Total pages in book: 104
Estimated words: 98264 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 491(@200wpm)___ 393(@250wpm)___ 328(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98264 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 491(@200wpm)___ 393(@250wpm)___ 328(@300wpm)
“Yeah, totally,” Thea chirped.
While Ramsey’s, “Sure,” held a confused reluctance.
Camden gave my hand a tug and guided me down the hall. As we went, Ramsey and Thea continued to talk, their hushed whispers not nearly quiet enough for my small house.
“How do they know each other?” my brother asked.
“Are you kidding me? He’s the kid she’s been in love with since, like, middle school,” Thea replied. “He’s so much hotter than the pictures.”
“Sparrow, I am standing right here. Can you quit panting for a second and explain to me what the hell is going on?”
Thea laughed, and Camden must have heard their exchange too, because he grinned before shutting the door.
When he released my hand, I took a step away, needing a second to catch my breath.
“I was going to tell you,” he stated immediately. “I wasn’t hiding it or anything. I thought you might have already known, but then you didn’t say anything and so much has been going on between us.”
“That’s why you have your license to practice law in Georgia,” I whispered, puzzle pieces snapping into place.
“That’s one of them.”
My nose started to sting as I stood there staring at him, over a dozen emotions swirling inside me. “We weren’t even speaking when he got out,” I croaked.
He shrugged with one shoulder. “So? We haven’t been speaking for half our lives and I still love you.”
“Cam,” I breathed.
“Look, a big part of the reason I went into law in the first place was because of you. You talk about devoting your time to the students at your school so they don’t have to go through the hardships you did. Well, I’ve always felt like, maybe if I’d been older or able to help when everything happened with you and Josh and Ramsey, maybe all our lives could have been a little easier. So the minute I was able, I did something about it. He didn’t deserve to be in there. And you didn’t deserve to live in a prison outside those bars, either. I just wanted you—hell, all of us—to finally be free.”
Rivers dripped from my chin. “You make me feel free.”
He smiled, slowly walked toward me, and then gathered me in his arms. “Then why are you crying, crazy?”
“Because I just realized I may have gotten in over my head with you. I’ll have to spend the rest of my life making sandwiches to repay you for this.”
He chuckled. “What if we just stop keeping score from here on out? No more you bringing a sandwich or me bringing a sandwich. Just us, working together for the best lives possible.”
I stared up at him, love and acceptance that I’d never feel with another human being seeping into my bones. The constant ache inside me ebbed into nothingness.
Life wouldn’t be perfect with Camden. My life would be a never-ending work in progress, but with him at my side, it didn’t seem so damn daunting anymore. We could take it slow and get to know each other again. Things like fighting over who took the trash out last and why he squeezed the toothpaste from the middle of the tube were a rite of passage for couples. And I was ready.
Finally.
Because with Camden, I was ready for anything.
Lifting up onto my toes, I pressed a gentle kiss to his mouth. “Thank you for being you. And for taking care of me all these years. I don’t know how, but I promise I’ll make it worth it for you.”
He smiled and deepened the kiss, taking a breath only long enough to say, “You already have.”
“You’re a Caskey?” Ramsey asked, aggressively chewing a piece of gum as we sat around Nora’s dining room table, bagel crumbs and empty coffee cups long since forgotten.
I sighed and gave Nora’s thigh a squeeze under the table. “Technically. Though I don’t advertise it.”
Thea leaned forward and her green eyes searched my face. “Fascinating. I thought you were required to be a douchebag with those genetics.”
“Thankfully, the douchebag gene skipped me.” Popping my eyebrows, I looked to Nora. “Or at least I think it did.”
She shrugged. “You were wearing penny loafers the first time we met at the creek. I don’t think it skipped you as much as you fought it off.”
“Hey,” I said, feigning offense and shifting my hand down to chomp at the ticklish spot above her knee. “Take it back.”
She laughed, prying my fingers away one by one. “Fine. You just have extra-pretentious taste in shoes.”
Wrapping my hand around hers, I lifted it to my mouth and kissed the back. “Fair enough.”
When I looked up, Ramsey and Thea were leaning back in their chairs, holding hands, and grinning like a pair of Cheshire cats.
Nora rolled her eyes at their love-struck stares. “So, anyway, I think Camden and I are moving to New York.”