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)
“And with the Chilean sea bass”—Cam glanced up from the menu—“you think the pinot grigio, Jo?”
Jo bit her lip. She hated bass. She should have been paying attention instead of glaring at the girl salivating over Cam.
“Sorry.” She ran her eyes down the menu. “Could I have the Maryland crab cakes instead?”
“I thought the sea bass might get your attention.”
“So you’re not ordering sea bass?”
“I am, but I remembered you hate it. Figured that would jerk you out of wherever you went in your head.”
Jo grinned, returning her menu to their server. He knew her as well as she knew him, and yet he carried so much mystery. His eyes harbored it. And she knew, even though he hadn’t shared yet, that his dreams kept his secrets.
It was only when Jo was with Cam that she realized how much more she enjoyed him than anyone else. They didn’t have to talk, to stuff every quiet moment with chatter to feel comfortable with each other. And, yet, sometimes she couldn’t get the words out fast enough. All the things she had hoarded all day that she only wanted to share with him.
After they’d finished eating, Cam gave the server his credit card and looked back to Jo, expectation on his face.
“You want to know what’s next?”
“So now you have your own Black Card, huh?” Jo nodded to the invitation-only card she had pocketed for years.
Cam just smiled and pulled her to her feet.
“Do you or do you not want to know what’s next?” He pushed one hand up under the hair at her nape and curled his arm around her waist, pulling her close enough to feel body heat through his clothes. “Or do I choose for you?”
“Are you going to be a bossy boyfriend?”
Something shifted on his face, and Jo realized she had called him her boyfriend for the first time. She refused to take it back. She had lived for years on a diet of imagination and ambiguity. She had no problem defining this relationship. If he did, she needed to know that. Now.
“Am I your boyfriend, Jo?” An almost-smile crinkled the corners of his eyes, and he settled their linked hands on his chest.
“Do you want to be?”
Cam opened his mouth, about to answer, when someone jostled Jo from behind. She turned, keeping one of Cam’s hands, ready to apologize for taking up half the sidewalk.
“I’m sorry, we—” She stopped, spotting Peter and two other blond guys, all carrying greasy bags. “Peter, hey.”
Peter looked from her face to her hand linked with Cam’s. His expression pinched, and he just stood there like he was at a loss.
“Hey, Jo.” Peter cleared his throat and took the few steps separating him from her and Cam. “I didn’t expect to see you.”
He didn’t say it, but she heard what he left in parenthesis. (You know. Since you turned me down because you were so exhausted.)
Peter gestured toward the two blond giants standing by and clutching their dinner.
“Jo Walsh, these are my cousins in town from college, Hans and Chad.” Peter glanced at Cam. “And this is Cam Mitchell.” Peter gave Jo a deliberate look. “Cam’s like a brother to Jo.”
Cam’s fingers tightened around Jo’s hand. Hans and Chad dove into the tiny slice of awkward silence left in the wake of Peter’s comment, making the appropriate noises and shaking hands. They shuffled their feet and looked up the sidewalk, obviously sensing the undercurrents but unable to find a polite escape.
Jo shot a glance Cam’s way. His face was a rocky plain and his eyes flinty. She willed him to look at her, but his eyes never left Peter’s face. Intense emotion came off Peter in waves. Jo stood trapped between Cam’s belligerence and some mixture of anger, hurt, and disappointment that Peter kept stirring.
“I know it’s bad to bring up business when you guys are here to have fun.” Jo injected a fake apology into her voice and the look she offered the cousins. “But I need Peter for just a second.”
Peter spared her a glance and nodded.
“Guys, I’ll meet you at that spot by the river we scoped out.”
The two cousins offered a short chorus of “nice to meet yous” before walking off.
Now for the hard part.
“Cam, I’d love some ice cream.” Jo glanced up at him, waiting for him to take his eyes off Peter. He finally gave her a you’ve got to be kidding me look.
“Please.” Please give me a few minutes to make this right.
She didn’t bother saying that out loud but sent Cam mental Morse code she hoped he could read. His eyes gave her the concession she needed and he dropped her hand.
“Mocha chocolate chip?”
“Perfect.”
She waited for Cam to walk off before turning to face Peter, an explanation fully formed on her lips. He stole her chance by speaking first.