Yes. A shower was a good plan.
Maybe then she could wash away the rest of her fears.
Lia leaned into the spray, letting the hot water beat down on her shoulders. Thank God once more for men who knew how to ensure a supply of hot water with alternative sources of power. Sliding a hand through her hair, she worked on rinsing Allison’s homemade lavender conditioner away, enjoying a few more moments of heat before she turned off the tap and felt around for the towel she’d hung on the hook to the right of the showerhead. But her palm slapped tile instead of fabric.
“Looking for this?”
Her eyes snapped open at Cam’s voice.
He held her towel clutched in his palm, just beyond the shower room. And he looked … upset.
There was nothing to do but brazen it out. The shreds of the old Lia that had been knitting back together last night weaved a few more strands into place.
“Yes. Thank you.”
Lia held out her hand for the towel.
“That’s funny, because we were looking for something, too, this morning.” Shock lit through her as Travis’s voice—and form—joined the party and he stepped into her line of sight.
“Umm … about that…”
Cam leveled his pained stare on her. “Did we push you too hard? Go too fast? Too far?”
“Did we hurt you? Scare you?”
Their words settled in Lia’s gut like lead. They thought she’d bolted because of something they’d done.
“No. Not at all—”
“Then why’d you run, Lia?” Cam’s deep voice sounded … hurt … as it wrapped around her name. “You had us fucking worried.”
“I’m sorry, I just … I needed to think.”
If they’d looked upset before, now they both looked troubled—and that was putting it mildly.
“We shouldn’t have—” Travis started.
“Fuck, I knew it,” Cam said.
“Stop!”
Her voice echoed in the tiled shower room, and both sets of their eyes—one green and one brown—snapped to hers.
“It was just me, not you. I was freaking out because I think I’m…” Shit. She couldn’t tell them this. They’d think she was crazy. They’d think she was … just crazy. And clingy and God only knew what.
“You think you’re what, baby?” Travis prompted, his eyes pleading for some kind of answer.
Cam flexed his hands into fists, and the veins in his arms bulged. His upset, his concern—every single emotion that was running through him seemed to be printed right on his face. They were both absolutely and completely transparent right now. Could she be anything less?
“I think I’m in love with you both.”
The words hit Cam hard—like the punch of a bullet that had ripped through his shoulder, so near to his heart that they hadn’t been sure he’d make it. But this hit? It threatened to drop him to his knees for a whole different reason—the reverberations vibrating through his body were pure and utter happiness.
“You’re … in love with us?” Travis parroted back to Lia.
Cam watched in awe as the woman he sure as fuck knew he was in love with nodded in response.
“Are you sure?”
She nodded again.
“Thank fuck,” Cam breathed, crossing the space between them and wrapping her now-shivering form in the towel before dragging her into his body. “Because I know I’m in fucking love with you, sweetheart.”
Travis moved in, his hands pulling back the mass of dripping hair from Lia’s face. “Best goddamn thing I’ve heard since this whole fucking apocalypse dawned.”
Cam released Lia from his hold only to allow her to be gathered up and crushed against Travis’s chest. “I love you too, baby. So fucking much. Never thought I’d get my shot. Thought I’d be loving you from afar… watching you be with someone else. You letting us take this shot is … so fucking amazing.”
“So you’re not changing your minds,” she asked as she lifted her head and wiped the tears from her eyes.
“Why would we change our minds?” Cam asked, totally mystified.
“Because this is all so much, so fast. I mean … like you said, from crawling to Olympic sprint. This isn’t … some normal progression of events.”
Cam slid his hand down her arm until his fingers caught hers. He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles.