25. Cameron
Cameron
Cam had endured the light grilling from Liam, Caitlin’s boyfriend.
Clearly Mary was automatically within the circle of protection of this tight-knit group – no, this family.
It had almost killed him to not touch her as she’d stood before her brother.
He’d had to curl his hands into fists and he’d sworn that if her brother had given her a moment of pain, he’d step between them.
But it hadn’t come to that. The emotion between them had been palpable and the instant forgiveness of past pain truly humbling.
They were reunited. But to Cam’s shame, all he felt was a little numb.
He’d been glad of the moment of levity brought by that girl, Candy, because watching Mary be embraced by her family had made him feel like a voyeur.
Dammit. This wasn’t about him. It was about her.
This wasn’t his family. He didn’t have a family, as if he needed a reminder.
It had been a long time since he’d felt the pain of being on the outside. He’d deliberately made sure to insert himself into society and force people to look at him and acknowledge him in a way that they hadn’t all his life.
But after witnessing this love-in, he had to admit that it had never really worked. He’d always had that sense of being an outsider, tolerated because of his wealth. He had a hollow void at the core of his being, the stain of abandonment, and he’d never felt it so keenly as he did right now.
Because he’d made a mistake. He’d let this woman into his life and had allowed her to get under his skin to an extent that he was only now fully appreciating. He’d thought he had it, her, under control. But he’d never been more out of control and suddenly he felt panicky.
He needed to get out of here, he needed space. He looked over to where Mary sat, her head close together with her siblings as they reconnected. She didn’t need him. And he didn’t need her.