“All four of them are alike,” Maddie said, smiling up at Gray. “It’s scary. When I talk to any of the brothers on the phone I can never tell who it is.”
“Of course you can.” Tanner grinned. “I’m the friendly one. Logan’s the talkative one and Cam just grunts.”
Mia stole a look down at the sideline again. Cam was talking to one of the players, demonstrating some kind of move. His shoulder muscles rippled as he moved his arm to mimic a throw. The player nodded, his face set with concentration.
“I’m so glad he’s home,” Becca said, noticing Mia watching the field. “It’s like our family is back together.”
“Don’t get too used to it,” Logan told her. “He’s determined to get back to football one way or another.”
“Do you think he’ll play again?” Becca asked.
“I’ve told him he should get into coaching. Look at him down there.” Logan pointed at Cam. “He’s a natural. He still needs to accept that his playing days are over.”
“He needs to stay here with us,” Becca said, shaking her head.
“Not gonna happen. Unless an NFL team decides to move to Hartson’s Creek.” Logan shrugged. “Can’t you be happy with having the rest of us here?”
“I want all of my brothers nearby. Call me greedy if you like.”
Logan gave her a gentle smile. “Yeah, well I’d like him to be around more, too.”
Mia swallowed hard, scanning the group of boys for Michael. He was talking to one of the players, then Cam walked over and Michael looked up at him with a grin. Mia’s stomach contracted as Cam ruffled her son’s hair.
So he wasn’t staying around very long. That was good, wasn’t it?
I’m not asking you to marry me. I’m offering a few hours together to make you feel good.
His words from the other day echoed around her head. He wasn’t making promises, and she was glad about that. In the eyes of the law, she was still a married woman, after all.
Sure, her divorce was progressing, but if you wanted to get technical, there it was.
This moment felt like being on a precipice. She wanted to throw herself forward and take a leap in the dark. She was still young, even if some days her body ached from running on fumes. She still had desires, the kind that kept her awake at night, remembering Cam’s hot stare as he whispered against her lips.
And she wanted him. That was the truth. She wanted to know she was still desirable after fifteen years of marriage and two kids. That a man as sensual and attractive as Cameron Hartson wanted to have sex with her. From Becca’s conversation with her brothers, there was no possibility of this becoming anything more than one morning together.
They lived two very different lives. There was no chance of either of them getting attached.
“That’s Michael, right?” Becca leaned in, following Mia’s gaze.
“Yeah.”
“He and Cam look like they’re getting along well. That’s nice.”
Mia nodded, but said nothing. She could compartmentalize the two different sides of him. Cam the coach who dealt with Michael was different to the Cam who’d pressed his body against hers and left her in no doubt about how much he desired her.
Then the PA system crackled, and the announcer came on, his voice blasting across the field as he called out the names of the teams. Mia sat back and let out a long, deep exhale.
She needed to stop thinking about him, or she’d never have the guts to turn up at his place tomorrow morning.
And that would be something she’d regret forever.
It was right after eight-thirty when she rapped her knuckles on Cam’s door the next morning. There was something so deliciously wrong about presenting herself on his doorstep while the sun was rising in the sky.
And yet it sent shivers down her spine. She wasn’t hurting anybody, she wasn’t doing anything wrong.
She was doing something for herself for the first time in forever.
Just once. That was all. Then she’d be able to live her life without fear of sleeping with a new man after all those years as a married woman. It was rehab, pure and simple.