Chapter 16 Cameron
SIXTEEN
CAMERON
Summer tastes sweet. Her lips are full and lush against mine. She’s still for a moment, and then she melts against me with a tiny moan.
The sound snaps me out of it. I yank away from her, breathing hard.
Summer looks up at me, her cheeks bright pink. “Um,” she says. “Wow?”
I just blink at her.
What did I just do?
I kissed her.
I take a step back. I have to get out of here. Now.
“Sorry,” I mutter. “I shouldn’t have… Lock the door behind me.” Before she can reply, I step out into the dark night.
Icy rain burns my skin as I stomp back to the van. I tilt my head back, letting it wash over my face. My jeans feel too tight. I can still feel the way her cheek fit in the palm of my hand.
Why did I do that? I don’t kiss. I don’t do romance. A childhood of watching my mum break up with man after man made me realise relationships were pointless, and I’m not the one-night-stand type. I prefer being alone. It’s simpler this way.
But seeing Summer there, all soft and sweet and pressed up against me, with those goddamn jewels stuck on her nails and her pink sparkly lips, made something inside me just…crack.
Why? I don’t even like Summer. When I took her to the Dewdrop, I was annoyed. Annoyed that Fraser was busy and I had to pick her up. Annoyed that this grown woman was apparently so spoiled that she didn’t have the survival skills to feed herself.
But she was different than I thought she would be. Sweeter. I remember her buzzing excitement as she begged Isla to let her help with the wedding. Her vulnerability when she talked about her mum.
I don’t understand her. It’s confusing. Thunder echoes in the sky above.
I climb back into the van, furious at myself.
When I slam back inside the farmhouse, Fraser’s sprawled across the sofa, and Alec’s working at the dining table.
Alec looks up as I shake off the rain. “You’re back,” he says, shutting his laptop. “Where is she?”
I unlace my boots. “Cabin.” Where else would she be?
“Is she okay?” he demands.
“Fine.” I unwind my wet scarf. As I do, I get another flicker of Summer’s sweet perfume, and my belly crunches with desire. I go still.
No. I don’t do this. I hang it up and stomp over to the drinks cart in the lounge, pouring myself a dram of whisky.
Alec follows me. “You’re sure?” he asks hoarsely. “Were there any issues getting back? Everything should be secured for the weather. Did you notice anything that might give?”
I look at him. His eyes are shadowed from lack of sleep, and his face is pale.
Unsurprising. Alec always gets like this during a storm. With good reason. I’m not a fan of them either. I look out of the window, and memories flash up.
Lashes of cold rain on my face.
Pain so unbelievable that it feels like I’m being crushed to death.
Alec’s wet, desperate face over mine.
I grimace and take a swallow of whisky. It’s been years. I’ve made peace with that night in a way Alec hasn’t. Sometimes, during storms like this, he looks at me with that same desperation. Like he’s still there.
It’s how he’s looking at me now as he steps closer. Like I might be dying in front of his eyes. It’s hard to handle. “Cameron—” he starts.
“You eaten?” I interrupt, heading to the kitchen and opening the fridge. I already know the answer.
He blinks. “What? Ah, no.”
I pull out a container of stew I made him this morning and set it on the counter. “Here. Eat.”
He shakes his head. “I should go check on the fencing, see how it’s holding up—”
“D’you want me to spoon-feed you?” I ask. “Eat something before you die.”
He just frowns at my leg. “You’re limping,” he says quietly. “Does it hurt?”
Anger flares up in me, white-hot anger, and for the millionth time, I think about leaving him. Packing up my stuff and finding somewhere—anywhere—else that would hire me.
The thought makes my chest hurt. I don’t want to go. Lochview is my home. Alec and Fraser are the closest thing I’ve ever had to a family. It’d hurt like hell to leave it all.
But this hurts too.
Lightning strobes outside, and Alec visibly flinches. I take a deep breath.
“Just eat,” I tell him, taking my glass to the sofa and slumping down next to Fraser. He immediately puts his feet in my lap. I shove him off and stare into the fire, trying to sort my head out.
“Jesus,” Fraser says, staring at his phone. “Look at this.” He shoves it in my face.
I go to bat it away, not in the mood for whatever cat video he wants to show me, but I catch a glimpse of what’s on the screen.
It’s a picture of Summer on the beach.
Naked.
Well, practically. All she’s wearing is a miniature bikini.
Fraser shakes his head. “God, she’s unbelievable. You know she’s an ambassador for a swimwear line?”
My eyes trace the image. Summer’s body is lush and soft, all curved lines that make my palms itch. “These pictures are just…online?” I say roughly. “Anyone can see them?”
“Aye, anyone with a Picturegram account.” His eyes crinkle.
“Why? Want me to make you one? Take a couple pics of you chopping logs with your shirt off. You’ll go viral in no time.
” He taps to the next photo. She’s still in the bikini, but she’s thrown on a transparent shirt thing that covers nothing.
“Aw, look at this one. She looks like a wee fairy.”
I look at the photo and glance away again. “What’s that?” I say roughly, pointing at the number under the picture.
“How many people liked it.”
“Two hundred thousand people liked a picture of her almost naked?”
Fraser double taps the screen, and a heart pops up. “I know, right? Can you blame them?”
I process that. Hundreds of thousands of people have seen Summer like this. A heavy emotion banks in my stomach. It’s been so long since I’ve felt it that it takes me a few seconds to recognise what it is. I’m jealous.
I shouldn’t be jealous. Summer’s doing her job. And she’s sure as hell not mine. So why do I feel so goddamn angry?
Fraser grabs my phone. “Here. This’ll just take a minute.”
“What are you doing?”
“Setting you up a profile so you can heart her pictures yourself,” he mutters, tapping at the screen.
“Hey, how does ShirtlessShepherdxoxo sound for your username?” I lunge for the phone.
He dodges. “Aw, didn’t you like it? Too late.
You can’t change it for thirty days.” He lifts the phone and snaps a shot of me.
“Okay, that’ll be your profile pic. Cute. ”
“Fraser.” I try to wrestle the phone off him, but he just yanks it away.
“What? You have to have a profile pic, or she’ll think you’re a creep. Now, let me just follow her for you—”
“Is it safe for her to be out there alone?” Alec says, suddenly behind us. “The electricity could go out.”
Fraser looks up. “Not that kind of storm, mate. It’s just a bit of rain and lightning, no strong winds. Dinna worry.” He offers Alec a reassuring grin and hands me my phone back. “There you go. You’re welcome.”
I look at the new profile. Above the name ShirtlessShepherdxoxo, it says I am following one person. Summer Faye.
For God’s sake. “I’m deleting this,” I warn.
“Aye, of course, go ahead,” Fraser says, stretching out on the sofa. “You won’t be able to look at her pics without an account though.”
My finger pauses over the DELETE ACCOUNT button.
Fraser grins. “Anyhoo. Anyone wanna watch a movie?”