Page 90 of Shiver

“I appreciate you all welcoming me on your family vacation. For the most part, I had an incredible time, and I really hope you all did too. But I can’t leave without saying this one thing.” I shake my head, sincerely disappointed that they don’t see it—they don’t seeheror what their words do to her.

“I genuinely don’t think the way you speak to her is intentionally malicious,” I say, but Camila tries to cut me off.

Kemar shakes his head, taking her hand in his, and presses a kiss to the back of it, urging her to let me speak.

I nod, silently thanking him before continuing. “You’ve raised an incredible woman. I mean, really, you should all be so unbelievably proud of her. She’s feisty and compassionate and so damn smart.” I’m baffled that it isn’t obvious. “And I’m sure you all already know that about her because you’d have to be blind not to. But despite her composure, your words cut her. It’s clear as day to me that the reason she works her ass off in the first place is to make you all proud. It’s her way of thanking you for the sacrifices you made for her and Vea.”

“There were no sacrifices,” Camila tries to argue, but Vea shuts her down this time.

“Ma, let him finish,” she says.

I nod at her in silent thanks. “From what I’ve seen, you’re a kind and loving family, and I don’t think you even realize you’re doing it. Genuinely, I don’t,” I tell them as they stare at me in confusion, unsure of what I mean by “it.”

“From the first day we arrived, it was obvious to me that you all love Samara, but the way you speak to her andabouther is not okay. In the beginning, it just pissed me off.” Her mom’s eyes widen a fraction as I admit this. “But now? I realize you think you’re helping her or, at the very least, making sure she knows you’re concerned for her well-being. But that isn’t how she sees it, and truthfully, from an outside perspective, it isn’t how it comes across at all. Even though she won’t admit it, all the time she spends working is to prove herself to you guys. She wants to make you proud, and having to hear your comments about how she needs to stop working so much to make a man happy or how she needs to prioritize herself if she ever wants a family doesn’t help her. It just makes her feel more and more like she isn’t good enough and doesn’t fit in with her own family.”

“And she’s told you this?” Camila asks.

I shake my head. “No, she hasn’t. And I should know by now not to put words in that woman’s mouth,” I admit with a humorless chuckle. “But it’s exactly how I sometimes feel when my family jokes around with me. I know they don’t mean to make me feel the way they do, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen on occasion.”

Camila reaches out the hand that Kemar isn’t holding, and I meet her in the middle, squeezing gently. My eyes soften as I meet hers. “Maybe try to see things from her point of view and take a step back before you lose her for good. People can only take so much before they shut down, and I can see it. She’s teetering over that line.”

I give her hand another squeeze before I stand from my seat, taking in their pinched expressions before I turn to leave. I see Samara heading toward the door from inside, and just as I’m making my way to her, I hear Camila’s soft voice behind me. “Thank you,” she whispers, her voice sounding watery.

I make it to the door just in time. Wrapping my arm around Samara’s waist, I revel in the feel of her against me.

I know this vacation is almost over, and that means our fake relationship is, too, but it doesn’t feel like this is the end for us. My chest feels tight as I realize justhow realthis whole thing has become for me.

This isn’t fake anymore,at leastnot for me.

“You ready, princess?”

She nods. “More than you know.”

Chapter seventy-one

Samara

We’re waiting at baggage claim, so I turn airplane mode off, staring at my screen as all of my missed messages come rolling in.

One in particular catches my eye.

Arielle

I hope you guys had a great vacation! Any chance you have a free moment to grab lunch with me tomorrow?

My fingers flit over the buttons, ready to tell her that I could make time for her, but something catches me off guard.

Luca is suddenly surrounded by a crowd of gorgeous women, all fawning over him as they flirt. A tall brunette trails her fingers down his bicep, and he steps out of her grasp. His uncomfortable smile stays plastered in place as he searches the area for me, and when his eyes land on me, he lets out a long breath. He excuses himself from the women, shaking his head as he stands by my side.

“Sorry, princess. They swarmed me,” he says with a laugh.

I nod and turn my attention back to my phone screen, erasing the message I’d typed out.

Sorry, first day back at work. No time. Rain check?

There’s no point in getting even more attached to Luca’s family when I won’t be sticking around after the wedding anyway. Even if Luca and I could manage to make things work between us, there’s not a chance in hell I could deal with the constant attention he gets.

Nausea roils through me, and I suddenly can’t wait to be home.

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