Total pages in book: 166
Estimated words: 156145 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 781(@200wpm)___ 625(@250wpm)___ 520(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 156145 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 781(@200wpm)___ 625(@250wpm)___ 520(@300wpm)
She drew a breath for what seemed like a solid dressing-down, but deflated on the exhale. “This is going to end.”
Cameron went still. “If you want—”
“No, no, it has nothing to do with want. It has to do with reality. And the reality is that this is going to end.” She gave a sad smile. “Every relationship either ends or results in marriage. Even this one.” Before he had a chance to process that, she was off to the races again. “I mean, it’s whatever. We knew this was coming. It’s just showing up a little earlier than I thought and it surprised me and sometimes I react poorly to surprises. I know it’s not your fault. Of course it’s not your fault. It’s just the way things are.”
He caught the bartender’s eye. “Two shots of whiskey, please.”
If anything, Trish frowned harder. “I don’t see how whiskey is going to help anything.”
“A little bit of whiskey helps everything.” When she stared, he shrugged. “It’s when you tip into too much whiskey that the trouble starts. This conversation calls for a single shot.”
When said shot was delivered to their table, he slid one over to rest in front of her. Cameron raised his glass and waited. With a put-upon sigh, Trish did the same. They took them smoothly and the soft clink of glass hitting the wood table was soothing in its own way. He leaned forward again. “Now, down to business.”
“If you’re going to—”
“Why the fuck do you think this is ending?”
She stopped. Stared. “What?”
Cameron spoke softly and clearly. “Do you want this thing between us to end?”
“It doesn’t matter what I want.”
“If it didn’t matter, then I wouldn’t ask you. But I am asking, Trish—do you want this to end?”
She narrowed her eyes. “No. Of course not. I’m enjoying being with you.”
Damning him with faint praise, wasn’t she? It didn’t matter. He’d take it if it meant she didn’t call the whole thing off. He hadn’t put much thought into the after that would come when reality intruded on their little oasis of pleasure. That was Cameron’s mistake, because Trish sure as fuck had been thinking about long-term implications. He reached out and took her hands in his. “I’m not ready to let you go.”
He wasn’t sure he’d ever be ready to let her go, but now was hardly the time to broach the subject, with her on the verge of panicking. Cameron had to find a way to ease her into the idea. First, though, they had to navigate through the current issue.
Her pink lips moved but no sound came out. Finally Trish shook her head. “I don’t get it. I don’t get you. A fling is one thing, but a long-distance fling is more than a little ridiculous...”
What was she talking about? “What’s long-distance?”
Her hands tensed beneath his. “The contract is finalized. That’s all I was here for.”
Realization dawned, and he almost laughed in relief. This, at least, had a simple fix. “Woman, you aren’t going back to New York without me. You’re staying until we get their preliminary security set up.”
“What are you talking about? Why would I stay?”
“If Aaron was in the office, it would be a different story, but for the time being, I am Tandem Security. That means I need you with me to do your job wherever I am. Most of the time that’s in the office, but I can work remotely as required, which is what’s going to happen while I’m needed here for Concord Inc. That means you’re here, too.”
That means we don’t have to have a conversation about this ending yet.
“You’re serious.”
“Yes.” He met her gaze steadily. “Unless you want to leave. Aside from client meetings—which we won’t be having until I’m back in the States, there technically isn’t anything that requires your physical presence. It will make things more challenging, but it’s doable.”
Trish tilted her head to the side. “Do you want me to leave?”
Now was the time to retreat, to allow her to make the choice for herself without him appearing to pressure her. But... Cameron only had one answer to that question and he was incapable of lying. Not to her. Not when it would endanger what little chance they had. “No.” He said the word on an exhale, but once it broke the stillness emerging between them, it was easier to let the honesty flow. “I don’t want you to leave. I don’t want this to end.”
She gave him a look like she wasn’t sure if he meant their trip or them, but Cameron left her to draw her own conclusions. He never would have pegged Trish as skittish—not when she was a one-woman wrecking ball—but there were definite nerves showing around her too-wide eyes.
The bartender saved them when he tossed two menus onto the table. “You going to eat?”