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I don’t deserve the care and tenderness he has given me when I’ve been lying to him this whole time. But I’m not ready to open that box of secrets yet.
Bliss. The only word I would use to describe waking up in Cam’s arms.
“Nikki?” Cam whispers as my eyelashes flutter open, and I realize that my head is lying on a very firm yet surprisingly comfortable chest with my arm draped across his torso.
I haven’t felt this well rested in years, nor have I slept that tranquilly. “Mmhmm?”
The deepest chuckle vibrates against my cheek.
“How long have you been awake?” I ask as I lift my seemingly heavy head and turn to look at him. I swear his eyes might be bluer in the morning, or I’m just imagining it.
He yawns and says, “About a half hour.”
Crossing my hands on his chest, I lay my head down on top of them. “Why didn’t you wake me?”
His tongue swipes his bottom lip before the cheesiest smile spreads across that perfect face of his. “You were sleeping so peacefully. There’s no way I could have woken you and ruined that, especially when I was lucky enough to hold you during it.”
Butterflies the size of dragons soar in my stomach. “So, you were watching me sleep?”
“Absolutely,” he says without pause.
I don’t have to guess what Cam is thinking or feeling; he tells me, and more importantly, he shows me.
The backs of his fingertips caress my cheek. “I will always stare at you. I can’t help it. My eyes were made just to see you. In a room full of people, I would spot you in a heartbeat.”
I know people can die from heartbreak, but can the opposite of that kill you too? Because my heart feels like it’s going to explode.
My cheeks are burning. “What if I didn’t have pink hair? It wouldn’t be nearly as easy.”
He glares at me in the most adoring way. “Your hair color has nothing to do with the way I am drawn to you. I do like the pink though; it suits you.”
His heartbeat kicks up—I can feel it under my hands. Pride and joy blossom in my chest because I know that I am the reason.
But guilt finds me immediately. I want to tell him that I feel the same way. That I never thought I would be able to start to trust someone again after Trey. I want to grab his sexy face and kiss him senseless. But I can’t let him give himself to me when he thinks I’m Nikki.
Sliding my hands up his chest, I press two kisses on his bare skin and breathe him in before meeting his eyes. “You are perfection, Cameron.”
I sit up and crawl out of bed and make my way to the bathroom. I know myself well enough to know that I can’t lose Cam—it would hurt too much. He wiggled his way past all the walls I had built and latched himself on to my heart. I just have to figure out the plan, how to ensure my safety and to make sure Cam knows the truth about who I really am.
After I gather myself and change, I find Cam in my kitchen, drinking water, still shirtless, but it seems he decided to put pants on at least. Not that I minded the shirtlessness. Hockey players must be the fittest athletes on the planet. Cam is pure muscle.
After we grab breakfast down at the shop, we spend some time with Chloe, and Cam learns how to make from-scratch chocolate chip cookies and blueberry muffins. Chloe and Cam get along so well, and that brings me more happiness than I could have imagined. Before I know it, the morning and afternoon have passed, and Cam has to be on his way back to New York. We share another sweet and loving kiss and an endless longing look before he leaves.
And I have had an ache in my chest since.
“You’re literally sulking.” Chloe laughs.
I chuck my spoon at her, trying to hide my smile. Lucky for her, it was before it went into my ice cream. “I am not. Shut up.”
She sets her pint down and crosses her legs up on my couch. “You are. Awww, Nik’s in loooove.”
“Nik’s not anything,” I groan.
She takes a deep breath. “Have you thought about telling him?”
Rolling my eyes to her, I say, “Of course I have thought about it, Chlo. But it’s not just about me. It’s not that simple, and you know that.”
“Why can’t it be?” Chloe asks with ease.
