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Unless Trish distracted her, she’d be up all night running scenarios—each more terrifying than the last—and her mother would call tomorrow and be a total mess. She cast a longing look at her cooling Chinese food and resigned herself to a reheated meal. “Did Aaron send you the pictures he took of Summer? She was especially cute today. He says she can’t really smile yet, but I swear to God she was smiling at me.”
The distraction worked. Her mother went on to gush about how Aaron did a video call with her and the baby, and wasn’t his fiancée the sweetest thing, though goodness, they should be married by now if they’re having babies. Through it all, Trish’s mind wandered...right back to Cameron.
She wanted him to kiss her again.
Or, rather, she wanted to kiss him again. To do more than kiss. To break half a dozen rules and regulations that she wasn’t even sure Tandem Security had in place.
Not to mention that Aaron might lose his damn mind if he finds out I’m lusting after his business partner.
She blinked, realizing that her mother had been silent for a beat too long. Trish faked a yawn. “Mom, I have to go. I have a big day tomorrow, and I want a full night’s rest.”
The silence extended for a beat. Another. Then her mother sniffled. “I just wish you were here.”
Oh good Lord. She was going to devolve to sobbing next, and Trish was too tired to be sure she wouldn’t snap in response. She was twenty-fucking-four years old. She couldn’t live at home forever. She understood that her mother’s empty-nest syndrome was in full force, but Trish couldn’t form her entire freaking life around making her mother feel fulfilled. Not that her mom wanted her to. Not exactly. She was just emotional and weepy and Trish wasn’t capable of stepping back and cutting the cord fully. It would hurt her mom and she didn’t deal out pain—only good things.
So she cleared her throat and smiled so hard that her cheeks hurt. “Mom, how am I supposed to find a man to make an honest woman of me and have a bunch of babies for you to spoil if I’m living in the same room I’ve had since birth? Aaron needs me right now. I can’t leave him hanging.”
Leveraging Aaron’s name got her mom back under control. She gave another sniffle, but the wavering quality of her voice evened out. “You’re right. Of course you’re right. It’s just so hard not seeing you.”
“I know, Mom.” She touched the side of her Chinese food container and sighed. Cold. “I’ll talk to you later.”
It took another five minutes to actually end the call, and by the time she did, it was all she could do to sink onto her couch. Trish stared at her cold dinner and fought against the burning in her throat. She wasn’t overwhelmed. She was capable and positive and could handle anything the world threw at her.
But, God, she was so tired.
“I should eat.” Her words barely diminished the growing silence in her apartment. She should turn on the television or do something to get some ambient noise going so she didn’t feel quite so alone, but Trish just couldn’t work up the energy to reach for the remote.
She closed her eyes. I’ll just rest here for a minute...
Cameron checked his watch for the sixth time in the last thirty seconds. There was no denying it—Trish was late. He stalked to the boardroom, half expecting to find her passed out under the table after a long night of ignoring his order, but it was just as drab and empty as it had been yesterday.
She didn’t live that far away. How the hell was she late on her third day here?
He paced across the front office and back again and shot a glare at the elevators. Another look at his phone confirmed she hadn’t answered his texts or responded to his missed calls. She was too damn excited about painting to have gone out drinking last night...wasn’t she?
When it came down to it, he didn’t know much about Trish at all. She was Aaron’s sister. She was good at her job. She was far too peppy for his comfort. That about summed up his knowledge.
And she doesn’t follow safety instructions particularly well.
Cameron stopped short. She was hurt. That had to be it. She wouldn’t be late for anything other than a catastrophic reason, and if it involved Aaron and his family, Cameron would have heard about it. Which meant it had happened either in her apartment or somewhere in transit.
She could be injured right now, and he’d wasted time when he could have been helping her.
Not willing to wait for the elevator, he charged down the stairs. Seconds later, he was on the street, nearly running for her place. Thank God she only lives a few blocks away. Cameron made it there in record time. He keyed in the code Aaron had given him for safety reasons and then stopped short. He didn’t know which apartment was hers.
