Before You(61)

“Not really. I warned you that I still considered you my girlfriend.”

“I’m pretty sure that can’t be a one-side decision. So where did Jax meet Anna?”

“Why are you so curious about Jax?” he asked, pulling her next to him again.

“No reason.” Her heartbeat raced, alarmed by Cam’s question and with the way he touched her. She wasn’t ready for this. She couldn’t be intimate with Cam. It felt wrong on so many levels.

“I love you,” he murmured next to her ear, his warm breath teasing her neck.

She leaned back and smiled briefly. “I love you, too. You’re my best friend.” Suddenly, she felt ill. The words that were once second nature now seemed hollow and empty. Sure, there was a piece of her that still loved Cam, but not the way those words suggested. This was so hard. She wished she could erase the last few months, so she didn’t have to make any decisions.

He lifted her chin and his warm blue eyes searched her face. “See, I knew you didn’t really want to break up with me.” Closing his eyes, his lips brushed across hers. Her first instinct was to pull away from him. “Relax,” he murmured, his lips still touching hers.

Maybe if she kissed him, everything would become clear. Sighing, she leaned into him, desperately wanting to feel something; love, lust, hate, anything. Cam’s kiss turned strong and possessive, his tongue boldly pressing between her lips, giving her fair warning of how he wanted to spend the afternoon. Even when his hands wandered to her waist, skimming her bare stomach, she felt nothing except sadness creeping through her veins.

Overwhelmed, she pulled back, turning her head to the side to break contact. She had to hold in a whimper. Being with Cam just didn’t feel right anymore. Even if she never saw Jax again, and Cam never found out what happened between the two of them, she would know. She didn’t want to be in a relationship where she had to lie about being faithful and she certainly didn’t want to be with someone she loved as a friend, but nothing more. Her love life was an absolute disaster. Thank God she had the gallery and her art.

Cam smiled down at her fondly, completely unaware of her thoughts, almost as though he felt something entirely different when they kissed. “I’m so lucky to have you in my life. I can’t believe you put up with me.”

Drained from her realizations, she only had enough energy to let a half-smile form on her lips, but again, Cam didn’t notice or didn’t care. He no longer saw her or knew her, and apparently it didn’t bother him, but it bothered her. “What time are we going tonight?”

“Seven. Do you have something to wear? If not, we can spend the day shopping.” He planted a firm kiss on the tip of her nose and then her forehead. “It will be fun, don’t you think?”

“Sure… it sounds nice. I didn’t bring anything very formal,” she said, stepping out of his embrace to avoid any further intimacy. “Did you pick up my purse from Jax last night? I can’t buy anything without my wallet.”

“Sorry, Bre. Katie dropped by as I pulled into the parking lot and I didn’t want to intrude.”

Bre’s stomach dropped. She was such a fool. She closed her eyes and turned her head for a moment so she could hide her emotions from Cam. “I thought he was seeing some girl named Anna.”

“Anna, Katie, who knows. We’ll stop by his house this morning to pick up your purse… it’s on the way. We’ll find you a dress, and we’ll eat lunch when we’re done. We’ll make a day of it.”

“Okay,” Bre replied half-heartedly, still feeling emotionally hollow.

“Maybe Jax will want to tag along,” Cam suggested as he picked up his phone and shoved it in his pocket.

“I thought you wanted to spend some time alone.” She didn’t mind not being alone with Cam all day, but the idea of Jax tagging along sounded worse than spending a day in purgatory.

“Jax won’t bother us.”

“Sure. Whatever you want. Let me grab my phone and we can go.” She walked back into Cam’s room, shutting the door behind her. She leaned against it, rubbing her temples to ease her frustration. Several minutes passed before she could find the motivation to move.

She hoped Jax had enough sense to decline Cam’s invitation to tag along today. Most days she would have been grateful for Jax’s presence, but today wasn’t most days. She didn’t understand what Jax wanted. One minute he claimed he wasn’t the right guy for her and the next he begged her to spend the weekend with him. His moods were giving her whiplash.



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