Page 108 of Nothing to It
“I don’t want anyone to think I’m using—”
“That’s not what she meant, Candy.”Cam’s arm came around her.“We’re united, that’s the point.”
“You’re no scared little girl anymore,” Roxie declared.“You’re part of the posse now.”
“So we wait to see if Ricardo Whey chooses to—”
“He won’t.”
The room’s chorus echoed the walls.It must’ve come from everyone simultaneously.
“How can you be sure?”
“Glass houses and stones,” Roxie said and smiled at Tripp.“And Benedict Breckenridge is used to corralling naughty little boys.”
Tripp slipped his hands in his pockets.“Dad has his ways.”
“What do we do now?”
“Let it percolate,” Knox said, handing the statement to Tripp.“We keep quiet today, let them work themselves up.Talk to Honey, decide what’s next there.We put together our own statement.Same thing.Support the Raiths.Love for Spence.Privacy.”
“Align the ideology, makes it feel like union and acceptance.”
Roxie raised an arm.“I feel I should talk for Caspian’s tears of pride.If he was here right now…”
The woman clasped her hands at her chest, batting her lashes as though controlling tears.
“Your husband needs to stop letting you out at night,” Knox said, unimpressed.
Roxie just grinned.“It’s not night.”
“You’re unhinged, you know that?They used to institutionalize hysterical women like you.”
“My love…” Jane soothed, slipping a hand around his arm.
“I’m sorry, Blossom, but it’s true.”
As their conversation continued, Ariella’s eyes traveled to Cam’s.
“That wasn’t what you meant,” he said.“You want to know what happens with us.”
“We’re doing this, right?We agreed it’s—was I out of line?”
“No, baby,” he said, wrapping her in his arms.“We stay here until the press pack loses interest, then we go home and live our lives.”
“Together?”
“Always together.”
“Oh my God,” Honey’s voice was shocked enough to attract everyone’s attention.Rather than explain, Honey fled the room without looking at anyone, though did call, “Roxie!”
“I’m coming.I’m coming.I’m coming,” Roxie said, hurrying out after her friend.
“What—”
“Old Man Appleton just died,” Knox said, phone in hand.
“What?”she asked, attention flicking back and forth between the men.“Honey’s grandfather?Oh my God.What does that mean?”
The brothers fixated on each other.“Gentlemen,” Cam said.“Start your engines.”
Any loss could be devastating, expected or not.Old, young, it could happen to anyone and that drew her closer to Cam.She rested her head against him and closed her eyes.Love could take many forms, wasn’t that what she’d been told?This felt different.This felt right.This felt like forever.
Cam had been waiting.For her.This man waited for what he could only get from her.She hadn’t known she’d been waiting too.For him.For love.For their forever.
