AllFreeNovel
Share Us
What would happen to her and Cameron if she got the job?
Barton Fashion was based out of San Francisco, which was about as far away from New York as someone could get and still remain in the continental United States. That was part of the attraction when she’d first put the company on her list. She’d wanted distance and enough time to figure out who she was without her family hovering. Without a safety net firmly in place should she fail. If she got the job, it would be a chance to see if she could actually stand on her own two feet without someone there ready to catch her.
Long-distance relationships happened, but she wasn’t sure if she and Cameron had a strong enough foundation to pull it off. Yes, she liked him. Yes, she kind of more than liked him. But without the amazing sex cementing them together? With work pulling them both in different directions?
She just didn’t know.
Trish picked up her phone again and emailed Barton Fashion to arrange an interview. There was no point in borrowing trouble.
She had enough as it was.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CAMERON STALKED AROUND his office. Something was off, but he couldn’t put his finger on the source. It could be all in his head...but he didn’t think so. Instead of the weekend bringing them closer together, Trish had become more and more withdrawn as it went on.
He stared hard at his door, but he’d effectively trapped himself in here. He told her he would respect the work boundaries between them, which meant he couldn’t haul her in here and demand an explanation. And after the day was done, she’d go back to her apartment and...
And what?
Nothing had changed. There was no reason for the dread curdling his stomach. Tomorrow she would be back in the office, and the next day, and the next. They didn’t have to spend every night together, despite the fact that he wasn’t keen on the idea of more distance between them.
You hold her too close, and you’re going to suffocate her.
Fuck, he didn’t know how to do this. Relationships were iceberg-scattered waters under the best of circumstances, and this was hardly that. It didn’t help that Trish wouldn’t talk to him.
Footsteps sounded down the hallway, and Cameron’s chest got light. She was coming to talk to him. This weirdness had to bother her as much as it bothered him, and she wasn’t too conflicted to put it all out in the open here and now. Trish had never been afraid of anything, so there was no reason to think she’d start now.
Except it doesn’t fit in with her plan.
He opened the door and froze. “What the hell are you doing here?”
Aaron raised his eyebrows. “I know I’ve been gone a few weeks, but last time I checked, I’m still the other owner of Tandem Security.”
Suspicion flared. “You’re on paternity leave for another month.”
“Technically, yes, but with the way things are falling out, I thought it’d be prudent to come back on a part-time basis for the rest of my leave. I’ll mostly be working remotely, but I’m officially back.”
Nothing short of a catastrophic event would drag Aaron away from his new family earlier than planned. “What happened?”
His friend’s smile faltered. “Nothing happened, not yet. But since Trish has an interview for a job in California later this week, things might be moving for her, and I don’t want to hold her back. We can find someone else to work the front desk if she needs to quit, but I’m not going to put everything on you while we figure that out. It’s really not that big a deal. Becka and I have found a good rhythm, so cutting out a few hours while they nap to work from home is doable.”
Cameron picked apart everything Aaron had said and focused on the single most important statement. “Trish has an interview.”
“Yeah, she just found out this weekend.”
It struck him that his friend had no idea about the change in their relationship. Cameron sure as hell hadn’t told him and Trish obviously chose not to as well. They’d more or less agreed on keeping things to themselves, but the knowledge stung unexpectedly. Aaron had no clue that his casual mention of Trish making life plans without Cameron would be an issue at all. And why would he?
She didn’t tell me.
If she found out this weekend, she had plenty of opportunity to share that information with him. While they were watching her favorite horror movies. While they were walking down to the restaurants he liked to frequent on the weekends. While they were lying in bed and talking about nothing.
Trish hadn’t said a word.
He knew Aaron was looking at him strangely, but he couldn’t get his reaction under control. “Excuse me.” He shouldered past his friend and stalked down the hall to the front office. Trish looked up as he crossed the threshold and if he hadn’t already known that she kept something from him, her guilty look would have made it clear. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
