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Cam stood. Sitting was too passive. He couldn’t take it. "It's always reminded me of you, Adrianna. I used to come here and remember you, us, that summer, the square, the woods…"
She whirled around to face him. Her face was tight and red.
"Why are you telling me this? You're saying that for ten years, you set out to purposefully rub in my face your every relationship. That what I witnessed and convinced myself was not your fault, actually was because you orchestrated it that way?"
He stared right into her fiery gaze knowing he couldn't avoid this. "I'm telling you that everything in the last ten years of my life has been only about you. I ran from you but you were never far away. I sketched you without meaning to. You were in everything I did. You still are."
Emotions crashed all over her face and she pressed her lips together, then turned away from him to face the lake again.
You might as well let it all out.
"It didn't start that way from the beginning. The year after I left, my parents invited me to dinner at their house. Walter told me he ran into Tommy’s parents. He carried on about how they gushed about their son and his beautiful bride and how happy they were."
A breathtaking woman and so in love. Their children will be beautiful and strong. Tommy has it all.Walter had said. Cam’s anger rose at words that still echoed in his ears and his father's mocking eyes when he’d said the words.
"And to think it was all so stupid." His hands fisted at his side. "If I had looked it up or called you like I wanted to so many times. Instead, I just went and…"
"I did it too, Cam. You weren't the only one," she interrupted, her words surprising him. "I had a few relationships through the year. Some really good ones but…it never seemed enough. It wasn't until Evan said he wanted to marry me that I realized— "
"What," he jumped in. "He wanted to marry you? He asked?" Something about it, other than murderous jealousy, pricked at his skin.
She rolled her eyes. "Obviously, I turned him down. What's so wrong about him asking? Am I not marriage material?"
"Of course you are, but what if you had said yes? Would I ever have found out?" An enormous pressure built in Cam’s chest because there it was. The thought that’d been torturing him. Had Adrianna gotten married, he never would have found out. He would’ve gone through life without Bron forever.
Her hand went to her heart, several emotions crossing her face. "Cam, I wanted to tell you. I was waiting until Bron was older. I tried but your father…"
"No! Don't tell me. I don't want to know right now. It will only piss me off more," he said, shaking his head.
"We have to talk about it, Cam. You do care. You need to know this," she insisted.
"No, it doesn't matter. I was just thinking that you could've married him and he would have been Bron's father." His stomach lurched and he could barely get the last word out.
"The point is, I didn't. Furthermore, I didn't because he wasn't what I was looking for, what I wanted. I went into every relationship looking for what we had that summer and without meaning to. It wasn't fair." She shook her head.
The floor dropped under Cam.
Adrianna continued, "It wasn't fair to them and it wasn't fair to me. I looked for you in every man while you…" She paused to exhale. "Sophia brought it all back. It really wasn't my best moment. The two of you just seemed way too friendly," she added with a laugh.
Cam winced. "Sophia was just a party friend. Nothing more. It's not like I had intentions of marrying her…unlike Evan and you."
"Seriously?" She advanced on him and Cam knew where they were heading again.
"I'm sorry," he said, moving closer to take her hand. "That was uncalled for." He tugged her closer to him, his arms wrapping around her. "Please, let's not fight anymore. We've spent a decade looking for each other in other people."
He kissed the corner of her lips in tender pecks, savoring her soft skin. Then, he did the same on the other side of her mouth. "Now we found each other again."
"Cam…" Her protest sounded half-hearted, weak to him.
"Adrianna…please." He touched his lips to hers briefly. "I need…"
"Me too," she moaned into his mouth.
Her hands went around his waist as his lips crashed against hers. Her fingers splayed against his back, and his went to each side of her face. She pulled him closer and he smiled against her mouth, desire melding with relief and happiness.
His memory had always been with her in the same way hers had always been for him.
Cam’s tongue plundered her mouth, slowly undulating against hers. Her fingers dug into his skin; he groaned. He let go of her face, his hands needing to touch. They were on her shoulders, sliding down her back, and pressing her to him. He needed more of her. More feeling, more friction, more Adri. He cupped her ass, bringing her higher, against his erection.
