16. Chapter 16
Cameron
Golden sunbeams flooded through the cracks in my curtains and caught in the dust particles flitting through the air. Mason’s head rested on the middle of my chest as she held onto me like a child would a teddy bear. Unfortunately, Sebastian was also here.
Last night, he claimed to need to be here because he didn’t trust me. But something in the way he looked at me told a different story, one I didn’t care to know.
I turned my head slowly just to look at them. The straw-colored light warmed Mason’s otherwise cool features, making her look otherworldly. Like an elf or a fairy, even… and as much as I hated to admit it, it was doing something similar to the creep clinging to her as if his life depended on it.
I reached out and swept Mason’s hair behind her ear, which caused her nose to wrinkle. She swatted me away before grabbing onto my hand. My heart nearly exploded when she mumbled a barely coherent I love you.
I’d heard that phrase hundreds of times from Luce, Soph, and the kids but never from someone who knew me.
I’d downed an entire handle of whisky on an empty stomach last night.
That meant I spent hours so drunk that black spots threatened to claim my vision.
Somehow, I remembered everything. Maybe it was because I was determined not to forget a minute of it, or perhaps it was because I stayed up waiting for my sober mind to replace my drunken one.
I just knew I didn’t want to forget a minute of Mason.
Somehow, without her even using words, she made me feel safe.
I didn’t tell her everything, just that I loved her, and I never meant to drag her into this mess.
All she did was smile, and my God, that smile.
It was bright and sweet, and it told me more than she ever could.
Against all odds, she trusted me. She saw me. She wanted me for me . For the first time in over twenty years, someone knew who I was, and they weren’t scared. She didn’t push me away. Instead, she opened her arms to me.
My eyes started to burn, so I covered my face and let out a chest-clearing breath. I needed to get up lest I risk waking up the angel sleeping beside me. The bed squeaked as I stood, and Mason shifted closer to the devil she loved for some fucking reason.
He’d willingly told me everything Dale said yesterday.
Unfortunately, it was nothing new. All he’d been told was that I was fat, stupid, past my prime, and being replaced.
Even though it was nothing new, I took a little comfort in the fact that he’d been told the same thing.
It helped make Dale’s claim of replacing me more valid.
But the fact that he was telling Sebastian, that didn’t sit right with me.
I bent down and pressed a kiss to Mason’s cheek before getting closer to Sebastian’s ear. Even in his sleep, he reeked of over-expensive, citrusy cologne. Who the fuck did he have to impress?
With my lips pressed to the side of his head, I whispered, “If you hurt her, I won’t hesitate to kill you.”
And that was a promise. I wasn’t a violent man, but if anyone dared to touch a hair on Mason’s head, I wouldn’t hesitate to protect what was mine .
Sebastian stirred but didn’t wake. Maybe that was for the best. I straightened my shoulders before heading into the hall. I remembered to duck under the door frame instead of smacking my head on it, which meant today was off to a good start .
When I rounded the corner, I was a little shocked to see Sophia awake and making coffee. Normally, she got me up to do that.
“G’mornin’,” I called.
Her sapphire gaze slowly shifted around the open space of our home. Normally, she greeted me with a smile and a kiss, but not today. Instead, she held eye contact with me for a beat before turning back to the coffee pot.
I stepped a little closer. Maybe she just didn’t hear me.
“Good morning, Sophia.” I kept my tone light despite the slight chill running down my spine.
She didn’t bother to look back at me. “Why didn’t you tell me you got fired?”
Her question stopped me dead in my tracks.
“Beg your pardon?” I hid my nerves under a laugh.
Sophia angrily slammed the top of the coffee pot and started the machine before whipping around to stare at me. She folded her arms under her breasts as she shot me a look that meant I was in trouble.
“Cameron Cole, you heard me.” She cocked her hip. “First your dad whom you have no contact with shows up, then Lucian has to be the one to tell me that your dad not only fired you but ridiculed you in front of the church.”
Suddenly I felt very hot around the collar despite lacking a shirt.
“We tell each other everything. ” She sounded exasperated as she stomped toward me. “Even the really gross stuff! Like when—”
I held a hand up to stop her. I loved that my relationship with Sophia was comfortable enough for her to share everything. Still, sometimes, everything was a little too much to listen to, especially when it wasn’t even seven a.m.
