Page 105 of Effortless

Calisto chuckled. “Well, Cam, as long as we’re good to the women in our lives who matter, then that’s all we need to do.”

Cross was still looking at her, though. “Don’t mess with Tom in a way that plays with his head, Cam. He doesn’t deserve that, you know? He genuinely liked you. I mean, I only know one other person who has waited a long time to get a second chance with somebody they love, and it tells me that waiting means something.”

“Who?” Camilla asked.

Her brother shrugged, and glanced away. “Somebody. Point is, give it a chance. See what comes of it.”

“I did give it a chance.”

No, you didn’t.

Camilla ignored her inner voice.

“I agree with Cross,” her father said, joining the conversation again. “Tommaso is a good man, Camilla. I think any man that is willing to kill for a woman he barely knows at all says a lot about his character.”

She froze on the couch. “What did you just say?”

“Not a good time to bring that up, Papa,” Cross said out of the corner of his mouth. “Not when you’re goal is making her trust the guy.”

Camilla sat up straight on the couch, and stared hard at her father. “Tell me what you meant.”

“Cross can explain it better than me.”

“I told you that shit so you would know, not so that you could tell her,” Cross snapped. “You weren’t feeling well when it first happened, so I had Tom keep his mouth shut until you were better, and I could tell you myself. It wasn’t like you needed the extra stress at the time, considering you had another episode coming on. We agreed not to tell her.”

“Do you want to discuss how that makes you feel, son?”

Her brother gritted his teeth, and then turned to her. “The morning after you met Tom that first time, one of the guys that hung around with Zeke made a comment about you.”

“Which guy?”

“Doesn’t matter.”

“What did he say?”

“Listen, he only did it because you probably rejected him before.”

“Not what I asked, Cross.”

Her brother sighed, clearly annoyed. “A slut, Cam. He said other shit, too—you’re not wife material, or whatever. Good for a fuck. You know, what people say sometimes.”

Those words didn’t sting Camilla like they used to. Now, she didn’t care. She was quite aware that society liked to stamp labels on her because they didn’t approve of her choices. A strong, independent woman was far easier to insult than to admire and praise.

It was what it was.

Men were even worse.

Except for men like Tommaso …

Men like her father.

Men like her brother.

“And what did Tom do?” Camilla demanded.

Cross arched a brow, and asked, “What do you think?”

A cold chill slipped down her spine.