I sighed. “It’s a low-grade sprain. I should stay off it for a few days, and I’ll be fine in a week.”
He shot me a skeptical look.
I rolled my eyes. “From one to three weeks. It depends.”
“That’s what I thought.” A slow nod. “Are you hungry?”
“I’m still stuffed from breakfast,” I answered honestly. He’d pulled out so much food—again—that I’d had as much as I could just so he wouldn’t have to throw anything away. And that included a new bag of mini croissants. I averted my eyes, summoning the will to say everything I’d thought about while he’d been away. “Listen, I appreciate you raiding your pantry, feeding me, and… helping me out, but I think I should go now.”
“Why?”
This man and his questions. “Because.”
“Because what?”
I glanced up. He was looking at me with a focused expression. “Because this is your home, Cameron. Because I don’t have my clothes or my things or…” Any dignity left after this weekend, frankly. “You’re an excellent host and even a better neighbor. If I were to leave you a Yelp review I’d call it high-quality grandmotherly care, but I can take care of myself and we can go back to normal now.”
“Grandmotherly.” He let out with a low chuckle. Ugh, those stupidly low chuckles he went throwing around. “Did not expect to be compared to a nan. What about me is grandmotherly?”
“Well, look at me.” I waved my arms in the air. “You fed me, put me in the coziest bathrobe, and found me all the pillows in the house.”
“Are you not comfortable?”
I shook my head. “I am. I don’t think I’ve ever been this comfortable in my life.”
The corners of his lips twitched, and I couldn’t believe it, but he had the audacity to look smug. He pointed in the vicinity of my lap. “Willow doesn’t like people. She hates everyone, and after dragging her here, that also included me.” He tilted his head. “I don’t think she’s that bothered anymore.”
I looked down at the cat, recalling that first time I’d seen her. She’d scratched Cameron’s arm. “Maybe she senses something’s off and feels bad for me.”
“Maybe she can’t stay away anymore.”
Anymore? Our gazes met. And his was so intense, different, that I flushed. Were we talking about Willow? “Maybe I… like that she likes me. It makes me feel special. Is that lame?”
“It’s not,” he said, Adam’s apple bobbing. “But if you keep being that sweet, she’ll stick to your side and never look back. And that…” Something crossed his face. “It would complicate things.”
My heart pounded in my chest. “I’m not stealing your cat,” I croaked, feeling my skin heat up under the bathrobe. “And I should really go.”
Cameron’s eyes were on me for one more instant and then, his focus shifted to the bags. He pulled out the contents. Sweaters, short- and long-sleeved shirts, wool-lined fleeces, pants, socks. Every item in shades of greens, burgundies, and grays. Every item just like the ones he owned, all very functional-looking and… small. Much smaller than what I expected his size to be.
“Cameron?” I asked, my voice coming out rocky, because he couldn’t have, could he? “What’s all of this?”
He grabbed a mustard beanie and inspected it up close. “These are clothes. You know, they’re meant to keep your body warm and protected. And yes, they are appropriate for the area and season even if they’re not up to Vogue’s standards.”
“You’ve lived in L.A., you should know that I’m the furthest thing from a fashionista or whatever you’re implying. You’ve dated—”
“Your ankle begs to differ.”
“My heels—”
“You don’t need them now.” He moved to a new bag and pulled out a pair of outdoor boots. “You’ll look just as beautifully imposing in these.” My lips bobbed silently. Beautifully imposing? “Once your ankle swelling comes down, of course. Until then,” he paused, his eyes traveling down my robe and his face doing a strange thing. “You stay right where you are. I need to run back to town for practice, so Josie will come check on you. She insisted after she heard what shape you’re in.” A pause. “She also mentioned something about helping you move in to Lazy Elk, so be prepared.”
My body sprung up. “I’m not moving in.”
Cameron shrugged, but there was a smirk underneath the feigned indifference.
“Absolutely not,” I croaked, pushing up. “I don’t need—”
“We’re going to hit pause on the independent routine, okay?” His voice lowered, all amusement gone. “You’re staying here until you can walk. And I’m taking care of you, hear me? You’re going to let me. And I hope to God you don’t make me fight you over this, Adalyn, because I promise you, I will. I’ll burn that goddamn shack down if I must.”
Adalyn. It felt so odd to hear him say my name. So… ordinary after knowing what being called Ada darling or love felt like.
God. I was a mess.
“Okay,” I said, and I must have been acting like a handful because Cameron looked shocked for a moment. I felt horrible. I settled down on the couch with a sigh. “Thank you for taking care of all these things.” Thanks for taking care of me. “But please, don’t burn down the cabin. I’d hate to have to bail you out after they charge you with arson.”
He gave me one of those lopsided smirks.
I averted my eyes. The effect of him actively taking care of me was so loud and clear in my head that I feared Cameron saw it written all over my face. Saw how good it made me feel. Saw how sweet I thought him buying clothes for me was. Even if they were ugly.
The truth was that I didn’t have much experience being in this position.
When I’d dated David, we’d spent most of our time busy with our own individual lives. He had never gone out of his way to do things for me, and I hadn’t, either. Thinking back to it, we’d started seeing each other because it had been suggested by our respective fathers. Maybe even expected. It made sense for the son and daughter of business partners to date. So we… had. It hadn’t been perfect or romantic, but I’d settled. I’d convinced myself I was content, that every relationship was different. I wasn’t the loving, affectionate type so, naturally, I shouldn’t expect the same from a man.
And now this one man who had been crystal clear about not liking me was doing all these things for me. He was rescuing me and feeding me breakfast and getting me clothes and telling me he was going to take care of me. I didn’t understand how we’d gotten here. And I didn’t know what to do with all these emotions rioting in my chest, making it feel tight.
“Darling?” Cameron’s voice brought me back to his living room, to the couch I had been carefully settled on by his arms, and all the plush pillows he’d placed around me. “What happened yesterday? What made you so frightened?”
Frightened. I had been scared, hadn’t I?