“But you get the point!” she continued. “You’re my person, like Mason’s Lucian’s person. We are one hundred percent no secrets ever.”
Her eyes bore into mine with the intensity of those annoying LED headlights, causing me to look away. It was one thing to tell Mason. Somehow, she pretty much figured it out on her own. Sophia, though… not only was she prone to overreacting, but I’d been lying to her for years.
“I get it, and I’m sorry,” I mumbled.
“Sorry for what? Use your words,” she challenged .
“For not tellin’ you…. I just didn’t think it was that big of a deal.”
And honestly, under any other circumstances, it wouldn’t be. The church wasn’t a real job; it didn’t pay me, and it just took up my time. It’d be like Lucian quitting playing video games or Mason quitting reading. Our lives would go on as normal. They’d just have a little extra time.
For all intents and purposes, Sophia was my boss on top of everything else. I kept her farm running, and now I’d have more time to do that. Shouldn’t this be a good thing?
“Look me in the eyes and say that,” she ordered.
I wanted to oblige her, but my gaze felt like it weighed a ton, making it impossible to lift. Her bare feet padded on the wooden floors before her perfectly manicured toenails came into view.
She placed a hand on my chin and forced me to look up. Her acrylic nails scratched my cheeks as she refused to break eye contact.
“Say it again.” Her grip tightened. “If you can say it while looking me in the eyes—I’ll believe you.”
My stomach bottomed out.
“Soph, we’ve been together for three years, when have you ever known me to lie to you?” The key word in that was known.
She arched a brow and wiggled her shoulders. One of the pink silk spaghetti straps on her pajamas slipped off, and I fought the urge to slide it back into place.
“For the last three years, you’ve never fought me when I asked you to look me in the eyes.”
I chewed on the inside of my lip as I slowly shook my head. Why couldn’t she just believe me? Secrets were like kinks; everyone had at least one, and they weren’t for everyone.
The look of betrayal on Sophia’s beautiful face felt like someone slapped me.
“Look, I’m used to being around sketchy things,” she confessed.
I almost laughed at her. “You grew up in a wealthy suburb in Portland.”
The strangest thing about her childhood was the fact she had two moms.
“Yeah, but one of my moms has a job that I can’t really get into…. I just know it’s helped me recognize when shady things are happening. ”
I tipped my head to the side. “Heather’s a nanny.” And as far as I knew, Victoria wrote horror novels.
“It’s not Heather,” Sophia confirmed. “And I can’t really get into Victoria’s day job.”
My chest went tight as it felt like a tornado swept through my brain, clearing my mind of any coherent thoughts I could have had. What type of job could Tori have?
“Is it related to Seb’s job?” I wasn’t sure if Sophia knew it or not, but Seb’s line of work definitely fell into dubious territory.
Sophia’s pupils shrunk to pinpricks as she focused on me. “How do you know Seb’s job is sketchy?”
My blood ran cold. Was that something I wasn’t supposed to know? Or was I just not supposed to know the details of it?
“He, uh, he told me a little bit about it.” I played with the hair at the nape of my neck.
Sophia’s gaze intensified like she was dissecting me. “He’s not supposed to tell anyone about his job. It’s a need-to-know basis type of thing… So why did you need to know?”
Sophia's question hit me like a freight train, sending a jolt of panic through my veins.
Because I was his prime suspect.
My attention flickered around the room, looking for anything I could use to change this conversation.
All I found were reminders of the life we had built–family photos—a mess from the kids that we’d never got to pick up the night before.
Lucian’s boots were in the middle of the living room because he liked to piss Sophia off by not putting them on the shoe rack.
One of Mason’s books rested on the coffee table.
It was a beautiful life, but one Sophia and Lucian made with someone they knew nothing about.
Sophia stepped closer, and I fought the urge to step back.
This wasn’t the way I wanted to start my day. That’s when I noticed the line of ultrasounds stuck to the fridge. My shoulders fell as I realized I had an excuse .
“I need to start making breakfast. Mae gets sick if she’s up too long without eating.”
My feet stuck to the floor as I tried to unroot myself from the ground, but Sophia’s hand found the crook of my elbow and anchored me in place.
“Mason is supposed to avoid any and all stress, doctors orders. Cameron, I love you, but I’m not going to risk her health because you can’t tell me what the heck is going on with you.” Sophia’s expression was stern, but the tone in her voice almost begged me just to be honest with her.