Chapter 16
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
HIDDEN TRUTHS
JULIANA
Present
Last night in Camden’s office, when he said he’s always been looking at me, I just about keeled over. My heart was pounding so hard, the intensity in his eyes, his words––it was a sensory overload.
He was on his way toward me, his eyes on my mouth, when someone knocked on the door. He looked at me with regret and apologized under his breath, then left to settle an issue in the kitchen. I ended up going home without seeing him again…early morning and all that.
Now, it’s a new day and I’m wishing I could have a redo. My body is wired. I have enough adrenaline for days, and I need that kiss.
I know we need to have a conversation too, but…first things first. My mouth is craving his. And then we can talk about whatever he wanted to discuss. Now that I know he still wants––whatever we’re calling this between us––I can’t shove down the excitement bubbling up in me.
I don’t know how many times I’ve heard how happy I look today, or what a great mood I’m in. I’d think I must typically be a Dour Diane if I didn’t know my secret…Camden Whitman is into me!
Ahhh! I could squeal just thinking about it.
Papa Hector and Uncle Hal have been putting the finishing touches on the chicken coop and run, or else they’d probably be trying to get to the bottom of things.
Jackson bursts into the cafe, then stretches his arms out and points at me.
“Juju, you’re getting off early today,” he declares.
He comes over and does a drum roll on the counter.
I laugh. “Since when do you make my schedule?”
“Since we called a broomball night. Come on, you can’t miss it,” he says, grinning like he’s already won. “All of the Whitmans are in town. Dylan’s even here from California.”
“Why can’t it be later?”
“Okay, fine. I think it could be later, since Camden’s staff convinced him to take a rare night off.
But before he knew that was happening, we thought we’d need to do it earlier.
” He sighs. “Please. It’s been a long day.
Papa and Uncle Hal are obsessed with the chickens, and some of those ladies are aggressive! There’s this one in particular…”
I snort and roll my eyes. “So you’re saying you’re bored.”
He points at me again. “Bingo.” He clasps his hands together. “Please. You’re shockingly good at it. You always play with us. The rink they’ve built here is even bigger than the one we grew up playing on in St. Paul.”
“Why is it so shocking that I’m good at it?” I cross my arms.
He grins. “It’s not like you’ve played any other sports.”
“True,” I concede. “It helps that we don’t have to wear skates.”
He cracks up. “Yeah, you and skates are never a good idea.”
I try to act exasperated, but a thrill shoots through me at the thought of playing tonight. I love broomball, always have. And the thought of seeing Camden out there seals the deal.
“Suzanne was hoping for more hours. She’d probably be happy to close up for me. Let me check.”
I check with Suzanne in the kitchen.
She gives me two thumbs up. “I’d be glad to!”
“Thank you!”
When I step out of the kitchen, Jackson lifts his eyebrows. “Well?”
“Fine,” I say as I toss my apron on the counter. “But only because you need me out there.”
“I wouldn’t really say need…”
I flick his arm, and he yelps.
“Okay, okay, I need you out there. Come on,” he says, rubbing his arm.
Once we’re outside, I hurry to the house and get a better coat, and we head to the rink the Whitmans built earlier this winter.
When we arrive, everyone’s already on the ice.
Everyone’s so loud that I think maybe I heard their laughter from my house, and it’s not just our crew.
People from town are on the sidelines, and Tully is out there trying to convince more people to play.
It’s gotten dark early, but floodlights cast long shadows across the snowbanks.
The cold air bites my cheeks. Goldie and Erin rush over, hugging me.
Ava’s not far behind, and we all hug her as well.
“I’m so glad Jackson talked you into leaving early,” Goldie says excitedly. “We didn’t want you to miss a minute out here.”
Just then, Jackson waves for me to hurry up.
“He’s already in full coach mode,” I gripe. “Is it too late to join the Whitman team?”
Erin snorts. “Fat chance. Jackson has big plans for us.” She winks. “That’s right, baby. I’m on your team this time.”
