Slow Summer Burn: A Loveswept Contemporary Romance (28 page)

“You don’t have to carry me,” she said, her head dropping onto his shoulders.

“You’re exhausted,” he said. “You took care of me. Now let me take care of you.”

“Okay,” she said, her voice muffled as her head dipped down farther.

He placed her on the edge of her bed and took off her clothes. Then he gently laid her down under the covers. By the time he tucked her in, she was already asleep.

Stripping off his own clothes, he climbed in next to her, tucked his body around hers, and fell asleep to the sound of her breathing.

Val groaned and wrapped his arm tighter around Cameron’s sleeping form. She sighed and snuggled back into his chest, her silk-clad bottom rubbing in just the right place. Now
this
was what waking up ought to be like, sun streaming into the room while he nestled next to the woman he loved.

He was a simple guy with simple needs. He didn’t need to be with her 24/7. All he
needed to know was that she was the last thing he’d see when he went to bed at night and the first thing he’d see when he woke up in the morning.

Cameron stirred, and he kissed her neck, inhaling her delicate floral scent. She flipped over fast and her hair went with her, smacking him in the face. “How? What?”

“Sorry for startling you,” he said, backing off and rubbing his eyes.

“Oh, I’m sorry, Val,” she said. “I was so tired last night, I think I forgot you stayed over. Or maybe I thought it was a dream.” She wrapped her arms around his neck. “Val, I missed you so much,” she said with a sigh.

“I missed you, too,” he said, covering her mouth with his.

“Wait—wait—” she said. “This could compromise the investigation, couldn’t it?”

“No. You’ve already helped enough, Cam. More than you could possibly know. And you’re not going to testify, so your credibility won’t matter.” He’d gotten a late-night email from Ellen, telling him that the two aircraft were registered to a shell corporation in Belize, and he’d given the go-ahead to coordinate with the FBI to track down the owner of that corporation. They were on to something. He could feel it. They’d also gotten a warrant to attach the GPS device to the plane and the helicopter to track the congressman’s future trips.

“So the information I got was good?”

“Cam, the information you got was
great
. That’s the only saving grace in all of this.” He paused. “I didn’t want to tell you this last night, but I’m worried about your cover being blown.”

“But I just told you I wasn’t found out.”

“Yes, but there are two things I really don’t like about the situation. One, that the congressman followed you, and two, that Hermione Alcott also seemed to have a hunch as to what was going on.”

“But I thought Mrs. Alcott was just lost.”

Val shook his head. “Not likely. You’re aware that I used to work with her husband.” He looked at her meaningfully.

“Are you telling me that Mrs. Alcott is also a CI?”

“I have no idea. Her identity would be protected by her handlers, just like yours is protected by my team. But what I do know is that she’s a savvy woman, and wickedly sharp. I’m sure she knows something’s going on, and I’m going to find out what.” He stroked her hair.

“This whole thing has been so much harder than I thought it would be,” Cameron said,
leaning back on her pillow, his fingers still in her hair. “First of all, it’s taken forever, but that’s probably just because it’s been less time with you.” She gave him a small smile. “Plus, I feel so guilty letting Junior think that everything’s okay between us, but I didn’t know any other way to do this. I’ve been miserable these past couple of weeks, Val. I’m not a quitter, but I don’t think I can be your CI anymore.”

“What?” he said, barely believing he’d just heard those words come out of her mouth. He was going to push her to end her role later, but if she came to her own conclusion, it would make his life a whole lot easier.

“I can’t stand that just being with you right now breaks the rules,” she said, running a hand through her hair. “That’s just wrong on so many levels. I want to help with the investigation, I really do, but I just can’t give you up.” She flipped onto her side. “Seriously, where else am I going to find a man who understands me, who supports me in everything I do, and who can actually handle my parents? You’re too special to me, and I just—I can’t—” She started blinking fast, and he realized she was about to cry. Before she lost it completely, Val gathered her in his arms and tucked her head in the crook of his shoulder.

“God, Cam, I can’t believe you just said that. I promised myself after I went off on you at my office that I wouldn’t interfere with your decision to get involved. That I would stand by you and give my support. But I hate hiding what we have. It’s been killing me not to be with you. Killing me.”

