Page 42 of Flawless

Ignoring her, I said, “I wouldn’t be strong and independent.” I stood, feeling I’d said what I came to say. “I wouldn’t be so determined to be successful. And I wouldn’t believe that I actually deserve a man like Cam.” I braced my hands on the tabletop and leaned in, whispering, “And in spite of what you think, I do deserve him, Mama. And we’re gonna have an amazing life together.” I winked at her. “You have a good day now.”

I could feel her eyes boring into me as I left. But I felt like Teflon today. Nothing she said or did could stick to me.

Eden talked me into a girl’s day. Shopping, lunch, and a spa day. I felt like a new woman by the time I dropped her off at home.

“Come in for a glass of wine,” Eden urged when I pulled up to her front door. “Austin texted to let me know he’s working late, and I don’t feel like being alone.”

I knew she was still dealing with the aftermath of her abduction, so I could understand why she still didn’t feel safe. It took years for me to feel safe being alone, and I still got triggered sometimes, like I had the night of Eden’s kidnapping.

“Sure.” I followed her inside and dropped my purse in the foyer while she moved to the kitchen.

“My brother told me he’s planning a visit this weekend,” Eden said, taking a bottle of white wine out of the fridge along with grapes, several cheeses, and smoked meats. “We should go out for dinner while he’s here.” Before I could respond, she raised an eyebrow. “Unless y’all plan to hole up in your apartment all weekend and⁠—”

“Dinner sounds like fun,” I said, rolling my eyes. “I’ll book it and text you the details.”

“Awesome!” She laughed. “Honestly, I never thought Cam would end up with someone I wanted to hang out with.”

I could understand why she felt that way about Kelly, but it was hard to believe all of his exes had been like her.

“He must have had some nice girlfriends,” I said, reaching for the corkscrew she’d left on the counter so I could open the bottle of wine while she prepared the charcuterie board.

“Yeah.” She shrugged. “I guess, but it was always so… awkward.” She grimaced. “They were into him, but it always felt like he was faking it. Then they’d try to befriend me, thinking it would help score points with him.”

“Hmm.” I couldn’t deny it bothered me a little to hear about all the girls who’d come before me, but I was too curious to shut my friend down. “So, aside from Kelly, you couldn’t have seen him marrying any of the others?”

“Ugh. No.” She wrinkled her nose. “And I didn’t see him marrying her either. I think he was only considering it because the clock was ticking.”

I chuckled. “Is that a thing for guys?”

“It is when all your friends are married with kids.” She passed me the empty wine glasses. “And you saw Cam with the little ones at our parents’ place last weekend. He’s a natural, they love him.”

“Yeah, I noticed that.” Not gonna lie, my traitorous hormones started pumping baby fever into my bloodstream when I caught sight of him with his cousin’s infant curled protectively in his strong arms.

Eden pointed at me, laughing. “Not even you can deny it, Ry. There’s something about seeing a big, strong guy holding a tiny baby⁠—”

“Stop!” I warned, flashing her my palm. “We’re not going there.”

Her brows furrowed when she asked, “Are you saying you don’t want to have kids… ever?”

“No! I mean yes, I do. Just not anytime soon.” I climbed up on the stool at the breakfast bar after pouring our wine and passing her a glass. “We’ve talked about it⁠—”

“Ohmigod, seriously?” Her jaw dropped. “You and Cam have actually talked about kids?”

I nodded, feeling a flush creep up my neck. “Well, yeah. It seemed crazy to work so hard on this relationship if we’re not on the same page about where we’d want to end up. He wants marriage and babies.” I snuck a square of cheese she’d been cutting and popped it in my mouth. “Personally? I don’t really care about a piece of paper and could wait another ten years for babies, but if he’s going to move to Nashville eventually, I have to be willing to compromise, right?”

Eden side-eyed me, looking concerned. “Honey, that’s not something you compromise about. You either want it or you don’t. You can’t do it just to make someone else happy.” She cupped her hand around her ear. “And I’m sorry, I could have sworn I heard you say something about Cam moving here. For real?”

“It was just pillow-talk,” I admitted, chastising myself when I realized that was probably T.M.I. “But we were talking about where we could see our relationship going, and he said when his term is over, he has options, professionally, that would allow him to move to Nashville.”

“His term doesn’t end for almost three years,” Eden reminded me. “You’d be okay with the long-distance thing for that long?”

“What choice do we have, right? Cam is as committed to his career as I am. And for the time being, that means we have to do the long-distance thing.”

Eden passed me a plate and napkin before she said, “Hey, if you guys want to be together, you’ll get through it.”

I nodded. “Has he said anything to you about us?”

I felt like an immature high school girl for even asking, but I wondered if Cam had shared any concerns with his sister that he hadn’t been willing to share with me.