Текст книги "Down London Road"

Автор книги: Samantha Young

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Текущая страница: 16 (всего у книги 23 страниц)

Horrified, I looked up into Cam’s face, my eyes wide. ‘I think I should let him get away with using the “f” word on this occasion.’

Cam snorted, laughter spluttering as he dropped his head to my chest, his whole body shaking with amusement.

I felt an irrepressible giggle escape me despite my mortification for myself and Cole. ‘It’s not funny. We’ve scarred him. I better check on him.’

Cam shook his head, his eyes bright with mirth. ‘You’re the last person he wants to see right now.’

‘But he’s upstairs with Mum.’

‘I’m sure he’s barricaded himself in his room and is doing anything he can to burn the image of me dry-humping his sister out of his mind.’

‘Why do you have to be right about everything? It’s exceptionally annoying.’

He just smiled.

‘No, I mean it. Either you’re going to have to stop or you’re constantly going to find yourself on the wrong end of the couch.’

‘Good.’ He flashed that heated smile at me again. ‘I like the making-up part.’

I abruptly kissed him hard, liking that answer and too love-fogged to care that he now knew just how much his cockiness could turn me on. When I finally let him up for breath, I brushed my thumb across his mouth, hoping I got to keep that sexy curl of his lip forever and ever. ‘I am grateful for today. For everything. For handling me with care and for going out of your way to bring Uncle Mick to me.’

His eyes lit with affection and sweet tenderness as he searched my face slowly, seeming to memorize each feature. ‘Anytime, baby.’

I cuddled him close and we lay in silence for a few moments. Brushing his hair through my fingers, I asked tentatively, ‘Cam?’

‘Aye?’

‘I know you said you gave up on the idea of looking for your birth parents, but after seeing what happened today with Mick … are you sure?’

‘That was different.’ His breath whispered across my collarbone. ‘You and Mick had a relationship. I don’t know the people who gave me up. Honestly, I no longer need to know them. I have everything I could ever want for in Anderson and Helena MacCabe. I don’t need reasons or excuses because … well … no matter how good they are, it’s never going to change the fact that I came second to those excuses. They abandoned me. Doesn’t matter if their reasons are logical, practical … it will never change how I felt when I found out the truth. So what’s the point?’

I ran my hand down his back soothingly, wanting to draw him inside me, where he was loved more than he even knew. ‘They missed out, baby. They missed out big.’

22

Cole had been given the full rundown about Uncle Mick already. He’d been only three years old when Mick left, so he couldn’t remember him, but he seemed okay about meeting him, having learned enough from me over the years to know that I’d once thought the guy walked on water.

Telling Mum had been a different story. I’d actually feared telling her, afraid that the news would cause her to kick off. To my surprise, she accepted the news with calm and agreed to come out and speak to Mick when he arrived.

I thought I even heard her take a shower while I clicked through the job site on Cole’s computer.

By the time Cole arrived home from school, my palms were sweating. Mum had been unruffled earlier, but that might change when she set eyes on Mick. The knock at the door caused my heart to skip a beat. I don’t know why people described that in romance novels as if it was a good thing. When your heart skips a beat it makes you breathless, you feel a little sick, and definitely out of sorts.

‘You made it.’ I stretched my lips into a weak smile as I opened the door to Uncle Mick and Olivia.

Olivia chuckled. ‘Are we that bad?’

‘No, no, no.’ I hurried to reassure them, stepping aside to let them in.

‘It’s not us she’s worried about,’ Mick murmured to her, and I threw him a knowing but weary smile over my shoulder as I led them into the sitting room.

‘Just take off your jackets. Make yourself at home. Can I get you tea or coffee? Water, juice?’

‘Coffee,’ they answered in unison.

I nodded, all nervous energy. ‘No probs.’

But Cole’s appearance in the doorway stopped me in my tracks. I put my arm around his shoulders and led him back towards Mick and Olivia. ‘Cole, this is Mick and his daughter, Olivia.’

