Chapter 25 #2
My meetings.
My structured, controlled life.
A life so perfectly organized it left no room for the unexpected.
A car appears at the end of the drive.
I recognize Cameron’s vehicle immediately.
My heart does that strange thing again.
That impossible backflip sensation.
The thing it’s been doing every time I see him since...
Since when exactly?
The market?
Dinner at the McGregors’?
The very first day?
Focus, Clementine.
He parks in front of the manor, climbs out, and walks toward me wearing his usual smile.
The one that says:
I have a completely ridiculous idea that just might work, and you’re going to love it.
But the smile fades the moment he sees my expression.
“What’s wrong?”
I close my notebook and set it beside me on the steps.
“My boss just called.”
Cameron sits down beside me.
Close enough that I feel his presence.
Close enough that his knee nearly touches mine.
“And?”
“He offered me a promotion. Senior Project Director. Twenty percent raise. My own office. The Mercier project. Everything I’ve ever wanted.”
Cameron is quiet for several seconds.
I see his jaw tighten slightly.
“That’s... that’s amazing, Clementine. Congratulations.”
His voice is neutral.
The kind of neutral that hides something important.
“The thing is, he thinks I came here to negotiate. To show them they were taking me for granted. He thinks I planned all of this. That it was some kind of brilliant strategy.”
Cameron raises an eyebrow.
“And it wasn’t?”
“No! I came because my grandmother forced me to. I came to deal with an inheritance. That’s it. I didn’t plan anything. I didn’t manipulate anyone. I just... ended up here.”
“But now you have what you wanted.”
“Yes.”
“So... when are you leaving?”
The question hangs between us like a live grenade.
I look at him.
His green eyes.
His cautious expression.
The way his hands remain clasped together on his knees as though he’s stopping himself from reaching for me.
He looks at me like he’s waiting for me to break his heart.
“I don’t know,” I say honestly.
“You don’t know?”
“No. Because two weeks ago, this promotion would have been the answer to everything. But now...”
I take a deep breath.
My hands tremble slightly.
I rest them on my lap.
“Now I can’t imagine going back to Paris. I can’t imagine leaving the manor. I can’t imagine picking up my life as though my time here never happened. I can’t imagine... leaving you.”
A long silence follows.
The entire world seems to stop moving.
Cameron looks at me as though I’ve spoken in another language and he needs several seconds to translate.
“Clementine...”
“I know it sounds crazy. I know we haven’t known each other very long. I know this started as a ridiculous, chaotic fake relationship to deal with village rumors. I know you’re probably about to tell me I’m insane and that I should take the promotion and—”
“Keep going.”
I look at him.
His eyes never leave mine.
“I think I fell in love with this place. With this life. With you.”
The words are out.
Floating between us.
Impossible to take back.
Impossible to ignore.
Cameron freezes.
Two seconds.
Three.
Four.
And then he smiles.
That smile that starts at one corner of his mouth and reaches all the way to his eyes.
The smile that tells me I haven’t ruined everything.
“Me too.”
“Me too what?”
My voice shakes.
I hate that.
“I fell in love with you. And I’ve been panicking for at least a week because I had no idea how to tell you. Because you have a life in Paris. A job you love. A career. A promotion waiting for you. And me? I’ve got a life in the Highlands and a sheep who refuses to leave me alone.”
I laugh despite myself.
My eyes burn.
I blink quickly to stop the tears from falling.
“That’s the worst pitch you’ve ever given me.”
“I know.”
He moves closer.
His hand cups my cheek.
His fingers are warm against my skin.
“But it’s the only one that really matters.”
He kisses me.
Softly at first.
As though testing something.
As though making sure it’s real.
Then deeper.
As though he’s trying to tell me everything he can’t quite put into words.
When we finally pull apart, I’m breathless.
My heart is racing.
My hands are shaking.
“I have to call Marc tonight,” I whisper. “He’s waiting for my answer.”
“And what are you going to tell him?”
I look back at the manor.
The old stone walls.
The kitchen where I’ve cooked more meals in two weeks than I did in six months in Paris.
The bedroom window overlooking the hills.
The recipe notebook slowly filling with ridiculous titles and emotions I never dared name before.
“I don’t know yet. But I know what I want.”
“And what’s that?”
I meet his gaze.
“I want to stop running. I want to stay. Here. With you. Even though it’s scary. Even though I don’t know how it’s going to work. Even though it’s completely crazy.”
Cameron smiles.
“It’s going to be chaotic.”
“Probably.”
“The village will invent a whole new legend about us.”
“Definitely.”
“Hamish will keep inserting himself into your life.”
“I don’t doubt that for a second.”
He laughs before turning serious again.
His hands close around mine.
“Are you sure? Because if you stay, you’re giving up a lot. The promotion. The raise. Your career in Paris.”
“I know.”
“And what if you regret it someday?”
I think about it for a few seconds.
I think about Paris.
My apartment that’s too small.
The endless meetings.
The weekends spent working.
My life so carefully organized that it left no room for surprises.
And then I think about here.
The manor.
The hills.
Cameron.
Hamish taking over my living room.
Ailsa showing up unannounced.
Maggie plotting.
That feeling of belonging somewhere for the first time in my life.
“I think I’d regret not trying even more.”
Cameron kisses me again.
This time, Hamish emerges from the manor and settles at our feet with a bleat that sounds suspiciously like approval.
“Even he agrees,” Cameron says.
“Hamish always agrees when it benefits him.”
“True.”