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“You really are trouble,” Cameron breathed, and my heart jumped when she raised a hand to my face and caressed my cheek.
“Isn’t that why you keep me around?” I said, putting my hand over hers, just… feeling her on me, against me. Needing her closer.
She laughed. “You win, sweetheart. I take it back. You’re definitely a good influence. Very…” Her voice faded, her expression turning into something more serious, more intense, looking at me like she was seeing me for the first time. My breath came shorter as she moved, closer, the distance between us so small but too far by miles. “Very, very good influence.”
“Well?” I said, my voice strained with nerves. I felt her presence through every inch of my body. “Which is it?”
She laughed. “Truth be told? Probably both. And I’m okay with that.”
She cupped her hand over my cheek, and moving like a sigh of relaxation, she fell into me, her lips met mine, and it was enough to dismantle me—a searing sensation through my body like fireworks going off, like sparklers crackling and sizzling, and at the same time, something so easy, so soft, so right, like a favorite comfort meal, like a warm fire at night, like… like coming home.
And then it ended all too soon, as she pulled away quickly, a soft blush over her cheeks as she looked away.
“Getting ahead of myself,” she said, her voice small, laced with frustration. “I… apologize. Let’s carry on as if that didn’t just happen.”
I wasn’t going to spend a single moment of my life pretending that hadn’t happened. But for Cameron’s sake, maybe I could act like I would tonight.
Chapter 25
Whether it was lingerie or eveningwear, Cameron had a knack for making me into some otherworldly beautiful alternate version of myself. She took me out to a studio she liked in the area while Anya was doing the alterations, and she got my makeup done professionally. I’d have felt bad for how much this trip must have been costing her, but as I watched the makeup artist touch me up in the mirror, I somehow had a sneaking suspicion having me in a tailored dress and professional makeup was… maybe not exactly a sacrifice from Cameron’s point of view.
Once we were back at Anya’s shop, I barely got time to say a word before I was whisked into the back, put into a dress so Anya could make the final adjustments, tugging here and poking there. Even with just me and Anya in the back, my mind was so occupied thinking of Cameron that it caught me by surprise when Anya spoke, her voice low while she focused on a stitch.
“Eight years now,” she said, and I gave her a look.
“Are you talking to me?”
“Who else? You think I’m a senile lady who talks to herself in the back?” She shook her head. “Eight years I’ve known Cameron, back when she was a young upstart. Had to watch Kevin drain the life out of her.”
Something drew tighter in my chest at the mention of him. “So, not a fan of his.”
“He took a young woman with big dreams—” She tugged something too tight, pulling hard with a bitter tone in her voice, and she relaxed it with a sigh. “You know how rare it is to see a woman in today’s world who gets to dream that big? And she puts in the work to realize it, too. And this man comes in and cuts it all down. Wants to mold her into his happy image of a wife. Makes me sick.”
I swallowed, my heart beating faster now. “You and me both, Anya. A little too much in my case. I broke character when he was talking to me one time and accidentally—”
“Told him not to throw away anything he wants to keep.”
I lurched, a dizzy sensation in my head. “She… told you?”
She smiled, drily, just to herself, as she closed off a stitch and set down her tools. “She’s quite taken with you. Just promise me you won’t do the same as he did to her.”
I’d been hoping maybe I could get here, that maybe I could do this—that I could reach Cameron’s orbit—but now that I was here, it felt so surreal, like I’d never really had a chance and persevered anyway.
But I sure as hell wasn’t letting the opportunity go now.
“I promise,” I said. “Just, uh… just so happens those dreams are what I like most about her.”
“Hm.” She tried to sound unconvinced, but she couldn’t fight the smile at the corners of her lips. She turned me around, facing me towards the mirror, and it felt like I got the wind knocked out of me. “Here you are. This is the best I’m getting you in one evening. I’ll have you know, I don’t do requests like this for just anyone, so you’d better be grateful.”
I looked like I should have been on the red carpet. Was it strange to take my own breath away with how I looked? “It’s gorgeous,” I said quietly. “Thank you, Anya.”
She got a wicked smile. “Now, let’s go see how your girlfriend reacts.”
“She’s not my—”
“Will be, if you keep looking like that for her. Get to it.” She clapped me lightly on the back, guiding me towards the door. The dress was even comfortable to move in—the fabric was softer against my skin than I’d expected, and it didn’t strain or tug anywhere. I felt like I was gliding on a cloud as I pushed through the door, and out to where Cameron sat on a faded old stool by the register. The way her eyes flared looking at me, rising slowly—drinking me in—I couldn’t get enough of it, not in a lifetime.
“Anya’s not bad,” I said casually. “Best tailor I’ve been to in Miami.”