Mick grinned at him and stuck his hand out. Cole took it tentatively. ‘Nice to meet you,’ he murmured, letting his hair hang in his eyes so he didn’t have to look directly at them.

‘You too. Jesus, you’re the spitting image of your dad when he was your age.’

‘He’s nothing like Dad,’ I said tersely.

Olivia’s eyebrows rose and she shot a look at her father before she said admonishingly, ‘Way to go, Dad.’

Looking uncomfortable, Mick sighed. ‘I didn’t mean it like that.’

Way to go, Jo. ‘I know.’ I waved him off, feeling bad for my waspishness. ‘I’m a little sensitive around that subject.’

‘Understood.’

‘Cole, I’m Olivia.’ She stuck her hand out and Cole’s cheekbones flushed a little as they shook hands. ‘It’s good to meet you.’ She glanced around the sitting room, her eyes brimming with approval. ‘You guys have a really nice place.’

‘Jo does all the decorating.’ Cole surprised me as he informed her about that almost enthusiastically. ‘The wallpapering, painting, sanding … everything.’

‘I’m impressed.’

I felt Uncle Mick’s smiling eyes on me. ‘All my teaching stuck with you, eh?’

Embarrassed, I shrugged. ‘I like decorating.’

‘Aye, we know.’ Mum’s voice had me sucking in my breath as we all turned to watch her shuffle into the sitting room. ‘You do it often enough.’ Cole and I exchanged glances, utterly taken aback by her appearance. She hadn’t just showered; she’d gotten dressed. Her hair was blow-dried smooth, she had some make-up on and she was wearing a pair of skinny jeans that were loose on her frail body, and a black silk shirt I’d bought her for Christmas even though I never thought she’d wear it. To us she looked better than she had done in ages, but when I glanced back at Uncle Mick I could see the shock in his eyes at her appearance.

He stepped past us and towered over Mum, who gave him a small smile. ‘Fiona. It’s good to see you.’

She nodded, her mouth trembling a little. ‘It’s been a long time, Michael.’

‘Aye.’

‘You look almost the same.’

‘You don’t, darling,’ he replied softly, something like anguish in his voice.

Mum lifted her shoulders in a gesture of resignation. ‘I did what I could.’

Uncle Mick didn’t say anything, but I could see from the hard set of his jaw that he didn’t think she’d done enough. We would be in agreement on that one.

‘Dad.’ Olivia moved to his side, taking his hand reassuringly, and I felt the last of my resentment towards her disappear. How could I resent someone who so obviously adored Mick?

Uncle Mick tightened his hand around his daughter’s. ‘Fiona, this is my girl, Olivia.’

And just like that it all went to pot.

Mum pursed her lips as her eyes drifted over Olivia. ‘Aye, she looks like that American piece you had a thing with.’

I squeezed my eyes shut in mortification and heard Cole’s low groan beside me.

‘Fiona,’ Mick scolded her.

‘Dad, it doesn’t matter.’

‘Pfft.’ Mum looked past her to me. ‘You told me it would just be him. I’m going back to bed. Leave me some dinner later.’

I nodded, my muscles tense as we waited for her to leave. When her bedroom door slammed closed, I sighed. ‘Sorry, Uncle Mick. That’s about as good as it gets with her. Olivia, I’m sorry …’

‘Forget it.’ Olivia waved me off. ‘It’s not a problem.’

‘I can’t believe that’s the same woman.’ Mick shook his head as he strode across the room to take a seat, his body seeming heavy with the shock. ‘I just can’t believe it.’

I thought of how Mum had actually behaved fairly well, at least until she saw Olivia, but I didn’t want to tell Mick that. ‘Believe it.’

Like a turtle that had poked its head out for a little sunshine only to discover that it was raining, Mum retreated back into her shell even worse than before. She rarely left her room, a crate of alcohol was delivered to the flat, and the only way I knew she was alive was that the food I’d leave for her disappeared. Anytime I knocked to check on her, she grunted at me to go away.

