It was my turn to hum against his skin, just so I would tame the uproar in my rib cage. He always did that. Always gave me these perfect answers I almost couldn’t believe. “Cameron?”
“Yes, love?”
My question was nothing but a whisper. “Tell me a secret. Something no one knows.”
If he was surprised by my words, he didn’t say or do anything to show me. All he did was bring one of his hands higher, until it rested against the back of my neck. “I was so scared,” he said, and I knew what he was talking about. He gently brought my head against his chest, offering himself as a pillow. Asking me for a comfort I’d never deny. “I’m still terrified.” I counted his heartbeats—one, two, three, five, ten—under my cheek, wishing I could stay there forever. Every night. Until the end of time. “I never dated Jasmine Hill. That was all Liam, my agent. He set me up, and I sat through dinner not to be rude. The media blew it out of proportion, but I haven’t been with anyone since coming to the US.”
We remained in silence for another moment, and I was so busy restraining myself after his last confession that I almost missed his next words.
“The lodge is mine now,” he said, and I stilled. “It wasn’t easy, but I closed on the purchase of Lazy Elk this morning.”
My heart tripped. Then started pounding at double, triple, quadruple pace.
“What?” I whispered. But what I wanted to ask was why?
Cameron seemed to understand. “I’m not shy when I want something. And I’m not shy with my money, either. I worked hard for it.” His voice turned lighter. Confident. Cocky in a way only Cameron made work. “That cottage is coming down. I’ll build you something else.”
I… wanted to let him. I wanted the implications of all of that, too. They made me happy. The happiest I’d been in a long time. And a handful of other emotions I didn’t think I’d be able to handle if I wasn’t in his arms. “That’s more than one secret,” I told him. “And I only asked for one.”
Time ticked by without a word being said, and I was so warm, so comfortable, so safe, tucked against Cameron’s body, that I started tipping into darkness. Half here and half not. So, when he spoke again, I brought his words with me. Into my dreams. “I’ll always give you more than what you ask for, love. Even when you don’t know what you want.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Cameron
I looked at Tony from the sidelines.
He stood on the midfield line, surrounded by an enthralled group of nine-year-olds blinking at him like he’d hung both the moon and the stars in the sky.
I smirked. He was a good young man, and you could tell he’d loved the game for a long time. It had taken him some time to get used to the looks the kids gave him—starry except for Juniper, who was stern and cautious—but he’d managed to channel that attention into work.
The first half of today’s practice had been intense. We’d moved past simple exercises like “protect the cone” to more elaborate drills that require things like quality passes. It hadn’t been easy, but the girls’ enthusiasm had been unmatched. Even Juniper, who I’d taken aside and personally worked with on her keeper’s skills, had been happy to move from basic footwork and diving to a little fun sliding. We’d both gotten dirty but it’d been worth it. She’d been fantastic at it.
I could think of a certain manager who’d been very happy about the girls’ evolution. I eyed what had been nothing but a shed weeks ago, wondering what the woman inside was doing. Was she warm enough in there? October was growing chillier by the day, and even though I’d gotten one of those electric heaters from Moe’s, it still was cold as hell outside. Or like Moe had said, Asscrack cold.
Pulling my phone out of the pocket of the hoodie I’d grabbed today, I checked the screen. I might still catch Liam if I rang him now. After that, I’d go check on Adalyn.
I tapped on his name and brought the device to my ear.
“Hell must have broken loose if Cameron Caldani himself is calling me.”
I sighed. “And look what I get for it.” I didn’t wait for his retort. “I have questions. About your email.”
“Wowzers. Straight to the point, are you?” He let out a chuckle. “Okay, shoot.”
“You said the Miami Flames were searching for a new sporting director,” I said, making sure my tone was as neutral as possible. “To possibly make up for a media situation.”