining from every angle and still unable to solve.
If he wanted her so much, why didn’t he just take her? He had to know she would fully cooperate. And why had it taken so long for them to get here?
Cam set her gently aside and covered the ice cream, putting it away and coming back to grab her hand. He brushed his fingers across the skin beneath her eyes and held her face.
“You’re exhausted, baby.”
She smiled into the palm of his hand and kissed it.
“You called me baby.”
“Because you are. My baby, I mean.” He kissed her forehead. “And I won’t hesitate to fuck Peter up if he forgets.”
“Cam, for God’s sake.”
“And he knows it.”
“When did you become all caveman?”
Even though no one was in the house but them, he leaned in to whisper in her ear like it was a secret.
“Last night in the gazebo, you came when I kissed you. Somewhere around then.”
Her cheeks must be the color of beets.
“Will I never live that down? I told you that’s never happened before.”
“Aw, you saved that for me.” He ran a thumb across her bottom lip. “Now to bed.”
“You’re coming with?”
For a moment, the fight going on inside of him showed on his face. Then he relaxed, steered her to the back steps. He gave her a subtle nudge, pulling her into his side and resting his hand on her hip.
“I’m coming with.”
He paused halfway up the steps and pressed her against the wall. He kissed her, licking into the wet heat of her mouth, sliding his hands down to palm her butt. He pulled her up onto her toes, feeding her the words she’d been hungry for. For years.
“And, Jo, the answer is yes. I do want to be your boyfriend.”
O
nly a few kisses.
Jo hasn’t slept with him.
They’re just friends.
Cam rolled the words around, but they pinged off the jealous walls of his mind like spiked marbles. Seeing Jo standing in the empty conference room so close to Peter drew his hands into fists at his sides. Wrapped barbed wire around his chest. Drove nails into his eyes until they bled red.
If it was just Jo he had to worry about, he wouldn’t be worried at all. But there was Peter. Kind, compassionate, dependable Peter, with his gentle hand on Jo’s shoulder. A concerned look on his face. And love in his eyes every time he looked at Jo.
Peter might have accepted defeat gracefully on the sidewalk last night, but Cam didn’t buy it. Peter wasn’t giving up. He was probably just biding his time. Probably thinking Jo would wise up and get over Cam. Probably thinking a guy like Cam would inevitably screw up a good thing with a good girl like Jo.
He was probably right.
Peter’s blue eyes, always soft when they rested on Jo, hardened and held when they spotted Cam in the doorway. If this was a stare-off, Peter was in trouble. Cam had lost his flinch reflex long ago. He learned as a kid how to look with a steady stare on the heinous. A pair of baby blue eyes wouldn’t undo him.
“Hey, Cam.” Peter gave Jo’s shoulder one last squeeze before stepping away.
Jo turned toward the door where Cam stood, her face telling him all he needed to know. Peter might make sense to anyone looking in. He might be Jo’s perfect match on paper, but he didn’t put that look on her face. Like the universe had coalesced into one man—like the galaxy was in front of her and was hers to explore. How could
he
put that look on her face? In her eyes? Cam’s own mother had treated him like yesterday’s garbage, but
this
woman looked at him like that? Life had beaten him down more than once trying to dislodge his pride and capsize his dignity. But that look in Jo’s eyes—that humbled him.
And even humbled, he still had something to prove. He could have walked over to them, drawn Jo close to his side, and rubbed his right to hold her all up in Peter’s face. Instead, he did something he knew Peter would understand. He held his ground at the door and waited for the pull between him and Jo to work on her. Sometimes he wished he couldn’t read people so well, that his childhood hadn’t taught him to live on high alert and to use the clues on people’s faces to survive, but it had, and right now it served him well. He watched need gather in Jo’s eyes and want soften her mouth. And she came to him. Left Peter and came to him, hand already stretched in his direction.
“Hey.” She wove her fingers between his and stepped so close their chests touched. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”
He snared Peter’s eyes over Jo’s head to make sure he’d gotten the message.
She’s mine. Touch her and I’ll fuck you up.
Peter watched Jo with Cam, then blinked and dropped his gaze to the floor. His shoulders slumped an inch, and Cam almost felt sorry for the guy. Almost.
He knew what it was like to be second choice. Hell, he’d been his own
wife’s
second choice, but he had always been first with Jo.
“I had a meeting with Bash and Shaundra.” His hand claimed the curve of her waist and he kissed her forehead. “Just stuff for the exhibit.”
“It’s going well?” Jo ran a thumb over his wrist, a caress more subtle than the one in her eyes.
Jo’s eyes belied the banal words she was saying. Her eyes told him she didn’t want to talk. She wanted to kiss him, but not in front of Peter. Need slammed Cam’s heart against his chest. He needed to kiss her, too. To enfold her. To consume her and be consumed, and if Peter didn’t leave soon, he would get more than he’d bargained for.
“Yeah, so far.” Cam looked past the desire on her face and saw the strain. “Tough meeting?”
He ran his thumb across one high cheekbone. She closed her eyes and pressed into his palm, simply nodding.
“Yeah. Some board members don’t understand why we’re matching funds for middle- and lower-income couples. Adoption is expensive, and it would take forever for some of those families to get that kind of money. Shockingly, I wasn’t exactly patient with the board.” She turned in Peter’s direction, a small smile working its way onto her tired face. “Peter kept me calm and convinced them. Thanks again.”
