Date with Destiny

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“It’s nothing.”

She turned her head to glance at him. “Did you get me here under false pretenses?”

“Maybe.”

Warmth pushed through her blood. “And now that you have me here, what are your intentions?”

He laughed. “Ah, Grace, you are a confusing and beautiful contradiction.”

The compliment part didn’t help her determination to not be aware of him. “Then maybe I should leave and put you out of your misery.”

“What fun would that be?”

“Who needs fun?” she shot back and managed a tight smile.

“All work and no play, Grace? How’s that worked out for you so far?”

“Well enough,” she replied.

“Liar,” he said softly. “And if I come a little closer you’ll be shaking in those three-hundred-dollar shoes of yours.”

She drew in a breath. “You really do overstate your charm. If I’m shaking, it’s with disbelief that you’re so egotistical.”

He chuckled and perched his behind on the desk. “You know, Grace, I like you this way…fired up and ready for anything.”

Grace raised one brow. “Well, get used to it.”

“Don’t get me wrong,” he said and crossed his arms. “I also like the woman you were last night.”

Heat crept up her neck. “Well, don’t get too used to that.”

He laughed and then just as quickly looked serious. “So, tell me about the accident?” He’d heard that part of her conversation with Jennifer? Damn. Deny everything.

“It’s nothing.”

He shook his head. “I don’t believe you. I know there’s something wrong with you, Grace. I also know you’re too proud, or too stubborn, to say what it is because you think it will give me some kind of ridiculous advantage. Tell me,” he insisted as his brown-eyed gaze scanned her face. “What accident were you talking about just now?”

She drew in a breath and the truth felt heavy across her shoulders. Grace closed her eyes for a moment. Images jumbled in her head. Lights flashing, brakes screeching, metal crunching…it was over in a flash of a second. And then there had been an eerie quiet, followed by the sound of her own terrified breath.

And suddenly she wanted to tell him everything.

“I was in a crash,” she explained quietly, feeling raw and exposed and more alone than she’d ever dare admit. “I was in a car crash.”

Cameron responded quickly. “What? When?”

“A couple of months ago.”

“Were you hurt?”

She shrugged. Her scars were emotional, not physical. “I dislocated my shoulder and had a few cuts and abrasions. Nothing serious.”

Cameron’s gaze was unwavering. “It wasn’t just a fender bender, though, was it?”

“No.”

“It was a serious crash?”

She shuddered. “Yes.”

“And you haven’t told your family about it, have you?”

“No.”

He pushed himself off the table. “Why not?”

Grace’s throat tightened. She hadn’t spoken of the accident with anyone other than her boss and her therapist. Her work colleagues had stayed off the topic, even when she’d arrived at the office after taking a week off. They knew she didn’t do deep and meaningful discussions. They knew she didn’t want to talk about Richard’s death. “There was no point.”

He shook his head. “No point? They’re your family. You were hurt, Grace, don’t you think they had a right to know?”

The heaviness in her throat increased. “I wasn’t hurt badly,” she said in a defensive tone. Not like Richard. “It wasn’t worth making people worry.”

He frowned. “People? I’m not talking about random strangers, Grace,” he said and grabbed her hand. “I’m talking about your family. Your parents. Your brother and sisters.”

She tried to pull away put he held her firm. “You don’t understand. I can’t be like that. I can’t let out every emotion I have. I don’t have what it takes to…to…”

“To what?” he encouraged so gently the heat in her throat turned into an all-out burn. “To get close to someone?” he asked.

Grace nodded.

He urged her toward him and she jerked as her body pressed against his. “And yet,” he said as he curled one arm around her waist. “You feel close now.”

Her emotions heaved. “Please don’t…don’t tease me.”

“I’m not teasing,” he said so gently her insides contracted. “I promise. But it might help to talk about it.”

Grace didn’t want his help. She wanted to run back to the B & B. But she didn’t move. And instead, she spoke a truth she hadn’t shared with anyone. “Okay…here’s the truth. After the crash I had a…meltdown,” she admitted. “My boss made me come home. It wasn’t my choice. I wanted to work through it in New York. I didn’t want to come back here. I didn’t want sympathy or pity. I didn’t want to feel anything.”

He looked into her eyes. “Does feeling scare you that much, Grace?”

It scared her. It terrified her. If she let herself really feel then she would be exposed…vulnerable. Weak. “Yes.”

He touched her face. “Then I think you’re exactly where you need to be.”

In his arms? It was the one place she could never be. She shook her head and pulled away. “Promise me you won’t say anything. I don’t want my parents to—”

“I promise,” he said gently and dropped his arms. “For now.”

Chapter Four

Later that afternoon Cameron lingered by the table in his mother’s kitchen while she stacked plastic containers into two separate carry bags.