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‘We were together for almost a year and things were good,’ he says slowly, uncrossing his arms only to shove his hands into his pockets. ‘Then I found out we wanted different things. That she didn’t see me or our relationship the way I thought she did.’
‘Different things?’ It doesn’t sound so terrible, but then again, she and Todd wanted different things and that shook her for years.
‘We weren’t on the same page about how serious it was.’ Cameron looks over at her again and his lips quirk in a facsimile of his usual smile. ‘It’s actually one of the things I like about us. We’ve made it clear what this is.’
A little section of Jules’s heart breaks off. Shit. He’s here praising their relationship for being well-defined, and meanwhile, she’s working for something way beyond the boundaries they set.
‘I’m glad,’ she says, concentrating on pushing away her own hurt to focus on Cameron’s.
‘My sisters think I need closure. They think our break-up is holding me back.’
‘Do you think that?’
She bites her tongue and waits, staring at Cameron’s profile. The straight jaw and the slope of his nose.
‘Braden’s going to be there tomorrow,’ he says after a minute, ignoring her question. ‘In the audience. And all the other Cable people.’
‘That’s making you anxious?’ She rolls onto her side to face him better, wishing she knew how to truly comfort him, but she hasn’t learnt yet. Will she ever get the chance to?
‘You know I didn’t leave on the best of terms. The phrase ‘burning bridges’ comes to mind.’ His mouth twists into a frown.
‘Matteo doesn’t seem to think so.’
‘Yeah. That’s Matteo for you. The others? Probably not going to be looking at me kindly.’
‘So you’re worried they won’t like the presentation you created for them?’
Cameron rolls onto his side and their knees knock, sending a fissure of warmth down Jules’s calves.
‘Yes. Or that they won’t be able to see past my actions to actually listen to it. The way I left was completely unprofessional. Minimal notice, projects unfinished.’ His bitterness coats Jules’s insides with tangy sadness for Cameron. He cares so much.
‘But you did that for your mental wellbeing. They can’t fault you for that.’
‘They can’t know about it either.’
‘Does Matteo?’
‘Yeah. He’s the only one, though.’
‘That sounds … isolating.’
Cameron hums. He reaches out and trails his hand over the slope of Jules’s shoulder. ‘I’m beginning to see that.’
His fingers glide down to her elbow, then back up to her shoulder to repeat the movement. There’s nothing sexual about the warmth that spreads through her body. It isn’t a bonfire, or fireworks. This is heated floors in winter, or a patch of sunlight to read a book in. Her body soaks it up greedily.
She reaches out to touch his elbow but Cameron rolls onto his back again, leaving Jules’s arm to flop onto the mattress.
‘Sorry. Sorry,’ Cameron says. ‘You wanted a conference fling and I’m here talking about my emotional crap.’
‘Hey. Just because we’re having a—a fling,’ Jules forces the word out, ‘doesn’t mean I don’t care about your emotions or what’s going on in your head.’ She would’ve hoped that was clear from all the times she’s tried to squeeze her way in there this week. ‘I like that you can share these parts of yourself with me. Besides. We were friends before this anyway. Weren’t we?’
Cameron’s gaze finds hers and his expression softens slowly as she watches. ‘Yeah.’
‘And we will be after.’ It comes out as a question.
‘Hope so.’
And friends don’t lie to each other.
