1. Camryn #2
Sweetheart. He’s never called me that before. It makes my chest ache in the most delicious way.
I blink when I realize he’s waiting for my answer, and I let out a garbled sound, half-laugh, half-sigh. “You…that’s very nice, but you don’t have to…”
“I want to.” He says it easily, simply, and I know he means it.
“Okay,” I say, feeling both giddy and shy.
He steps back and pulls his phone out of his pocket, tapping the screen a few times to connect it to the speaker system.
The opening strains of “What a Wonderful World” float through the air, and he holds out his hand.
I bite my lip and then place my hand in his.
He leads me toward the open space in the middle of the living room, and I feel like a lady being lead to the dance floor in a fancy ballroom.
He pulls me into his arms, holding me appropriately. Respectfully. His hand is warm against my back, and as we start to move together in time to the music, he leads me easily. None of the eighteen year old boys at school dance like this, with an easy grace and fluid confidence.
I never want this song to end. This moment with Jacob, where I can imagine what it would be like if he was mine.
If I was his. It’s like we’re cocooned away from the world in this dark living room, where the assholes at prom don’t matter, and the fact that he’s my stepfather doesn’t matter, or that he’s married to my mother, or that he’s twenty-six years older than me.
None of it matters, and I want it to keep not mattering.
It’s all so very, very wrong. Inappropriate. Taboo. I’m not a good person for feeling this way about a man who’s supposed to be a father figure to me—but isn’t. Not really. I’ve only known him for a couple of years, and he doesn’t parent me. He’s barely home enough to know I exist, truthfully.
We continue moving to the music, and I can feel the awfulness of the evening sliding away.
I look up at Jacob, watching him as we dance.
The light from the huge windows reflects off his thick dark hair, making it look almost black.
His jaw is coated in a layer of dark stubble, which only makes him look even more gorgeous.
Everything about him is perfect. His full lips, the cleft in his chin, his high cheekbones.
The way he talks, the way he smells, the way he moves.
The way he makes me feel safe.
He thinks I’m lovely.
He leans in, his breath feathering over my ear as he speaks.
“Those kids are fucking idiots. This fall, you’ll go to university, and you’ll see that the world is so much bigger than what those private school assholes would have you believe.
You’ll meet boys—men—who’ll see you for the amazing young woman you are.
Men who’ll know their own minds, and who won’t need a crowd to dictate their choices. Men with taste.”
“Men who won’t mind that I’m big.”
At that he stops dancing, cups my face and tilts it up towards his. “Men who will see just how beautiful you are. Real men like curves, I promise you.”
He holds my gaze, and I want to know if he likes curvy women. It seems unlikely given that my mother tall and skinny in that classic French way she has. Maybe if I lived mostly on wine and cigarettes, I’d be a size four, too.
We start dancing again, my face pressed to his chest. I can feel his heart beating against my cheek, and I let out a long breath. All too soon, the music ends and we stop moving. But for a moment, Jacob doesn’t pull away.
He kisses my forehead. His lips are soft, warm, gentle, and I can feel the protectiveness in his kiss. My eyes fall closed, and I want to imprint this moment onto my brain.
When he pulls back, there’s something shining out at me from his gorgeous eyes that I can’t name. It’s beautiful and intense and fierce. I don’t think I could look away even if the penthouse was on fire.
“You are beautiful, Camryn. You are smart, and lovely, and you deserve the world. Those kids were assholes tonight not because you’re lacking, but because they’re threatened by you.
Nathan is blind. Utterly, completely blind.
Because anyone with working eyes can see how stunning you are.
One day, you’re going to walk into a room and everyone will stop talking.
Because of you. I know that you’re going to grow into a woman who turns heads without even trying.
Because you, Camryn, are extraordinary.”
I feel his words sink into me, like an invisible tattoo. No one has ever said anything like that to me before, especially not a man like Jacob Brooks, who is beyond sexy and confident and successful and…just…perfect. If a man like him can look at me and see that…
“Thank you,” I say quietly, swallowing thickly. “For saying that. For…meaning it.”
He nods. “Don’t ever forget your worth, sweetheart. You’re a diamond. Don’t ever let anyone convince you otherwise.”
He kisses my forehead again and then moves away. Cold air washes over me as he takes his body heat with him, and goosebumps erupt across my skin.
He crosses the room to the small bar in the corner and pours himself a fresh drink. I watch as he takes a sip and swallows, his throat working. He sets the glass down and turns back to me, an unreadable expression on his face.
“I want you to know that no matter happens between your mother and I, you can always come to me, for anything.”
I frown. “Is everything…are you guys…” Something cold and heavy settles in the pit of my stomach.
He takes another drink and then rubs a hand over his mouth.
“Everything’s fine. I just need you to know that I’ll always be here for you.”
I suck in a breath and nod, feeling unsettled. Jacob is my mother’s third husband. She has a history of getting bored and moving on. But she wouldn’t do that to Jacob, right?
He tosses back the rest of his drink and sets down the glass with a clack on the bar, then gives my arm an affectionate squeeze as he passes by me.
“Go up to bed, sweetheart. Have a shower, try to relax. I’ll bring you some tea.”
I nod, my chest all warm and melty at the way he’s taking care of me. And for once, I don’t feel undeserving of the care. Because I’m lovely. I’m extraordinary.
He tips his chin in the direction of the stairs. “Go on. Leave the dress on your chair. I’ll take care of it.”
“Thank you,” I say, and once again, my eyes fill with tears, but I’m not crying because of those dumb kids. I’m crying because of him. Because in just fifteen minutes, he managed to turn my entire night around.
The hint of a smile pulls at his lips and he nods. “Of course.”