“Seriously,” he said, coming to the couch. He sat beside me. “I thought you would be disgusted or angry if you knew.”

I shook my head.

Cam dropped his forehead to mine and he clasped my cheeks gently. His eyes searched mine. “It feels good getting that off my chest. I don’t want there to be secrets between us.”

I smiled as he leaned forward, kissing the corner of my lips, but I barely felt the touch. Cam settled back, pulling me against his chest. I snuggled closer, but coldness still seeped deep into my bones. He’d shared this major secret with me, even though he’d feared I would judge him somehow, and I had remained quiet, keeping my secrets close to my heart. That wasn’t fair, and I couldn’t shake this terrible premonition that it would somehow come back around.

How can you live with yourself?

Cam kissed the top of my head, and my breath caught

I wasn’t sure how I did.

######

Chapter 28

Chapter 28

I hadn’t really noticed it till then, but there had been a stress that Cam carried with him; the weight of keeping a secret he thought would destroy something he cared about. How I hadn’t recognized it before was beyond me.

But it was good now… mostly.

Part of me suspected that one of the reasons why he’d finally told me was because he didn’t believe what I said about the text. That maybe he hoped by opening up with me that I’d do the same.

I wished that was the case, but my secret would destroy what I cherished most.

Us.

But since it was Valentine’s Day, I refused to think about it. I was having the most perfect day and I wasn’t going to ruin it.

Cam had shown up at my door in the morning with a single red rose and with one after every single one of my classes. By the afternoon, I had half a dozen, which  turned into two dozen when he arrived at my apartment that evening. I hadn’t been sure of our plans, so I was relieved to see him in jeans and a sweater and nothing fancy.  It was late, after nine, since Valentine’s fell on a Friday, and I wasn’t sure if we were even going out.

Thanking his for the rose, I took them into the kitchen and added them to the vase. He remained by the door. “What are you doing?” I asked.

His grin was mischievous. “Stay right where you are and close your eyes.”

“I have to close my eyes?”

“Yep.”

I arched a brow as I tried to hide my burgeoning excitement. “So it’s a surprise?”

“Of course it is. So close your eyes.”

My lips twitched. “Your surprises are just as scary as your ideas.”

“My ideas and my surprises are brilliant.”