Page 61 of When Love Gives You Lemons
I chuckle. “Just enough.”
At the same time, we both say, “Quanto basta.”
“Do you love him?”
“Fielder? What? I mean, no, why would you—”
“No, Cam?” she cuts me off. “Your boyfriend . . . ?”
“Oh, yeah. Um.” I take a deep breath.
She rests her hand on my arm. “If you have to think about it . . .”
“I care about him. A lot. But I’m not there. He’s a great guy, and it feels like something we’re definitely working toward, you know.” As I’m speaking, it sounds like I’m giving myself a pep talk before a big game, pumping up to make myself think I can do the impossible. The irony isn’t lost on me, and it certainly isn’t getting past Sienna because she’s glaring at me with the most intense stare I’ve ever seen. “And he knows that. I’ve been very up front about where we stand. I’m—”
“How long have you guys been together?”
“On and off for, like, six months. Ish.”
“I want you to be inlovelove,” Sienna says. “You deserve that.”
“You deserve what, babe?” Cam says, walking up beside Topher. A curious pair.
“The world.” Sienna beams, seeing her fiancé. “The hottest man in Italy!”
“He certainly is!” Cam wraps his arms around my shoulders and kisses the top of my head.
Topher puffs his chest out in a show of masculinity. “Vincenze has our ride to Ravello leaving soon, babe,” he says to Sienna. “You look gorgeous, as always.”
“Hey, Sienna,” Cam says. “Before you guys go, I already spoke to Topher, but wanted to tell you, too—I’m sorry about earlier. I know it wasn’t your fault about the tickets to the lemon farmthing, and I didn’t mean to cause a scene. I didn’t mean to make it weird or—” His hands and voice are shaking. “I kind of felt left out, like I was being singled out or something. I talked to Fielder too, to get an insider’s perspective. He’s an actually good guy.”
I can practically read Sienna’s mind:Don’t sound so surprised!
She nods slowly, eyes wide. “No need to apologize at all. It was clearly an oversight on my part. Do me a favor—check everything and make sure your personalized yacht pass is there before Thursday, just in case we have to call ahead. I double-checked everything, but mistakes happen, clearly.”
“Clearly,” Cam says, and I hold my breath.
Awkward.
Sienna clears her throat. “Cool, well.” Wrapping me in her arms, careful not to smudge her makeup, she says, “Smell you kids later. I have a hot date.”
Topher salutes us both.
Once gone, Cam wedges his legs next to mine. “How was the lemon thing?”
My lizard brain immediately goes to Fielder. “What lemon thing?”
“The farm?”
“Oh, it was nice. Fun.”
“A man of many words, as per usual.” He kisses my cheek.
“What did you mean by that, when you said Fielder’sactuallya good guy?”
Cam’s brows crinkle. “Nothing.” He lets out a breath. “You didn’t really have many nice things to say about him when we started dating.”
“I didn’t?”
