"This morning?" "Wait here." "Cam—" "Wait here." I leaned my head against the couch when he walked out. When he came back, he was bringing a first-aid kit with him. "Where'd you get that?" "Dylan bought it for you. Stay still." He hid his face from me, lowering his eyes as he concentrated on bandaging my foot. I wanted to reach out and touch his hair. So thick, dark, and silky. "You were in the shop this morning," I said quietly. I winced when he dabbed medicine on my wound. I couldn't see what it looked like, but this morning when I checked it, it was almost completely closed and didn't bleed anymore. I could see that his bandage on his wrist was gone. His wound had healed, while mine was only starting. Cameron didn't say anything. He closed the kit, then lifted his head to look at me. "You said before that if we fight, you didn't want to be apart that long. That it made you feel anxious." I didn't know what to do with myself whenever he remembered the things I told him before. Especially when he did them for me. "Since I couldn't stay that night and fight it out with you," he continued, still watching my face. "I figured the next morning would do." He unfolded his long body and rose in front of me. He was so tall I had to look up. He sat beside me, but not close enough to touch. "You were in your room for two days. I wanted to go in and see you, ask if you'd let me talk to you, be with you, but I knew you needed time alone. So I came to your shop first thing in the morning instead." My heart ached. I wanted to go to him, touch him, kiss him, but I stopped myself. It was so damn hard, but... If I settled now, we might end up in bed all night. And I wanted more. More to our relationship than just sleeping together. "I heard you," he said quietly, voice rough and low. "Crying." My breath came out shaky as I caught the intensity in his eyes. "You were quiet, and I knew you were trying not to. You don't know how hard it was for me to hear you cry like that. If your dad weren't here, I'd have broken down your door to get to you." He raked his fingers in his hair. "But I also knew you needed space." It was when he was like this that kept me wanting to come back, kept me holding on, kept me hoping that we could still work things out. It was when he was open to me like this, when he let me glimpse what was in his heart that made me unable to give him up. "Kara," he said. "I know you want answers. I want to give them to you." "Will you?" My voice trembled. "As much as I can." I nodded. He excused himself for a moment as he brought the kit back to the kitchen. Then I heard running water as he washed his hands in the sink. By the time he came back I had somehow composed myself. "How's your dad?" he asked, sprawling on the same spot beside me. Close, but not too close. I felt touched that he would ask about my dad. Cameron knew how important my family was to me. "Heartbroken. I know he loves his brother very much, and he can't believe what Andrew was going to do." I let out a sigh. "Anyway, the leech said he'll send the papers today. I just need our lawyer to check the contract first, then we'll see from there. I think it will be okay." "Good." "Did you talk to Andrew yesterday? Is that why he's dropping the sale from the other buyer?" "Yeah." "What did you...? I mean did you pay him?" "No," he answered carefully. "I didn't pay him. Just talked." I let out a relieved sigh. I was thinking and trying to convince myself that if Cameron paid Andrew that it was okay. It was a crisis and we needed to take action as soon as possible. But my sigh of relief told me that it wasn't quite like that. It had been a life mission for me to pay off Andrew's shares for many years now, it was hard to let it go or pass it on to someone else so abruptly. I really didn't know how I felt about it. Dad said a bank had loaned him the money, but we were rejected many times before. Although now that I thought about it, maybe he got approved because the shop was doing so well. In fact, really well. Maybe— "You could've punched the son of a bitch." "I think I'd want to practice my punch so it would hurt a lot when I give it to him." "I'll teach you." "Okay." "If all else fails," he said, and a little humor gleamed in his blue eyes, "a kick in the nuts will bring any man down." I cracked a smile. "What does it feel like?" "Like you're going to puke and shit at the same time. It's the perfect attack." "I'll definitely remember that." And then we were both silent after that. "That night," he said softly. "In your bedroom." He was the one starting the conversation this time, and I really appreciated it. I shook my head. "Even before that. The night before that, someone had phoned you." I saw him swallow. "Yeah." "You were distant after that phone call, but I didn't push. I knew you have a hard time opening up, but I was hoping you'd tell me later when you're ready. Then Christmas Eve happened." He lowered his head. "I heard that your dad was at the hospital, but I didn't know why. I was really worried about you. We all were. Dad and Dylan too." "How did you find out?" "Perks of working in the health care field. I mean I'm not supposed to, but I was desperate. Are you angry that I know?" "No," he said. "I'm not." I waited, but he didn't continue. When frustration started to climb up my back, I lifted my feet on the couch, hugged my knees to my chest and stared at the floor. "Cameron." I could feel his eyes on me, but I didn't look at him.