She nodded, her throat full of unshed tears to say anything. Behind her, the rumble of feet on the stairs made her turn around. Michael was standing in the hallway, eyes narrowed as he realized who was at the door.
“What’s he doing here?” His voice was full of anger.
“Cam came to see you. To tell you he’s leaving town.”
“Good.” Michael turned and walked into the kitchen, slamming the door behind him, making Mia jump. She was going to have to deal with him. He couldn’t keep behaving like this. She’d given him some grace, but his attitude was as bad as it had been when they arrived. But first she needed to get through this pain, because it was getting hard to breathe.
“Sorry.” She turned back to Cam.
“It’s not your fault.” He ran his hand through his hair. “I guess I should go.”
She nodded. “Okay.” But it wasn’t okay. None of this was. It was killing her. “But can I ask you something first?”
“Sure.”
“What you said to Michael about falling in love with me, was it true?”
He swallowed hard. “Yeah, it’s true.”
“Because I need you to know something. I fell in love with you, too.”
The pain that crossed his face was palpable. She could feel the reflection of it in her own heart. His eyes were glassy as he gave her a nod, then walked down the steps toward his car.
“Goodbye, Mia.” He walked away, and she watched him, her breath catching in her throat.
He was leaving. And maybe in the end that would be a good thing.
But right now it was tearing her apart.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
She had to pull herself out of this funk. It had been over a week since she’d last seen Cam and she was feeling worse than ever. Mia took a deep breath and tried to concentrate on the marketing plan spread across her large monitor, but nothing seemed to make sense. Her stomach rumbled, reminding her that she’d barely eaten anything substantial for days. But every time she took a bite of something, it tasted like ashes.
At least she was at work. It was a haven compared to the heavy atmosphere of home. Michael was still in the foulest of moods, made worse by her chiding and sending him to his room. Sam was mostly at the bar – he hadn’t asked what had happened but she was certain he had a good idea. Either way, he was making himself conspicuously scarce, and right now she was grateful for it.
The only light in the darkness was Josh. He was still confused about the argument in the street, but she’d managed to distract him with movies and board games, and of course, football.
If only she were so easily distracted. It wasn’t as though she hadn’t tried. On Saturday morning, she’d gone to a yoga class, hoping that some zen would rub off on her. But all it had done was make her miss Cam’s touch. He would have laughed at the way she fell over trying to do downward facing dog.
Let the love doctor help.
She shook that thought out of her mind.
“Hey, coffee’s here,” Becca said, carrying two Styrofoam cups into Mia’s office. She passed one to Mia and sipped at the other, sitting on the corner of Mia’s desk. For a moment she stared at Mia, her eyes full of compassion. “You look like shit,” she said, wrinkling her nose.
Mia almost laughed. “Thanks.”
“I know it’s none of my business, but Gray told me what happened between you and Cam. And I’m not asking you to talk to me about it, because I know it’s all kinds of complicated with Cam being my brother. But if you ever need a friend, I’m here.”
The laugh turned to tears. Mia blinked them away. She wasn’t going to cry at the office.
That was the kind of reputation she definitely didn’t want.
“Thank you.” She gave Becca a tight nod. “I appreciate that.”
“Good. So now you can tell me why I’ve been called to join the board meeting this afternoon.”
“Gray hasn’t told you?”