He met her gaze, then looked away, toward the control panel. “I’m not sure the fourth floor is air-conditioned.”
Oh no. Her thoughts alone were generating enough heat to warm this whole building in the middle of January.
“Here we are,” Cam said pleasantly as the elevator squeaked open, rattly and rumbly, like the creaky joints of an old arthritic person. He held his big hand over the door opening and gestured her out. “After you, ma’am.”
“Thank you, sir.” As she passed him, she couldn’t help but notice his scent—subtle and clean, like fresh air. Cooper always smelled like the newest and most expensive designer fragrance. It often clung to his clothes so it was overpowering and inescapable. But Cam’s scent was…wonderful. Just right.
The top floor was small, dark, and hot as an attic on a summer day, which was pretty much exactly what it was.
Cam dug in his pocket for a key and went over to unlock a battered door, circa 1888. It opened onto a musty, dormered office with a dark wooden table and two chairs. A large white box labeled BENEFIT in big letters sat in the middle of the table. Two dirty windows overlooked the park and town square. The first thing he did was try and open them, but he had to dust his hands of the cobwebs.
Hadley watched him struggle, thinking that this small, stuffy office with a slanty ceiling might just be a safe space. It was so hot that you had to concentrate to just breathe. Which meant you couldn’t think other thoughts. Plus, they each would take their own side of the table, and never the twain would cross. She’d make sure of it.
“Well, look at that.” Cam gave a low whistle. “What a view.”
As she walked over to the small paned windows, he stepped aside for her to see.
“Wow,” slipped out of her mouth before she could think of something more sophisticated. The streets of downtown with their square brick buildings gave way to lines of houses and tree-lined streets, which rolled down to the brush of the coastline. And to the right the wide strip of beach and endless blue water sparkled in the sun on this fine June day. A few umbrellas were already dotting the shore even though it was only nine in the morning.
She suddenly wanted to be out there, free, her toes wiggling in the sand, soaking up warmth and light.
He looked down at her. “That view is pretty spectacular, isn’t it?”
Oh, yes, he is. She accidentally grazed his shoulder, then compensated by taking a step backward, which made her bump into the table.
For a beat, his gaze burned into her. It dropped to her lips, and once again she felt the pull between them, strong and steady as the tide.
“I remembered something else you should know.” He spoke slowly and quietly, with a serious tone that made her pulse jump in anticipation. “When I came home from college over Thanksgiving that year we broke up, I came looking for you.”
“Wait.” She ticked off the memories in her mind. “After we broke up? But you didn’t come home for Thanksgiving that year.”
He nodded. “I found a ride all the way from Penn State. I was miserable. I knew I’d screwed up, and I wanted to beg your forgiveness.”
“Wh-what are you saying?” Her limbs felt heavy, like she was treading water. “I never saw you over break that year.”
“I got in on Wednesday night and walked straight to your house, but your car wasn’t there. So I went to the Crab Shack. I saw you sitting at a table with the girls. I remember there were Christmas lights up already, strung around the windows. You were all sitting together in a booth with dates. Laughing. You were sitting next to a guy with light brown hair. He kissed you.”
Suddenly her knees grew weak. She had to lean against the rickety table for support. “My friends made me go out that night. Darla fixed me up with one of her friends from college…I don’t even remember his name. Only that he kissed me without permission and I nearly clubbed him right there at the table.” She rubbed her temples. “Why didn’t you tell me? Why didn’t you try to see me?” But she already knew.
He lifted his shoulders in a shrug. “After that, I knew we were over for good. Seeing you with a guy confirmed my worst fears, that it wouldn’t take you long to move on from me.”
There was a lump in her throat. And she had to cross her arms since she was shaking so badly.
He stepped over to her and steadied her with his hands.
“I’m telling you now that I would never hurt you like that again. I hurt both of us by what I did. And the only way I know how to make up for that is to be honest now.”
She swallowed hard and managed a nod. Longing overcame her. For lost years, yes. But more importantly, what about now? What about having a chance with each other now?
Perhaps more in frustration than anything else, Cam cracked open the box and picked up a note that was sitting on top of the inside contents.
“Your grandma wants us to mail out everyone’s tickets,” he said, reading the note as if nothing had happened. “We have two hundred envelopes to address. By hand.”
“You’re kidding,” Hadley said, fanning herself with a bundle of them. “We may die first.” His gaze slid over her, slow and steady, which made the heat problem even worse. Despite being a wreck inside, she grabbed a batch of tickets and envelopes and split them, half for him and half for her. “The sooner we start, the sooner we’ll be done, right?” She took a seat and tried to focus, writing out an address, tucking in the tickets and a letter giving details about the event, and then licking it.
He’d been addressing his own envelope but she found him staring at her. That strange unearthly zing passed between them, and she swore she knew what he was thinking, and it wasn’t about licking envelopes.
She was overwhelmed by everything. By being shown again and again that he wasn’t who she thought he was. By wanting him so badly she could barely breathe. Tossing her envelope into the box, she drummed her fingers on the table. “I can’t do this now.”
He tossed his into the box and scraped his chair back. “I have an idea. It involves going someplace cooler.” He placed the lid back on the box. “Let’s do what your grandma said.”
She gave him a wry smile. “Forgo all sleep, food, and fun until the job is done?”
He chuckled. “How about putting the building behind us for now and see what we’re like without it between us?”
“I’d like that,” she said quietly.
He leaned forward and took her hand. His thumb absently stroked her palm, something that made her forget…well, everything else. “I have to leave tonight for New York. I’ve got some business meetings for a couple of days and an offer to do some commentary for Sunday Night Football. So this might be our only chance to bust out of here.”
He sounded like he was eighteen again, when they really did do crazy things like what he was suggesting. “You mean…play hooky?” she asked.
He grinned widely. “Yes. Hooky.” She went to pull her hand away but he held on to it and looked right at her with those eyes the same exact color as the ocean outside the window, full of sincerity and…mischief. “Trust me to plan an afternoon for us.”
Again, a memory hit her. A big, intimate one. The first time they’d made love. They’d played hooky all right, leaving their high school graduation celebration early, bringing blankets to the beach. They were ecstatic about graduating but all they wanted was each other. The surf was sounding its gentle roll and the moon was a big bright crescent above them and his face…his face above her…his sweet, precious face. And he’d whispered to her, Are you sure, Had?