15. Cameron
CAMERON
Mark was in the kitchen when I slid in through the back door the next morning to sneak one of Josie’s breakfast burritos from the fridge. She pretended not to know I was stealing them, and I pretended not to know she was making extras for me. Small thrills.
“There’s coffee if you want some.” Mark held his mug up to his face to blow across the surface.
I nodded, opening the fridge to rummage around.
“I haven’t seen much of Nico this week.” His voice lilted up at the end like he was trying to decide if that was a statement or a question. “I thought I would.”
The guilt hit me square in the chest. Mark’s best friend hadn’t come to visit in years, and I was taking up all of his time. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be,” Mark said. “The mural is important for both of you, I think.”
I scrunched my forehead at his words. “Why Nico?”
“Maybe it’s just wishful thinking, but I don’t think things are shaking out in Boston the way he’d hoped. Do you think he might be ready to move home?”
I stared down at my coffee. I wasn’t sure I could be as hopeful as Mark was. “I’m not sure. We haven’t talked about it.”
“Well, if you two are finally playing nice, that’s enough for me,” Mark said. “I don’t want Josie to make me choose which one of you I’m inviting to the wedding.”
“As if you wouldn’t choose me.” I scoffed as I stole his hat off his head.
Mark just raised his eyebrow and put his mug in the sink.
“Maybe propose to her before you firm up the guest list,” I said with a grin, putting the ball cap on.
He pulled me down into a headlock and stole his hat back.
Before he could escape with his hat, Josie appeared at the back door.
She wore overalls, work boots, and a thick canvas jacket, and her short, thick black hair was tucked behind her ears beneath a Frosty’s cap.
Mark’s eyes immediately went soft as she stuck her head in through the back door.
“Oh,” Josie said. “Hi, Cameron.”
I made a small sound of acknowledgment as I stuffed the last third of the breakfast burrito in my mouth at once. Josie’s eyes sparkled knowingly, but she honored our unspoken pact.
“Hi to you, too, babe.” Mark huffed.
“I’ve already seen you today.” Josie winked and held out her coffee mug. “I don’t want to take my boots off. Could you fill up my coffee? Comet knocked mine over and spilled it in the barn.”
Mark’s cheeks turned pink, but he puffed his chest up with pride. “Sure thing.”
As Mark refilled her mug, doctoring it exactly how she liked it, I thought about Nico and whether he would find what he was looking for out there in the big, wide world.
Josie’s eyes drifted to my neck, right to the mark Nico had left last night.
I tugged on the collar of my T-shirt, knowing it wouldn’t hide anything.
I was surprised Mark hadn’t noticed and tried to pry the responsible party’s name out of me.
But Josie had always been the more observant of the two of them.
I cleared my throat. “We have to hit the road if we’re going to make it to Boston in time. I’ll see you both later.”
I took my espresso with an eggnog chaser before rushing out the door.
With their goodbyes echoing behind me, I bolted out the front door and to the safety of my Jeep.
I was just hanging my garment bag in the back seat when Nico made his way down the front steps with his duffle over his shoulder and Bowie at his heels. She hardly ever moved, but she’d been following Nico around like a magnet all week. Bowie knew a sucker when she saw one.
Today was the day I’d been waiting for and dreading all week. Once this fake date was behind us, all that would be holding Nico in Sleighbell Springs was the finishing touches on my mural and his broken-down car.
Nico took control of the music as I navigated us out of town.
My hand flexed on the gear shift. I wanted to reach out to him, but I wasn’t sure that was the right move.
At the beginning of the week, we’d agreed this would be a fake date.
Somewhere in between Monday and today, it had started to feel like something more.
But I was too chickenshit to do anything about it.
Eventually, Nico grabbed my hand, threading our fingers together and resting them on the center console. He was casual as ever, not even stopping his rant about one of his artist friends from New York who’d recently dared to make clam chowder with tomatoes.
All I could focus on was his hand in mine, the cold of his rings warming against my skin. Neither of us acknowledged it, like this blossoming thing between us was a skittish cat, and if we made eye contact with her, she would disappear under the bed for days.
