Page 53 of Sophia & Cameron

Sophia reached for him, shaking her head. Cameron ignored the way the crowd hovered as if they wanted to listen to the gossip that would assuredly be spread like dandelion seeds by the end of the day. Her eyes pricked with emotion. “Cameron, whatever you think happened?—”

“Iknowwhat happened,” he snapped.

“Cam, just wait—” Samuel started.

Cameron shot him a death glare. “You stay out of this. Haven’t you done enough?”

His brother took a step closer. “It’s not what you think, Cam. She’s telling the truth.”

Another laugh bubbled from Cameron’s throat. It burned like acid coming up, and he shook his head before lacing his fingers behind his neck and taking a few paces. “It’s not what I think. Yeah, where have I heard that before? Oh, right. That first time I caught you with Kristy.”

Samuel had the decency to snap his mouth shut. His skin colored in a strange blotchy kind of way. “What can I say? She wasn’t content with what she had.” He said it with all thesmugness of a man who knew he could get any girl to fall at his feet.

Cameron lunged for his brother, ready to take another swing, but Sophia’s strangled voice stopped him. She moved toward Cameron, blocking him from having a direct path to his brother. Her dark eyes pierced him. “You can’t just throw punches anytime you don’t like what someone says.”

He scoffed.

“I mean it, Cameron. It’s not healthy.”

“You want to talk about healthy? How about we talk about your incessant need to use your flirting like a bonafide weapon?”

Sophia gasped.

Samuel muttered under his breath but had the intelligence to keep those thoughts to himself.

Cameron stepped into her, his eyes narrowing on her. “You use your so-called skills to benefit you. Why can’t I use my fists to benefit me?”

“Cameron!” she admonished.

“How am I supposed to believe you’re telling the truth when I know how your mind works, hmm? From the looks of it, the two of you were laughing and having a good time. Let me ask you something, Red. Did you tell him you were involved with anyone?” His eyes darted from her to Samuel. The latter couldn’t control the surprise on his face. His brother was usually very good at schooling his features, but he was utterly floored. A sneer stretched Cameron’s face. “She didn’t, did she?” He directed that question at his brother. “We are dating. Which begs the question. Why not? Why didn’t you tellSamthat you were involved? You certainly had plenty of time.”

Guilt permeated her expression, and for some unexplainable reason, seeing it hit him harder than witnessing the bumbling kiss from a few minutes ago. She placed her hands on his chest, her eyes pleading. “I swear I didn’t know Sam was your brother.”

Hollow.

Her words did nothing to fill the void he was feeling as he stood there staring at her while she attempted to make him feel better. Sheknewhow this would affect him—what it would do to him for her to be involved with his brother. Not only that, but his trust continued to crumble knowing she hadn’t said a single word about her relationship status.

“We met four years ago,” she stammered. Still, that confession did nothing to ease the ache in his chest.

Vague memories of Samuel flooded his mind. His mother had said that Samuel had met a girl he was interested in, but then nothing had come of it. Was that woman Sophia?

His focus bounced from Samuel to Sophia. Of course it was her. Who wouldn’t fall for her charm and her wit? He’d fallen for her in less than twenty-four hours. Why wouldn’t his brother do the same?

A sick, twisted feeling was brought to life again, and he pried Sophia’s hands from his chest. His grip on her wrists was firm but not enough to be painful. The hurt in her eyes gave him a momentary pause. He was torn between wanting to push her away for her deception—planned or not—and wanting to pull her close so they could heal together.

Cameron dropped her hands and stepped back. His voice was gravelly and full of anguish. “You know what? Have him. You two deserve each other.” He spun on his heel but was stopped by the sheriff arriving.

Twenty minutes later and with an insistence that Samuel wasn’t going to press charges, Cameron was permitted to escape to his truck. He didn’t get far, however. He heard her footsteps before she appeared at his side.

Her breaths came out heavy, and her cheeks were stained with dried tears. “Cameron, we need to talk.”

He huffed. “There’s nothing to talk about.”

“Yes, there is.”

Cameron shook his head. “You’ve made it perfectly clear that you don’t want to lay claim on me. My brother. Your ex. Some random guy at that country club. Doesn’t matter. It was inevitable.”

She made a strangled sound that had his steps faltering. He glanced in her direction to see a fresh wave of tears. But this time they weren’t full of sadness. Those were angry tears. Her hands were balled into fists, and if she was anyone else, she might have taken a swing at him. “Will you just stop for a minute?”

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