It had been a gorgeous ceremony. He was happy for his sister. She deserved this second chance at love.
But was he happy to be back in Lone Pine Lake, even for such a short period of time?
Nope. Not really.
“You cold?” he asked when he saw Chloe shiver. If he still had his jacket on, he would’ve offered it to her. Draped it over those slim shoulders, his fingers accidentally brushing her skin. Would she enjoy his touch? Or look at him like he was crazy?
That he even contemplated such a thing proved he was crazy.
“I’m fine.” She shrugged those very fine shoulders, cast him a sideways glance. Luckily enough she ignored that he’d ignored her question. “We should probably go inside. They might be cutting the cake.”
The music still blared. He didn’t hear the overenthusiastic DJ announce anything. “They’re not cutting the cake.”
She nibbled on her lower lip; he caught the nervous gesture from the corner of his eye. It sent a bolt of lust shooting through him and he shoved it down. “I guess we should make small talk, then,” she said.
Why did she sound so damn reluctant? “Guess so.”
Breathing deeply, she turned to face him, her breasts brushing against his forearm, which he had propped on the edge of the railing. Just like that, his entire body tightened, became achingly aware of this pretty, tempting female standing by his side. “I’m sure you’ve been asked this a million times already tonight, but how long are you staying in town?”
If he had his way, it would be less than twenty-four hours. But considering he had no job to return to, no home, no prospects, and he was a messed-up head case, he was here for the long haul. “Not sure.”
She frowned. “What sort of answer is that?”
“An honest one. I’m not sure.”
An irritated sigh left her and she mimicked his position, leaning against the railing, her elbow bumping his. “You’ve always been a man of few words, haven’t you?”
“As few as possible.” He shrugged, looked at her. “It’s worked for me so far.”
Her gaze met his, pretty dark brown eyes studying him. Looking right through him. He wanted to squirm where he stood. “It’s always driven me crazy.”
“What’s driven you crazy?” It startled him, that revelation. He irritated her? How? He rarely saw her now, and when she was younger, he’d merely tolerated her. Even though there had been those times she and Jane had been such thorough pains in his ass, he’d been tempted to take a long drive and leave the two giggling girls in the middle of nowhere. Hope like hell they’d find their own way back.
“Your lack of communication,” she answered, training her gaze once more on the meadow instead. “You never want to talk.”
“Talk can sometimes be meaningless.”
“I love to talk.” She smiled, bright and sunny, full of bubbly happiness. “It’s part of my job, a part of me. I’ve been told I have excellent communication skills.”
He bet she did. And if she knew just how dirty his thoughts were in regards to her and all her skills, she’d probably run screaming from the balcony.
“I used to get in trouble in class for talking too much. Isn’t that funny? Well, not really since it was true. But now I’m the teacher, busting the kids for talking too much when I’m as guilty as they are.” She paused, pressed her lips together. “I’m rambling.”
She’d always rambled. When they were younger, he found it annoying. Now it was kind of cute. He realized she was nervous.
Why?
“So why were you looking for me, Cam?” she asked when he hadn’t said a word. He was too entranced with how the moonlight cast her cheeks with light, how fathomless her eyes were, how ripe her mouth appeared. No cosmetics touched it, yet her natural lip color was a deep, rosy pink.
He had the sudden urge to kiss her. Something he’d never, ever contemplated doing.
“I don’t know,” he finally answered when he realized she was waiting. “I saw you sneak out here.”
“You did?”
Cam nodded. “You aren’t upset, are you?”
“No.” She shook her head, a sad smile curling those tempting lips. “Feeling a little down, maybe.”