From Best Friend to Bride. Jules Bennett

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СКАЧАТЬ her head, and her hair spilled over her shoulder; the strands tickled his arm on the console. “I deal with you, don’t I?”

      He couldn’t help but smile. “You only keep me around to set your mousetraps in the winter.”

      “True.” With a smile, she turned her hand over in his and squeezed. “Seriously. Go sleep.”

      Stroking his thumb along the backs of her smooth fingers, Cameron stared into those eyes that were too often full of worry—eyes that had captivated him on more occasions than he could count.

      “I’m a guy and a cop. I can’t help but want to take care of you.”

      Drawing in a shaky breath, she offered a sweet smile, one he’d witnessed for years and never grew tired of seeing. Megan’s genuine, contagious smile that came from within, that lit up a room...that’s what kept him going.

      “I love you for that,” she told him. “But really, you need to take care of yourself, and I’m going to make sure you do. Now go.”

      Stubborn woman. She wouldn’t pull out of this driveway until his butt was out of her car. Fine. He was just as stubborn, but he knew how to play the game. He knew his Megan better than anyone else did. She would always put herself out to make others comfortable, to keep those around her happy. But Cameron wasn’t about to let her fall down his priority list. She was, and always had been, at the top. Just like family.

      “All right,” he conceded. “You will call me if you need anything.”

      It wasn’t a question, but she nodded anyway as she leaned over to kiss his cheek. “Go on, Chief. You can’t protect the town if you’re dead on your feet.”

      “Yes, Mommy.”

      Cameron tugged on the handle and stepped from the SUV. Turning to rest his arm on the open door, he peered back inside. “You know, tough love is a good thing.”

      “Yeah.” Megan sighed, and her shoulders fell slightly. “It’s just easy to say and harder to do.”

      Cameron hated how torn she was between loyalty and forgiveness. He, too, was torn between loyalties right now. Megan had been his everything for so long. Yet he couldn’t protect her, couldn’t even warn her of the evils hovering so close to her life.

      Tapping the top of her car, he stepped back. “I’ll call you later.”

      As he made his way up to his porch, Cameron knew he wouldn’t be sleeping. Too much was on his mind, and it all involved work and Megan. She always seemed to be the center of his thoughts. Unfortunately, this scenario had nothing to do with his desires.

      Yet Megan’s odd declaration earlier alluding to something or someone she wanted still weighed heavily on his mind, too. They shared everything...at least all the personal stuff. What was she keeping from him?

      Granted, he’d been holding back his own feelings for so long, but he didn’t think she reciprocated those emotions. Or did she? That would put a whole new spin on things and add another layer of worry to his already stressful life. Damn it, why couldn’t he just have those friend feelings or that brotherly bond? When had he taken that turn into wanting more?

      Cameron waited until Megan headed down the narrow road toward her own house before he turned in the opposite direction and took off for a much-needed walk around their neighborhood. He needed to clear his head and figure out how best to approach this delicate situation with Evan.

      Cameron also needed to figure out how to get the image of Megan in that classy yet sexy-as-hell red dress out of his mind. No other woman could shoot for polished and timeless and come off as a siren. Megan’s beauty had always been special, but today she’d taken it to a whole new level. The more time passed, the deeper his feelings went. There was nothing he could do; he’d tried denying it, tried ignoring it. Unfortunately, Megan had embedded herself so deeply into his life that he had no clue how to function with all of these lies.

      Yeah, a walk was definitely what he needed to get his head on straight because losing himself in his thoughts where Megan was concerned was only throwing fuel on the proverbial fire. Too often when they were close together in a car, on her sofa watching a movie, he’d fought not to kiss her, not to touch her. The struggle he battled with himself was a daily occurrence, but he’d sacrifice anything, even his desires and his sanity, to keep her happy and safe.

      Lust, love or anything other than a simple friendship had no room in the well-secured bond they’d honed and perfected since childhood.

      So focusing on this case from hell that had just taken a turn for the worse was the only thing he had time to dwell on. Because in the end, no matter his feelings for Megan, she would hate him for standing by and watching her brother make mistake after mistake, for waiting to take down him and his criminal friends. But Cameron didn’t have a choice. His job had to come before his feelings for Megan.

      * * *

      Clothes were strewn around her room, hanging over the treadmill, draped across her bed, adorning the floor mirror in the corner. Pretty much every stationary object had taken a hit from the purging of her closet.

      Megan tugged on the black tank-style dress that used to be her favorite. When she gave a pull to cover her rear end, it pulled the scoop neck down. When she tried to pull the material up over her breasts, her butt nearly popped out.

      Damn that new Ben & Jerry’s flavor. Ice cream was her weakness, and now she’d discovered something else to feed her addiction...and her thighs.

      So here she was, going through her closet because she needed to de-clutter. Nobody needed this many clothes, and she’d gained a few pounds, so why keep all this stuff? If she ended up losing the extra weight, she deserved a shopping spree, anyway. And if she opted to take that new job in Memphis, she would want to start fresh. That meant getting rid of this too-tight, hoochie-mama-looking dress.

      Besides, reorganizing her overflowing closet was a great stress reliever and a good way to keep her mind off Cameron.

      With a laugh, she fingered through the pile of too-small clothes on her bed. Like Cameron was ever off her mind. She’d nearly slipped up and bared her soul to him earlier when he’d declared he wanted her to have all she’d ever desired. Could the man be so blind that he couldn’t see she desired him? Did he pay no attention to the fact she rarely dated and when she did it was only one date because nobody could ever compare with Cam?

      She knew why he didn’t go out with women. He was married to his job. But he’d never questioned her on why her social life was nonexistent.

      Or perhaps she was the blind one. Maybe she wasn’t ready to face the fact that he truly didn’t want anyone in his life, and even if he did, she would only be a friend to him.

      Though he had given her a visual sampling when he’d first seen her before the christening. That was a good sign...right? Or maybe he’d just had indigestion from all the garbage he ate the night before. Who knew?

      Groaning, she started to attempt to get out of the body-hugging dress when she heard her back door open and close. Jerking around, she tried to listen to the footsteps.

      Evan? Cameron? Either way she was clearly not dressed for company.

      “You wearing pants?”

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