Hot Commodity (Banks / Kincaid Family #1)(74)

"Where’d you go?" he heard himself ask, not really caring but curious about the answer. He realized it was the wrong thing to say as soon as the panic entered her face. Shit, he hadn’t meant to make her think this was her fault. He lifted his hand, but she jerked back.

"I-I...Oh, God, Cameron. I’m so sorry. I’ll never leave again. I’m sorry."

He closed his eyes as his own words to Sienna repeated themselves through his head, the first time he’d gone away for the weekend to go camping with friends. Forgive me, Sienna. I never meant to hurt you. I’ll never leave again.

Cameron shook his head. "No, Livy. I didn’t mean it that way. I…" Hell. He what? He was blowing this. "I’m just glad you’re here." He saw new hope staring at him through the big blue eyes of his cupcake as he held out his hand again.

Their fingers gripped and held. Cameron had to assume the tight bond meant something. He sent her a smile.

"I went a little overboard tonight, huh?"

She sucked in a shuddering breath and wiped a trail of tears off her cheek with her free hand. His heart clenched. He could only do one thing to stop this. Well, two maybe. He could finish the annulment and get as far away from her as possible. But that no longer seemed possible. The other option, however…

"God, I’m sorry, Livy." He clutched her fingers for dear life. "I’ll change. I’ll get better. I-I’ll go into rehab again. Whatever it takes. I didn’t mean to scare you. I love you too much to keep putting you through this."

"You love me?" she said, her blue eyes blinking.

He smiled. "I do. And I want to change. I want to get over this. So, if

I can do this, if I make it successfully through rehab, will you stay?"

"You love me?" she repeated, stark shock outlining her face.

He grinned. "Well, yeah."

"No one’s ever loved me before," she said, looking a little panicked by the thought as if a whole new world of overbearing responsibility had been plopped onto her shoulders.

"Don’t worry," he assured her. "I’ll take it easy on you for the first couple of months." Then he winked. "But after that, I’ll probably start laying it on a little thicker and, you know, getting really down and mushy with all the poetry and roses and serenading."

Olivia gurgled out a laugh at his corny attempt to make a joke. "Oh, Cameron," she said falling suddenly serious. "I love you too."

Bending, she wrapped her arms around his chest and laid her head on over his heart. Contentment roared through him. Cameron sifted his fingers through her long mass of bed-tangled hair. Closing his eyes, he leaned forward and kissed her forehead.

"I never wanted to leave," she confessed, her voice muffled against his thin hospital gown.

"Then why did you?"

She lifted her face and sent him a slightly annoyed look. "You started the annulment papers."

He frowned. "Only because you told me to."

"Yeah, and I only told you to, to get you to confess you loved me."

"Well, I do love you."

"Then I’ll come back," she returned in a snippety tone. "If you make it successfully through rehab," she added on an afterthought. "And under one condition."

His stomach tightened into knots. "What’s that?"

"You have to drop the annulment papers."

The grin that spread through him was instantaneous. He glanced toward the curtain where he could see his family’s silhouette lingering on the other side. "Bos?"

Boston’s face appeared around the side. He smiled approvingly even as he pulled his cell phone from his pocket. "I’m already on it."





Epilogue



One Year Later



Cameron tried not to fidget as he waited in the air-conditioned room. When he noticed his knee jiggling, he immediately stopped the action by slapping his hand over it. He didn’t want to be nervous over one silly conference.

During his first month of rehabilitation, he’d stayed at the center exclusively and been stuffed with a 'relaxing' atmosphere: pretty little walks along a sunset beach or meditation gardens, total-body massages, spas. He’d never been so relieved to get out there. But that had only been the beginning of his torture. After checking out of the clinic, there’d been counseling and support groups.

He’d been coming here every week for a year now. But if he failed the test today, he’d have to keep coming back. And there surely had to be some kind of test behind this whole 'meeting'. Last week, his doctor had said, "If things go well next time, it should be your last appointment with me."

Freaked out by wondering what 'things' were supposed to happen today, he was about to surge to his feet to pace when the door opened. Cam lurched to his feet anyway.

His doctor had an oriental face with a trace of the Bronx in his accent. "How’s it going, Banks?"

Awful. Crappy. Miserable. He so wanted out of this joint.

"Fine," Cam answered on a tense smile. "Just fine."

"Well, congrats, bud." Dr. Chin strode around his desk as he studied an opened file. Once he seated himself, he set it down and lifted his face. "This is our last scheduled session together. You feel ready to break free or what?"