Chapter 17 #2
Camille cups my cheek and lightly kisses me on the lips. Her show of affection in front of my family surprises me and has my heart doing flips. This one small action gives me more hope than anything else that’s happened between us. “Go, we’ll be fine.”
“Okay.” I squeeze her shoulder before I stand. “We won’t be long.”
Matt and Joe are halfway across the yard by the time I make it off the porch. Joe loves to show off his new animals, but this trip to the barn isn’t about the new mare. I’m not that naive. My brothers want to question me about Camille.
As soon as I enter the barn, I cross my arms over my chest and stare at my brothers. “Let me hear it. Cause I know you didn’t drag me out here to show me a damn mare.”
Joe is the first to speak. “So, what’s going on with Camille?”
Even though I don’t want to have this conversation so soon after talking with Momma, I’m glad they get to it and don’t drag it out.
“It’s new,” I sigh and drop against the wall of the barn. “But I’ve gotten to know her pretty well these past couple months.”
“Are you sure getting close to her is a wise idea?” Matt’s tone is even, but I can see the concern in his eyes.
My shoulders sag, and I let out a rugged breath. “I really like her. There’s not a whole lot I can do about that.”
“She’s got some serious baggage.” Joe lowers his voice as he speaks. “A dead husband is one thing, but a dead son, too?”
I push off the wall and square my shoulders. My anger instantly spikes at the mention of Camille’s son. “How do you know about her son? She hasn’t talked to anyone but me about that.”
“Lizzy told us when I was showing her the mare. That girl likes to talk.” Joe steps forward, his arms crossed over his chest. “Are you sure she’s even ready for a relationship?”
I match his step, my chest brushing against his arms. “Why the third degree, Joe? I told you this is new. We’re not even that serious.”
“Bullshit.” Joe pushes back from me and drops his arms. “You don’t date, Adam. And you never bring women home to meet the family. You’re in deep, and you know it. She’s damaged.” He tosses his hands into the air and turns away from me. “I can’t see you get hurt again like with Irene.”
I struggle to rein in my anger and remind myself Joe means well. He’s never been very good at delivering his emotions. He lacks the softer touch that Matt possesses.
“All right.” Matt steps between us and places a gentle hand on Joe’s back. “Calm down. Getting angry or upset isn’t going to help anything.”
Joe huffs before he turns back toward me. “Sorry. Like I said, I just don’t want to see you get hurt again.”
“I get it. And I honestly don’t know where this will lead. If this turns serious, Camille and I will have to have a deeper conversation. But we’re not there yet.”
Joe’s expression turns almost sad. “Just promise me you’ll be careful.”
I smile and pull Joe in for a hug. He may be a little rough around the edges, but he has a heart of gold.
Once he commits himself to someone, he’ll bend over backwards to help them out and show them how much he cares.
“I promise. And trust me when I say my eyes are wide open. Camille is not Irene. There is no deceit or lies. She’s open and honest with me. Okay?”
He nods before he lightly punches me in the arm and walks away. Joe’s always the one to face conflict, but when conversations turn serious—emotional even—he always ducks and runs.
As far as I know, he’s never really been in love. He dates a lot, but nothing ever turns serious. I can’t help but wonder if he’s hiding his own broken heart behind his anger.
It’s after nine by the time I pull into Camille’s driveway. As soon as I put my truck in park, Lizzy says goodnight and hops out of the truck. She runs inside so fast; I don’t even get my goodbye out before she’s gone.
I laugh. “Well, that was discreet.”
“Subtlety never was her strength.” Camille leans into me and kisses my cheek. “Thanks for inviting us over. I had fun today. So did Lizzy.”
“Hopefully, my family didn’t scare you off.”
“Not at all.” She gives me a warm smile. “I like them a lot. They're so unlike my family.”
“How so?” She hasn’t talked much about her family, only that they’re not close.
