Page 14 of You Are Cordially Invited

Huh.

Cam rarely, if ever, walked away from me. Not unless he was solidly pissed about something my thick skull had missed in whatever argument we’d been having at the time. But there was tension in his slim shoulders where there’d been none before, and his free arm wrapped around his waist in a protective stance.

Something was wrong, and I didn’t like the look of it one little bit.

When he finally hung up, he didn’t explain right away as I’d expected him too. Instead, he simply stared out the window. Even Cory glanced his way—always super sensitive to any free-floating emotions.

A curl of worry wound tight in my stomach and I walked across to slide my arms around his waist from behind.

He immediately tensed.

Something was very definitely off.

“Hey. What’s up, sweetheart.” I rested my chin on his shoulder. “Your mum sounded upset.”

He didn’t answer straight away, but rather than push, I waited, sensing a wall slip between us that hadn’t been there for a long, long time. He was being careful, considering how and maybe what to answer.

“It’s, um, just a family thing,” he finally said, and that clench in my stomach grew to the size of a fist. “No one you’d know.”

He turned around and I took a second to really look at him. He wasn’t lying; he just wasn’t telling me everything.

“I’ll head over and see them at lunchtime,” he added. “I’ll take Cory and try to be back before you get home.”

I rubbed my hands up and down his arms. “You want me to tag along? I can push back my training to this afternoon?”

“No.” He patted my chest. “I’ll be fine. As I said, you don’t know them. Family, what can you do, right?” The smile never reached his eyes, and I wasn’t buying it.

“But this isyourfamily, Cam, which means they’remyfamily too. I love your mum and dad, you know that. They’re better parents to me than my own ever were. And if something’s upset them enough to make you this worried, I want to help if I can.”

“There’s no need,” he said sharply.

Whoa.I took a step back.

“I’m sorry.” He stepped in and slid his arms around my waist, pressing his cheek to my chest. “I didn’t mean it to come out like that. I just...” He paused and sighed. “I’ll tell you everything after I’ve talked with them, okay? You have to get to training, and don’t forget, Jake’s coming for dinner. There’s some drama going on with him that he wouldn’t tell me about last night. Jesus, what is it with my family at the moment?”

“Jake?”

He shrugged. “I think he and Trent might’ve broken up.”

“Damn. I liked that guy.”

“Me too. He was good for Jake. Settled him down.”

I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and kissed the top of his head. “Okay, I’ll wait. But is it something to do with why your parents pulled out from babysitting last night? They never really explained on the phone.”

He hummed against my chest. “Yeah. Just as well Craig’s been a surprisingly reliable backup lately. Eight months sober. That’s his longest run. And he looks different this time, more solid somehow.”

Thank God.Two falls off the wagon were enough. “I think you’re right. He seemed grateful for a genuine excuse to stay away from the temptation, even though I’d told him he didn’t have to come.”

Cam kissed my cheek. “You’re a good brother. Now, get going or you’ll be late.” He patted my chest with both hands and pushed me toward the bedroom.

I gathered my gym bag, gave Cory a hug and Cam a thorough mauling, but it still didn’t feel right leaving him like this and I chewed on it all the way to the gym.

Chapter Three

Cam

I arrived at my parents’house about twelve thirty, but rather than go straight inside, I sat in their driveway beside a vehicle I didn’t recognise and wondered for the hundredth time if I was doing the right thing.

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