Page 80 of Effortless

Tom offered another bite, and Camilla took it between her pretty lips with a wink. There was something about the way her lips wrapped around the fork that reminded him of their escapade earlier. It made his dick hard in an instant. He pushed the thought aside, determined to talk.

Who knew how long he would have with Camilla this time around? There was a lot he wanted to do with her while he could. Talking was definitely one of them.

“You could have invited her to come with us this morning,” Tom said.

Camilla shrugged her dainty shoulders, but a sadness colored up her gaze. “August is busy with her internship. She used to spend like four nights out of the week at my place, but with this internship and the couple of classes she’s got, it keeps her away.”

“Sorry,” Tom said lamely.

“It’s okay.”

“It’s not really, though, is it?”

“Part of life, isn’t it? You get busy, have shit to do, and make time when you can. Just something else to deal with, I guess.”

Tom reached over to stroke Camilla’s cheek. Her small smile made him do it a second time just because. “By the way …”

“What?”

“Your family is pretty awesome.”

Camilla’s brow shot up. “Oh?”

“They’re sneaky as hell, and I have to respect that.”

“How so?”

“They were grilling me left and right last night whenever you left the room.”

Camilla’s laughter filled up the small, quiet diner. “I bet.”

“They remind me of my family, actually.”

She chewed on her lip, and glanced away.

“What?” he asked.

“I just … thought to ask about your family, or whatever. Then I thought maybe you wouldn’t want me to, or something.”

“Camilla.”

She still wouldn’t look at him.

Tom pressed a finger under Camilla’s chin and turned her head, so he could see her eyes again. “You can ask me anything.”

In fact, he wished she would talk more than she did.

“Do you have any siblings?” she asked after a few quiet seconds.

“Two little sisters.”

Camilla’s gaze rolled upward. “Do they drive you as crazy as I did my brother?”

Tom chuckled. “They’re quite a bit younger than me. Sara is almost ten years younger, and Rebeka is twelve years younger than me. So, I’m beyond the age where they drive me up the wall, I think. It probably helps that my mother and father basically require me to look after the girls, or take one day a week to do something with them.”

“You know, I bet even though you’re so much older than them, they still feel close to you because you make time for them, Tom.”

“Is that why you’re as close as you are to Cross?”