“I don’t know why you do this, Dom,” she says softly. “It’s stupid.”
“It’s not stupid.” I pull myself so I’m right behind her. I rest my hand on her shoulder. It covers her easily, her shoulders as narrow and delicate as the rest of her. “It’s easy money. It’s a couple of fights a year that land me a few grand. Besides, I like it.”
“How can you like getting your head beat in for any amount of money?”
“I don’t. That’s why I don’t let it happen.”
“You say it like it’s a fact,” she says, twisting to look at me. “Like there’s a chance you won’t get hit.”
“Oh, I’ll get hit. I’ll just hit him harder,” I smirk.
She begins to protest, but I cover her mouth with mine. It takes a couple of seconds for her to give in and kiss me back. Her lips are soft and sweet, letting mine take the lead and guide her like one of those yoga sequences she does in the morning. When I finally pull back, I still see the fight in her eyes, but there’s a smile on her lips.
“Don’t you have somewhere to be?” I hint.
“Yes,” she sighs, kissing me once more before standing. “I smell like you.”
“If I’ve done my job you do.”
“I’m going to have to go home and shower before I head to the Farm.”
“There’s a shower down the hallway, you know. But if you go getting naked—”
“I’ll never leave,” she finishes, giving me a little grin. “Call me later?”
“Yeah.”
Kissing the tips of her fingers, she lays her hand towards me and blows. It’s typical Cam—adorable on one hand, suggestively sexy on the other.
She doesn’t look back as she leaves. As I hear the front door shut, a certain feeling settles over me, one that tells me this won’t be the last time I see her.
I flop back on the bed with a smile of my own.
Camilla
I DROP MY PURSE ON the sofa as quietly as I can, but it doesn’t matter.
The Farm, which is actually an old plantation-style house on a few acres of land that my family has had for decades, is bustling with activity. The noise level makes one thing clear: my entire family is here. There are laughs ringing through the air, the sound of the television on some sports channel, and footsteps coming from every direction. As much as I hated leaving Dominic earlier, I love walking into this just as much.
My twin sister, Sienna, is sitting on a stool at the kitchen island watching our mother get things organized. The rest of the family dots the living room that’s open to the kitchen. My brothers Barrett, Graham, Ford, and Lincoln are all discussing some business matter with our father. Lincoln holds his new son, Ryan, while his wife, Danielle, smiles adoringly through the window from the back porch.
Next to her outside is Barrett’s wife, Alison, Ford’s wife, Ellie, and Graham’s girlfriend, Mallory. Mal is telling some story and Ellie is laughing, one hand on her pregnant belly.
A grin stretches across my face as I take them all in. Even though I’m the youngest, even younger than Sienna by two minutes, and am treated as such by everyone, there’s nothing that makes me happier than being surrounded by them.
As I try to figure out how to assimilate and not draw attention to the fact I’m late—something the Landry’s don’t tolerate well—Barrett’s son, Huxley, comes around the corner.
“Your dad was looking for you a few minutes ago,” he whispers conspiratorially. “I told him I was pretty sure I saw you earlier.”
“Thanks, Hux,” I say, hitting the brim of his purple baseball cap.
My brother, Barrett, officially adopted Huxley a few weeks ago when he married Huxley’s mother, Alison. I didn’t really know the eleven-year-old very well until that night. When I woke up in the middle of the night for a drink, I found him at the kitchen island with a plate of cookies, glass of milk, and a lot of questions on his mind. We bonded over those cookies, both not completely sure—in our own ways—what the future held for us. We each knew what we wanted. The problem is, neither of us felt like we had any power over it. We were at the mercy of other people’s decisions.
“Camilla Jane,” my father’s voice booms through the room. “Are you just getting here?”
“I’ve been here a while,” I say, ignoring Huxley’s red cheeks beside me. “I had a call I had to take outside.”
Dad looks at me like he doesn’t quite believe my story, but is redirected by something Ford says. When I look at my brother, he mouths “You’re welcome.”
While Sienna is closest to Lincoln, the youngest out of the boys, I’m closer with Ford. He and I both favor Mom a little more than Dad. We have a more compassionate side, and are maybe slightly less ambitious than our overachieving siblings. He’s definitely the one I can go to for advice and won’t just write me off as a pain in the butt.
“Let’s go find your mama,” Lincoln says to baby Ryan. He lifts off the couch and follows me as I head to the kitchen. “You have a hickey on your neck.”
“What?” I almost yell, clapping a hand to the base of my throat. My mind immediately goes back to Dom as I try to figure out when he did it.
Lincoln’s laugh comes immediately. “I’m kidding. But a call? Really, Cam? Your lying game blows.”
“I hate you,” I say, trying to laugh but still feeling the panic. “That wasn’t funny.”
“No, it was. It was also very telling.”
“Don’t, Linc,” I warn. “Don’t go there.”
“We’re going to meet him sooner or later, you know.”
“Maybe not,” I shrug, ignoring his protest as I climb onto a stool beside my sister. “Hey, Sister. Hi, Mom.”
“Hello, Camilla,” Mom says from the sink. “Nice of you to bless us with your presence.”
“I was . . .” I start to give her the same story, but her quirked brow stops me. “I’m starving. When are we eating?”
Wiping her hands on a white towel, she faces me. Her eyes twinkle in a way that only happens when all of her kids, and now grandkids, are home. She’s in her element, and by the way she’s almost hopping on the balls of her feet, very excited to hear Ford and Ellie’s news. “Let me grab Ellie and see if she’s ready.”
“Don’t pressure her, Mom,” Sienna laughs.
“I won’t. I mean, I’ll try not to.”
As she heads out the sliding glass door, Sienna looks at me. “I take it you had a good day.”
“I did, thank you very much.”
“Should I ask?”
“Do you need to?”
She grins, swirling a straw in the tea in front of her. “No. You have that freshly-fucked look on your face. It’s pretty, actually. Reminds me of the new blush I just bought.”
“I’d rather get my blush from Dom.”
“I can’t say I blame you,” she laughs. “How are things going with him?”
“They’re going . . .”
“Ellie was hoping you’d bring him tonight,” Sienna say, choosing her words carefully.
I slump in my chair. “You know I can’t bring him here.”
“If you’re going to keep seeing him, Cam, you’re going to have to bring him around. You can’t keep these parts of your life separate forever.”