I wanted it to be black and white. I wanted to hate her for hitting Cole and not give a shit whether she lived or died, but I found I just couldn’t abandon her entirely.

Cam said there came a time when we had to let some people go. There was no helping them, and attempting to would just pull you into the mire with them.

It was easier said than done. Despite all of our ugly encounters, she was my mum and there was still a part of me that wanted her to care more about us than she did about herself. I knew I had to let her go. I knew it. For Cole and also for me. When it came time to leave her, I would. But I would take the guilt with me.

Uncle Mick had said he wanted to spend as much time with me as possible and he hadn’t been lying. That Saturday Cole, Cam, Olivia, Mick and I met in the Grassmarket for a pub lunch. I learned that Olivia had been a librarian in the States, but much like Cam, she had been made redundant due to budget issues. Olivia was warm and funny and extremely hard not to like, and I could envision her getting along well with both Joss and Ellie.

Lunch was fun and I could tell Mick approved of Cole and Cam’s close friendship, as he kept shooting me looks that said as much. We took a stroll down the busy spring streets of the city, wandering up Victoria Street to George IV Bridge, and then taking Olivia down the Royal Mile. I took some photographs of her and Mick standing on the Mile and then more as we travelled back towards New Town. We walked along Princes Street Gardens and I got some great shots of them together by the Ross Fountain with Edinburgh Castle towering over them in the background. It was a good day, a relaxing day, and as I walked behind them, Cam’s arm around my waist, I forgot about all my worries for a while.

On Sunday, Elodie was in her element. Having heard from Ellie about Uncle Mick and Olivia, she’d invited them for lunch. When we arrived, it was to discover Elodie had found a second table somewhere and placed it at the end of the one that was already there. Their flat was filled with conversation and laughter as everyone chatted away, getting to know them. I watched Olivia and felt a lump in my throat when I saw the delight on her face, the flush in her cheeks, and the spark in her eyes. Ellie had pounced on her almost immediately and I could tell they’d already glued themselves to each other. Ellie had a way of doing that with people.

Seated at the table next to Joss, she nudged me and leaned in to whisper, ‘Did you ever think you’d be a part of something like this?’

I glanced around at all the faces, my eyes coming to a stop on Cam, who was laughing at something Braden had said. I turned back to her, shaking my head. ‘Never in a million years.’

She smiled, and I was taken aback by the emotion in her eyes as she looked down at the simple diamond engagement ring on her finger. ‘Me neither.’

‘You okay?’

Joss nodded. ‘More than.’

I grinned at her and was just about to crack a joke to ease us out of such seriousness when Braden called, ‘Jo, you need a job?’

I rolled my eyes and shot Cam an impatient look. ‘I was going to ask him.’

‘Well, you were taking your time about it.’

Sighing, I nodded at Braden, my cheeks flushing at having to ask. ‘If you have a part-time position available, I’d appreciate it.’

His light blue eyes searched mine and I felt vulnerable under his scrutiny. Braden had a way of stripping a person bare, as if he could see into the very depths of them. I didn’t know how Joss had withstood him so long before eventually owning up to her feelings for him. Surely he’d known all along. ‘Jo, come to us whenever you need us, please.’

I gulped but nodded.

‘I’ll set something up tomorrow, see if we can’t get you started on Tuesday.’

‘Thank you,’ I whispered gratefully.

When conversation started up again, Joss chortled under her breath. ‘He’s scary, right?’

‘Braden?’

‘Yeah. He sees more than most people.’ She eyed me carefully. ‘Is there something going on with you we don’t know about? Are you and Cam okay?’

I thought of all my insecurities and the fight I was having with them on a daily basis. ‘Just finding our feet with each other.’

‘Sure. Well, I think he’s pretty cool. I mean, before you met him you would never have taken a job from Braden.’

‘Yeah, don’t rub it in.’

‘Jesus C, woman, I didn’t think anyone was as proud or as stubborn as I am.’