My eyes find Camden. He glides his feet across the ice, broom in hand, a confident smirk on his face. My stomach somersaults. He notices me right away, and his grin sharpens.
“About time, Fair,” he calls, his voice carrying across the rink. “I was starting to think you were scared to face me again.”
I roll my eyes, trying to sound nonchalant as I step onto the ice. “In your dreams, Whitman. I can’t pass up a chance of whipping your ass.”
His eyes widen and he slides my way, close enough that his shoulder brushes against mine. He dips his head, his breath fogging in the freezing air, and murmurs low enough for only me to hear, “I’d like to see you try.”
The shiver that runs through me has nothing to do with the cold, and his grin tells me that he knows it.
Between Jackson and Tully, we don’t waste any time. Jackson barks out what he thinks our strategy should be, and I nod, bumping his fist. Erin and her dad, Jason, are on our team, and my eyes widen when my dad hurries out on the ice.
“Dad? I didn’t know you were coming into town!” I rush over to hug him really quick.
“I couldn’t miss broomball!”
Once we’re all in place, the game officially starts.
The moment the ball hits the ice, Camden is there, moving with ease, that grin never leaving his face. He swipes the ball away from Noah, cuts right past me, and then slows down—on purpose.
“You gonna stop me, Fair?” His voice is a low taunt, warm even in the sharp night air.
I dart in, steal the ball, and whoop in triumph as I skid across the ice. “Already did, Whitman.”
He laughs as he chases after me, but I lose my footing on a patch of ice and stumble. Before I can hit the ground, his hand shoots out, steadying me. For a second, we’re too close, my breath catching, the world narrowing to the heat of his hand on my arm.
Then Jackson yells from across the rink, “Juju, over here!”
I move away from Camden, cheeks burning, and bolt toward the goal like I meant to all along.
We go head-to-head the rest of the night. Every time I snag the ball, Camden’s there, cutting me off. Every time he gets an opening, I swoop in to steal it back. Our little duels on the ice turn into a game within the game.
At one point, he leans close as we jostle for the ball. “You’ve gotten better since last time.” His shoulder presses into mine, deliberately or not, and his eyes sparkle beneath the lights.
“I’ve always been good. Maybe you’ve gotten worse,” I fire back, breathless.
His grin deepens. “Not possible. Okay…maybe I’m a little bit out of practice.”
By the time the game winds down, my legs ache, my lungs burn, and I can’t stop smiling. The game was close, but with the Whitmans having Tully, a professional hockey player, we rarely win. We all give each other high-fives, pretending we’re a pro team like we have since we played as kids.
Everyone piles off the ice. Jackson and Dylan recount their plays, and Erin bumps my hip with hers.
“Was it my imagination, or was there a little heat between you and Camden out there tonight? And I don’t mean the usual heat.” She lowers her head and keeps her eyes directed on me.
I flush and am about to tell her that I have some updating to do when I see two gorgeous girls in tight ski pants and fitted jackets, every strand of long perfect hair in place, walk up to Jackson and Camden.
The brunette loops her hand through Jackson’s, and the redhead loops her hand through Camden’s.
“They came to catch a game of broomball,” Jackson says, winking at Camden.
“As if we’d be caught dead out there,” the redhead laughs. “No, we just came to show our support.”
“Really? Didn’t notice you out there,” Camden says.
She throws her head back and laughs, and my nose curls.
“Who the hell are they?” Erin mutters.
Goldie and Tully walk up to us.
“Who invited the puck bunnies?” Tully asks under his breath.
“Looks like they’re friends of Jackson and Camden,” I say, my voice sounding hollow.
Everyone’s invited to the Whitmans’ house, and I debate skipping, my earlier elation deflated by the red nails on Camden’s arm. But I want to hang out with Goldie and Erin too much to miss it…and more than a little curious about the girls.
