Page 56 of Single Glance

If the Earth could’ve swallowedme whole right then, I would have welcomed it. Where I was the picture of anxiety and unease, Cam just chuckled, climbing out of the car and sweeping Victoria into his arms. “When the hell did you get back, Vic?”

“Last night.” She looked at me. “Are you going to get out of the car, Hads?”

“Depends.” I leaned back in my seat. “Ar-are you mad?”

Victoria’s brow furrowed. “Why would I be mad? About you and Cam?” She rolled her eyes. “Do I wish you had given me some kind of heads up? Definitely. That was not what I expected to see when I opened the door. But if this means I can finally host a dinner party without the two of you screaming at each other, I’m all for it.”

“Dinner party?” I asked as I got out of the truck. “Did we secretly slip into the sixties?”

“Shut up,” Victoria teased as she rushed to my side. I tensed when she came closer, still not fully trusting she was okay with what she’d just witnessed. But when her arms wrapped around my shoulders, it felt like coming home. It didn’t take long for my arms to settle around her waist, holding my best friend close. God, I’d missed her. It was a phantom ache, the type you didn’t realize you needed until it came back into your life. It was like going home after a long stretch and remembering how much you loved the quiet comfort of the town. “But after all your teasing about Adam, you better believe I’m giving you hell about this.”

She pulled back, and a wide, genuine smile filled her face. The girl was glowing, pure happiness radiating from her pores. Still, my guard remained raised, waiting for her warm disposition to change. Cam walked up to my side and wrapped his arm around my shoulders. Itried to step back, but he refused to let me, holding me close.

“Okay, Vic, I know you’ve got questions. Let’s hear them.”

She rolled her eyes at his flippant tone. “First, let’s go inside. Cole’s going to drop Emilia off in an hour, and I want to hear everything before she gets back.” She stepped toward the porch. “You guys want some coffee?”

“Only if it’s spiked with something,” I muttered under my breath. As Cam guided me toward the house, I stopped, tugging his arm so he stayed back with me. “Why are you not freaking out right now?”

“About Vic finding out?”

“No, about Christmas coming early.” I smacked his bicep. “Of course about Tori finding out! I’m about to throw up in the bushes, and you’re acting like this is a regular Saturday morning.”

Cam stepped closer and enveloped me in a tight hug. His head rested on top of mine as he rubbed soothing circles on my back. “Why are you upset?” He leaned back and searched my expression. “Did you want to keep us a secret?”

“What? Of course not.” I didn’t miss the flicker of relief in Cam’s eyes. “It’s just… I thought we’d have time to figure out what we were going to say, have some sort of plan in place. I don’t want her to hate me for this.”

“Hey,” Cam said, tipping my chin up to meet his expression. “She won’t hate you. I don’t think she’s even capable. I agree this wasn’t the best way for her to find out, but it might be even better. We’ve ripped the Band-Aid off, and now we can talk aboutit together.”

I shook my head. “But we haven’t even talked about what we are, what all of this means, the two of us.”

“I know I want to be with you.” Cam reached down and took my hands. “Maybe we haven’t defined what we are yet, but I know in my heart you’re the person I want to be with. I like being around you, like the way you make me feel. And no matter what insults you hurl in my direction, you want to be with me too.”

“You’re so cocky.”

“Not cocky if it’s true, menace.” He shifted closer and kissed my temple. “Tell me I’m wrong. Tell me we don’t belong together. The world makes more sense as long as we’re facing it side by side.”

I stared up at him, searching the soulful brown eyes I loved so much. The words couldn’t come. They never would, not when I’d already surrendered my heart to Cam. He leaned forward, brushing a soft kiss on the side of my mouth. “That’s what I thought.”

“I don’t knowwhat’s more shocking—that the two of you are together, or that you got Hadley to sit through an entire baseball game.”

Victoria sat on one side of her dining room table, Cam and I on the other, like errant teenagers facing down their parents. Nerves still tittered along my spine, but Cam clutched my hand, giving me something concrete to hold on to.

My best friend’s eyes tracked our every movement, as if cataloging each one for later. Despite her calm demeanor and accepting words, I had a hard time trusting the sight in front of me. Eventhough my last relationship had ended a long time ago, I probably wouldn’t handle the same situation in stride. Cam’s phone chirped on the table, and his face paled as he looked down at the message. He grabbed the device and kissed the top of my head. “I’ll be right back.”

Questions sat on the tip of my tongue; I wanted to find out what had caused his face to fall, but the weight of Victoria’s stare kept me in my seat. I turned back toward her, searching her expression for any signs of anger. “Okay, Tori. What’s really going through your mind right now?”

“What do you mean?”

I groaned and dropped my head on the back of the chair. “You cannot possibly be okay with this. It’s Cam. Scream at me, curse me out, flip the damn table if you have to. Just get it all out, because I don’t want this to ruin our friendship.”

She leaned closer. “Would that change anything?”

I pondered her words. As much as I wanted to say yes, I couldn’t bring myself to do it. No matter what happened between us, I refused to regret Cam. After years of searching for a place in this world, it was like it had always been waiting for me in his arms. He and Emilia were my world, and as much as I loved Victoria, I loved them just as much. “No,” I quietly admitted. “It wouldn’t.”

“Good.” She smiled at me, reaching out to take my hands. “I’m not upset, Hads. Was I shocked? Of course. But that was more because I know the history between the two of you. I honestly would have been less surprised if I came home to caution tape.”

“There were moments when I wondered the same thing,” I chuckled. I cleared my throat then, and my voice took a more serious tone. “I’d never do anything to intentionally hurt you, Tori. You’re the light of my freaking world. But Cam…” I tried to swallow the lump in my throat. “He’s everything to me.”

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