‘Well, you were wrong,’ I answered drily.

Joss laughed. ‘Yeah, and now you have your very own caveman to … shake out some of that stubbornness.’

I felt my cheeks warm at the thought of Cameron shaking out my stubbornness tonight. Good times ahead.

Joss snorted. ‘Just keep that thought to yourself.’

23

There are times in life when there is so much going on you may feel as though you don’t even have a chance to take a breath. You wake up, you get washed and dressed, the day is a blur of events, work, activities, chores, and then before you know it, your exhausted body is melting against your pillow and mattress. Then, in what feels like two seconds later, your eyes are forced open at the sound of the alarm clock. That’s how my life was for the next few weeks.

Because there was so much going on, I let go of my neurosis for a night and stayed in Cam’s bed until morning. It was the Wednesday after the weekend with Mick and Olivia. As soon as the alarm went off, I groaned, shoved back the covers, and jumped out of bed.

Apparently Cameron found the way I got out of bed very amusing.

I watched his naked shoulders shaking as he pressed his face into his pillow.

My heavy eyelids and nervous anticipation of my second day working at Douglas Carmichael & Co didn’t add up to a whole lot of patience. ‘It’s not that funny.’

Cam pulled his sleepy, grinning face out of the pillow. ‘Baby, you’re hilarious,’ he said in his sexy, sleep-roughened voice. I wanted to dive back under the covers with him, but I had to get ready for work.

‘If I don’t jump out of bed right away I’ll fall back asleep. What you’re doing … I can’t do that.’

He pushed himself up to look at me, the tenderness in his eyes stopping me in my tracks. ‘You’re fucking adorable. You know that, right?’

His ability to make me blush was ridiculous. No one got under my skin the way he did, or made me feel less like myself and yet more like myself. I looked away as I wandered out of the room to the bathroom. ‘I’m going to be adorably late.’

That was as much one-on-one conversation as we got out of each other over the next two weeks. That first week we’d both started our new jobs (well, Cam had started back at his old job), Mick and Olivia invited us out for dinner, came over to Cam’s for dinner, took the three of us to the cinema, spent alone time with me and Cole while Cam hung out with Peetie and Nate, and generally crammed as much time in with us as they could. I willingly spent that time with them, unsure when they’d be returning to the States. I couldn’t imagine how expensive their hotel bill at the Caledonian was. Mick said Yvonne had inherited money from her grandmother – part of the contention between Yvonne and her family – and that she’d left that money to Mick and Olivia when she passed away. It wasn’t ‘forever’ kind of money, and the trip to Scotland was eating its way through it. I knew Mick well enough to know he wouldn’t want to continue to waste his money on hotel bills.

As much as I found Olivia easy to be around, it was Mick’s company that I craved. Like a real dad, he refused to let me pay for anything, he gave me fatherly advice, and teased me mercilessly, just as he had when I was a kid. Being around him brought back that feeling of safety, security, and of being accepted for who I was. He also examined all the work I’d done in the flat and re-emphasized Cam’s point that I had a talent for it. I’d never been told by anyone that I had a talent for anything and now two of the most important men in my life insisted I did.

It was pretty bloody brilliant.

During the second week I saw less of Mick and Olivia. He had decided that he wanted her to see a bit of her heritage, and so he’d booked them into an inn in Loch Lomond and they’d disappeared for a few days. That left me to focus on getting the hang of my new job. It wasn’t too difficult. Braden had set me up as an administrator and I helped out at reception as well. It was a much livelier place to work, with estate agents in one room and administrators in another. Everyone was always coming and going, and there were a number of young, good-looking guys who worked as estate agents and liked to flirt with the admin staff.

Their reaction to my arrival had been almost comical. A new toy to play with! Except my inner flirt had lost a lot of her flair since meeting Cameron. Yes, I could smile and banter with the best of them, but the heated come-on in my eyes and the promises in my teasing smile had disappeared. I was no longer constantly looking for a backup plan. I didn’t want a backup plan.

