He followed her. Kept track of her all night despite the warning bells going off in his head. Should’ve been relieved when his little brother had taken her onto the dance floor in place of him.
Relief hadn’t been the emotion flowing like lava through his veins, though. Jealousy, hot and deep, had penetrated him.
Confused him.
Cameron still didn’t know what had come over him, asking Chloe to dance. There was something different about her tonight. In the past, she’d always just…been there. His younger siblings’ friend, the skinny, flat-chested girl with braces and glasses. She’d been an awkward mess in her early teens.
And once he’d graduated high school, he’d fled this stifling town and never looked back. He’d wandered at first, done more than a few risky things that would’ve flipped his parents out if they knew. Ended up in New York with a camera slung around his neck, snapping photos wherever he could of whatever he could.
He had a good eye and was young and eager for any sort of job that would give him the experience to take him further. Some of the jobs he worked had been losers. But eventually he’d caught the eye of a staff photographer at Newsweek magazine who’d taken him under his wing.
A few years later, he’d ended up on the front lines, a freelance war photographer. He was damn good at it, too, his photos appearing in various national magazines. He’d even earned a Pulitzer nom, not that he’d won. Until that last tour of Afghanistan, he’d always defied death, destruction, injury.
That last tour, though, he’d almost gotten himself killed. He still remembered the sound of the gunfire, the bomb going off, the power of it propelling the truck he’d rode in to flip over. He thought for sure he’d been close to death.
Pulling from his grim memories, Cameron caught sight of Chloe, watched as she slipped through the open double doors that led onto the terrace. She’d gone alone, after leaving her mother with Cam’s oldest brother, Patrick. Everyone else was still in full party mode, didn’t notice she was gone. The champagne flowed, the music was loud, there was lots of laughter and happy, chattering voices.
All the noise made him want to escape. Just like Chloe had.
Without thought he headed toward those beckoning open doors. Why, he wasn’t sure. Would he talk to her? He rarely did beyond polite pleasantries. She was younger than him by four years, sweet in that wholesome, too-good way. And he’d caught her more than once looking at him with an uninhibited, adoring gaze. As if she believed he could hang the moon and touch the stars.
The furthest thing from the truth, what he touched usually turned to dust—at least in the relationship department.
But still he went after her, breathing deep the cool evening air when he ventured outside. The scent of pine overwhelmed him, calming and familiar. The bright full moon hung low, obliterating the blanket of stars that usually dotted the velvet sky. A breeze wafted across him, cooling his heated skin, rustling through the trees, and the sound felt like a gentle sigh easing his pained soul.
Cam frowned. Waxing poetic. What he usually did when he wanted to wallow in a dark mood.
He spotted her standing at the very end of the terrace, leaning against the railing, her face tipped up to the sky. The wind swept across her skirts, causing the fabric to billow and swirl, revealing a tantalizing glimpse of leg before it settled into place once more, hitting at mid-calf. Covering those shapely knees.
His skin tightened. She had a great set of legs, long and slender, with gently flaring hips and a nipped-in waist.
Why had he never noticed before?
It pleased the photographer in him to watch people unaware. He could easily imagine photographing Chloe with little direction. The moon lit her pale skin with a luminosity that made her glow. Gilded her dark hair with threads of gold. And illuminated her profile so that she looked the sprite, a pretty, sexy little woodland fairy…
“I know you’re there, Cam.” Her soft voice reached him, and he noted the amusement lacing her sweet, lilting tone. “If you’re looking for Mac, he’s inside. Probably still cutting loose on the dance floor.”
He approached her, his steps light and careful, drinking in those exposed slender shoulders with his greedy gaze. Her hair was swept to the side, an abundance of dark waves that cascaded artfully. All the bridesmaids were dressed the same. The dark purple strapless dress, the hairstyle, the flowers, even the damn jewelry—his sister had planned it to the very last detail.
So why did none of the other women capture his attention like this one?
“I’m not looking for Mac.” He stopped a few feet from her, still not close enough to touch. Not that he had any business touching her. She was off limits. Untouchable. Forbidden.
Cameron didn’t do relationships. He didn’t mess around with sweet, beautiful girls who wanted it all when he could offer nothing. And Chloe was the epitome of the sweet, beautiful girl who wanted it all. She probably deserved it, too. Wanting to settle down with a good hometown boy and live forever in Lone Pine Lake, making babies and becoming members of the chamber of commerce or some such crap.
Yeah. The thought alone had him ready to run.
Slowly, she turned to face him, her head tilted to the side. Causing all that pretty hair to tumble farther, falling past her chest. Inviting him to thread his fingers through the strands, see if they were as soft as they looked. “Who are you looking for, then?”
He parted his lips, rationale momentarily preventing him from saying it. This—this feeling he was experiencing was ridiculous, illogical, and a complete waste of time. But th
e words fell from his lips as if he had no control over them.
“I was looking for you.”
Her eyes widened the slightest bit, her jaw dropping. He’d shocked her. No surprise—he’d shocked himself. “Why?”
Cam came closer until he stood by her side, facing the opposite direction, out toward the meadow where plenty of wedding ceremonies had taken place, including Jane’s. She and Chris had planned a sunset ceremony, knowing how damn good the spot looked with the sun sinking into the horizon, its golden pink glow casting the thicket of evergreens that lined the property with a pinkish hue that took many a breath away.