Her long, graceful fingers flexed at the edges of the paper as she read the letterhead: City of Morton, Indiana. The blood drained out of her cheeks, only to creep back up from her neck in a flush of shame. Not the reaction he’d expected, and not at all his intention.
“Where did you get this?” Her words came out in a thin, almost whisper. She didn’t look up, didn’t turn past the cover letter.
“I made some calls. Skip to the highlighted stuff.”
She didn’t skip ahead. She read through every line, and Cam struggled not to rush her.
Neon yellow highlighter screamed from the page. Norah’s flush faded as she read it. Her hands fumbled, flipping to the next page and the next, reading the evidence he’d gathered. It all painted a pretty damning picture. Of Philip Vargas.
Fumbling gave way to stillness as she read the final page. She drew a shuddering breath and laid the paperwork on the counter with the same careful deliberation she might use handling a bomb. A sure sign she was trying to control some strong emotion. Cam expected relief or shock, or maybe even anger. But when Norah lifted her head, the mask of professionalism was shattered by…pain.
Thinking perhaps she’d misunderstood, Cam leapt to reassure. “It wasn’t you. That proves it.”
She just shook her head. “Only you. Only you would think to do this.”
Something was horribly wrong. He’d made some egregious miscalculation. This wasn’t how she was supposed to react.
“Norah—”
“You make this so goddamned hard,” she whispered, fisting both hands and pressing them to her eyes.
What?
Stunned, Cam could only watch as Norah shoved back from the counter, movements no longer controlled or precise. Her hands trembled as she grabbed up the paperwork. “What the hell am I supposed to do with this?” Her eyes glimmered with unshed tears, but there was also an underlying heat he didn’t understand
“Do with it?”
“Other men give flowers or jewelry. And you hand me absolution. No one else would think to chase this down. No one else would even know how.”
“What you said about your dad wanting evidence gave me the idea. It’s all a matter of public record. I just had one of their city councilmen copy it all for me.”
“Of course you did.” She threw her hands toward the ceiling in a gesture of…what? Exasperation? “I am trying so, so hard to do the right thing here. I can resist your charm. I can resist your dimples. I can resist the chemistry between us, though I’ve lost sleep over it. But this—” She shook the papers now crushed in her hand. “—how am I supposed to defend against this?”
Cam’s brain was starting to catch up to hers. Maybe. “I didn’t do it because I expected something from you. You made your position clear. I did it because I can’t stand to see you beating yourself up over something that I knew couldn’t be your fault. You have a right to know the truth.”
“I know. I know, and that makes it almost worse somehow. Because that’s who you are. This honorable, thoughtful, amazing man. Still taking care of me, even though I pushed you away.” She sounded furious about that as she whirled away to pace. “I thought it would be easier if I stayed away from you. As if that was going to stop everything in its tracks. But it hasn’t. God, it hasn’t.” One hand rubbed absently at her chest, as if to ease an ache. “I see you every day and I try to pretend that you fit the same niche as Mitch or Reed. But you don’t. And, damn it, my resolve is only so strong.”
Relief and hope struggled for dominance in his chest. “Well, thank God for that. I’ve been waiting for you to come to your senses for a month. I don’t understand why you thought we should fight this in the first place.”
“I told you—”
“Yes, you told me. You decided that breaking things off was the right thing. But the right thing for who, Norah?”
“You!”
“Why?”
“Because you deserve so much more than a relationship with an expiration date.”
“Why are you so certain there’s gonna be one?”
“Didn’t you listen to anything I said to you a month ago?”
“I listened to a whole lot of bullshit about how you were always going to leave. But you didn’t say whatever you were really thinking. Something flipped that switch for you. Was it Miranda? Did she warn you off? Say we were a bad idea?”
She shook her head. “She didn’t have to. I know we’re a bad idea.”
“Why? Make your case, Norah. Make me understand why you won’t give this a chance.”