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Her green eyes traveled to me, and she smirked, taking a small sip of her drink.

Nessa set aside her spoon and picked up her champagne flute. “Shay, darling, I’d like to steal you to talk to the Lancasters after the speeches. They love throwing their name and money at a good cause.”

I smiled. “Sounds great.”

She reached over and fixed a flyaway strand of Cam’s hair, still a little messy from when I’d run my fingers through it. “You should use your father’s products, darling,” she said. “Far less obvious.”

Flames erupted over my face.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Cam said, accepting his drink and mine from the server. He handed me the glass, meeting my eyes for one scalding moment.

I took a long sip of the alcohol and let the first subject-changing words that came to mind slip from my mouth. “Is that cheesecake, Nessa?”

She raised an amused eyebrow. “It is. Too hard to resist.”

If anything, my face grew hotter, and I murmured something unintelligible in reply.

Other than that, the rest of the night passed uneventfully, and after dropping off Ivy, Ben drove me home. Cam walked me to Ravi’s door. He gave me a chaste kiss on the cheek, and I may have slightly attacked him as he backed away, pressing my lips to his in a greedy interlude of lips and teeth and tongues until Bennett catcalled from the curb, and I snapped back to myself.

“I forgot he was there,” I whispered, holding three fingers to my swollen lips.

Cam chuckled, tucking some hair behind my ear. “It was a good night.”

“Yeah,” I said on an exhale, my endangered heart still doing its best to attach itself to him.

“Goodnight, Honeycutt,” he murmured against my ear.

And then he strolled away, leaving me to stare at his broad shoulders and slim waist wrapped in that fine, fine fabric. Beyond him, Bennett pelted me with his catlike smile. I squared my shoulders and wiped away whatever dreamy expression had been plastered on my face.

Bennett laughed loudly. “Bit late for that, love.”

I slipped through the door before I fainted from embarrassment.

Thirty-Nine

I spilled everything to my mother over the phone the next day. As much as she’d warned me against it, I knew she’d never judge. I trusted no one more than Audra Honeycutt, especially in matters of making good life decisions. She knew how to optimize difficult circumstances and make them work in her favor. I needed a little of that magic if I was going to traverse the minefield of a doomed relationship.

Surprisingly, she had very little to say.

I sighed at her reticence. “Mama, tell me what to do.”

“I can’t tell you what to do, baby. You’ve set yourself up for heartbreak. When this ship sinks, it’s you gonna be the one with broken handcuffs on your wrists, too big to fit on the floating door.”

“He might pick me,” I said in a small voice. “Despite it all.”

“He might,” she agreed, but she sounded none too certain. “Here’s the thing, baby. You’re a grown woman now, so it’s time you hear the truth. There are things in life that hurt. Sometimes the pain is worth it, and sometimes it’s not. It’s you who gotta decide when the juice is worth the squeeze.”

Well, I was already down the rabbit hole, and if the last ten years had taught me anything, it was that there was no getting over Camden Shepherd.

So… Might as well get under him?

Ugh.

A SWOT analysis was no help since the Opportunity—a lifetime of happiness with a man I’d loved since we were kids—was too great to ignore. That tiny “Shep” in the Threats quadrant barely registered.

Doubts nagged at my thoughts. I didn’t deserve him… He was better than me… My trashy, fatherless upbringing would stain his pristine life. And ultimately, his father would never allow it. I listed them for Mama, but she only sighed.

That morning, my mother ended our conversation with one parting request—that she get to meet him on her home turf. Soon.