Chapter 26
Camilla
Something is wrong with Stone. He’s been cold and distant since the moment he told me he wanted to spend forever with me, and I gave a snarky answer. Yeah, I hesitated. I needed a minute. I never planned on forever with anyone. That doesn’t mean I wanted to end things.
I’m overreacting. I have to be. Stone wouldn’t have sent his boss to board up the window and half the town to stand guard over me if he were angry and didn’t care about me anymore. Still, he’s definitely avoiding me. Maybe Raven knows what’s going on.
The closer I get to The Mummy’s Tomb Cafe, the more I want to cry.
I don’t understand why I’m so emotional.
I don’t feel like I have an ominous pit in my stomach; I feel like I have a giant black hole there, eating away at me.
This is the same kind of feeling that weighed on me when I decided to check Miguel’s phone, only to find he’d been stexting with multiple women.
“Stone isn’t Miguel. He’s not going to hurt me like that.” I repeat over and over again like an incantation, trying to convince myself that this time, it’s different.
I carry a red velvet cake as an excuse to go to the café, as if I can’t go just because I want to. Stone must not expect me to leave my apartment. I think he’d have left me a chaperone if he did.
The bell above the door sounds, announcing me as I enter. I head straight to the counter with blinders on. I know the crowd thins out at this time of night.
“Hey, Cayden, is Raven here?”
He looks surprised to see me. Probably worried Stone is going to give him a hard time because I chose to come here alone, without any notice. “I brought red velvet cake. She mentioned the other night that it’s her favorite.”
“Um,” his face drops, and he covers his mouth with his hand for a moment, “is she expecting you?”
“No,” I smile, pretending his behavior isn’t freaking me out. “I wanted to surprise her.”
“Um, she’s having dinner with he mother tonight, but I’ll tell her you stopped by.”
“Oh,” I sigh, disappointed. Maybe that’s what the strange feeling I have is about. “If you don’t mind, tell her this is a gift from me for being a good friend the other night.”
“Cami, you don’t need to give us anything. We were happy to help.”
“I wanted to. Baking is my love language.”
“Thank you. I’ll give it to her as soon as she gets back.”
“Thanks.” With a smile, I turn to leave and head toward the door.
I take two steps before I’m stopped in my tracks and my world comes crumbling down. Stone sits at a table having dinner with a petite blonde. He’s so lost in conversation with her, so wrapped up in staring at her, that he doesn’t even notice me.
I turn and look back at Cayden. He looks on with a guilty expression. I give a disapproving shake of my head to make sure he knows I saw it. Saw them. I know the truth now. Cayden’s not my friend. He never was.
I walk back to my apartment at double speed, willing myself not to cry. I half expect Stone to chase after me. He doesn’t, and that hurts almost as much as seeing him with another woman. A beautiful, petite woman.
I’m disappointed that I allowed myself to be fooled by Stone.
I fell for his act. That’s all it was, a really well-played game of pretend.
It’s my own fault. I used him to trick my parents and allowed myself to believe the lie.
After a night full of tossing and turning, I pull myself out of bed and vow to forget Stone Flint.
“MR. FLINT, MAY I SPEAK with you in the back room?” I ask when he arrives in the morning. He looks to his boss. I don’t know if the look is for help or for permission. After a nod of approval, Stone follows me into the kitchen.
“Cami, there’s something I need to tell you.”
I shake my head. “No need, I already know.”
“You do?” He sounds surprised. “I didn’t want you to know until—”
“I saw you last night at The Mummy’s Tomb.” A look of fear crosses Stone’s face.
“You were there?”
“Didn’t Cayden tell you?”
“No. The fucker didn’t. But why didn’t you come over and say something?”
“Like what? I don’t need to make a fool out of myself.”
“I would have been happy to see you.”
“Don’t drag this out and make it any more difficult than it needs to be. I get it. I didn’t give you the answer you wanted the other night, and you decided to move on. I appreciate all that you did to help me get to this point, but now, it’s time to make a clean break and go our separate ways.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“Don’t play dumb.” I hand Stone a check for ten thousand dollars that I wrote out early this morning, before he arrived. “This should cover the work you’ve done up to this point as well as the supplies you bought.”
He stares at the check, clenching his jaw. “I didn’t ask you for money.”
I nod. “I know. But now that you’ve been compensated, we can make a clean break without any sort of obligation.”
“Why are you doing this?”
“You don’t have to pretend anymore. In fact, I think it’s best that you leave and don’t return.”
“Cami, please, don’t do this.” He doesn’t sound upset; instead, what I’m picking up is irritation. Like he somehow has a right to be angry with me.
“I just wish you had the courage to do this yourself.”
“Cami—”
“When I come back down, I expect you to be gone.” I don’t wait for a response. I walk through the door leading to my apartment, rush up the stairs, and don’t allow myself to cry until I’m in my bedroom.