Cam watched the last of her resolve crumble. And at long last, she melted into him, sliding her hands up his shoulders and lifting her mouth toward his.
For the first time tears tasted sweet.
Chapter 12
Norah was running late. Her meeting in Oxford had taken longer than expected, but the end results were well worth it. Come Saturday, they just might pull off her lunatic scheme.
The downside was she had to head straight to Grammy’s for family dinner, where Cam was supposed to have broken the news about their involvement. Terror at the family’s possible reactions dimmed the effervescent thrill of finally giving in and letting herself want, letting herself have. If this relationship blew up in their faces, they’d keep Cam. He was blood. But where would that leave her? Cut off from the family she was closer to than her own?
Maybe it would be fine, as he expected. He was so blithely unconcerned about what they thought. But just in case, she’d been mentally rehearsing her defense. Not that the Campbells would ever put her on the witness stand like her father, but a lifetime of training was hard to break.
“Now or never,” she muttered, stepping inside.
The babble of voices and laughter led her back to the living room. Norah didn’t let herself linger in the hall trying to gauge the mood. She could already hear some heated debate going on about the last Mississippi State basketball game. Whatever they thought about her and Cam, it wasn’t the current topic of conversation.
“Sorry I’m late.”
“Welcome back. How was Oxford?” Miranda had to raise her voice to be heard over her uncle.
“I don’t even want to talk about the traffic. They’ve completely changed how you go through part of campus. I wound up somewhere by the football stadium trying to get out. But I got Ajax for lunch, so win.”
“Squash dressing and jalapeno cornbread make up for a multitude of sins.”
Okay, so nobody was looking at her weird. That was positive.
Cam rose from where he’d been slouched in a chair beside the door. He cupped the back of her neck and brought her mouth to his. Her body gave one, quick jolt before she melted against him. Mindful of their audience, she didn’t give in to the urge to dive deeper, but her hands were fisted in his shirt as he eased back. He was grinning, and Norah found herself grinning foolishly in response.
“Hi,” he said.
“Hi back.”
“How did your mystery meeting go?”
“Really well, I…” Norah trailed off, realizing the room had fallen dead silent. She could feel the weight of eyes, sense the shock along her skin, though she didn’t look away from Cam. “You didn’t tell them.”
“I’ve always been a much bigger fan of showing than telling.” He was still grinning, entirely unrepentant.
Though exasperation warred with nerves, she kept her voice light. “Here’s a lesson from the professional: When your audience looks like you just dropped an atomic bomb, you need to work on your delivery.”
He dragged his gaze from her to take in the reactions she hadn’t gotten up the courage to face. The grin faded, chased away by confusion and the first sparks of anger. Norah felt his tension ratchet up to match hers.
As bad as she’d feared then.
With a bracing breath, Norah squared her shoulders and stepped back to face the music with all the gravity and enthusiasm of meeting a firing squad. When she would’ve stood alone, Cam laced his fingers through hers and stepped up beside her. A unified front. She squeezed his hand, grateful for the support.
Grammy’s eyebrows were lost somewhere under her fluffy silver bangs. Miranda remained completely unreadable. Everyone else’s eyes were round as dinner plates. Only Aunt Liz looked positively ecstatic, her lips curved, her hands clasped as if she’d clapped them in delight. Sandra apparently wasn’t here yet.
“Seriously?” Mitch gaped. “You and Cam?”
“Me and Cam.” Despite the awkward situation, saying it still gave her a little thrill.
“Did not call that one,” Reed said.
“Well they have been spending a lot of time together with the coalition,” Aunt Liz pointed out.
“Yeah but—” Anita trailed off. “Are you sure this is wise?”
“Wise?” Cam’s voice dropped to one step above a growl.