All I wanted I had, in one annoyingly right, somewhat arrogant, kind, funny, patient, tattooed man.

As I was working Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday at the estate agency and working my usual Tuesday, Thursday and Friday nights at the bar, I saw Cam very little, as he’d started a new project at work that was eating into all his spare time. He had returned to evening judo classes, and so I saw him when he popped up to the flat to collect Cole for class. I had gone to him on Tuesday night, but he had fallen asleep on top of his drawing desk by the time I’d got there. I’d had to gently wake him up and make sure he made it to his bed. He’d wrapped a surprisingly strong arm around my waist and pulled me down on to the bed with him. I let him, enjoying being close to him even if he was unconscious. When his arm relaxed, I managed to slip out without waking him up.

By the time Saturday came around, I missed him. I didn’t want to be that needy, cloying girl, and I hadn’t thought I was. But I missed not seeing him as often, and I was used to spending time together talking and laughing, sitting in comfortable silence, or having the most incredible sex.

It had only been a week.

Christ, I was addicted.

That Saturday was the night of Joss and Braden’s engagement party, and since I’d cleaned out my wardrobe by selling most of my nice dresses on eBay, I was going shopping for a new dress on my new, smaller budget.

To my surprise, Cameron offered to accompany me.

It became apparent very quickly that he hated shopping.

‘Why did you come?’ I asked him, laughing as I found him brooding in the corner of Topshop.

He immediately took my hand and led me out of the shop. ‘Because I miss you,’ he told me, completely unabashed at the confession. ‘If I have to endure this to spend time with you, then so be it.’

Deciding his valour deserved a kiss, I laid a hot one on him right in the middle of Princes Street. When his arms wrapped tight around me, holding me as close as I could get, I decided it might have been a bad idea. By the time we pulled back, letting immature catcalls from a group of prepubescent boys insisting that we ‘Get a room!’ ricochet off us, our skin was on fire. We hadn’t had sex in a week. That was a record for us. A dry spell we both apparently wanted to end, and end soon.

Now was not the time. ‘Tonight,’ I whispered against his mouth and reluctantly let him go.

I tried not to put him through the torture of shopping for too long. We went into one of my favourite high street stores on Castle Street, Cam complaining loudly about the pop music blaring out of the sound system because it was so deafening that it was almost impossible to hear one another, while I grabbed a bundle of dresses to try on. The lady at the changing room entrance tried to stop me from taking Cam in with me, but I charmed her, explaining that I needed my boyfriend’s advice since it was a very special evening, wink, wink. She could take that wink, wink any way she pleased, and she did, grinning and letting us pass. To my delight, I found the largest changing room empty and dumped all the dresses inside. I pointed to the stool outside the curtain. ‘You can sit there.’

Cam sighed and folded his tall body on to the stool. When I grinned down at him, his lips twitched. ‘That’s the first time I’ve actually heard you call me your boyfriend.’

I scrunched up my face in protest. ‘Uh-uh.’

‘Mmm-hmm.’

‘Really?’

He grinned. ‘Really.’

I braced myself as I asked, ‘How did it sound to you?’

His smile softened and he nodded. ‘Very nice.’

We shared a moment and I found myself growing all glowy inside. ‘Okay,’ I sighed, attempting not to seem like an adoring teen in love. ‘I’ll try to be quick.’

After shutting the curtain, I hurried out of my clothes and into the first dress. I thought it was too short. Cam agreed. ‘This is easy.’ I smiled and dashed back behind the curtain. There was a succession of ‘no’ and ‘maybe’ verdicts until I finally tried on a dark blue lace pencil dress, classy and elegant but so body-forming that it was sexy too.

‘What do you think?’ I twirled around for Cam as I came out from behind the curtain.

His eyes drifted from the tip of my toes to my face, growing more heated as they did. Then he merely nodded.

I raised an eyebrow in question. ‘Good?’

