Page 54 of Sophia & Cameron

He did as she asked and faced her, though he couldn’t look directly into her eyes. His focus remained on a blank space to the right of her head. “What?” he snapped. She didn’t speak right away, and for a moment he considered making his escape. This whole thing was a total mess. He’d ruined everything with his outburst. Even now, there were bits of clarity coming through as guilt and shame accosted him. His eyes flickered to her face, and the look of desperation he read there was like a kick to the groin. Cameron hefted out a sigh and ran a hand through his hair. “What?”

She blinked furious tears, her fingers now twitching at her sides. Then she folded her arms across her chest. “You need help.”

He nearly stumbled back a step. “What?”

“You heard me. Something is going on, and it’s nothing I can help you with. You should get professional help before you really do some damage. Do you know how lucky you are that Samuel is your brother?”

“Lucky?” he scoffed with a derisive laugh. “You and I have very different views on what that word means.”

She flushed a deep, angry, scarlet color. “I mean it, Cameron. If that had been a stranger, you might have been put in lockup.I’m not even entirely sure the sheriff won’t do it just to make an example out of you.”

Cameron’s eyes darted to the group of people who were too far away to hear their conversation. The sheriff was still speaking to a few of the witnesses. Stomach lurching, Cameron brought his focus once more to Sophia.

“Will you say something?” she asked, meeker this time.

“What do you want me to say?” he asked, emotionless. “You want me to thank my brother for kissing the only girl I could think about for the last five years?”

She blinked rapidly.

“You want me to beg forgiveness from you when I did nothing wrong? I’m certainly not the one keeping my relationship a secret. That’s all on you, Red.”

He could see in real time her fury returning.

“You know what?” she snapped. “Fine. Do what you want. But until something changes, don’t bother speaking to me.” With that, she spun around and charged back to the crowd of people.

He groaned, yanking at his hair. “Sophia, wait?—”

But she didn’t. She just kept walking.

Back to her bench, to the sheriff, to the place where his world had turned upside down.

And back to Sam.

23

Sophia

Sophia had insisted she was fine when Sam offered to walk her to her truck. She’d insisted he leave her alone when he’d asked if he could call her tomorrow. And she’d insisted that she still didn’t have any feelings for him when he gave her those puppy dog eyes that were only part of the problem she currently faced.

Sam looked nothing like his brother. One must have taken after their mother while the other took after their father. They were both flirtatious in their own rights and charming as all get-out.

Maybe that was why she’d been drawn to Sam four years ago. There was something familiar about the way Sam was.

The tears had stopped falling long ago, but her pillowcase was still saturated with them. Today couldn’t have gone worse if she’d tried to make it so. She’d wanted to sit down with Cameron and tell him how proud she was about the changes he was trying to make before she brought up the idea of therapy.

She’d wanted to assure him she’d be with him every step of the way.

Most of all, she hadn’t wanted to walk away from him without looking back.

Her chest ached. Her eyes burned. And based on the way her mouth felt, she could have spent the last week in the middle of the desert.

The things he’d said to her resonated in her chest and bounced around painfully in her head. While she didn’t regret what she’d said to him, she did regret one thing.

It would have been smart to tell Sam about Cameron right from the start. There really hadn’t been any excuse. He’d brought up dating life. She could have easily told him that she’d found someone to fall in love with.

Why hadn’t she?

The question haunted her. She cared for Cameron. More than that, she loved him. She knew as much based on the empty feeling where her heart should be. And yet, she still struggled to commit to him in the way most healthy individuals did. Most people shouted it from the rooftops when they found the person they wanted to spend the rest of their life with.

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