"I didn't know I was ignoring you." I chewed on my nail as anxiety covered me like a blanket. "Stop." He grabbed my wrist and tugged, pulling my finger out of my mouth in the process. Instead of holding my hand, he released it. I had no idea why that hurt. I wished he'd held on. "I don't expect you to drop everything when I come, Kara. You didn't do anything wrong. I was the one who fucked up." "Cam, I wasn't ignoring you. And if I did, that wasn't my intention," I said with feeling. "I wanted to get the job done fast so I could get Damon out and be with you. But I also needed to tell him what he needs to do so we can be more organized the next day. "I know from my experience with clients at The Yard," I went on, tripping over my words because I wanted him to understand, "and Deb's mantra advice that being very specific as much as I can about these things is very important. We can't afford any errors because we have a tight budget and schedule, and I already changed the paint color once and now I want to change it again. I want to use my own money for that. "Maybe I'm being too obsessive about this, but I just want Tala and Mrs. B to be happy with the result. I want them to know how much I appreciate what they've done for me. I'm very grateful. It's important to me that they know that and doing a great job on this reno is one way of showing them." "I understand. I'm here if you need anything." I waited for him to ask me more questions, anything, but he remained silent. "Why are you fighting it?" I demanded. "What?" "I don't know. This. Us." I gestured between us. Frustration and impatience were crawling up my back, snaking around my neck. If I didn't uncoil them, I would choke. "I can feel you're holding back," I continued. "I've never been with anyone before, but I know that for us to work, we need to be careful not to take each other for granted. I don't want to take you for granted. And now I feel like I did. Like we both did. I'm sorry, Cam. I was really happy that you came to see me after work, and you bought me food even though it would have been more comfortable if you've gone home." "It would have been more uncomfortable for me not to see you," he said. And I heard the honesty in his voice. "I'm sorry I was being an asshole. I shouldn't have walked out, shouldn't have said what I did. Not to you. But, fucking hell, I don't like any man who touches you. Not the way he did." "Damon is—" "I don't think I'll change my mind how I think about it, but I'll try not to be a dick about it anymore if it bothers you," he said. "Any more than I have to," he clarified. Now I sighed. I stayed quiet for a moment, gathering my thoughts, wondering how I would start. I played with the vent slat in front of me for a moment, wiping the light dust with my forefinger. "When I was in high school, a group of girls befriended me," I began, not looking at him. "I didn't have a lot of friends back then. Only Damon, really. I wasn't exactly what you would call beautiful. Not even passably pretty by society's standards. I was plain and poor. I wasn't friendly either and was suspicious of everyone, a result of defending against bullies throughout my childhood, I guess. But these girls looked all right. Maybe I was just hungry for friends back then. Maybe I was lonely. Shit, I don't know." I caught myself when I was about to bite on my nail again and deliberately placed my hand on my lap. It had been a very bad habit when I was younger. I thought I had gotten rid of it. "As it turns out, they really didn't want to be friends with me. They thought I would be the entertainment of the year. So, they made a bet with these guys that whoever slept with me first and post it on social media, the queen bee would sleep with him. Cruel Intentions-ish much, huh? Except that I'm no Annette." I let out a bitter laugh. It happened years ago, a long, long time ago, and I had dealt with it. Gotten over it. But the emotional scar was still there. I had forgotten most of the words said to me, but funny how I still remembered the echo of the painful emotions associated with them. "I thought that only happened in the movies. Anyway, Damon heard about it and..." When my voice trembled, I paused. Took a deep breath. "I don't know what he did or say to them, but they apologized to me after. Not all of them, but the ones who were really mean to me. I wasn't hurt, not physically," I said hastily, because now Cameron looked ready to kill someone. "Damon made sure of that." He nodded, then after a moment he said, "I'm glad he was there for you." "Damon is my family. He's my brother. He's like Dylan to me. You have to understand that if he's being protective it's because he's seen what I've gone through." "I'll protect you now." He lifted his hand, gently stroked my cheek. "You are the most beautiful woman I've ever seen in my life." My heart. Please, my heart. "Thank you. I can protect myself, but it feels good to know you're there for me." "I'm sorry that I hurt you. This is all new to me, but I'll work on it. Forgive me?" he asked softly. "Cameron." I straddled him. His arms readily welcomed me. The feel of him, the warmth of him comforted me. I closed my eyes, wrapping my arms around him and resting my cheek on his shoulder. "Like Dylan, huh?" Was he smiling? I pulled away and look at his face. He was definitely smiling. "Yes. Damon is like Dylan to me. Do I see a smile?" "You make every bad thing go away." His palms caressed my arms, my shoulders before slowly stroking my back. "I thought of you this morning. I thought of you all day. I should be concentrating on what I'm doing, but you're always just there." "I couldn't concentrate on anything either. I was waiting for you to call or text me." "I thought you were so pissed off that you didn't want to hear from me." I pulled away from him so I could see his face. "You're wrong. I felt anxious all day, checking my phone if you've called or texted me. I don't know how it is for other people, but when we fight, I wish you'd stay so we could finish it. And if we really had to be apart, don't wait too long. I mean I could have phoned or texted you, but I did say to find me once you've pulled your head out of your ass." "I think I did." "Cam." "Yeah?" I waited a beat. "I'm not going to cheat on you. I respect you too much to do that. More, I respect myself too much to do that. I'm not going to try to change your mind what you think about Damon, but I'm not going to stop being friends with him. He's my brother. I need you to trust me." "I trust you." He brushed a hand over my hair. "I'll be nice." "To Damon?" "I'll try." "Just like that?" "Just like that." "How can it be just like that?"