When he just nodded again, I shrugged and dipped back behind the curtain. I stared at my reflection for a moment. Well, I like it.

I was just about to reach for the zip, when the curtain ruffled behind me and Cameron slipped inside, pulling it closed behind him. I felt my heart begin to speed up, my skin already flushing with anticipation. I didn’t need to ask him what he was doing. I knew that look on his face all too well.

Suddenly it didn’t matter that we were in a changing room, in a store, in public.

Cam slid his hand along my jaw, to the back of my nape, drawing me towards him for a kiss that literally made all my nerves snap. I trembled against him as though it was our first kiss, exhilarating in the deep, wet heat of his mouth, tasting him and the mint he’d been chewing earlier. I clawed at him and we stumbled over my pile of clothing, my back hitting the mirrored wall. Cam pulled back, his lids low, his mouth swollen. ‘Turn around,’ he demanded in a rough voice in my ear, so I could hear him over the music. The heated coarseness of his tone caused my body to react as though he’d slipped two fingers inside me. My chest rising and falling with excited breaths, I spun around. He yanked the zip on the dress down and began peeling it off my body. I watched him in the mirror as he threw it on to the pile with my own clothing. ‘Buy it,’ he advised and I shivered at the feel of his breath on my skin as his warm hands coasted around to squeeze my naked breasts. Biting my lip to curb the moan I was desperate to release, I arched into his touch, my hands on his as he pinched my nipples. I could feel his chest against my back, his breathing uncontrolled as he pushed my underwear down. They fell to my thighs and I hurriedly shoved them farther down, kicking them out from around my ankles as the sound of Cam unzipping met my ears.

While his clothes rustled, his black trousers falling to his ankles, Cam slowly glided two strong fingers into my channel and I leaned against the mirror for support, my eyes on him. He watched his fingers moving in and out of me, fascinated and excited, and it only made me wetter.

‘Cam,’ I moaned softly, and as if he heard me his head came up, his eyes meeting mine in the mirror. They flashed at the expression on my face.

He pinned me against the mirror, one hand flat above mine while the other cradled my hip.

He glided into me with a stifled grunt and I swallowed my gasp. As he began to move, I pushed back against his slow thrusts, and our eyes stayed connected in the mirror as he fucked me.

As the tension began to build inside me, Cam grasped my hips, his cock so deep inside me it was almost painful. Abruptly he lowered himself to his knees, pulling me down with him. Poised over his lap, my hand still pressed to the mirror, his hands caressing my breasts, I began to move against his strokes. I felt his cheek against my back as we chased climax, my orgasm spurred on by the low, needy, guttural noises he was making in the back of his throat.

Sensing that I was about to come, Cam drew up behind me, his hand moving from my breast to cover my mouth. The tight heat cocooning my skin and muscles combusted and I exploded around him, my cry of release muffled against his palm.

Cam followed me to release seconds later, my eyes watching him in the mirror as he stiffened, the muscles in his neck straining. His mouth opened in a silent groan as his hips jerked against my ass and he came, the warm heat of his release flooding me.

‘Fuck,’ he whispered, resting his head against mine.

‘Um, everything all right in there?’ the shop assistant called loudly. Her sudden interruption filtered through the curtain, so close that we tensed against one another.

Oh, my holy hell! I’d forgotten where we were. ‘Yes,’ I answered, my voice breaking with postcoital exhaustion and embarrassment that I’d got so lost in this man I’d forgotten we were screwing each other on the floor of a changing room.

‘Do you need me to fetch another size, or is the dress okay?’

Go away! My wide eyes met Cameron’s in the mirror and he gave me no indication of what I should do. He was still inside me, for Christ’s sake. I almost laughed at that and glanced back at the curtain. ‘Everything’s great. In fact … it’s a perfect fit.’

At the innuendo, Cameron collapsed against my back, his laughter muffled in my hair, his shoulders shaking with amusement. It also caused him to jostle inside me, setting off little aftershocks of lust.

‘Okay …’ Her voice trailed off as she wandered away from the curtain.

