Page 26 of Rejected Mate Bride
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When Sofia was in bed for the night, Flora came back downstairs to clean up the kitchen and found Camden had already beaten her to it.
“You had a busy day,” he said, offering her a smile.
But instead of feeling reassured, Flora remembered the way he had been overbearingly protective. She crossed her arms and leaned against the doorframe, examining him as he placed a clean dish on the drying rack. The towel slung across his shoulder was casual, unassuming, but earlier, she had seen a harsher version of him when he had confronted the man in the coffee shop.
“What?” he asked. “Is there something on my face? Why are you looking at me like that?”
“I’m trying to figure out who you are,” she said. “Sometimes you’re calm and caring, and other times—like this morning when that stranger asked me out on a date—you’re something else. Intimidating.”
“We all hold multitudes,” he said, shrugging his shoulders.
“Maybe,” Flora said. “But I’m not sure you had a good reason to jump in when I’m perfectly capable of having a conversation with a patron without your interference.”
Camden scoffed. “That wasn’t a casual conversation, and I didn’t feel like watching it drag on any longer than it had already.”
“Why do you care what conversations I have?”
“You aremymate,” he said, repeating what he had told the man. His tone teetered on the edge of politeness, dippingover into another emotion that Flora couldn’t quite place. She watched as his pupils dilated and constricted again when he looked away from her, suddenly realizing what it was.
“Are you—Camden, were you jealous?” she stuttered.
“Of course I was jealous,” he said, his tone serious. She was stunned by the nonchalant way he admitted it, as if there should be no question in anyone’s mind about his feelings. “A stranger asked my wife out on a date. I’m the only one who should be doing that.”
“That’s news to me. You haven’t given me any indication that you wanted to date anyone, let alone me,” she said.
“The thing is, it’s very hard to get you on your own to ask you questions like that,” Camden said, taking steps toward her. “Even Mr. What’s-His-Name at the coffee shop knew that much. He had to flag you down just to get a minute of your time. What’s a guy like me to do when you’re busy all day and night? Should I leave my number on a napkin for you to call?”
Flora was caught off-guard by his flirting. It had never been a part of their relationship before, and she wasn’t quite sure how to respond. She felt her heart racing as he placed his forearm on the doorframe above her head and brought his face closer to hers.
“Or should I just ask you right now?” he whispered.
“Ask me.”
She hadn’t meant to say anything. The words had sprung from her lips without any input from her brain. Now that she had spoken them, they couldn’t be taken back. Camden smiled slowly, and Flora felt her breath falter.
“Flora,” he said softly. “I’d like to take you to dinner. Does tomorrow night work for you?”
If he had asked yesterday, she knew she would have said no immediately. She probably would have laughed in his face for good measure. But tonight, it felt like everything had changed. She had seen him working toward becoming a better man than he used to be. Their relationship, though heavily flawed, had progressed more than she thought possible. It was clear to her after seeing the care he gave to both her and Sofia that he meant what he said about wanting to protect her. He may have bullied her when they were younger, but she was confident that side of him wouldn’t ever return. He was a changed man, and there was no harm in having a casual dinner with him, was there?
“Yes,” she said. “Tomorrow night.”
Chapter 12 - Camden
Camden had been hoping for an opportunity to spoil Flora and have fun together ever since she had reluctantly come back into his life, and he was thrilled she had agreed to go out with him. He suspected that Flora, living under the rule of her adoptive parents and forced to be the punching bag of the Silverrose pack for so many years, had never gotten to experience what freedom and joy felt like. He remembered, with a pang of regret, the look she always had on her face when they had met up under the bridge as teenagers. That was the only time he had ever seen her worries and fears melt away.
Even now, she was always taking care of other people and putting herself last. He had done what he could to take on as many of the day-to-day tasks as possible so that she would start to realize she was worthy of rest, but Camden knew there was still something holding her back. Her need to maintain control at all times was a defense mechanism that Camden intended to show her was no longer needed. He was her defender now.
“You look beautiful,” he said as he held her car door open for her to exit the vehicle.
“Thanks,” she mumbled uncomfortably.
Her brown hair was usually straight and thrown back in a ponytail, but tonight she had done something different. It was curly now, the soft waves cascading over her shoulders and brushing the light blue fabric of her dress. The contrast between her dark tendrils and the light blue was oddly captivating.
Camden tried to catch her eye, but Flora was glancing around the parking lot nervously. He knew she was afraid of being in public after what she had endured at the hands of the pack for so many years. Camden held the restaurant door openfor her to pass through and watched her falter on the threshold. The opportunity for her to be treated like the queen she was had been stolen from her by discrimination and hate. He had done some of that damage, and he owed her the effort and time it would take to repair it. With a smile, he held his arm out for her to grasp and walked her through the door instead.
“Sorry. No one has ever held the door open for me before,” she muttered.
