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“Yes!” Emilia held his gaze, astounded that he’d understood, even though her gut instinct told her he would. “I have been asking myself that. I’ve taken a break from the volunteer work, been a snarky bitch to my friends some of the time, which is not like me at all. I feel like life threw me a curve ball I don’t know how to hit. And the core of that is: Maybe they were right.”
“They’re not right.”
“How do you know? You’ve never seen my work.” Smiling a strained smile, she wanted to believe, but all the evidence was stacked against her.
“I just know. The way you talk about volunteering and all of that, you light up. It’s the right path for you, I can see it in your face.”
Emilia didn’t know what to say. The feelings she had been struggling with seemed less overwhelming in his quiet assurance of her. His words, the look on his face, they all sparked something inside her she thought was gone for good. Still, she was grateful when he changed the subject and they talked about less personal things. Emilia was shocked when the servers started packing up the chairs and tables. She looked around the restaurant. They were the only ones left.
She asked for the check and insisted on paying her half, not missing the look in his eyes when she said, “If you pay it, it’s date-like and I am not penniless." They left the restaurant together and once they were outside, she turned to him.
“Thanks for the lovely evening.”
“Let me drive you home,” he insisted. “Unless home is less than a mile away, obviously.”
She chuckled at this. “Still got a bee in your bonnet about yoga class, have you? It actually is just around the corner.”
“Okay, then I have to ask you for your number again.”
“If you ask me, I might give it to you this time.”
“All right, Emilia B. Can I have your number?” He pulled out his phone, unlocked it and handed it to her. Her heart melted when she saw his background picture was him, his dad and obviously his brother, standing at a construction site in hard hats and grinning at the camera, their arms wrapped around each other’s shoulders. She entered her number wordlessly and handed him back the phone, moving in to give him a hug because she couldn’t help herself.
“Good night, Cameron.” His arms wrapped around her waist and the heat between them rose to the surface, causing her to catch her breath.
“Good night, Emilia,” his voice was low and gruff and he lingered when he pulled back a little, staring into her eyes. She took a deliberate step back. “Wait,” he said suddenly. “You gave me your number, has this not-date changed your mind about anything else?”
“To do with you and dating, you mean?”
“Yes.”
Emilia decided to be honest. “I think it might have, yes. But I need some time.”
“Okay, no pressure.”
“Then I’ll see you on Monday when you and the crew come and cause havoc at work?” When he nodded, she said goodnight and found it hard to walk away from him. As she did turn to go, she realized she felt lighter than she had in weeks. Months. Maybe ever? At the corner, she looked over her shoulder gave him a small wave, before moving out of sight.
That had been one of the nicest evenings she’d ever had with a man. Pouring out her heart like that wasn’t what she would usually call a fun night, but he had listened. Just his very presence, and his steady green eyes on her, had helped heal something inside her.
It didn’t hurt that she could still feel his body pressed to hers as she walked down the street towards her house, and his scent clung to her clothes as well. Bit by bit, she was starting to feel more and more like her bubbly, kick-ass self and it was hard to ignore that those pieces had been moving into place since she’d met Cam. For all the plans and decisions she still had to make about her not-too-distant future, something told her Cameron Rockford had just shaken things up.