The Whitmans’ house glows warm against the dark winter night, windows steaming from the heat inside. We stomp snow off our boots and leave them in the mudroom. Goldie tells us her grandmas have hot chocolate and pies ready for everyone.
As the hallway narrows, Erin moves forward first, I fall in step behind Goldie, and Milo catches up with her, putting his arm around her shoulder. I’m thinking how cute they are together when a hand catches mine and tugs me into the den. It’s dark, but I can make out Camden’s broad shoulders.
“What are you—?” My words die when his hand cups the side of my face, the other sliding around my waist, and he puts his mouth on mine—his lips are chilly from the cold, but his tongue is warm and insistent.
I melt into him.
The world narrows to just us. He lifts me until my feet are off the floor, kissing me soundly. When we finally break apart, I’m breathless, my forehead resting against his.
“You’re keeping your redhead waiting,” I whisper.
“She’s not my anything,” he whispers back. “Jackson thought it would be a great idea to invite some friends to keep us company tonight. Without clearing it with me first.”
I smile. “You’re supposed to be inside, bragging with your family,” I say, my lips still tingling.
“Everyone can wait,” he murmurs, his smile wicked in the dim light. “I’ve been waiting all day for this.”
My laugh catches in my throat. “This feels like we’re sneaking around.”
He kisses me again, slower this time, like we have all the time in the world. When he finally pulls back, his breath is uneven, his forehead still pressed to mine. He sets me on my feet, and his hands stay on my waist.
“I don’t want Jackson to find out,” he says quietly, the words spilling out like he’s been holding them in all night.
My stomach dips and my heart sinks. “What?”
He shakes his head, jaw tight. “Not yet. He already thinks we’d be a disaster. He even said it was a good thing we aren’t together. He wouldn’t be okay with this.”
“Why would he say that? And I don’t understand why he gets any say.” I wince at how sharp my tone is.
Camden’s eyes search mine, conflicted. “I don’t want him trying to shut this down before we’ve even had a chance to get started. And knowing your brother…he would.”
I bristle, because I hate sneaking around, hate the idea that we’re letting Jackson have that much power. But the part of me that’s still buzzing from Camden’s kiss understands what he’s saying.
“So what, we’re keeping this a secret?” I ask.
His thumb traces my cheek, gentle despite the tension in his shoulders. “For now?”
The way he says it, vulnerable in a way Camden Whitman never allows himself to be, knocks the wind out of me. But I can’t help but let some of my walls back up. It feels necessary.
“Okay.” I nod before I can talk myself out of it.
I guess I can hold this secret for now, but it won’t feel real to me until everyone knows and until my brother accepts it.
Relief flashes across his face. He gives me one more kiss.
“Should we go get some hot chocolate and pie?” he asks.
“Absolutely.”
He lets me leave first. When I walk into the great room beyond the kitchen, I paste on a smile, my cheeks still warm, and slide into the crowd like nothing happened.
Grayson, Noah’s little boy, comes running over. Kevin’s right behind him.
“Juju! Hi!” he says, wrapping his arms around my legs.
Kevin nudges his nose between us until I pet him too, which makes both of us laugh.
“It’s been too long since I’ve seen you, buddy. How have you been?”
“I’m good. I made cookies at preschool last week.”
“I wish I’d tasted those.”
“They weren’t as good as yours.” He wrinkles his nose.
“Well, the next time your dad comes into the shop, I’ll send some home with him. How ’bout that?”
“Yeah!” he says, his smile wide.
“Where the hell is Dylan?” Tully gripes. “Every time I turn around, he’s disappeared.”
“He has been scarce this visit,” his dad agrees.
“Maybe he ran to the store…” Goldie says.
“What could he possibly need that we don’t have?” Grandma Nancy sniffs.
“Maybe condoms?” Noah says under his breath.
Goldie and Tully nod in unison, wide-eyed, looking more like twins than ever.
Camden walks in. Our eyes meet for just a second, and then we look away, like it never happened at all.