Total pages in book: 100
Estimated words: 94630 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 379(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94630 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 379(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
“Why would we do that?”
“Because of how pointless it would be.”
“Are we going to ever have an honest conversation, Cam?”
“We’re always honest with each other.”
“I used to think so, but lately…”
Jo dropped her eyes to her feet, shaking her head and dislodging one rebel curl, which broke free from the rest. Cam walked back up, stopping one step below Jo so they were eye level. He lifted her chin, trusting himself with only that much of her.
“Jo, I know things have been…strange between us lately.”
He waited for her nod. She met his eyes, and he hated seeing her tears. He slid his fingers from her chin to cup her jaw. He’d only seen Jo cry a few times in all the years he had known her. Didn’t she know by now he wasn’t worth it?
He thumbed the wetness at the corner of her eye.
“Jo, don’t. Things will get back to normal soon.”
Her fingers caged his hand against her face. She raised tear-spiky lashes, and he wished she’d kept this vulnerability to herself.
“What if I don’t want things to go back to normal?”
Cam stepped back down the steps until her hand had no choice but to let him go. He found his keys in his pocket and tossed them in the air, catching them a few times, taking care with his answer.
“Peter seems like a good guy. You should go on that date.”
She drew a sharp breath like his words had slid between her ribs, before expelling it in a long exhale. She blanched like a white flag. Surrender and resolve settled like sediment on her face, layer by layer until her thoughts were completely buried alive, and he had no idea what she was thinking. Was left only with what she said.
“You’re right. Peter is perfect for me. I don’t know why I even hesitated.”
“Well, as sappy as it sounds, sometimes we don’t know our hearts, I guess.”
“Oh, I know my heart. Now I just know better.”
He barely recognized her face, covered with this sparkling new indifference. He had put distance between them. Deliberately. Cruelly. Mercifully. It had taken him hours to undo damage the light flirtation with Etty in front of Jo had done. That girl had clung for a week, and he’d barely convinced her he still wanted only friendship, but it had been worth the trouble. If it convinced Jo once and for all that he was a triple-A asshole, then it was worth it. He should get out of here before she lost that. He walked toward his bike like the devil had a warrant for his arrest. This time, she didn’t try to stop him.
Chapter Nine
Jo spread peanut butter on white bread. Her eating was all shot to hell. And she’d skipped her run this morning.
That ass won’t keep itself in check.
Ignoring her inner fit bitch, she sliced up bananas and laid them across her not-wheat bread and her full-fat peanut butter. Cam had introduced them to peanut butter and banana sandwiches the first time he’d spent the night. She and Walsh had devoured them, going through an entire loaf of bread in one sitting. Cam had a whole list of sandwiches he’d used to survive in Barfield projects.
Ah, the good old days. When things were slightly less complicated. As she had expected, she hadn’t heard from nor seen Cam since her first date with Peter two weeks ago. Shaundra was coordinating everything with Cam’s agent Sebastian for now, leaving Cam to “create.”
Meredith’s “Wild Thing” ringtone made Jo grin, as usual. She answered, using Bluetooth to keep her hands free.
“Hey, Mer. What’s up?”
“I should ask you that,” Meredith said, her words slightly distorted by whatever food she’d shoved in her mouth. “You’re the one with a new boyfriend.”
“You mean Peter?” Jo paused in slicing her banana, allowing herself a small frown. “He’s not my boyfriend. He’s just a friend.”
“But you say he’s just a friend!” Meredith sang the Biz Markie classic before continuing in her usual deceptively light voice. “A friend who takes you to the ballet, to the opera, to concerts, fancy dinners.”
“Peter’s a great guy, but I’ve been very clear that I need to take things really slowly.”
“You might wanna tell your libido that before you Forrest Gump yourself into a size zero.”
“Excuse me?” Jo abandoned the sandwich altogether, plopping onto the leather stool and leaning her elbows on the marble island countertop.
“You think I don’t know you run like a million miles a day to keep that sex drive under control?”
Well, damn. It had taken Jo months to make the connection.
“Barking up the wrong tree, Mer. I just like to run.”
“Oh, yeah, right. And all that knitting.” Meredith smacked her lips together, clearly disgusted. “If I get one more scarf, hat, or glove from you in the middle of July, I swear!”
Jo couldn’t help but laugh, even though her cheeks heated up. So she needed hobbies to keep herself from combusting.