slapped Bethel’s knee.
Then they couldn’t say anything more, because Martin and Joseph climbed into the car. The women hoped the two men didn’t notice the sudden silence.
“Hold on, ladies. We’re going to take the back way home,” Martin said with a laugh.
The group of lifelong friends had been through thick and thin together, and they were just barely tapping the surface of their adventures.
After a couple of hours, the crowd had thinned slightly, but the music had been turned up, and the party seemed to just be getting started. Grace knew she should try to sneak away, catch a ride back into town with someone, and let Cam figure out later that she was gone. But for some reason she didn’t want to. What she wanted to do was enjoy the slight buzz drifting lazily through her body, sit by the glowing fire, and have Cam sitting right next to her. Her mind began to wander.
That most likely wasn’t the smartest thing she could be doing. But why should she be smart all the time? Wasn’t it okay to be naughty once in a while? Everyone thought Grace was the experienced one, the person who had the world in the palm of her hand.
She’d grown up with a wealthy family, in a beautiful home, and she’d traveled. Man, how she’d traveled. She’d gone to Europe, Australia, Japan, Russia, and so many other places, she couldn’t even name them all. And she’d done most of it alone because she’d been running, either from her parents or from the ache in her heart after men had betrayed her. But one thing was for sure—Grace was sick and tired of running away.
Yes, she’d grown up with money. But she’d also grown up without love. She had thought she’d found love with the Whitmans, and she knew she shared a kindred love with her best friend, Sage, but Grace was so much more careful now when it came to such a crippling emotion.
Because aside from Sage and Grandma Bethel, Sage’s grandmother, no one else she had ever loved and who had professed to love her in return had actually stuck around—not even Cam.
Maybe she had rejection issues, to use shrinkspeak, and maybe she had issues with being controlled. But the reality was that it didn’t matter what psychological problems she had or what she was afraid of. Because reality didn’t lie, and the reality was that people she loved eventually always disappeared. Her heart couldn’t handle any more bitterness or despair.
So it was much easier to put on a face, be the life of the party, and let the people around you think you were an unstoppable force. It was much easier not to get hurt when you wore a mask.
“Are you in a food coma?”
Grace was too relaxed at the moment to even tense up at the sound of Cam’s voice. He sat down next to her and lowered the back of his lawn chair, then turned on his side so he was facing her. Even though there were people milling all around, only the glow of the fire cast any light on the two of them, and the scene felt intensely intimate.
And with the crackling fire and the slow country song “Who I Am with You” playing, Grace felt her eyes drift a little as she looked at the boy who had turned into such a fine-looking man. Her resistance was zilch at the moment. She really should have tried to catch a ride home.
“I don’t think I’ll need to eat for at least a week,” she finally said when she realized how long she’d gone without answering him.
“That was nothing. You’ve been to one of my dad’s feasts,” he said with a laugh.
Grace grinned in response. “Yes, I have, and you’re right. I don’t understand how people can prepare that much food, let alone eat it all.”
“It’s ranching country. We get hungry,” he said with a wink.
“Camden Whitman, you sit behind a desk all day. If you’re not careful, you won’t be able to fit there with all the food you’ve been stuffing into that belly.”
“Hey! I work out,” he said as he rubbed his impressively ripped belly. “And I love cattle roundup
Then they couldn’t say anything more, because Martin and Joseph climbed into the car. The women hoped the two men didn’t notice the sudden silence.
“Hold on, ladies. We’re going to take the back way home,” Martin said with a laugh.
The group of lifelong friends had been through thick and thin together, and they were just barely tapping the surface of their adventures.
After a couple of hours, the crowd had thinned slightly, but the music had been turned up, and the party seemed to just be getting started. Grace knew she should try to sneak away, catch a ride back into town with someone, and let Cam figure out later that she was gone. But for some reason she didn’t want to. What she wanted to do was enjoy the slight buzz drifting lazily through her body, sit by the glowing fire, and have Cam sitting right next to her. Her mind began to wander.
That most likely wasn’t the smartest thing she could be doing. But why should she be smart all the time? Wasn’t it okay to be naughty once in a while? Everyone thought Grace was the experienced one, the person who had the world in the palm of her hand.
She’d grown up with a wealthy family, in a beautiful home, and she’d traveled. Man, how she’d traveled. She’d gone to Europe, Australia, Japan, Russia, and so many other places, she couldn’t even name them all. And she’d done most of it alone because she’d been running, either from her parents or from the ache in her heart after men had betrayed her. But one thing was for sure—Grace was sick and tired of running away.
Yes, she’d grown up with money. But she’d also grown up without love. She had thought she’d found love with the Whitmans, and she knew she shared a kindred love with her best friend, Sage, but Grace was so much more careful now when it came to such a crippling emotion.
Because aside from Sage and Grandma Bethel, Sage’s grandmother, no one else she had ever loved and who had professed to love her in return had actually stuck around—not even Cam.
Maybe she had rejection issues, to use shrinkspeak, and maybe she had issues with being controlled. But the reality was that it didn’t matter what psychological problems she had or what she was afraid of. Because reality didn’t lie, and the reality was that people she loved eventually always disappeared. Her heart couldn’t handle any more bitterness or despair.
So it was much easier to put on a face, be the life of the party, and let the people around you think you were an unstoppable force. It was much easier not to get hurt when you wore a mask.
“Are you in a food coma?”
Grace was too relaxed at the moment to even tense up at the sound of Cam’s voice. He sat down next to her and lowered the back of his lawn chair, then turned on his side so he was facing her. Even though there were people milling all around, only the glow of the fire cast any light on the two of them, and the scene felt intensely intimate.
And with the crackling fire and the slow country song “Who I Am with You” playing, Grace felt her eyes drift a little as she looked at the boy who had turned into such a fine-looking man. Her resistance was zilch at the moment. She really should have tried to catch a ride home.
“I don’t think I’ll need to eat for at least a week,” she finally said when she realized how long she’d gone without answering him.
“That was nothing. You’ve been to one of my dad’s feasts,” he said with a laugh.
Grace grinned in response. “Yes, I have, and you’re right. I don’t understand how people can prepare that much food, let alone eat it all.”
“It’s ranching country. We get hungry,” he said with a wink.
“Camden Whitman, you sit behind a desk all day. If you’re not careful, you won’t be able to fit there with all the food you’ve been stuffing into that belly.”
“Hey! I work out,” he said as he rubbed his impressively ripped belly. “And I love cattle roundup
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