Cheeks flushing, I shrug. “Yeah, I do. I totally do. Guilty as charged.”
A warm grin curving his lips, Cam reaches out to take my hand under the table, giving it a squeeze. “Awesome. I feel the same way about your mom.” Eyes twinkling, he adds, “Though I prefer playing vampire in the privacy of my own home. Mrs. Greer is obnoxious.”
“She is obnoxious,” Crissy agrees, clearly scandalized in the best way by the chance to talk smack about a grown-up at breakfast. “And she hates cats. What kind of meanie hates cats? Cats are the sweetest little pumpkin-face cuties I ever saw, and I want to adopt one from the shelter and bring it home forever and ever. But we can’t, ’cause Mrs. Greer is the boss of the building.”
“She’s not the boss of the building, just the head of the HOA,” I clarify, shifting my hand to squeeze Cam’s thigh, the need to touch him so intense I can barely concentrate on my food. I’d hoped our marathon session last night would take the edge off, but the more I get of this man, the more I want. “But yes, according to the building gossip, she’s the driving force behind the no-pets thing. I’m going to bring up a proposal to change the code at the next meeting. I already have ten signatures from residents who would also like to see a ‘pets under twenty pounds are A-okay’ policy in place.”
Cam’s lips part as he pulls in a breath, but he stops before he speaks with an abrupt shake of his head. He stabs a strawberry, popping it into his mouth and chewing as Crissy starts detailing her list of all the reasons a cat is the best pet to have, if you can’t have a triceratops because they’re extinct.
I want to ask what he was going to say, but I have to assume he had a good reason for editing himself. He’s still learning the “how to keep a conversation kid-friendly” ropes.
So, I wait until Crissy’s finished with her breakfast and disappeared into her room to change into play clothes for the park to whisper, “What were you going to say before? About Mrs. Greer?”
He picks up his coffee mug. “Nothing. I was just… I was going to say that you guys could keep your new kitten at my place until you get clearance to bring it home. But then I realized I should talk to my roommates before I made an offer like that. I know Jess wants a cat, but I’m not sure about Evie and Harlow.” He shrugs as he sets his coffee down without taking a drink. “And I thought that might be too much too soon. Since we’ve only officially been dating for a week.”
I nod, butterflies swarming in my stomach as I say, “Yeah, that would probably be too much too soon, but…”
Brow furrowing, he leans closer. “But?”
“But I’m already…feeling things. For you,” I say, my entire body heating up as he slips a hand beneath my silky sleep shirt to rest on the bare skin at my lower back. “Things I probably shouldn’t be feeling after knowing someone a couple of weeks.”
“Me, too,” he says, his gaze locked on mine. “But I’ve been feeling those things since the night we met. And they just keep getting stronger. This is already pretty serious for me, you know?”
I nod, shocked to feel tears stinging at the backs of my eyes. I try to regain control, but my voice shakes as I say, “Me, too.”
He scoots his chair closer, wrapping his arm fully around me. “Why does that make you sad?”
I shake my head. “I’m not sad. I’m…relieved. I was a little worried I was the only one in the deep end.”
He scoops me up out of my chair, making me laugh as he pulls me onto his lap. “You don’t ever have to worry about that,” he assures me.
I loop my arms around his neck. “Good. But if Crissy sees me sitting on your lap, she’s going to tease us again.”
“Fine with me. Let her tease us. I can take it.” He gathers me more firmly onto his thighs. “Besides, I think she secretly likes seeing her mom happy and getting the kisses she so richly deserves.”
“Do I though?” I murmur, running a hand through his soft hair. “Sometimes, I’m not sure what I did to deserve you. Assuming this ‘world’s most perfect guy’ thing isn’t an act you’re going to drop like a hot potato as soon as you’ve got me hooked.”
“I’m not perfect,” he says. “Far from it.”
“But you’re perfect for me,” I whisper, the back of my nose stinging again as the confession escapes into the pancake-scented air.
“And you’re everything I hoped I’d find in a partner and more,” he says, making the tears in my eyes spill over. “Don’t cry, baby. I don’t ever want to make you cry.”