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Cameron wraps his fingers lightly around Jules’s wrist over her bracelet and moves her hand off her face. ‘I don’t want to forget the car ride. I learned a lot about you.’
Jules sighs. ‘Yes, that I ramble when there’s awkward silences.’
She downs a large gulp of her drink, then looks across to where Matteo is chatting up the MC. ‘I’m sure he would be down for a fling, but he’s not really my type.’
‘What is your type?’ He jumps on the opening, keeping his attention on Jules to read her reaction. Is the flush on her skin from the alcohol or something else?
‘Um …’ Her gaze skitters over his face before bouncing off. ‘I plead the fifth,’ she says into her G&T before taking another large sip.
‘Fair enough.’
‘Oh, hey.’ Jules pushes her loose hair behind her ears. ‘I was thinking. You grew up here, right?’
It’s a clear conversational shift, but Cameron goes along with it, waiting for his sign. ‘Eastern Suburbs, yeah.’
‘Maybe you can be my tour guide this week? The last time I was here was with my Grandma. Lots of cafes and art exhibitions, so it’d be cool to see the adult side of Sydney.’
Cameron can’t pass up the opportunity, craving another of Jules’s blushes. ‘Adult?’
‘Not like that!’ Jules play-shoves at Cameron, who fake tumbles down onto the booth.
Jules laughs and grabs his arm to pull him upright. ‘You’re a bit of a goof, you know.’
He doesn’t feel goofy, but he does feel looser around her, even as he keeps looking for that sign. ‘I like hearing your laugh.’
Jules’s hands tighten a fraction around his arm. Her eyes are suddenly very focused on his, with a smouldering intent that has him thinking of strewn pillows and messed up sheets. He shifts so his knee presses against hers beneath the table, and she sucks her lower lip into her mouth. It’s the sign he was searching for.
‘I’ve had an idea,’ he says.
‘What about?’
He drops his voice so she has to lean in to hear him. ‘About your conference fling.’
She pulls away slightly, taking a sip of her drink. ‘You think I should go for it with Matteo anyway?’
He shakes his head slowly, pulse jumping when her gaze drops to his lips for a second. Time to play to his strengths. ‘I want to be your conference fling.’
‘What?’ Her eyes widen. ‘I … What?’
He doesn’t mind her confusion. He has been keeping his feelings in check, so to her, his offer must seem to come from nowhere.
‘Jules.’ Her shiver is an aphrodisiac to him. He slides around the booth so they’re sitting side-by-side. Not close enough to touch, but close enough he can smell her shampoo and feel the heat of her body. ‘You want a conference fling. I want to have a conference fling with you.’
They’ve not broken eye contact, so he can see a hesitancy creep onto her face even before she speaks. ‘Where is this coming from?’
Cameron takes a beat to think. He doesn’t want to force it, so the truth is perfect for this situation. Some of it, at least. ‘I’ve been thinking about it ever since you mentioned it in the car.’
Jules licks her lips. ‘You have?’
‘’Course I have. It’s you. I feel good around you. I think it could be … good for the both of us.’ And I can appease my desires without giving them the chance to damage my career again. ‘So, what do you say?’
She takes ages thinking it over, spinning her bracelet around her wrist as she does. He wants to take her hand and run his thumb over her knuckles, but he wants to hear her confirmation first. He settles for drinking her in, catching up on all those months of never seeing her in person, even though that was a purposeful decision. The warmth of her eyes, the glossy shine on her lips, the way her hair sits against her neck where he wants his hand to be sitting, right against her flushed skin where her pulse is found. The first place he’s going to kiss her. One of them, at least.
If she says yes to his proposal.
He hears her breath fluctuate, sees the minute nod of her head before she says, ‘Yes’.
Cameron’s chest expands with heat. He pulls gently on her hand until they’re both standing, then drops it as they make their way through the crowd, into the lobby and across to a waiting lift. As the doors slide shut, Cameron exhales, then gives in to the desire that hasn’t abated since she stepped out of her room.