“The laughing, the joking, the playfulness, and the fact that you all actually get together weekly. My family doesn’t do that. And my mother doesn’t hug. I can’t even tell you the last time she hugged me. Your mom has officially hugged me more times than my own. That’s how different they are.”
“They all like you and Lizzy. You’re welcome back anytime.” I take her hand in mine and lift it to my lips. Her skin is soft, delicate.
After the conversation with my brothers, I can’t stop comparing Camille to Irene.
Irene is a city girl with an odd roughness about her.
Not a rugged roughness like me or Joe, more ruthless and harder around the edges.
I was married to her for seven years and never really knew who she was.
I only knew the version of her she wanted me to see.
Camille is different. Everything about her is soft and delicate.
She’s sweet and kind. And honest. That’s her best quality.
With Camille, I know what I’m getting into.
There isn’t a ruthless bone in her body.
She has more compassion in her little finger than Irene had in her entire body.
I don’t even know what I ever saw in Irene now.
I cringe at the thought of how I ever allowed myself to marry her in the first place. She was all wrong for me.
“Hey.” Camille’s hand gently brushes down my beard. “You okay? You faded out on me there.”
“I’m fine.” I squeeze her hand before I reach down and push my seat back. “Come here.”
I lift her up off her seat and sit her on my lap.
With one hand clasped tight around her waist and the other cupping her cheek, I kiss her.
It’s a soft, slow kiss at first. But when she parts her lips, I plunge my tongue into her mouth.
The kiss quickly grows heated, and my cock hardens beneath her.
She rolls her ass against me, eliciting a guttural groan.
She pulls away, both of us breathing heavily. “Adam, talk to me. Something’s wrong. I can sense it.”
I drop my head and rest it against her chest. She instinctively hugs me closer. God, she feels so good in my arms. What my family said tonight is true. I’m in deeper with her than I want to admit. Losing her at this point would be painful.
“Adam, look at me.” She lifts my chin and forces me to look into her eyes. “Is it your family? They don’t like me?”
I let out a long exhale and pull her close to my chest. “It’s not that. Trust me, they all loved you and Lizzy. I’ve no doubt Momma will insist you come to dinner more often.”
“Then what is it?” The concern in her eyes nearly breaks me.
I drop my head and rest my forehead on her shoulder.
The last thing I want to do is give her the wrong impression about my family, but I don’t want to lie to her either.
“It’s just … Matt and Joe expressed their concern for me.
They don’t want to see me hurt again. Joe brought up Irene, and I don’t like thinking about her. ”
“I see.” She sags against me, and I can feel her heart rate increase from where her chest is pressed against mine. “Was she really that bad? I have to be honest with you, I can’t imagine you marrying someone who’d treat you that poorly.”
“Sadly, I did. She did a number on me, and my brothers don’t want to see me go through something like that again. It has nothing to do with you, and everything to do with me.”
She pushes off my chest and frowns. “How can it not have anything to do with me when I’m the woman in this relationship with you?”
Her last words cause my heart rate to speed up. The thought of defining what we are to each other excites me. “Are we in a relationship? We haven’t exactly talked about what this means, and what we are to each other.”
She rotates on my lap and straddles me. She winces from the strain on her muscles.
The effects of the ride earlier today are kicking in.
I rub my hands up her thighs, and she relaxes into me.
The tight space of the truck forces us even closer together, and my erection is hard against her center.
She smiles and lightly kisses me before she continues.
“I consider what we have a relationship. I can’t make you any promises.
I’m not going to lie to you and tell you I've got this all figured out, because I don’t.
But I know I want you in my life. You’re important to me, Adam. ”
I wrap my hand around her neck and pull her forehead to mine. “You’re important to me, too. We don’t have to have everything figured out yet. I just need to know we’re in this together.”
“Together.” She kisses me breathless, and it takes every bit of my strength to not fuck her right here in my truck. Instead, we make out like teenagers, stealing as many kisses as possible while pushing the boundaries of curfew.