Page 76 of Story of My Life
Cam said nothing and pushed the gate open. I followed him into the dark yard like a shadow. We climbed the creaky porch steps. For a second, I thought he was going to whirl around and kiss me. Like one of those “I can’t survive without tasting you” kisses where I’d be bowed backward, wrapped in his arms, which would be good because otherwise my knees would buckle and sudden movements like that during a kiss could cause dental damage to one or both of us.
Cam stalked over to the light fixture next to the front door. Wordlessly, he handed me a light bulb.
“Aren’t guys usually supposed to bring flowers?” I joked.
“If you’re looking for some romantic asshole to model your hero after, I’m the wrong guy,” he said, unscrewing the top of the fixture and setting it down. He removed the old bulb and held out his hand. I was ninety-one percent sure he didn’t want me to hold it. I handed over the new bulb and watched him screw it in one-handed while looking at me.
The light came on, bathing us both in a warm glow. He looked…manly. Competent. The knife-edge of his jawline and the subtle hollows of his cheeks stood out in a play of light and shadow. He was gorgeous. He was annoyed. He was perfect.
Cam reattached the top of the fixture and turned like he was going to leave.
“Aren’t you going to ask if this inspiration thing is why I hired you?” I blurted out.
The look that he shot me said it all. “I don’t give a shit why you hired us. Long as the check clears and you’re not a total pain in the ass to deal with.”
“You don’t care if I had ulterior motives?” I pressed. Honesty was important.
“Fuck no. If you do, they’re your problem, not mine.”
I cocked my head. “In some ways, it must be so much easier being a man.”
“The whole peeing standing up thing is convenient.”
“Are you going to do the thing?” I needed him to be straight with me.
“What thing?” he teased.
“The flirting and date thing,” I said to my shoes.
The toes of his boots came into view, and a finger was suddenly nudging my chin up. I looked up at Campbell Bishop as he towered over me in the glow of the porch light he’d just fixed. There was a softness in his eyes I hadn’t seen before. He leaned in, and my heart skipped seven or eight beats. I opened my mouth in hopes of sucking in a breath, but my entire being was focused on the fact that his mouth was hovering over mine.
My neck craned back as I looked up at him like some wide-eyed woodland creature who had just stumbled into a hot, hungry wolf. That was a lousy metaphor. I’d do better tomorrow when I recreated this scene word for word on the page.
“I’ll think about it,” Cam said.
“Think about what?” I asked, sounding like someone who had a boa constrictor wrapped around their throat.
His grin was lightning quick, and it was then that I saw it. The flash of dimple. It was gone just as quickly as it had appeared, but the amusement remained as Cam took a step back.
“See you tomorrow, Trouble. Demo starts bright and early. Hope you’re not a late sleeper.”
He strolled off the porch and down the walk to his truck. I watched as he checked that the gate was secure before doing my best to leisurely and calmly walk through my front door. But the second I closed it, I slid all the way down to the floor into a puddle of swoon.
Readers were going to RIP die dead for Campbell Bishop.
I wasn’t so sure I would survive him either.
18
THREE HOT GUYS AND ME WITH PILLOW FACE
HAZEL
IntrepidReporterGuy:
New owner of Heart House monopolizes local construction trade with outrageous plans to tear down historic home.
I wasin the middle of trying to tell my dentist that my two front teeth had fallen out and three more were loose when an incessant pounding ripped me awake.
