With his body gone, I’m able to see Pippa walking to me, her arm looped through her father’s.
They stop in front of me, and I worry for a second that they might be able to hear my racing heartbeat. I’m so anxious. She’s so close I could reach out and touch her. Would she let me? I don’t try. It can’t be a good sign she brought her dad with her. If she wasn’t still upset, she’d come here alone and give me the time to tell her how I’ve fallen in love with this small town because I’ve fallen in love with her.
“Camden,” Pippa begins. My heart skips a beat at hearing my name come from her lips.
“Hi,” I croak. Hi? There’s a million and one things I want to say to her, and the only thing that comes from my mouth is fucking hi.
I wince, looking over to her dad to see if he’s privy to how anxious I am right now.
“I’d like for you to meet my dad, Jasper Jennings.”
He reaches his hand out. I take it, not sure where this is going.
“Dad, this is my boyfriend, Camden Hunter.”
“Nice to meet—” My words fall off when my mind registers what exactly she just said.
Boyfriend?
I must look hilarious, my eyes wide and mouth agape as I tear my eyes from her dad and look to Pippa.
Her dad clapping his hand over mine is the only thing that brings me back to the fact that he and I are still shaking hands. His eyebrows are raised as he looks between Pippa and me. If he has any questions, he doesn’t ask them. I almost wish he would; that way, I could also get clarity on what’s happening.
Something that feels a lot like hope develops in my chest. It’s a dangerous feeling, knowing at any moment, she could crush me with one sentence.
“Nice to meet you, son,” Jasper says, pulling his hand from mine.
I shake my head, trying to get my shit together. Pippa’s introducing me to her dad, and here I am fumbling with my thoughts. “Pleasure, sir,” I rasp, shoving my hands back in my pockets because I don’t know what else to do with them.
“Thanks for what you did back there. I hope your intentions are pure for what you’re going to do with those properties.”
“They are.” I clear my throat. “I’m not trying to do anything shady.”
He assesses me for a few moments before he turns to Pippa. He pulls her in for another hug, whispering something against her hair that I can’t quite hear. Once they’re done, he turns to me once again. “We’ll talk more.”
And then he walks away, leaving me standing at the back of the room alone with Pippa.
She’s the most stunning thing I’ve ever laid eyes on. I know without a shadow of a doubt that I’d do anything in my power to make it work with her. I need her more than I need money, art, anything. She’s become my everything, and as my heart hammers against my chest, I make a silent plea she feels the same way.
“Boyfriend?” I ask, my voice coming out far more unsure than I envisioned.
She stands in front of me in a white skirt with ruffles, a tan shirt, and a pair of cowboy boots. She’s breathtaking, her sun-kissed strands of hair falling down her shoulders. I know even if she tells me things could never work between us, I’d never get over her. I try not to think about it, focusing on her introducing me to her father as her boyfriend instead.
“Can we talk outside?” she asks, a blush creeping on her cheeks as she looks down at her boots.
“Yes,” I answer, reaching out my hand to take hers. There’s probably paperwork I have to sign and things to do now that I’ve won the auction, but they can wait.
First, there are some things I need to tell her.
59
PIPPA
I’ve missed his touch. I’d forgotten how perfectly my hand fit in his. How much I love the confident way he moves and the way his thumb traces over the top of my hand, even when I don’t think he realizes he’s doing it.
He leads me through the building with self-assured ease, even though I’m fairly positive this is the first time he’s ever been here. Instead of taking us out the main front doors, he leads us in the opposite direction, out the back doors.
At the back, there’s a slab of concrete with trees planted along the perimeter. The leaves have turned into vibrant hues of gold and red, painting a stunning picture as we step into the cold air.
The chill to the air brushes along my skin, leaving a trail of goose bumps. I shudder, cold for only a few seconds before Camden is placing his jacket over my shoulders.
“Thank you,” I mumble, suddenly nervous to be standing in front of him. Memories of the last time we spoke run through my mind. I remember the sight of him lying in bed, sleeping peacefully as I cried next to him, writing a note that shattered my heart into pieces.
“I didn’t want you to be cold,” he answers, his eyes roaming my face. It’s only been a few days since I’ve seen him, and I’ve missed his icy gaze. The way his long, dark eyelashes flutter against his strong cheekbones every time he blinks.
I’ve really just missed him, and I realized when I saw him at the auction, I didn’t think about all the ways we were different or all the things we still have to figure out. All I thought about was how much I loved him and how much I missed him and how I really wanted to fling myself across the room and into his arms.
“I wasn’t talking about the jacket.” I tug at the sides, pulling the fabric closer to me. I don’t hide the way I take a deep breath in, inhaling the warm, comforting smell of him. “Thank you for standing up to Jason. For getting our properties back. For saving the day.”
He clears his throat, reaching out to run his knuckle along my cheek. I lean into his touch, welcoming the feeling of his skin against mine.
God, I’ve missed this man. Now that the stress of having to fight Jason to keep Wake and Bake has passed, I’m hit with the realization that I’m willing to try anything to make this work between us. He’s become too important for me to let go.
“I told you I’d fix it.” His voice is deep and raspy, sending tingles down my spine.
“You did,” I answer. “I should’ve believed you. I was just so worried about losing everything, about losing the only piece I still had of my mom, I took it out on you. I’m so sorry for leaving. I wasn’t thinking straight. I wasn’t thinking of anything but finding a way to save Wake and Bake.”
He nods. “I’m sorry for everything I’ve ever done to make you think I wouldn’t put you above anything or anyone else. I know there are scars from our past and that I haven’t always been a man deserving of your love. But you make me better, Pippa. I know little to nothing about love. Everything I know about it, you’ve taught me. But I’m an excellent student, and I want to spend the rest of my life learning new ways to love you the way you deserve.”
I told myself I wouldn’t cry. That I’ve cried enough in the last few days than I have in a lifetime, but a tear falls down my cheek of its own accord. I can’t control it, and I don’t even try to stop it. I allow it to fall, my heart swelling with the intense love I feel for the man standing in front of me.
“I love you,” I get out, my voice trembling with emotion. “I love you, and I’m sorry for ever believing for a second this love wasn’t enough to overcome any differences or distance between us.”
His silence unnerves me. It seems like forever that he doesn’t say a single thing. It’s long enough that my pulse spikes with nerves. Eventually, he takes a step forward, pressing our bodies together. His large hands rise to gently cup my face.
“Do you remember when you forced me to spend the day with you in Sutten?”
I smile. There’s no way I could ever forget the day that shifted the balance between us. It was easy to slip from hating him to feeling for him. “How could I forget?”
“There was something you asked me that day that’s really stuck with me.”