Righting a Wrong (A Ripple Effect Romance Novella) (15 page)

“It is.” Cambri met his gaze, ready to lay all her cards on the table. “I’ve regretted walking away from you since the day it happened. Even though I’ve had other relationships, you’ve always been at the back of my mind—the dream guy I let slip away.” She lifted a finger to his chin and ran it across his five o’clock scruff. “If you’re offering me another chance to see what could be, I’m taking it. I—”

Jace closed the distance between them and kissed her the way she’d wanted him to kiss her Saturday night. His lips moved over hers in a hungry, searching way, and Cambri responded with the same. They were suddenly back in that old Mustang, only this time Cambri had no reservations—no reason to pull back or run away. This time, she knew what she wanted.

Her fingers cupped the back of his neck, pulling him closer and closer still, until a pain registered in her back and shoulders, marring the moment.
Stupid hardwood stairs.
She shifted slightly, trying to make the pain subside, but it only intensified, and she finally had to push him back. “Sorry, but my back is killing me.”

“I can fix that.” Jace stood and pulled her into his arms. He kissed her again, only slower and more carefully, taking his time. He kissed her until Cambri’s senses were reeling and she couldn’t catch her breath. Only then did he finally back away, dropping his forehead against hers.

“Remind me to thank Lydia for tricking you.”

Cambri snuggled against him. “I know. Who would have thought she had it in her? She’s always so sweet and—” Cambri jerked her head up, nearly smacking Jace in the face. “Oh, no. Lydia! I invited her to Charlotte with me for the summer. I promised her an adventure and a fling.”

“A fling?” Jace raise an eyebrow. “You promised her a fling?”

“How can I do that if I’m not going to be there?” Her eyes pled with him to tell her what to do. “We’ve already made plans, and you should have seen the look of excitement on her face. I can’t disappoint her now.” Cambri frowned, feeling one of her happy little bubbles burst. “Maybe I should go back, at least until the end of the summer. My condo’s lease isn’t up until then anyway. I could finish up one last project at work and—”

Jace’s finger rested against her lips, shushing her. “Do you
want
to go back?”

“No.”

“Good, because I don’t want you to either, especially if you’re going to search out guys for summer flings.”

“Fling, not
flings
,” Cambri corrected.

Jace linked his fingers behind her back and nudged her closer. “Lydia’s a big girl. If your condo is available, I don’t see why she can’t go on her own. In fact, I think it would be really good for her.”

“I agree. But that’s the point. I don’t think she’ll go if I’m not there.”

“Oh, she will,” said Jace with that adorable half smile she loved. “We’ll make sure of it.”

“And how will we do that?”

“By using the same method she used tonight. Trickery. We’ll pack her bags, kidnap her, then drop her off at the airport with no ride home. It will be like a mother bird pushing her baby out of its nest.”

He had a point. Still, Cambri worried about sending sweet and inexperienced Lydia into the heart of Charlotte, with all its noise, traffic lights, and confusing street names. How would she handle it?

“I don’t know,” Cambri said slowly. “I need to make sure she’s okay with it first.”

“Just leave the talking to me.” Jace’s thumb traced over Cambri’s lower lip, sending goose bumps scurrying up her arms. “But now, I’m through talking about my sister.”

Cambri’s laugh was muffled when his lips covered hers, effectively removing all thoughts of Lydia and Charlotte and summer flings.

Bridger, Next Left

Cambri smiled at the faded green and lopsided sign. After five long days in a car, it was a welcome sight. The overcast sky threatened rain and gloom, but Cambri didn’t feel gloomy at all. The deep green of pine trees and Kentucky blue grass appeared more vibrant and lush against the gray-hued skies, and a feeling of rightness stirred in her chest. She was home. Really home.

How much had changed in only three short weeks.

Cambri glanced at Jace, asleep in the passenger seat, and smiled. His lips were parted slightly, and quiet snores sounded in the car. He’d driven most of the day, but by late afternoon, he’d finally given in and let Cambri finish the drive home.

