Down London Road (On Dublin Street #2)(42)

Eyes pinning Cam in place, Cole took the stairs down to us with an air of authority that stunned me. Every day was another progression into manhood  –  especially days like this. When he reached Cam, his eyes were full of understanding and maturity, and he took the note carefully. 'Aye, I can do that.' 

'But  – ' My protest was cut off by Cole, who shook his head at me like a parent to his child. My mouth slammed shut more from surprise than anything else, and I watched with a mixture of pride and worry as he narrowed his eyes on Cam.

'Can I trust you with her?'

Cam heaved a deep sigh, but he answered Cole as if he was speaking to a man on equal footing. 'I know I deserve that, but I promise from now on I'll treat your sister with the respect she deserves.'

I was truly dumbfounded by the exchange. The fact that I was already a shell-shocked mess didn't make it any easier to understand what was passing between them, and it was probably why I allowed Cole to take money that I knew Cam must need and walk out of our building. That's also why I let myself be manhandled into Cam's flat.

His flat, like ours, was a rental, and although decorated in neutral colours it was definitely in need of a repaint. Cam's furniture was practical and comfortable, with very little thought to style, except for his huge black suede couch and matching armchair. I found myself ushered to the couch and I sat down numbly, staring around at the space that was still cluttered with packing boxes.

'Tea? Coffee?'

I shook my head. 'Water, please.'

When Cam returned with a glass of water for me and a coffee for him, I watched him settle into the armchair just across from me and my heart began to gallop.

What was I doing here? Why was Cam being so nice all of a sudden? What did he want? I should get back up to the flat and face the consequences.

'Jo.' His deep, raspy voice brought my chin down. I'd been staring at the ceiling and hadn't really even realized it. When I looked at Cam, I felt my body tense. His eyes were searching my face as if he was desperate to dive inside me and unearth all my secrets. My breath caught at the intensity of his look. 'What the hell happened to your life, Jo? How did you get here?'

A bubble of bitter laughter escaped from my lips and I shook my head at him. I asked myself that question every day. 'I don't trust you, Cameron, so why would I tell you anything?'

Regret replaced his concern, and there was no denying the genuine remorse in his eyes. 'That's fair. And I can't even begin to tell you how shit I feel about going off on you about Cole. He came down here to set me straight.' He suddenly threw me a rueful grin that kicked my heart into high gear. 'I swear I thought he was going to take a swing at me.'

That wasn't particularly good news to my ears, which Cam must have sensed, because he grew sombre quickly. 'You never have to worry about that kid being disappointed in you, Jo. He loves you to bits. And what we just witnessed in the kitchen  –  that's nothing for you to be ashamed of. That was a mum protecting her kid. Because that's what you are to him. More of a mum than a sister  –  I realize that now.' He made a sound heavy with regret. 'I feel awful about the way I spoke to you. I feel shit that you found out about your mum hitting Cole that way.'

My eyes dropped to the floor and I couldn't speak. I couldn't respond to his apology  –  partly because the ungracious side of me was thinking, Good. I'm glad you feel like shit.

'You need to talk to someone. Out in the hall, that was because you've been bottling up God knows what for months  …  years? Jo, please talk to me.'

Instead I took a sip of water, my fingers trembling  –  from adrenaline or my emotional fear of Cam, I couldn't tell you.



       
         
       
        

'Fine.' Movement from Cam drew my gaze back to him and he was leaning forward in his chair, his expression seeming more open than I'd ever seen it. 'Maybe it'll help if you get to know me a bit better.'

My response was a humourless snort. 'What? Were you a therapist in another life?'

Cam made a face. 'I've never been accused of that before. You know, usually it's the woman asking me to open up to her? The first one I'm actually interested in hearing about and she's shutting me down. Not good for my ego.' He gave me a coaxing smile and I remembered the night I'd first seen him, watching him give Becca that smile and thinking I'd do anything that smile asked of me.

Funny how a couple of weeks could change it all.

Cam saw my eyes darken and his expression fell. 'Okay, Jo, ask me anything. Anything you want to know.'

I raised an eyebrow. Anything? So he was serious about wanting to help, was he? Well, I knew one way of finding out. My eyes fell to the tattoo on his arm, the one with the black script that read BE CALEDONIA. Becca's lilting voice echoed in my head  …