“That we’d be perfect for each other,” she says, smiling shyly. “Why don’t you see it, Cam? I know we were just friends back then . . . but you still—”
“Elizabeth,” I say softly, cutting her off. “I think you’re amazing, you know this, and trust me, there’s someone out there for you. He’s going to be a lucky-ass man, but it’s not me.”
“But it could be.”
I shake my head. “No, it can’t. The woman I met, she’s in deep, Elizabeth. She’s under my skin, and there’s no digging her out. I don’t even want to. I’m sorry. I hate to see you hurt, but trust me, you’ll know exactly what I mean when you meet the man who’s meant to be yours.”
She stays silent for a few moments. “I’ve never heard you talk like this before. You’re a cynic.”
“I guess I’m more of an ‘I’ll believe it when I see it’ type, and now I’ve seen it.”
Fuck, I sound like a pussy-whipped little bitch, but I’m being real right now. I’m not going to act like I don’t care when I do; I’m not going to fuck around and possibly lose Jo, no fuckin’ way. Good women don’t come along every day, and one who gives you everything you’ve ever dreamed of? Yeah, I’m no fool. I want to take care of her, give her everything she needs and wants, and just love her until she knows nothing else. Until she doesn’t remember anything before I came into her life, because it wasn’t as important.
“I’m not going to lie, I’m disappointed,” she admits, puffing out a deep breath. “I guess if it’s meant to be, it will be, right? I want you to be happy, Cam. Sure, I wanted it to be with me, but hey, I can’t always get what I want, and I know that.” She closes her eyes for a moment. “So this is what unrequited love feels like, huh? Never thought I’d be on the other end of that.”
I stand up and sit next to her, taking the bowl out of her hands and putting it on the coffee table. I pull her into my arms. “Trust me, you’re dodging a bullet. I’m a pain in the ass.”
She clings to me like I’m a lifeline, burying her face in my T-shirt. “I know you are, but I thought you’d be my pain in the ass one day.”
No.
Honestly, I don’t even like her holding me like she is right now, but she basically just admitted she loves me, so what else can I do? She may think she loves me, but she doesn’t. Only time and experience will let her figure that out. Such hard lessons we all have to go through sometimes.
“We’re friends, Elizabeth,” I say, hoping she hears what I’m saying. I mean really hears it. Even if Jo and I don’t work out, we’ll never be. Nothing will ever happen, and she needs to understand that and move on. She’s a pretty girl, and has a lot going for her; she’s not going to remain single for long. Everything will be worth it in the long run, one day she’ll thank me.
But that day won’t be today.
? ? ?
“Uncle Ranger!” Clover hollers, running into the kitchen with a giant lollipop in her hand.
“Hey, Clover, where did you get that?” I ask, eyeing it. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to little kids referring to me as uncle, but they’re good kids, cute and badass. They treat me like I am their uncle, and the feeling makes me both uncomfortable and grateful.
“Uncle Arrow gave it to me,” she says, taking a lick. “It’s strawberry. Do you want one? He has more.”
I kind of did, but shake my head. No point adding “taking candy from a baby” to my list of shitty deeds for the week. I already have breaking Elizabeth’s heart on that list, and that’s where I want to leave it.
“No, thanks,” I tell her, glancing up as her mother joins us.
“Ranger,” she says, beaming. “Just the man I was looking for.”
I cringe exaggeratedly. “What now? You want me to give up an organ? Save a kitten from a tree?”
Clover’s eyes widen. “There’s a kitten stuck in a tree? We have to save it! Uncle Rake has a ladder.”
“Like mother like daughter,” I say, flashing Faye an amused glance. “Now what’s up?”
“Arrow wants you. I don’t know why.” She cocks her hip against the doorframe, then adds, “Okay, I do know why. He needs a few extra men at Rift tonight and wants you to be one.”
“I can’t wait until I’m old enough to go to Rift,” Clover says, still licking her lollipop. “I’m going to own that dance floor.”
Faye and I both stare at her in a Yeah, we’ll see about that way, then share an amused glance.
“Is that right?” Faye asks, brow rising. “You should have that conversation with your dad.”
“Good idea,” she says, walking out of the room to go find Sin.
“What happened with Elizabeth last night?” Faye asks, stepping farther into the room and stopping in front of me. “Is the Cinderella scheme still on?”
“I told her I was seeing someone. I don’t know, do you think it’s a good idea?” I ask, leaning back against the counter. “I haven’t even properly spoken to Jo about what happened yet; I’m going to go to her place after she finishes work.”
“How are you going to tell Elizabeth her own cousin is the other woman?” Faye asks bluntly, then winces. “Fuck, that sounds bad.”
“It is bad,” I say, scrubbing my hand down my face. “I don’t know, maybe one blow at a time, get her used to the idea, maybe even move on before she finds out that it’s Jo?”
“It’s going to bite you in the ass.”
“I know, but I’ve got nothing else right now,” I admit. “I just don’t want Jo to freak out and bail because she feels bad. I feel like how Elizabeth handles this controls Jo’s reaction, and I don’t like that.”
“Because you can’t control it yourself?” Faye asks, smirking. “Typical alpha behavior. You still can though, because you can talk Jo off the ledge. You’ll just be doing a lot of reassuring for a while. It’s hard to deal with guilt, even if it’s misplaced.”
“I know,” I mutter. “You should have your own TV show. Like Dr. Phil.”
She playfully slaps my arm. “I need a reality show—how cool would that be? Although we’d probably all get arrested at some point.”
“Which would also make for great TV.”
“Very true. Now when are you going to bring your cop around for everyone to meet? Isn’t it funny? I inadvertently set you up with her. I’m like a part-time cupid.”
“Maybe you need a new hobby. And the answer to that is I’ll bring her here when everyone stops referring to her as ‘the cop.’?”
“What? She is one.”
Talon walks in and grins when he sees me. “I haven’t seen you since I dropped you off at the cop’s house, drunk, after you spent the night dancing with strippers to ‘Pony.’?”
“Great song,” Faye adds, but then narrows her eyes and points her finger at me. “You went to Toxic?”
“Talon had to drop in,” I say, shrugging. “It’s not like I fucked one of the strippers.”
I couldn’t even get hard watching them, as a matter of fact, not that I’m going to admit that though.
“But we didn’t have to stay for two hours,” Talon, the shit-stirrer adds.
I turn the tables on him. “Does Tia know you stayed there for so long?”