Chapter 21
“FOOLS.”
Cam
Chevelle didn’t run away after we had another impromptu sex session last night when we returned home from the marina.
In fact, she put on a pair of boxers and a T-shirt, and we got something to eat, talked about our day, Nikki’s need to spread gossip, and she complimented me on my cooking skills.
I guess everyone assumes I can’t cook worth a damn because I’m a bachelor.
Everyone in town has assumptions about the guy they think I am.
Which is why I’ve decided that if I want Chevelle to open up and trust me, I need to do the same. So, I’m taking her somewhere special to me. Somewhere no one else knows about.
“Do you mind if I drive?” I ask for her keys after we’re both home and showered.
She hands them over. “Want to blindfold me too?”
I wink. “That’s for later.”
She laughs, and I swear it’s the best sound in the world.
We drive twenty-five minutes to the place in Winterberry Falls. It’s by their marina and the only place I could use a fake name and hope no one would recognize me.
I take her hand when we’re both out of the car. I love the feel of her soft palm against mine. We’re not a couple yet, I know that, but as long as I take things slow with her, I see us getting there.
“Winterberry Falls, huh?”
“I couldn’t do this in Sunrise Bay. My dad and… too many people who know who I am.” I open the side door of the warehouse and lead us inside. “Hold on, I’ll get the lights.” I walk over to the switch and turn on the lights.
She stares ahead at the half-finished boat in the center of the large space.
This one hasn’t been painted yet and the company name isn’t on it either.
But it’s a wooden boat that’s being restored, so I’m sure she’ll link the two things together.
She slowly walks toward the boat, and I watch carefully for her reaction.
“What is this place?” she asks, and I try not to be crushed that she doesn’t assume it’s mine right away.
In Sunrise Bay, I’m a white-collar guy. The one who doesn’t work with his hands.
Born rich and will stay rich because of his father’s success.
For a long time, I was okay with that, hiding behind my ability to make anyone laugh and get any girl I wanted.
But a couple years ago, I knew I didn’t want to live up to the expectation everyone had for me.
“It’s Five Seas’ headquarters,” I answer.
She looks at me. “This is the mystery boat place? Is this one of the boats?”
I nod. “Will be. It’s not finished.”
She studies me for a minute, glances back at the boat, and back at me. “Is this yours, Cam? Are you the owner of Five Seas?”
“Not just the owner. I restore them.”
Her eyes widen and she walks over to the pictures and drawings pinned to a wall. “Seriously?”
“I know, not what you would expect from me.”
She shakes her head. “That’s not it. I just… why did you keep it a secret? The boats are beautiful.”
I sit on a stool and lean forward, resting my forearms on my thighs. “Insecurity. Judgment. I’m not sure I could’ve heard someone say anything bad about my idea. I even have a guy who sells them for me, so my name isn’t on anything.”
Her fingers trace over the purple paint sample on the wall.
“What were you worried about?” She turns and faces me but stays across the room, the boat between us.
“It’s the first time I put myself out there.
Tried something I wanted to do. The first boat was just for me.
I wasn’t even gonna sell it until I had it on a test drive and everyone who saw it was asking about it when I came back to the dock.
Then I thought that maybe this could be more than a hobby. ”
“People talk about them all the time. Every time I see one, I can’t take my eyes off it.”
I smile. “Thanks.”
“But everyone should know this is you.” She walks toward me, rounding the boat. “You’re so talented.”
“Don’t act like you don’t know what people think of me in Sunrise Bay. I’m just a rich kid who people think can’t do anything. They probably think I hire someone to replace my light bulbs.”
She laughs. “I don’t think people think that at all. Everyone loves you.”
I shake my head. “You’re being nice. I started this on a whim, but I think I want to make a business out of it.”
“That’s great.” She walks closer.
I hold my hand out for her, unsure if she’ll take it. She places her hand in mine, and I pull her closer, situating her between my legs. “There’s something you need to know.”
“What?”
I swallow hard. “The name…”
“Five Seas?”
“Yeah.”
She tilts her head.
“You’re the fifth child, Chevelle. And Chevelle starts with a C.”
“What?” Her mouth hangs slightly agape, her eyes wide.
“The purple stripe is the same color of the dress you wore when you were five, at your mother’s wake.”
She lets out a long breath and steps back, turning her back to me. “Cameron?”
She rarely calls me by my full name, and I covet the sound of it on her lips. Her head shakes as though she can’t believe what I’m telling her.
“It’s not just since we moved in together, Chevelle.
I’ve had feelings for you for a long time.
And I processed them by being overprotective and overbearing and, more recently, telling people I was your boyfriend.
I didn’t know how Fisher would feel, and he and I have been friends for so long.
The minute I saw that bruise on your cheek, I couldn’t continue to take a back seat.
I’m not even sure what I was waiting for.
” I stand from the stool and come up behind her.
“I was stupid for waiting as long as I did, and maybe if I didn’t, you wouldn’t have had to endure a guy like Derek who hit you. ”
I don’t touch her because I don’t want to startle her. She needs to process this information.