Peter slid his iPad under one arm and pushed the other hand into the pocket of his slacks, looking debonair. Cam didn’t do debonair or man-about-town. He knew he was a wild animal who had escaped his cage, and he was enjoying the freedom while it lasted. Cam wanted no part of debonair.
“Teamwork.” Peter took the few steps that carried him to the door, looking back at the two of them. “I’ll see you in the morning, then.”
Peter turned at the door, eyes lingering on Jo in that way that was starting to corrode Cam’s patience like battery acid.
“See ya.” Jo smiled and waved before turning back to Cam with a smile. “Hi, you. I wasn’t expecting to see you until tonight.”
Cam couldn’t wait another second. He had watched her lips moving long enough without tasting them, without feeling them move under his. He wrapped his fingers around the back of her neck and lowered his mouth to hers, eating up whatever she’d been about to say. She opened for him, her mouth hot and slick inside. The slide of their tongues together was a wordless conversation he’d wanted to have with her all day. He skated his hands under the loose silk of her dress, gripping the muscles in her long legs.
“These legs.” He pressed the words against her lips, into her smile before she pulled back to peer up at him. She traced a nail over the buttons of his shirt.
“The first time I noticed you noticing me was at that pool party when I was fifteen.” Her steady stare faltered like she was afraid she’d made it up. “Do you remember?”
“You wore a bright red bikini with pink daisies.”
Relief flashed on her face for a moment before she covered it up with an easy smile.
“Yeah. That was it.”
“I couldn’t take my eyes off you all night.” Cam slid his hands from her legs to cup her ass under the dress, bare save the thong. “This right here had every guy at the pool hard as a rock.”
Jo’s eyes drifted down his chest and to the floor, a smile toying with the corners of her lips.
“You like my butt?”
“I like mangos in my salsa.” He splayed his fingers over the cheeks in his hands, stroking his pinky finger over that lucky strip of flesh between her butt and her thighs. “I’m infatuated with your ass.”
Her eyes dragged back up his chest until they reached his face. There was the kind of confidence Jo wore like her decadent lingerie, under her clothes, laying against her skin and girding her. Hidden, private. And then there was the confidence a woman gained from knowing her man desired her above all others. That she wore like an accessory. A piece of jewelry to flash, something jangling around her wrists and making noise. He wanted to see that on Jo. After all the years he’d held back with her, he wanted her to be sure of him.
“Just my ass?”
Cam looked around her back at his hands conspicuously under her dress.
“I’d say that’s plenty.”
“Why, you—”
A throat clearing at the door cut off Jo’s laugh and whatever she’d been about to say. She stepped out of his arms and turned her back to him. Cam tried his best not to grin at the discomfort on Shaundra’s face.
“Um…” Shaundra finally looked up, meeting his eyes and not Jo’s. “I just wanted to let you know I was able to do what you asked, Cam.”
Jo looked up and over her shoulder at him.
“What
you
asked? What’d you ask my assistant to do?”
“Thanks, Shaundra. You can go now.”
“Shaun, wait.” Jo turned to face him. “What’s going on?”
“I asked Shaundra to clear your schedule for the rest of the day.”
“But it’s only three o’clock.” Jo faced her assistant. “What about Ms. Jennings from the Arts Society?”
“Canceled.” Shaundra shifted her eyes between Cam and Jo like she wasn’t sure who to focus on.
“And the preliminary meeting with the caterer for next month’s brunch at four-thirty?”
“Canceled.”
“Call them back. We have to—”
“Bye, Shaundra. Close the door behind you.” Cam turned Jo around by her shoulders to face him. “Jo, not one of those appointments is urgent. I wouldn’t have had Shaundra cancel if she hadn’t told me that.”
“But I can’t get behind. Those appointments will just get shifted to next week, and next week is even busier than this week.”
“And this week is busier than last week.” Cam ran a finger under her eyes. “You’re tired, baby. You need rest and you need some fun.”
“But—”
“There’s no
but
.” Cam reached behind her again, grabbing her ass and drawing her close. “Unless you count this one.”
Her lips twitched, but her eyes held on to the case she was building.
“Cam, I can’t let up right now. We just need to push these first adoptions through, and then I’ll rest.”
“No, you’ll rest
while
you push these first adoptions through, Jo.” He ducked his head, capturing her eyes. “Meeting with that caterer or the arts lady what’s her name will not slow down the adoption process.”
Jo nodded, bit her lip, and glanced at the laptop on the conference room table.
“You’re going home to rest.” Cam nodded his head toward the laptop. “And that is not coming with us.”
“Us?” Jo raised one dark brow. “So you’re coming home with me?”
“Actually, I thought you could come home with me.”
“With you?”
“Who else is going to take care of you? Make sure you get some sleep?”
“Oh, the irony. Will
you
sleep?”
Cam loosened his fingers on Jo’s legs, but she gripped his arms. Just as he was letting go, she pulled him close.
“You want to take care of me?” Jo leaned up and left a kiss on his mouth. “Well, then I want to take care of you, too.”
Cam touched her shoulders, frowning at the muscles knotted beneath the thin silk of her dress. He was too worried about her to be concerned that she was digging into his complicated insomnia.
“You first, baby.” He wrapped his arms back around her waist and felt her slump against him. “You first.”