Page 9 of Single Glance

When I walked inside, I spotted Victoria stirring the pot on the stove, Adam leaning against the counter, watching her work. He just smiled as she spoke of her grandmother, the one who originated the recipe. I smiled to myself as I watched them, loving how in sync they were. In my life, I’d learned love like that was rare, and when you found it, you held on with both hands. My mom never had luck in the romance department. I didn’t meet most of her dates—if you could even call them that—but the few who lasted longer usually left a lot to be desired.

I walked over to Emilia and kissed the top of her head, loving when she smiled up at me. Maybe she’d grow up with a good example of love and be able to open up better when it came along. With Victoria and Adam, aswell as Cam and whoever he settled down with, giving her a good example, she’d grow up to be less jaded than me.

“What are you working on?” I asked as I took my usual seat next to her.

Emilia kept drawing, but the side of her smile ticked up. “A picture for daddy to put up in his locker.” She wrinkled her nose. “Everything in there is boring.”

“Well, your dad needs something to brighten it up then.” A smirk formed on my face as I peeked over at the craft cabinet. “You know what would make it even better?—”

“Don’t even think about it, menace.”

My words died out as Cam entered the room. We hadn’t been in the same space for over a year, and I’d forgotten what it was like when he was close. The air was sucked out of the room, making it hard for my chest to expand—especially when he came around looking likethat.

His dark hair was damp, and his skin was a little flushed, like he just stepped out of the shower. I couldn’t help but trail my eyes down his form. God, why did you have to be so unfair? Did you have to make the guy who hated me also ridiculously attractive?

It was bad enough Cam dated my best friend, which automatically put him in the no-way-in-hell column, but he also couldn’t stand me. I tried to shove that into the back of my mind, writing him off for the millionth time. I didn't need him to like me. I’d dealt with plenty of people who didn’t enjoy my personality. But with Cam, it grated against me, and the more he pushed me away, the more I tried to get under his skin. If I had to think about him all the time, I wanted to do the same to him, to be the gnat humming in his ear.

Cam sat on the other side of Emilia, draping his arm over the back of her chair. His body wash filled thespace between us, and I hated how much I liked it. It was clean, one of those scents that threw the wordmountainin the title, but it wasn’t anything artificial or overpowering. It was just, well…Cam. Masculine but comforting. Strong but subtle.

Fuck, what the hell was happening to me?

Before I could think any more about Cam, I shifted to the other side of the kitchen, grabbing a wine glass from the cabinet. Adam turned, grabbing a bottle of red from the counter and passing it over to me. As I poured a hefty amount, he arched his brow, silently asking if I was okay. While Tori was my soul-sister, Adam had become an older brother. He was always checking in with me, and I had to admit—I liked it. They treated me like a part of the family, even though I was an intruder. I gave him a subtle nod, and his brow furrowed, like he didn’t quite believe me but wouldn’t push.

“So…” Tori asked as she grabbed the bowls from the cabinet. “How did your first day go?”

“Not bad,” Cam said. “Still pretty surreal, but it was good to be on the field, get a feel of the stadium.”

“How was it?” Adam asked.

“Pretty damn cool. It’s got all the bells and whistles. Just wait until you come to a game. It’s going to blow your mind.”

“I’d like that,” Adam chuckled. “Might have to wait a bit. I’m waiting to hear about a project I’m interested in. If it works out…” He gave Tori a look. “I might be out of town for a couple of months.”

“Oooh,” I said. “Please, please tell me it’s another superhero movie. You’ve deprived us since you all hung up your tights. I need more. The world needs more.”

Cam rolled his eyes while everyone else laughed. Adamshook his head, “Not this time, Hads. I hate to break it to you—I’m pretty sure I’m done with those types of roles. Doesn’t interest me anymore. Plus—” He walked over to Victoria and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. He leaned down and pressed a kiss to her temple. “Those shoots are too long. I can’t stand to be away from home that much.”

“Fine,” I mock-groaned. “I guess I can forgive, considering it’s for true love and all.”

We gathered everything up in the kitchen and then joined Cam and Emilia at the table. With the two of them already settled, I moved over to the other side, away from my usual seat. It felt weird to cram three of us together while the other side was empty. As soon as I sat down, I realized I made a mistake. Because from this spot, Cam and I were directly across from each other.

When he looked up, a smile remained on his face, left over from whatever he was talking to Emilia about. For a moment, I pretended he meant the smile for me, instead of his usual stern look. Cam’s smile made my stomach churn in an unexpected way. How could I have forgotten about that dimple on the side of his face? It was one of the first features I noticed about him when we met, loving how it made him seem more boyish, like he didn’t have the weight of the world sitting on top of his shoulders.

When he caught me staring, he arched a brow, almost waiting for me to make a comment. I swallowed any of the barbs sitting on the tip of my tongue, hoping this tentative peace between us could last a little longer.

EIGHT

The truce between Hadley and me lasted twenty minutes. It started off slowly, side looks and scoffs under our breaths. By the time we were down to the last bites of our dinner, we were staring daggers at each other, our promises of peace and attempts at civility out the window.

“Are you seriously trying to argue that Professor Miller graded fairly?” Hadley scowled across the table. “The man’s a fascist who only wanted his own ideologies repeated back to him!”

I leaned back in my chair and crossed my arms. I’d never admit it, but Hadley was right. Our shared philosophy professor—the one class we had in common in college—was an absolute nightmare. He’d talk down to the women in the class while praising the men when they brought up the same points. I hated the guy and had filed various complaints about him after I took his course.

But I wasn’t about to let her know that.

After Victoria dropped out of school to take care of Emilia, Hadley’s path never crossed with mine. At least, not until we walked into opposite ends of the philosophy class’lecture hall, our eyes meeting for the first time in a year. The moment I saw her, all those long-buried thoughts came rushing to the surface. My eyes roamed over her face, as if committing any changes to memory.

But Hadley’s eyes only narrowed, her face contorting into a bitter stare. That was enough to bring our last conversation back to the surface, the one where Hadley blamed me for Victoria dropping out.

---