“Hell yeah, it does.” He smiled, but then got serious. “But I’ve seen you in action on the job too. The other day, you arrived on scene for a guy who’d had a heart attack at the little diner in town. Caro’s. I was across the street getting gas when you and Jenna arrived. You dropped to your knees and began working on him, and you were amazing. From a hundred feet away, I could see your determination, could tell you wouldn’t give up on him, on anyone.”

She didn’t know what to say to that, so she turned back to the sky, then pointed to a cloud. “That one looks like an elephant. I love elephants.”

“You really will make a great PA, Piper. You can do anything you want to. I know it.”

She sighed. “Maybe I should hit on you again.”

“So we’ll stop talking?” he asked, sounding amused.

She glanced over at him. “You make me sound like a better person than I am. Because what I didn’t say was that I wasn’t all that sorry to be getting away from Wildstone for a bit.”

“Past tense?”

“Well, obviously I can’t go now. Winnie’s going to need me.”

“Don’t sell yourself short. You’ll find a way.”

She let his words wash over her. She’d told him her deepest, darkest shame, that she wanted to run away, from the house, her siblings, everything. And he hadn’t judged her, not even a little bit. “Cam?”

“Yeah?”

She came up on her elbow and met his gaze. “It turns out that I am going to hit on you again. You should brace yourself because I’m going to be very convincing.”

“I brought you out here so you could get away.”

“Captain, my Captain,” she whispered. “Whatever you say.”

He sucked in a breath. “You’re fighting dirty again.”

“I get it, you don’t want to take advantage of me, blah blah. But . . . how do you feel about me taking advantage of you?”

His eyes went heavy lidded, his expression smoldering as he lay back, interlacing his fingers behind his head. “You know what? You’re my neighbor, and your life choices are yours to make, and I’ll support you no matter what . . .”

She was laughing as she climbed him like a jungle gym.

Chapter 21

“Sucks to be the one left behind.”

Later, much later, now in the small interior of the boat, Piper and Cam dozed, lulled by the heat they’d generated. The windows were steamed and night had fallen, blocking the outside world, creating an intimacy that she wasn’t sure she was ready for.

Cam was terrifyingly amazing, and it wasn’t just because he knew his way around a woman’s body. Even out of bed, he was a distraction, and she enjoyed spending time with him.

Which wasn’t good.