“We should head back,” he said and I was disappointed. Maybe he hadn’t told me something I didn’t know already, but I liked talking to him and I really liked that he had at least shared something with me. It wasn’t exactly personal, just his real job, but it was something.
It made me feel like I should return the favor. “Do you want to know a secret about me?”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
He nodded, ready for me to share my deepest, darkest secret with him. “I do. Tell me.”
Was he a little too eager? “It’s not my birthday.”
His mouth turned down. “That’s not really a secret. Sadie’s not a great liar.”
“You knew? Why didn’t you say anything?”
“What would I have said? It’s not like I could have demanded proof. You would have shut me down with that enigmatic way of yours, where you answer but don’t answer and you leave me feeling confused and like I’m not really sure what happened.”
“You say that like it’s a bad thing,” I told him. It just meant I was very good at my job.
“Actually, I kind of like it. I never know what you’re going to say and I look forward to finding out. I like how you try to subtly redirect me. It makes me feel like I’m playing a really great game of chess. Watch out.”
We were heading back toward the grass and there was a large, pointy rock in our path. We could have easily gone around it, but Camden stepped over. Then he reached for my hand to help me across and I put my hand in his. The sensation of his hand engulfing mine, helping me to jump over, sent seismic waves through me and then . . .
He didn’t let go. He kept holding my hand even when the path didn’t have any more obstacles. I liked how this felt—secure, safe, like I was being looked after.
So many relationships I’d had were on one speed when it came to the physical—super fast. I liked that he was just holding my hand. With no expectation of anything else. I almost felt like a kid in high school again.
Although, to be fair, this might have been just to make sure that I didn’t fall over and injure myself.
His voice interrupted my thoughts. “Tell me something you’re proud of.”
At the moment? That I hadn’t tried to make out with his face even once. “In college my alcohol tolerance used to be quite a bit higher and it took me a lot longer to get drunk than it does now. Is that what you mean?” I asked with a grin, and was rewarded with a matching smile.
“Not quite.”
“Okay. Um, I started my own business.”
“As an event coordinator?”
“Yes.” It wasn’t a lie; it was something I had to protect. But I really was pleased with what I’d done over the last few years. “I have fifteen employees and all of them are women in need of a fresh start.”
“Like former stay-at-home moms?”
I wondered how much I should tell him. Then I remembered his Olympics story and thought I could share this with him. “No. Like women who were hurt by their supposed loved ones. Or who were victimized at their jobs.” My voice caught on that one, and I wondered if he noticed. “Or who can’t get jobs because of some past mistake. They’re my second family and I’ll do anything to protect them.”
“I understand that. It’s how I feel about Dan and his family, and our employees. We’ve been working on building this up since our junior year in college and some of those guys have been with us from the beginning. Everybody had to sacrifice a lot. We do profit sharing so when this company goes public, we’re all going to be well taken care of. I’m making sure that that happens.”
“I suppose those are some more things we have in common. Starting our own companies, doing profit sharing, being loyal and willing to do anything to take care of the people that are important to us.” Anything. Even keep away from him. After tonight we would need to go back to being just friends.
“Guess I better break out that notebook,” he said with a radiant smile that tested my resolve.
We walked into the hotel, through the lobby in our bare feet, over to the elevators. When one arrived, we stepped inside and Camden pressed the button for our floor. The silence was comfortable and I found myself wanting to lean against him, to rest my head on his shoulder. If I only had tonight, then maybe I should make the most of it.
The elevator stopped on our floor and we walked to our rooms, still holding hands. We stopped in front of my door and I almost giggled. And whether that was from nervous anticipation or something else, I wasn’t sure.