“Don’t blame yourself,” she softly says. “It’s no one’s fault but his.”
“Do you think I’m a creep?” I whisper.
She slowly turns to face me. “Not at all. It’s sweet… it’s… it’s the most amazing thing anyone has ever done for me.”
I cradle her face in my palms. “I don’t even know when my feelings progressed, but…”
She covers my hand with hers. “Me either. I guess we can’t deny them anymore.”
I lower my head and kiss her. Before it gets heated, I pull back because that’s not what this moment is supposed to be about. I want her to know it’s not her body I want, it’s her—her heart and her soul.
Don’t get me wrong, I love her body, but it’s the way she keeps her brothers in check when they mess up. The way she makes sure to keep her mom’s memory alive. The fact she came in here and didn’t judge me, only encouraged me.
“So, is that a yes?” I murmur against her lips.
“A yes to what?”
“To dating me, of course.” I smirk at her.
She smiles and stares me in the eye. “Do you ever not get what you want, Cameron Baker?”
I shrug. “Rarely.”
“Well.” She steps back from me and turns to look at the boat. My hands fall to my sides. “It all depends. What are your plans for this endeavor you’ve started?”
“Why?”
“Because I deserve a man who chases after his dreams.” She smiles at me over her shoulder.
“What are you implying?”
She runs a hand over the boat. “You can’t do this and run a fishing charter business.”
“Clearly. This last month, I’ve gotten nowhere on this boat. Of course, I have been busy chasing a hot blonde.”
She points at me. “I like that answer.”
“That was my intention.” I watch her walk around and soak in the details.
“So?” She turns around at my table and places her hands on either side of her. “When do you tell your father?”
I balk. Although I want to tell him, getting rid of the security that comes with working for my father and inheriting the marina is scary as hell. “You’d have a very different life with me if I stay the course and take over the marina.”
“I would. But I’m just a fisherwoman.” She shrugs. “I don’t want fancy things.”
I want to comment on the fact that Chevelle is openly talking about a future with me so soon after we’ve just agreed to date, but I’m afraid if I do, I’ll spook her. Hell, I’m kinda shocked that I’m not spooked, but something about this conversation feels almost inevitable.
“You’d never have to worry about money again.”
She nods. “But I’d have an unhappy partner, and that’s a crappy life.”
I sit back down on the stool. “I really want this, Chevelle. So much it scares me.”
She walks over to me and runs her hands up my thighs, separating them for her to fit between. “There’s nothing to be scared about. You already have a success on your hands.”
Leaving my father is final. There’s no going back after if this new venture doesn’t work out.
“I’m right here, next to you. As a friend.”
I frown a bit at the word friend. “And?”
“Let’s just take this slowly.”
I bark out a laugh. “A second ago, you were talking about our life together.”
She kisses my cheek. “I was just saying the type of man I want to be with when I’m ready.”
“Good to know.”
“I thought it was pertinent information. And Cam?”
I run my hands down her hair, studying her face and her features. “What?”
“Thank you. It means a lot to me that you remember the dress I wore and the fact that you named your company after me. More than I can really say.”
I pull her into my chest. “You never have to thank me for loving you, Chevelle.” She stiffens in my arms. “I’m not saying I’m in love with you.
I’m saying I’ve loved you since the day of your mom’s wake.
All I wanted to do that day was shelter you from the pain and protect you.
I’d never felt that for anyone before. That’s when I knew you were someone important in my life.
” Her body weakens in my hold, and I kiss her temple. “Hungry?”
“Starved.”
“Let’s eat out here in Winterberry Falls, where no one knows us.”
“Sounds perfect.”
We leave the warehouse, and I lock it up. We drive over to a food truck circle with five different trucks and order something from each one before sitting at a picnic table to enjoy our food.
It’s a little chilly, and it’s getting dark, but the string of lights that hang from tree to tree creates the perfect ambience for a first date.
Although I’m not labeling our night together.
I’m just happy to be spending time with Chevelle and building on what we have, whether we call it a date or not.
Now I need to tell my dad I’m no longer coming back to work for him. Plus, I have to buy myself a car. Maybe he’ll give me back my jeep if I pay him for it.
“So, does this mean you’re out of the fishing excursion business?” she asks before biting into a taco.
“Yeah. I’ll finish out the reservations I have, but no more competition between us.”
“It was fun though.”
“It was.”
We finish eating and walk back to the car holding hands.
“I forgot to ask you what my brothers said when you went to them. Not that it matters. I just wondered.”
I chuckle. “Well, they didn’t think I stood a chance with you. They’re all betting against me.”
I open the passenger door, and she turns and slides her arms around my neck. “Fools.” She kisses me.
“Definite fools.”
I drive us home, and walking into the house with her feels different this time.
Why didn’t I show her that boat a long time ago?
But a part of me realizes, with Chevelle, it’s baby steps.
We’re not fully there yet, but every day we’re growing closer.
Even if I don’t get to call her mine until the last days of my life, she’d be worth it.