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She may be the ultimate city girl these days with the street smarts to match but it was times like this when shy Cammie from Rainbow Creek came out to play, filling her with insecurities and doubts and self-recrimination.
A huge part of her wanted to shout yes to getting reacquainted, though she wasn’t that naïve. She may be singing the divorce tune but spending any time with Blane had her hormones sitting up, taking notice and screaming ‘take me, I’m still yours’.
She’d never experienced the kind of ‘in your face’ physical attraction they had, the kind that made her body go into meltdown with the slightest touch, the kind that could make a girl lose sight of how far she’d come, and lose sight of her goals.
And if there was one thing she’d learned after leaving her old life behind, it was to stay focussed on her goals.
With that in mind she sat back, reclaiming her personal space and what was left of her common sense. “I didn’t want this meeting to be about us. I wanted to talk business.”
Disappointment clouded his eyes momentarily as he registered she hadn’t given him a direct response. To his credit, he took it like the man she knew him to be and slid his resident smile back into place, the one that crinkled his eyes adorably.
“The way I see it, there’s not much to talk about. The guys filled me in on what you need, I’m your man. It’s that simple.”
Simple? Was he nuts? There was nothing remotely simple about any of this. Having him turn up out of the blue, asking for a second chance, her desperation to get her renovations done…simple didn’t begin to describe the position she now found herself in.
“But what if…” She bit down on her bottom lip, unsure whether to be blunt and drive him away completely or ignore the jolt of her heart whenever he smiled and remain focus on the business aspect of their dealings.
“What if you don’t want to have anything to do with me personally but want to take advantage of me professionally?”
She blushed, not surprised he knew her so well. He’d always done that, finished her sentences, read her thoughts. After such a short time together, it shouldn’t have been that easy. But it had been, which made it all the harder to ignore the tiny flicker of hope his honesty had elicited earlier.
Could they give their marriage a second chance?
At that moment a child at a nearby table let out a delighted squeal as a waiter placed a ‘Frog in the Pond’ in front of her, her blue eyes wide with wonder as she peered at the chocolate frog suspended in green jello, and Camryn’s blood chilled.
She watched, transfixed, as the little girl’s mother leaned over and gave her a sloppy smooch on her forehead, while her father ruffled her mop of blonde curls, their love obvious, the three of them a complete, perfect family.
Something she could never have.
Something she had no idea how badly she wanted until the option had been taken away from her, cruelly wrenched bit by bit with every visit to the hospital in the years since she’d lost Blane, a stark reminder everything that truly mattered to her was gone.
Her husband.
Her parents.
Her fertility.
While she’d learned to focus on her goals and block out the pain of loss, seeing Blane now, hearing him confirm she still meant something to him, only served to reinforce what she’d always known since the last surgery: kids weren’t in her futureand it wouldn’t be fair on any man, particularly one she once loved as much as she’d loved him, to have to deal with that.
“Hey, are you okay? Sorry if I’ve come on a bit strong.”
He reached out and laid a hand on her shoulder, wrenching her attention back to him and away from the happy family scenario tugging at her heartstrings.
Momentarily comforted by his touch before coming to her senses and realizing she had no right to be, she shrugged off his hand on the pretext of reaching for her bag.
“Can you give me some time to think about all this? I’ll get back to you about the project manager position.”
As if. The moment she left this place she had no intention of getting in touch with him ever again.
Her nerves were flayed, her memories too poignant, her pain raw, and she couldn’t see any point in prolonging the inevitable: them parting ways for good.
He rummaged in his back pocket, pulled out his wallet, and handed her a business card, bearing his name, cell number, and email, on rather plain but expensive cream cardboard.
“Here’s where you can reach me.Whenyou call.”
She managed a small smile at his confidence, took the card, and slid it into the back pocket of her jeans, knowing she wouldn’t use it, wishing she could.
Prevaricating like this was useless and she needed to get out of here before those sexy blue-grey eyes with their endearing corner crinkles, along with his accompanying ingenuous smile, undermined her completely.