‘Do you think they heard us?’

He gave a low bark of laughter. ‘I don’t give a shit.’

And he meant it.

With tender gentleness, he eased out of me and helped me to my feet. Hands cupping my cheeks, he drew me against him for a languorous, sensual kiss that made my chest ache with emotion.

I love you.

I cleared the thought from my eyes as Cam pulled back to gaze at me.

‘Luckily we finally chose a dress because there’s no way I can try anything else on before I have a shower.’

Something darkly sexual heated in his eyes and I knew he was thinking it was hot that I had to walk home with his sweat on me and his seed inside me.

‘Joss is right,’ I murmured. ‘You’re all cavemen.’

Cam didn’t take offence at that. Instead he took his time helping me dress, his knuckles brushing all my sensitive bits until I had to slap his hand away so I could get dressed without wanting to maul him again.

My cheeks were blazing as I handed the dresses I didn’t want back to the suspicious sales assistant. I couldn’t look at Cam because every time I did he shot me a wicked grin that made me want to giggle with equal parts exhilaration and mortification. As soon as we stumbled out of the store with my new dress, I fell against Cam’s side, laughing hard as he wrapped his arm around me.

‘I can’t believe we did that,’ I breathed.

‘Aye, can’t say I’ve done that before.’

‘You better not tell Nate and Peetie.’ My warning didn’t hold much of an impact since I was still grinning like a fool.

‘Why not? That’s a bloody good sex story.’

My cheeks warmed again and Cam laughed, snuggling me against his chest as I giggled. I was so caught up in happy la-la land with him that what happened in the next few moments was even more of a crashing, cold bump back to earth.

Cam stopped abruptly and I grabbed him to keep my balance, my head pulling back to study his face. The colour had leached from it and his eyes were wide with utter shock. ‘Cam?’ I whispered, feeling something hard begin to form in my stomach. I followed his gaze to the girl who was standing in front of us, her pretty eyes just as wide as Cam’s.

‘Cameron?’ she breathed, taking a step towards us, apparently not even aware that I was there.

‘Blair,’ he answered hoarsely.

I felt my head spin at the sound of her name, my eyes immediately examining her, processing everything about her. To my surprise she wasn’t at all what I’d been expecting. I’d pictured her in my mind as this tall, exotic stunner with an air of mystique. Instead she was shorter than Joss, her body slim and petite. She wore a T-shirt with a band on it over a long-sleeved white top, ratty jeans that fit her well and boots quite like Cam’s. She had short black hair that framed her cute pixie face. Her wide brown eyes were her best feature, framed by long black lashes. Shock mixed with longing haunted those pretty eyes, and I felt my hand fist around the material of Cam’s light jacket.

‘It’s great to see you.’ She gave him a sweet smile.

Cam nodded, clearing his throat and shaking the deer caught in the headlights expression from his eyes. ‘Uh, you too. How long have you been back in Edinburgh?’

‘A few months. I thought about looking you up, but I wasn’t sure …’ Her voice trailed off as she finally registered that I was burrowed into Cam’s side. She took me in, a crestfallen expression on her face, disappointment in her eyes. Disappointment in Cam? For choosing someone like me?

I bristled at the thought and Cam’s arm tightened around me. ‘No, you should have,’ Cam surprised me by saying.

Blair’s whole face lit up. ‘Really?’

‘Yeah.’ Cam dropped his arm from around me to pull his phone out of his pocket. ‘Here, give me your number and we’ll arrange to catch up.’

What?

I watched them as they exchanged numbers, Cam’s head bent over hers, and my brain just started screaming at me. What the hell was going on? He was arranging to get in contact with the ex-love of his life! What effed-up reality was this?

To make matters worse, he hadn’t even introduced me.

I stood there, attempting to appear calm and unconcerned.

He laughed softly at something she said and she gazed up at him like he was some kind of miracle. He was a miracle. He was my miracle and if he didn’t introduce me I was going –