“Me, too.”

She reached up and kissed him and his brain went fuzzy. He wasn’t a fuzzy-brained kind of man, but he embraced it.

Yes
. It was the most natural thing in the world, and after all of this was over, after her damn CI contract was nullified, and when they could finally be alone together, he’d make this relationship permanent. She said she needed him; well, he needed her, too. Needed her strength, her optimism, even her attitude. He’d finally found the woman who was his equal and now that he had, he didn’t want to let her go.

He wanted to keep her. Grow old with her.
Marry her
.

He didn’t have an engagement ring for her yet, just his mother’s wedding ring waiting on his boat—the one that his brothers had saved for him. It was only a plain band, but he knew she’d accept it with an open heart.

As if on cue, she said, “I love you, Valentine Grayson.”

And when she kissed him, his world turned to gold.

Cameron emerged from her bedroom an hour later, showered and dressed, Val right behind her. It had been one of the more pleasant mornings in recent memory, and she just couldn’t wipe the smile off her face. She was still smiling when she found Cici in the kitchen. And she wasn’t alone.

“Hi, Cici. What time did you get back from Mom and Dad’s this morning?”

“Around nine. Mom wanted me to stay, of course, but I told her I had something important to take care of.”

Cameron turned her head and smiled at the
important thing
Cici had to take care of—a tall, good-looking young man wearing a T-shirt and twill pants, both of which were splattered with paint. “Hi, I’m Cameron.”

“Jace,” he said, holding out his hand.

“This is the guy from my art class I told you about,” Cici said. He looked just like the picture Cici had drawn of him—same tilt to his chin, same confident coolness in his gaze. Her sister really
was
talented.

“It’s nice to meet you, Ms. Stahl,” he said politely, shaking her hand with a firm grip. “Cici’s told me so much about you.”

“Please, call me Cameron.”

“I will, thank you. And thanks also for letting Cici stay with you. She’s able to get to the studio a lot more now that she’s closer. She’s got so much raw talent. I can’t wait to see what she does when she has more time to work.”

Cici’s eyes widened slightly and Cameron’s smile got even bigger. Her little sister needed someone to praise her like this. To push her past her comfort zone so that she could blossom. If Jace was doing that, she liked him even more than she did already. “I love having Cici here, and I hope she wants to stay for a while. You’re welcome to come over whenever you’d like.”

“Thank you,” Jace said gravely. “I appreciate your hospitality.” This boy was getting more and more interesting. His hair was a bit too long, and he was a bit messy, but the way he spoke screamed
educated
. She was sizing him up when she felt Val’s presence at her side. “I’m
being rude. Please let me introduce you to Val Grayson, my—”

“Man,” Val said, stepping up and shaking Jace’s hand.

“Yes, my … man,” Cameron said slowly, trying out the phrase.

Cici actually laughed. “I’ve never heard you say that before. It sounds so weird coming out of your mouth!”

Val continued unperturbed. “Cici,” he said with a nod.

“Hi,” Cici said, before giving Cameron a questioning look. “I still don’t really understand what’s going on, but if him being here means you’re not with Junior anymore, I’m all for it.” She glanced at Jace. “Let’s head out. I want to get to the Garden while the light’s just right.”

He nodded. “Again, nice to meet you.”

“It was a pleasure. And Jace, I meant what I said before.”

Jace smiled, then he and Cici left.

When they were gone, Val turned to her. “It’s nine now. Are you heading to Star Harbor?”

“Yes. I’ve been sorely neglecting the Star Harbor boutique, and Anna tells me we need to do some serious reordering of stock.” And now that she wasn’t on call for the operation anymore, she didn’t want to be in Boston another minute. Star Harbor, with its seaside charm and laid-back attitude, was calling, and after the week she had, she was in desperate need of heeding that call.

“Gotcha. Then I’m heading down there too. Can I see you tonight?”

“Absolutely.” She moved toward him and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Your place or mine?”

“Damn, it is so good to hear you say that.”

“Get used to it, since I anticipate saying it a lot more after I phone Colin and get that contract cancelled.”

“I’ll take care of that for you,” he said. “All you’ll have to do is pop by the office to sign it.”