He’d insisted on flying to Charlotte to help her pack and move her stuff back because he didn’t want her driving cross country alone. The apartment was furnished so there wasn’t much to pack, and with Lydia coming in June, Cambri made sure to leave a few pans, dishes, and utensils behind. Like Jace had promised, he’d been able to convince her to still go, not that it took too much convincing. She’d even teased, “It will be much easier to have a fling without Cambri there, getting in the way.”

They’d all laughed, and Cambri had helped Lydia buy her first airline ticket.

Since Jace insisted on having an adventure as well, they’d turned “the move” into a week-long road trip. They spent a day at Cape Hatteras beach, drove out of their way so Jace could take in the sights of history-rich Washington DC, then hit a few additional places on their trek home, like the Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky. Every day seemed to lessen the time they’d spent apart, and soon it felt like she’d never really left. Cambri wondered how she’d lived without him in her life for so long.

As much fun as the past week had been, Cambri was ready to sleep in her own bed, implement the plans she’d been working on for Jace’s house, and get started on her new landscape design business she planned to run out of the Sutton Hardware Store. According to Cal, who’d filled in for Jace while they were gone, a bunch of unfamiliar plants had arrived on a flatbed and were selling like hotcakes. Everyone in town was oohing and ahhing over “all them new and pretty plants.”

Cambri, who’d listened in on the conversation with her ear pressed to Jace’s, had shot him an I-told-you-so look. He’d tweaked her nose in response.

Now here they were, ready to leap into a new life together.

Cambri pulled to a stop in front of her father’s house and poked Jace in the ribs. “Wake up, sleepyhead,” she said in a sing-song voice.

He gave a short snort, making Cambri laugh, and she poked him again. “Don’t make me have to kiss you awake.”

His lips twitched slightly, letting Cambri know he was awake, but his eyes remained closed.

“Okay, you asked for it.” Cambri unbuckled her seatbelt and leaned toward him. “But I think it’s only fair to warn you that I just ate the last of the sour cream and onion chips.”

One dark brown eye popped open. “Rain check?”

“Not on your life.” She leaned the rest of the way and planted a full kiss on his lips. Then she blew into his face and laughed when he puckered.

She slugged him in the arm. “Stop it. I was only kidding about the chips. My breath doesn’t smell that bad, does it?”

“No.” He gave her a peck on the lips to prove his point. No matter how many times he did that, it never got old.

She cocked her head at him and smiled. “Did you know that you snore?”

He frowned. “Do not.”

“Do too. You sounded like an angry warthog making a huge fuss over—well, nothing.”

“Liar, liar, pants on fire.”

“Next time I’m going to record it on my phone, and then you’ll see.”

A slow smile spread across his face. “Will there be a next time?”

“Sure, we can do it right now.” Cambri nodded toward the house. “Go challenge Dad to a game of chess, and you’ll be back asleep in no time.”

“You’re right. That should do the trick.” Jace flopped his head against the back of the headrest and glanced at the house. “Remind me to have a pre-nup drawn up with a clause stating that I will never have to play chess with that man. Fishing, I can handle. Chess, not so much. It’s like…”

Jace continued to talk as though he’d said nothing out of the ordinary, but Cambri’s racing heart said otherwise. He’d just said pre-nup, right? Had she heard wrong? Jace finally stopped talking and looked at her, his eyebrow quirked up. “Something wrong?” he asked.

“You said pre-nup.”

Jace lifted an eyebrow, as though he had no idea why she was making a bid deal out of it. “So?”

“Pre-nup, Jace!” Cambri said. “That’s not something you toss out in the middle of a conversation about chess. Especially when you’re not engaged or planning—”

“Not engaged
yet
.”

Cambri gaped at him, feeling a little stunned. Most couples approached this subject with a little more subtlety and warning, didn’t they? What did that mean anyway? Was Jace popping the question, or just telling her he was
planning
to pop it?

