Valentine (On Dublin Street 5.5)

I knew that look.

Back in the day, before Cam arrived and saved me from an empty life, I used to wear that look when I’d targeted a man I was determined to make mine.

It was a predator’s flirty, sexy, seductive look.

My stomach dropped.

I took two slow steps toward them, my feet feeling heavy as I watched Cam’s reaction to her. He kept his distance physically, and his smile was only just friendlier than polite. He seemed interested in what she had to say… but most importantly he was here with her instead of at home with me.

The last three months of little affection, of distance, of late nights... the last six weeks of no sex at all… it all pooled together into my mind as I walked toward them and the awful suspicions planted themselves there as much as I hated myself for thinking it of him.

He would never… he would never betray me.

But was he thinking about it?

Did he want to?

I swallowed past the sudden lump in my throat as I neared and Cameron caught sight of me out of the corner of his eyes. He jerked his head toward me, surprise slackening his features.

“Jo.” He stood up with ease and the brunette turned to look at me, her eyes narrowing as they swept over me. “Sweetheart, what are you doing here?”

I stared at him, still struggling to speak past the emotion choking me, and then I stared at her.

“Jo, this is Ally, one of the creatives.” Cam gestured to her and she slid gracefully off his desk. She didn’t hold her hand out to me but gave me a nod, her eyes dimming with disappointment as she took me in. “Ally, this is my wife Johanna.”

Since she didn’t offer any of the normal pleasantries such as ‘nice to meet you’ I didn’t either.

I turned back to Cam. “I wanted to surprise you for Valentine’s Day. I got us reservations for dinner.”

“Shit.” He winced, eyes filled with remorse. “Sweetheart, Valentine’s Day.”

Yes, I was very aware that he’d forgotten. “Valentine’s Day,” I murmured.

“Let me just shut everything down.”

“Well, I’ll see you tomorrow, Cam,” Ally said, smiling at him. She gave me a little nod as she strode by, swinging her hips in exaggeration.

My husband didn’t watch her leave and that was probably a good thing. I might have killed him if he did.

Once he’d grabbed his coat we walked out of the office together. He placed his hand on my lower back to lead me out and I tensed.

He sighed once we were in the lift alone. “I can’t even believe you’re thinking what you’re thinking right now.”

I stared straight ahead, trying to keep a hold on my emotions. “I’m thinking I’ve barely spoken two words to my husband in months because he’s always working late. Tonight would have been another night you were late home and I’m suddenly realizing it’s not because of work. It’s because you’re having flirty conversations with a girl ten years younger than your wife.”

“That’s not even… that’s ridiculous,” he huffed, sounding exhausted.

“Tonight it was the truth.” I turned to look at him as the doors to lift opened. “Tonight would have been more time away from me and Belle, and for what? To talk with Ally?”

He stared at me, a spark of guilt there. “I never thought of it that way. I’m sorry. But we were talking about work. I promise. It’s nothing more than that, Jo.”

Chest aching as I realized how badly the growing distance between us had impacted on me I suddenly wanted to bury my head in the sand. “Let’s just go eat.” I strode out of the lift and Cam followed me outside. We were quiet as we waited for a cab to come along with its light on. Once we found one we got inside and I gave the driver our destination.

“La Cour?” Cam said, surprised. La Cour was a restaurant that Braden once owned years ago. He’d sold it to a chef friend of his and it had gone from popular to Michelin star popular. It was incredibly difficult to get a reservation.

“Joss and Braden got us it.”

“This was really nice of you, sweetheart.” I felt his warm hand slide into mine and I let him hold my hand, but I didn’t hold his.

He squeezed me, attempting to thaw me. “Who did you get to look after Belle?”

“Uncle Mick.”

“I’m looking forward to being alone with you.”

I didn’t say a word and he laced his fingers through mine, his grip tightening. “It’ll be nice,” I managed to wheeze out.

The silent tense atmosphere between us was almost hard to breathe in and it lasted all the way to the restaurant, until we were seated inside La Cour and were eating our starters.

Cam’s phone beeped on the table beside his plate as we ate. I watched him beneath my lashes as he picked it up and frowned at whatever he read.

“What is it?”

He flicked me a wary look. “Nothing.”

My pulse started to race faster than the already rapid speed it was going at. “If it’s nothing you’ll let me see it.” I held out my hand to him.

Cam glowered at me as he passed it over. “I’ve got nothing to hide from you, sweetheart. Stop treating me like a criminal.”

I took the phone off him and stared at his screen.

It was a text from Ally: Your wife seemed mad at us. Are you okay?

My temper started to rise and I flicked through his past conversations with her. I was only somewhat mollified by the fact that they were all work related and not flirtatious.

I handed him his phone back. “You don’t think that text is inappropriate? Since when are you and she an ‘us’?”

He put his phone away. “I do think it’s inappropriate, that’s why I’m not replying.”

“She’s flirting with you.”

“I won’t encourage it.”

“I guess that’s not the point anymore.” I shook my head in disgust, angry that he was oblivious to how shipwrecked our relationship was at the moment.

Something like alarm entered his expression at my tone. “Jo,” he leaned over the table, trying to reach for my hand but I pulled back, “You’re getting worked up over nothing.”

Nothing? Did he honestly not see what was going on here?

I threw my napkin on the table and stood up, my chair scraping loudly along the hardwood floors. “I’m not in the mood for Valentine’s Day after all. I’ll see you back home.”

“Jo.” He stood up, reaching for my arm and missing as I fled the restaurant.