“Look at me.”
He did. Slowly.
“I won’t let you down.”
Quick nod.
“You’ll see.”
He didn’t say a word, but when I leaned in, he took my face in his hands, and kissed me with more hopeful longing than I could have asked for.
He was all mine.
13
Jeremiah
I couldn’t sit on the fence waiting and worrying for something to go wrong. That was no way to live my life. I was either going to jump or let Cameron Gallagher go home and never see him again. The idea of that, of him leaving, was what made me decide to take the leap of faith. Imagining him walking away, of him never holding my hand again or looking at me with those beautiful eyes of his, or kissing me—it was too much. The man was a prize, kind and trustworthy, a rock, and I’d have to be an idiot to let him go.
I had no idea what I’d done to make Cameron ask me into his room, and beyond that, want to see me again and spend time with me and…Christ, now he wanted me to live with him part-time, but what I did know beyond a doubt was that being in the same room with him settled something down deep inside me. I was used to running, filling my life with so much movement I hardly had time to think. Between the restaurant and school and the counseling, I barely slept.
My life had changed overnight, and here was a brand-new reality. I had time to stop and look around now, would wake up in the middle of the night and find Cameron passed out beside me in bed, and that inexplicably felt like the new normal. I had no idea how it happened, but I was determined to find my footing.
In the morning, my new nurse, Francisco, took out my IV, and I got up to shower while Cameron was still passed out on the hospital cot that looked like a medieval torture device. I was careful as I stepped under the water, as there were still a few sharp twinges when I twisted wrong, but I felt so much better afterward, simply being clean.
I was discharged at ten thirty, which was impressive for a hospital, and Cameron promised me pancakes, since I’d declined the hospital breakfast. I was thankful my insurance coverage was good until the end of the month, but was still terrified to get the hospital bill. I had a hefty severance check, though, and as Cameron mentioned the night before, he had a line on a new job for me.
“Connie did say that, even though the Tower card came up upright, which, as you know, indicates a huge life change, but, like, in a chaotic way,” I enlightened him as we got into his Toyota RAV4, “she pulled the Nine of Cups upright next, which is great for my immediate future because it means positivity and success and stuff.”
He turned to stare at me from the driver’s seat.
“What?”
“Start with who Connie is, and then explain everything else you just said.”
I couldn’t help laughing, which hurt a bit, but I was happy to tell him all about Connie, Lance’s girlfriend, who I talked to when Lance called me from the road at two in the morning. Cameron was passed out, and I watched him sleep as we talked, the three of us together, as they had me on speaker. It had been good, and I told Lance how proud of him I was. Connie, of course, had pulled my Tarot cards for me while we were talking.
“I always liked you,” I confessed.
“I know,” she assured me.
They had promised to keep in touch. I hoped they would.
The day was a blur, but in a good way. Cameron scheduled us to look at three apartments, all in downtown Sacramento. When we got to the first one, with a doorman who handed us off to a concierge, I elbowed my new boyfriend in the ribs.
“Okay, so that one was a bit much,” he admitted when we were back in the SUV.
“Ya think?” I teased him. “What was your first clue? The private balcony, the valet service, or the view of the skyline?”
“Shut up,” he grumbled.
“I need coffee before I meet the next concierge.”
The death glare did not concern me in the least.
Apartment number two was more reasonable, also downtown, a few blocks from Golden 1 Center and within walking distance to a ton of bars and restaurants. It was a two-bedroom, one-and-a-half-bath, and newly remodeled, with one of those open floor plans. There were quartz countertops in the kitchen, which Cameron liked, and a balcony that overlooked what I was guessing could pass for a garden, if you liked only cactus. He said the crown molding was a nice touch and similar to what he had in his own home. The property manager also made sure to show us the pool and the assigned parking space in the garage.