“Cat got your tongue?” he teased.

She gaped at him, then shook her head to clear her thoughts. “When, exactly, are you thinking of getting engaged?” A little warning would be nice, unlike this conversation.

Jace leaned forward and gave her mouth another peck. “That’s for me to know and you to find out, but I really hope you’ll say yes when it happens.” He reached for the handle. “C’mon. Let’s go check on your dad and get some dinner. I’m starved.” Then he was out of the car, acting as though nothing out of the ordinary had just happened.

Cambri, on the other hand, sat frozen.

Jace was planning to propose. To her.

The house, the dark-haired, dark-eyed children, Jace—it could all be hers.

She stared out the window, feeling like she’d just stumbled upon a meadow filled with the most beautiful wildflowers imaginable. The overcast sky became rich with sunlight. Warmth and happiness rushed around her, dancing across her skin. She’d never felt so alive, so complete, so—

“Coming?” Jace had walked around and opened her door, and now held out his hand. Cambri looked up at his handsome face with his endearing, lopsided smile. She didn’t deserve him.

“Earth to Cambri,” Jace said, breaking through her thoughts. His fingers wiggled, inviting her to take them, which she did. He pulled her from the car and kept her hand securely in his as they walked toward the house, where her father waited on the front porch in his favorite rocker.

“About time you got out of that car. You’d think after being in it all day, you couldn’t wait to get out.”

Jace smiled at Cambri. “We were just… making plans.”

“What did you do, propose?” said her father.

“I wouldn’t dare without asking your permission first.”

Harvey shook his head at Jace as though he were a dimwit. “Boy, if you don’t already know what my answer will be, you’re about as smart as a bag of rocks.”

Jace chuckled. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

Harvey leaned back in the rocker and looked at Cambri. “Get things worked out with your former boss?”

“Not
quite
former, just yet,” she said. “He’s not happy with my decision—or with me, for that matter—but I know a lot about this project, so he still wants me involved. It will mean a bunch of conference calls and maybe a few visits out there in the fall, but I think I can manage.”

Her father harrumphed in response.

Cambri leaned against a pillar and looked over the yard that she’d spent so many hours recreating for her father. A few weeds had sprung up in her absence, but other than that, it was the same, filled with young and budding life. Or, at least almost the same.

She squinted at the far corner of the lawn, seeing small orange flowers that weren’t there before. She rose and walked to them. Someone had dug a too-deep hole and shoved in three marigold starts next to each other. It was the work of rough and unpracticed hands. Her father’s hands.

Marigolds had been her mother’s favorite flowers because they reminded her of sun on a beautiful summer’s day. Every year she’d planted three. One for Cambri, one for her father, and one for herself—just like her father had done here. Cambri swallowed the lump in her throat as tears stung her eyes.

“Guess I should have planted one more for Jace,” came Harvey’s voice from behind. Cambri spun around and threw her arms around her dad. He tensed at first, but then relaxed and hugged her back.

“Thank you for remembering,” she said.

He cleared his throat, but Cambri could hear the raw emotion. “I’ve never forgotten,” he said. “I tried to, but then you had to go and show me that I was wrong, and I hate being wrong.” He moved to the side, but kept an arm around his daughter as he looked over all the changes Cambri had made. “When we first moved in, there was grass everywhere, and your mother made me dig up all those flowerbeds. Then she planted and planted and planted. I kept getting after her to stop spending so much money on frou frou, but she just smiled and told me I’d be glad when it was all done. And she was right. She made this house a home. I didn’t realize how much until I’d gone and messed it all up.” His voice dropped to a whisper. “Thanks for bringing her back to me.”

Cambri swiped at the tears spilling down her cheeks. Happy tears—the kind you get when someone reaches into your heart and touches it with a gentle and loving hand. Although her father would always be rough around the edges, underneath all that roughness was someone worth loving and someone who loved her.