Cameron glanced at her. “Well, I took the job because I’d have a chance to work with my best friend. The Drew thing is just a bonus.”
She smiled, despite the situation. “How have you managed not to kill each other so far?”
“I usually have better restraint,” he answered.
“So what did he say to piss you off?”
Cameron opened his mouth, then touched the tip of his finger to his swollen eye. “Nothing out of the usual,” he finally answered. “I just lost it, I guess.”
Audrey finally gave up her restraint and rubbed the pad of her thumb over the cut bisecting his lower lip. “He must have deserved it, then.”
He gazed at her, and for a moment Audrey thought he was going to kiss her. But she didn’t want to hurt his lip any more than it already was, no matter how badly she wanted to soothe away his pain. “Why are you always defending me? I don’t need anyone to fight my battles.”
She offered him a smile. “You may not need it. But sometimes it’s nice for someone to have your back. Don’t you think?”
The way he looked at her, the way his eyes darkened, told Audrey she’d touched a nerve, something he hadn’t wanted her to see.
She cleared her throat when she realized Cameron wasn’t going to answer her. She’d made him uncomfortable, and she didn’t want to scare him away. “I have to take a few days in Boulder next week,” she announced. “I need to catch up on some work; then I’ll be back.”
One of his brows lifted. “You’re going to leave me here alone with a six-year-old?”
She offered him a teasing grin. “Consider it practice for when I go home for good.” Just saying the words was like swallowing glass. But Audrey needed to start accepting the reality that her time here would be over soon. No matter how much it killed her to leave, she couldn’t live in Cameron’s guesthouse forever.
“I don’t know,” Cameron said. “I think I might end up killing that cat.”
Audrey nudged his shoulder with hers. “I think you love that cat.”
“Love her?” he repeated with a horrified look. “The thing has chewed up every pair of socks I own. And two of my belts.”
“You’re telling me Pinkie Pie climbs into your hamper and pulls out your dirty socks?”
He narrowed his gaze at her. “Sometimes I leave them on the floor.”
Audrey merely looked at him.
“Okay, so I’m not the best housekeeper,” he admitted.
“It’s okay,” she said with a shrug. “We can’t all be perfect. Just make sure Piper’s in bed when the ladies come calling.”
A muscle in Cameron’s jaw ticked.
“Kidding,” she reassured him. “I know you have better judgment than that.”
“Do you?” he questioned in a low voice.
“Of course,” she stated, knowing she’d touched a nerve. She didn’t want him thinking she looked down on him. “You and Piper will be fine.”
“That’s not what I’m worried about,” he muttered.
The oven dinged, effectively ending the moment.
She pushed away from the counter. “Dinner’s done.”
Nineteen
For a moment, Cameron had been worried he’d completely ruined things with Audrey, that she’d shrink in horror after learning about his darkest secret. But she’d taken it in stride, surprising him again by her resilience and acceptance. He was sure he’d seen disappointment in her eyes when he’d finally told her the sordid truth, but she’d masked it well. Then she’d gone on by trying to imply the whole thing hadn’t been his fault. Like he was supposed to believe that. That he’d been blameless for ruining Drew’s life. Yeah, Drew might be an ass—that dated back to high school. But Cameron wasn’t a heartless shit. No man deserved to have a cheating, deceptive wife. Cameron knew firsthand what that did to a family, and he hadn’t wished that on Drew.
Unfortunately, he’d inadvertently played a part, and he’d carried the guilt, buried underneath his contempt for the man. And yeah, it was why he kept his relationships strictly casual. Despite the fact that his fling with Drew’s wife had been casual, he’d started to develop feelings for Lauren, only to have the rug yanked from under him when he’d found out she had a husband. Cameron had never confided in anyone how much her deception had hurt him. He’d shrugged it off as a yeah-well-we-were-just-fooling-around-anyway type of thing. Sure, it had started as that at first. But after a few weeks, at least for him, it had become something more. He’d looked forward to her coming to town, to seeing her, hearing about her week. Then Drew had shown up and literally punched the reality into him. He’d grieved in private and tried to move forward as best he could.
Since then he’d yet to meet a woman who was worth him exposing that hidden place. Until Audrey. Until her smile, her laughter, and her goodness, and bringing a little girl into his life who was afraid of toilets, befriended hairless cats, and made him see life differently.
Piper had returned home after eating dinner at her friend’s house. She’d come running through the front door and rambled to him and Audrey about how she’d had cut-up hot dogs, apples, and green peas. Then she’d gone straight to the backyard to play with her cat.
Cameron had attempted to help clean up the dinner dishes, but Audrey had shooed him outside. He suspected maybe she realized that he needed a moment to process some things. He’d gratefully slipped out the door and watched Piper roll around the grass, getting her clothes and hair filthy. He smiled at her lack of inhibition, wondering when the last time was that he’d allowed himself to be as carefree as she was, to smile and laugh like she did.
“Uncle Cameron, will you play catch with me?”
Cameron blinked and realized Piper had found the old football that had been left in the yard. He ambled down the porch steps and took the ball from her. “Do you know how