“Maybe you could scan and email it to me?”

“They prefer it to be done in person.”

“Then we’ll have to wait until next week because I’m spending the entire week in Star Harbor.” His face fell. “But you can’t,” she guessed.

“Right. I can stay until early Monday morning at the latest, because I have to be back in Boston. Thanks to the intelligence you provided, I have a lot of work to do.”

She sighed. “At least I’ll have tonight with you.”

“We’ll make it count.”

He kissed her and she embraced it, loving the way his body felt under her fingers. If Val Grayson was saying he’d make it count, then it would count.

Chapter 28

“Hey, ladies,” Lexie said, “mind if I take a seat?

“Please,” Cameron responded, sliding over in the booth where she and Julie were seated at the LMK. While she and Lexie were getting situated, Julie took a forkful of the double-layer lemon cake they’d been sharing. It was so rich that Cameron hadn’t taken more than a few bites, but it was delicious, and she knew she’d want more later after she drank her tea. It felt so good to be back in Star Harbor, especially after such a long couple of weeks. More and more, she considered this little town to be home.

“Is Cole on duty tonight?” Lexie asked Julie.

“Yes,” Julie said. “And Val’s away, so we decided to do a girls’ night out.” She smiled at Cameron. “I love being with Cole, but I’ve really missed these.”

Cameron smiled back. “Me too. Next time let’s invite Avery and make it official. Do you think she’ll mind giving up a night with Theo to spend time with us?”

“I think she’d love it,” Lexie said. “It’s good to have some time away from the men. Lord knows how intense those Grayson boys can be.”

They all laughed. “Intense” was right. Every time Cameron and Val had spoken over the past few days he’d sounded stressed out. She’d actually debated going back to Boston, but had decided not to after one phone call during which Val was more than distracted. He clearly needed this time to focus on his work, and the last thing she wanted to do was distract him.

Lexie and Julie started talking about the town’s big Labor Day weekend celebration, so Cameron let her mind drift for a moment. She and Val had overcome quite a few obstacles already—his issues, her issues, her parents’ issues, Junior’s issues, and oh, yes, a federal investigation! It had to be smooth sailing from here on out, right?

Another thing that weighed on her mind was Junior himself. He’d been texting and leaving her voicemail messages, wanting to know how she was and asking to get together. She’d finally texted him back that she was in Star Harbor and wasn’t returning to Boston for a while. Though it was necessary, Cameron really wasn’t looking forward to telling him they were off again—permanently.

Just then, the bell on the door jingled as a handsome man wearing navy-blue pants and a stylish blazer walked in, his salt-and-pepper hair movie-star perfect. It was her uncle, looking as dapper as ever.

“Uncle Nigel!” she called out from her seat, waving at him. Lexie slid out of the booth to allow Cameron to greet him.

Nigel came right toward her, followed by Branford Weld. “Cameron,” her uncle said, embracing her and giving her a kiss on the cheek. “I was about to call you to let you know I just got into town. I’m here with Bran, and we were just about to get something to eat.”

“Professor Weld,” she said, shaking his hand. “Wonderful to see you.”

“Same here,” he said. “Please call me Bran.”

Cameron nodded her head in acknowledgment. “Bran.”

“I want to thank you for letting Nigel know about my little hobby studying the
Siren Lorelei
. We’ve found a lot to talk about.”

“I knew it was more than a little hobby,” she said, smiling at the older man. She turned to Nigel. “But where are you staying? Please, won’t you join me at my cottage? There’s a second bedroom and plenty of room.”

“I wouldn’t dream of imposing,” Nigel said. “I’ve taken a room at the Star Harbor Inn. I’ll be staying through the weekend.”

“Such a long time!”

“Yes. Bran and I finally got our schedules coordinated and we want to make the most of the good weather.”

“Just in time, too,” Bran said. “Boston College starts up again next week, and I have to be on campus by Monday.”

“I’m going to spend a few days at the Star Harbor Historical Society,” Nigel said. “And Bran has promised to do a full tour of the wreckage site, plus an additional excursion of the
Lorelei
’s path through Vineyard Sound from the Atlantic. I’m so eager to get started!”

“We’ll do the wreckage tour first. The weather should be fine until Friday.”