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It wasn’t what he’d pictured the kiss would be like. He still remembered those hot, desperate kisses of their youth. Instead, it was soft, sweet, testing. He was afraid to push, afraid she’d come to her senses and sock him a good one.
The brush of lips, over and over, as she leaned forward just enough for him to feel the yearning she claimed wasn’t there. Her hands came up to his chest for an instant and he feared she could feel the crazy beat of his heart.
After a moment, afraid to break the spell, Cam leaned back, unable to even smile in his shock, and said, “See you tomorrow.”
Cam woke up happy.
Not that he didn’t typically wake up happy. He was a cheerful guy with a good life. But today he woke up aware he was happy.
Yesterday had been the absolute best.
It had also been a hot mess of destroyed art, town dysfunction, and apparently he now lived in a BBC whodunnit where his best friend was expected to foil the town’s evil civilian’s plot.
But the other stuff? That had been awesome.
Yeah, so he hadn’t been doing the wooing right at first. Following Spence’s lead was the wrong idea. Lyra and Spence were very different people.
But forcing her to hold his hand—that was pure them. She’d look back on it fondly one day. They’d be eighty and he’d pretend to force her to hold his hand in front of their great-grandchildren and she’d just give him that look.
And the moment he’d opened his old bedroom door and seen Tyler passed out there, his old bear sitting on the pillow at his head, Cam had nearly burst into tears.
He was such a mush.
But they'd driven home and Cam hadn’t given Vivian a chance to even wake Ty up. He’d just told her to go unlock the house and he picked him up and carried him right up to his bed.
God, he loved that kid.
Nothing could make him not love that kid.
His heart had about burst.
And that kiss. He could barely bring himself to think about it because dwelling on how incredible it was to hold her, even for a few moments, made it seem like a dream—like he’d wake up and find she was still this untouchable goddess across the yard.
So no matter what, today was going to be an absolutely incredible sequel to yesterday.
Soon he’d get to work on a piece he’d never anticipated ever getting to touch—even if it was for crappy reasons. Also, time with Tyler and Vi. Best day ever.
He all but sprung out of bed like a cartoon character.
Before he headed over to Vivian’s, he had to get some things in order, make sure his workshop was organized and cleaned out for this project. Today he’d get that bowl his mom requested completed for a friend’s birthday gift.
There was so much to get done, but they wouldn’t rush it. The town could go one scheduled guest weekend without the sleigh. They’d come up with something else great. Maybe create a Santa’s Workshop the kids could visit instead.
He pulled his phone out and texted Noah that idea since he was probably already inundated with the lairds at his café.
Noah texted a thumbs-up—because he was chatty like that.
Now Cam could go make that bowl.
He hopped down the steps to his workshop, unlocking the three locks on the barn-door-style entry before sliding it wide open. He took a deep breath, letting the scent of wood and poly and freedom fill his lungs.
Man, he had a good life. Guys his age joked about living the dream, but he really was.
He took a hard look at his space. Before when Tyler was here, he was always under very direct supervision. But he might in the future be under mostly direct supervision. There may come a day Cam needed to shift some stuff around. Tape the floor with safety guidelines and such.
But for now, the idea of working in Vivian’s office was perfect. It was going to be a great bonding experience all around.
And he could watch her working on engines.
