“The extra ten pounds on my hips,” I replied, grabbing more fries. “I eat salads for lunch. I keep a balanced diet, for the most part.”
“I’ve only ever seen you eat junk food. I’ve never seen you eat a salad.”
I shrugged. “I go out for lunch most days. There’s this great little sandwich shop just tucked away from Main Street. It’s run by this great Italian family, and as well as having the best meatball subs ever, they do awesome salads.”
“Are you sure you’re just having the salad?”
“Are you just jealous I’ve never brought you one of those subs?”
Cameron paused. “Yeah, kinda. Can we go there for lunch tomorrow?”
“I go there every day. I basically have a loyalty card. Two weeks in a row and my salad is free.” It was my turn to pause. “Do I have to get you lunch every day now?”
He laughed. “No. Why? Are you concerned we’ll spend a little too much time together?”
“It does seem like a lot.”
“We’ll be fine.” He reached over and smoothed down my crazy hair. “I’m not always in the office, am I? Like tomorrow. I have an attorney meeting in the morning and a viewing forty-five minutes away in the afternoon. We won’t see each other for most of the day.”
“What about after work?”
“Are you busy?”
“No. I’ll meet Jade for lunch.”
He shrugged and leaned over to kiss me. “There you go, then. Problem solved. Don’t overthink it, Hurricane. If you ever get sick of me, just tell me to leave you alone.”
I stared at him as I grabbed more fries. “Like I’m going to get sick of you. It’s far more likely that you’ll get fed up with me and my clumsiness than it is the other way around.”
“I can absolutely tell you that I will never find your clumsiness anything other than adorable.” He tapped my nose. “It’s a part of you, and you’d be far more boring without it.”
“Are you calling me boring?”
“That came out wrong.” He grimaced. “Wanna watch some serial killers?”
I narrowed my eyes. “You’re trying to distract me.”
“Is it working?”
Yes. “No.”
“Liar.”
“Shut up and put on some murder. I need some more ideas to plot yours.” I picked up a small square of the pizza in between us. “See if I can combine some to get some ideas.”
He chuckled and turned on Netflix. “Maybe I’m secretly plotting yours to stop you getting your hands on my money.”
“Nah, it’s easier if we just never get married and have kids for you.” I shrugged one shoulder. “Why go through the hassle of getting married just to murder me?”
“You’re planning the same.”
“Ah, yes, but all I have in the bank is two-hundred-and-twenty-three dollars. I bet you’re not interested in that.”
“People have killed for less. Like the guy on the episode we watched last night. That was over a hundred bucks.”
“A hundred bucks and a kilo of cocaine,” I added. “I do not have a kilo of cocaine stashed anywhere. If I did, I’d be a hell of a lot richer.”
“Or you’d mistake it for sugar and start getting me high at work.” He glanced at me with a small smile.
I wanted to deny it, but… “Yeah, probably. Ooh, put that one on.” I pointed to the tv with a fry. “I haven’t seen that yet.”
“Is this my life now? Take-out in bed with you in my t-shirt controlling the TV?” His tone was exhausted, but there was a twinkle in his eye that said he didn’t mind in the slightest if it was.
I didn’t mind, either. He’d been right—he was good at giving and orgasms. Very good.
I grinned and held up my pizza. “You bet your tight ass it is.”
EPILOGUE – CAMERON
Eighteen Months Later
“Good morning, Cynthia!” Mallory said brightly, sitting from behind her desk. “How are you?”
Cynthia Carlton removed her winter hat and gloves and shook snow from her shoulders. “Hello, darling. I’m absolutely freezing. It’s horrible out there.”
Mallory nodded. “It is. Here, come sit down, and I’ll get you a cup of coffee.”
“I got it.” I walked out from where I’d been lurking in the hall and put Mal’s coffee on her desk for her. “Two sugars, Cynthia?”
“Please, darling. Keeps me young.”
I smiled and disappeared back to the kitchen. I had no idea what she was doing here—she rarely stopped into the actual office unless she was in the middle of buying a house, and I knew I didn’t have her on the file for an appointment.
Still, I fixed her coffee and took it back out.
Mallory looked up at me with a smile. “Cynthia was just telling me that Charlotte’s pregnant.”
Ah, her eldest daughter.
“Congratulations!” I bent down to kiss Cynthia’s cheek. “That’s great news.”
“It is.” She beamed up at me. “Well, you know she got married recently to that nice fellow, Jonathan?”
I did. We’d both been there. “I remember.”