His brow furrowed. “Why would that make me feel better?” he asked, as though insulted.
“I don’t know,” she admitted. “I just meant…you weren’t the only one who was abandoned by him.”
Cameron was silent a moment, and Audrey thought she’d lost him. That she’d said too much and he was mentally slamming the door on her. Then he surprised her by responding. “My dad wasn’t really father material. He’d been having an affair with Dianna’s mom for a year before he walked out on us.”
“I’m sorry,” she said lamely. “Your poor mom.”
But Cameron just shrugged. “She handled it pretty well. I don’t think I ever saw her cry.”
“I bet that was more for you, trying to be strong and all that.”
“I wish she wouldn’t have.”
Audrey watched as Piper got off the bumper cars, then followed her friend back around to the line so they could ride again. “What do you mean?”
“Just would have been nice to see some emotion from her. Instead of forcing false happiness all the time.”
Audrey immediately thought of herself and how she’d continually smiled for Piper in the days and weeks following Dianna’s death. How she was always so worried about how Piper was adjusting. “She probably thought she was doing what was best for you. Maybe she saved her tears for when she was alone.”
Cameron shook his head. “I’m not so sure. My dad was an even worse husband than he was a dad. He and my mom had been growing apart, and I think the only thing she missed was the income he brought in. After he left, she had to find a second job so we wouldn’t lose our house.”
Audrey placed a hand on his arm. “She did that for you.”
A muscle in his jaw ticked. “Yeah,” he said after a moment. “She’s the strongest woman I know.”
“It’s obvious how close the two of you are,” Audrey agreed. “And she was really good with Piper.”
Cameron smiled for the first time since mentioning his dad. “I think she sees Piper as a pseudo-granddaughter. She’s pretty much lost hope of getting any grandkids out of me.”
Something inside Audrey twisted at his words. Don’t ask. It’s none of your business. But then her mouth disconnected from her brain. “You don’t want kids?”
His shoulders moved, and Audrey wondered if it had more to do with restlessness. “Sure, someday.”
“But it’s not a priority for you,” she added, because she was masochistic like that.
He turned his head and winked at her. “Got to have a wife first.”
She nudged his shoulder with hers. “Look at you being all traditional.”
His grin widened. “Surprised?”
She shook her head. “No, just…” Then she laughed. “Actually, yeah.”
His look sobered. “Just because I like to have a good time doesn’t mean I don’t want to settle down one day. I meant it when I said I haven’t met a woman worth settling down for.”
Audrey ignored the sharp pain in her stomach. “Think you ever will?”
His gaze dropped to her mouth. “Maybe.”
She licked her lips and did a mental happy dance when his blue eyes darkened. “What if you’ve already met her and you haven’t realized it?”
Stop baiting him. Stop pushing his buttons.
Cameron angled his body toward her and rested one elbow on the railing. “What’re you saying, Audrey?”
Yes, Audrey. What are you saying?
“I just mean…” She cleared her throat. “That what if in the middle of all your…” She broke off, searching for the right term. “Good timing, the woman for you was already there? Only you didn’t notice her, and she moved on to someone else?”
Cameron seemed to think this over for a moment, although Audrey wasn’t so sure, because he moved closer and fixed his attention on her lips again. They actually tingled. “I don’t think so,” he finally said.
“But how do you know?” Did she have to sound so breathy?
The corners of his mouth turned up, and he trailed one finger along the edge of her jaw. “I just do.”
“Always so sure of yourself,” she whispered.
“On this? Yeah.”
She tilted her head at him. “That cockiness works on a lot of women, doesn’t it?”
His voice dropped an octave. “Obviously.”
“How is that supposed to be obvious to me?” Really? You need him to show you?
“Oh, Audrey,” he chastised. “Your naïveté would be sweet if you weren’t such a big faker.”
Cameron shifted, and then his lips were just there, touching hers, and Audrey didn’t have time to wonder how that had happened so fast. One second she’d been trying to talk herself out of kissing him, and the next she was clutching his shoulders and sliding her tongue along his.
She shouldn’t have been surprised at how good it was. After all, they’d kissed a few times already, and each time it knocked the breath from her lungs. So Audrey was surprised at how, well…surprised she was. Cameron really was a skilled kisser. Each time he made it feel like it was the first time, and every time he knocked her off her feet.
He changed the angle of the kiss without breaking contact, using his hand to cradle the back of her head and guide her. Audrey went with the flow and allowed him to maintain the control, even though she wanted to climb his body. Cameron must have sensed her desperation because he grinned against her mouth and kissed her harder, as though he suspected she wanted to pull back. Maybe he’d taken her gasp of breath as hesitation, but the feeling coursing through her system was anything but.
Audrey couldn’t help feeling a sense of rightness. Like they belonged. Like she’d been born to kiss this man, feel his fingers biting into her hips. To place her hand over his heart and wonder if she was the one who made it beat faster.
Yes.
The word whispered in the back of her mind, sounding strangely like Cameron’s, as though offering confirmation to her own musings. Audrey spared about a second trying to push the
