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The way he always rubbed the inside of his wrist whenever I told him I had a date, that funny little thing that he said soothed him… oh my goddess… it’s true and I’ve been willfully blind.
“And the penny drops,” Ruthanne claps her hands. The air fills with the sound of “shh” all around us. “Oh, look—Book Talk with Byron is starting.” She gestures toward the romance section.
I frown. “I’m going on my break.”
“I heard today was a special episode. Come, let's watch together.” Ruthanne takes my hand and tugs me toward the crowd.
I'm too tired and my heart hurts too much to argue. I follow her and hope that Jane's episode is interesting, because I could really use a distraction. I spot Byron, the shelving robot, putting away some paperbacks. Jane pats him on the side and says something to him, but I'm so used to seeing our library assistant turned librarian talking to the robot that it no longer seems odd.
Nobody else seems to think it’s odd, either. Everybody gathers around, and then Jane turns to face us.
“Today we have a special guest with a very special announcement,” she says.
And then he steps out. Cam.
“Hello, everybody,” he says. His cheeks flush and he bunches his hands into fists, the way he's always done when speaking in public.
Cam hates being the center of attention, and to see him so uncomfortable makes a part of me—that part that’s been his best friend forever—want to give him an encouraging smile and a “you got this” thumbs up. I look away instead.
Cam clears his throat. “Everyone, I need to come clean. I've kept a secret from all of you for close to a decade, and worse yet, I kept that secret from the love of my life. Tabitha Edwards.”
At his words, every single person in the library turns to look at me. Even those who don’t know me—which, in our little town, just leaves the tourists—follow everyone else’s gaze. I feel my cheeks burn, and I suddenly wish I could disappear.
Cam clears his throat, and people turn back to him. He looks like he wishes he could disappear, too.
“Tabby, I am so sorry I didn't tell you my secret identity sooner.”
“Who are you? Superman?” a kid in the crowd yells.
Cam chuckles. “I wish."
“I bet he’s Batman,” a teenage girl announces. “He only wishes he was Superman.”
A few people laugh.
Ruthanne gives me a shove forward, and suddenly everyone moves so that there’s a clear path between Cam and me. He catches my eye and I see a man who’s been trying to tell me who he was for years. I see it. I finally see it.
“Tabby, I swear to you, I wanted to tell you. I don't want any more secrets between us, and I want to prove to you that you are not only the most important person in the world to me, but that I’d give up everything I have to convince you of that. Everyone, I have been telling you all a lie,” he pauses, takes a big breath and…
CAM
Tabs rushes toward me with her arms waving wildly. She’s using her outside voice, shouting, “No, no, no, no!”
The crowd is abuzz. Everyone's suddenly talking over each other, and at least a dozen phones are trained on us, recording the whole thing.
I hate the attention, but I'll do anything for Tabs.
She practically throws herself at me and reaches up to cup my face in her hands. She pulls me down, but instead of the kiss I crave, her warm breath grazes my ear. “Don’t do this, Cam. Let’s get out of here and talk. Please.”
In all the ways I envisioned this playing out, having Tabs stop me was not a possibility I’d ever considered. She hates secrets. I’d been sure she’d want me to tell the truth.
“Tabs, I—” I stare down at the woman I’ve loved since I was an awkward teen.
I’m still awkward as hell, and a historical romance author to boot. One who completely screwed up and lost the only woman he’s ever imagined building a future with.
Telling the truth is the only way I stand a chance of getting Tabs back in my life. “I have to, Tabs,” I whisper softly.
“You can’t. You just can’t. And you don’t have to.”