I booked a hotel room a few blocks from the gallery. Nico had put up a fight, saying he would stay at his apartment instead, but I insisted he’d be more relaxed if he didn’t have to commute and deal with traffic right before his event.
“Do you have one with two queen beds available?” I asked the man at the front desk, despite the fact that my hand was lingering at the small of Nico’s back.
The last thing I wanted was for him to feel pressured. Of course, another part of me wanted us to be stuck with only one bed. Wanted the excuse to keep him close.
“Of course, sir.” The employee handed me a small envelope with two keys.
My stomach soured, but I kept a smile on my face. “Wonderful.”
Upstairs, I busied myself with unpacking my garment bag and placing my toiletries in the bathroom. Nico seemed to be everywhere in the small space. He claimed the bed by the window and lay back on the pillows, watching me.
“Do you want to get anything to eat?”
“Not hungry,” Nico said with a shrug. “I’m sure they’ll have food at the party.”
Even though he was trying to look relaxed, I could see the tightness in his eyes. I sat at the foot of his bed and pulled his socked feet into my lap.
Nico practically jumped as I began to rub circles on his arches with my thumbs.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
“I can tell you’re nervous,” I said. “Just breathe for a minute.”
Nico’s eyes traced over my face, and I held his stare.
The tension stretched between us until I caught a particularly tender spot in his foot, and his eyes drifted shut as he moaned.
Heat flashed through my body; I pressed my thumbs higher onto his calves.
His warmth beneath my fingers and the way he finally relaxed into the bedding were intoxicating.
“I’m glad we’re friends again,” Nico murmured.
I paused briefly, the heat dying almost immediately. Of course, this wasn’t anything more to Nico. We weren’t together, and he wasn’t staying, but I didn’t stop touching him. I couldn’t.
We didn’t say much as we got ready. Nico took his clothes into the bathroom to change, and I spent too long staring at the bathroom door until my phone beeped with a fifteen-minute reminder.
I pulled my suit out of its bag. It was the only one I owned, and I couldn’t remember why I bought it—probably for a family wedding.
Hopefully, it still fit. I had my pants on but undone, working on the buttons of my dress shirt, when Nico emerged from the bathroom. I froze as I took him in.
Nico wore a blousy sapphire-blue silk shirt almost completely unbuttoned.
It made his eyes look like jewels. The shirt was tucked into wide-leg dress pants with a satin tuxedo stripe down the side, highlighting his narrow waist. A necklace that was part chain, part string of pearls, hung around his neck.
As my eyes wandered up to his face, I could see a touch of eyeliner and mascara.
Nico looked like he’d just walked straight out of my dreams, and every bit the fancy-pants artist he deserved to be.
“You look incredible,” I said finally.
Nico smirked. “So do you.”
I looked down at my disheveled shirt and open pants, the black jock I’d worn peeking out, and my face flushed. Quickly, I tugged my shirt in and zipped my pants. Nico watched my hands as I buckled my worn black leather belt. Now that I had an audience, my fingers fumbled as I pulled out my tie.
Nico moved closer to me and took the tie, knotting it with nimble fingers and tugging me gently toward him until our chests bumped together.
The moment last night at Frosty’s lingered in my mind, his lips close enough that all I’d needed to do was lean forward and capture them, but I still couldn’t cross that line.
Somewhere along the way, I’d decided that I could keep my heart safe from falling for Nico again if I could only manage to avoid kissing him.
“We should get going so you’re not late,” I said, bringing our foreheads together and closing my eyes.
“We should.” Nico’s hands slid across my chest, over my shoulders, and down my arms.
I shivered when he stepped away. When I opened my eyes, he had that infernal smirk across his face—the pretend one, flirty, just for show.
“Are you ready to play my devoted lover tonight?”
Clearing my throat, I turned to grab my suit jacket from the closet.
I caught myself in the mirror, taking in my simple black suit and navy plaid tie.
There was no part of me that looked or felt like I belonged here.
Nico was looking at me like I was something special, but I couldn’t let myself believe it.
“Absolutely, dearest,” I drawled. “Let’s go show you off.”
Nico laughed and took my hand before dragging me out the door.