Running a hand over her hair, she checked herself in the mirror over her dresser. She looked a mess. No makeup, her hair in a haphazard ponytail, ratty old sleep shorts on and wearing her favorite tank top, the one Cam had taken one glance at her in and nearly lost it.
Yeah, she looked just great.
Another knock sounded and she grabbed an old gray zip up hoodie, throwing it on over her tank so she wouldn’t flash nipple shots at whoever was waiting on the other side of the door. Probably Ali, who couldn’t stand the thought of her being alone or worse, it might be Mac, who felt some sort of weird responsibility to make sure she was okay.
“I can’t shake any of you, can I?” she asked as she threw open the door.
But it wasn’t Alison or Mac standing on her doorstep.
It was Cameron.
“Hey.” That sexy, smoky voice made her stomach flip. His intense green gaze met hers, all the worry and apprehension clouding his eyes making her feel oddly reassured. “Were you expecting someone?”
She shook her head, her voice abandoning her. He looked so good. Haggard and worried, his golden brown hair was a tousled mess. Dark circles under his eyes, as if he’d gone without sleep, too, and he still hadn’t shaved, which meant he practically had a full-on beard covering his face.
It was still a beautiful face.
He shoved his hands into the front pockets of his jeans. “Do you have a minute?”
Nodding, she tried to swallow past the lump in her throat. She’d imagined this moment again and again, wondering if it would ever happen. She’d gone through all the emotions. Anger, sadness, elation, frustration, curiosity as to which one she would feel the next time she saw him.
She hadn’t expected the pure, unadulterated joy flowing through her veins at finding him on her doorstep.
A funny little smile appeared. “Can I come in?”
Opening the door wider for him, she let him walk in and she closed her eyes, his scent washing over her, making her knees weaken. She shut the door and leaned against it, watching as he walked into the center of her living room, slowly turning around to face her.
“Did you lose your voice? Or are you still so mad at me you can’t even speak?”
“I’m—I’m not mad.” It startled her that he cut right to the chase. Rather unlike the Cameron she knew and had grown used to. “I just don’t understand why you had to hide that from me, Cam. That’s what hurts the most.”
His gaze dimmed and he hung his head. “I was going to tell you, I swear it. That night, I warred with myself. I was drunk, mad, and so totally gone for you. I knew I needed to come clean but then everything else happened and we…well. I got too caught up in you.”
His words cracked her heart right open. God, she missed him. “We’ve both made mistakes.”
“Yeah. Mine bigger than yours.”
“No less hurtful, though.” He lifted his head, his gaze meeting hers as she continued. “We need to be honest with each other.”
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I am so damn sorry I kept the truth from you. Sorry I said those horrible things in the first place. I never meant to hurt you.”
“I never meant to hurt you, either, Cam,” she confessed softly. “So I guess we’re even.”
“Is that what this is, then? We’ve hurt each other, we’ve apologized, and now we’re through?” He sounded irritated.
She stiffened her spine, confusion swirling within her. What did he want from her? “If you came here to fight, I’m not in the mood.” She started toward the kitchen, desperate for a glass of water to ease her suddenly parched throat.
He grabbed her by the crook of her arm as she tried to pass. “I didn’t come here to fight.”
His touch burned into her skin and she extracted herself from his grip shakily. “Then why are you here, Cameron?” She expected some sort of bogus answer.
“I wanted to see you.” His gaze roved over her face, as if memorizing her features. “I missed you.”
His straightforward honesty threw her. She didn’t know how to reply, too afraid to admit the truth that she missed him as well. “I’m thirsty,” she blurted, felt her cheeks heat. “Want a glass of water?”
“Yeah, sure.”
He followed her into the kitchen, his nearness distracting. So tall, so broad, he seemed to fill her entire kitchen. She went to the cupboard to grab two glasses, trying her best to remain calm. Appear unruffled.