Hemlock Clan: What I Am

~ XXVI ~

Cameron

Blake squeezed my hand and I couldn't help the smile that tugged at my lips, relishing in the tingling feeling of his skin against mine.

I was happy. Truly happy. For the first time in a long time.

Right here, right now.

Genuinely happy.

At first, I had been nervous about Blake bringing me to his house, but now I felt relaxed. Calm.

Blake's sister had led us to a sitting room - one of many in this mansion, apparently - to where his parents were. As soon as we walked into the room, his mother had wrapped me in a hug, squeezing me tightly. She was a strikingly beautiful woman, who was also as strong as an ox. I swear she managed to rearrange my ribs with the way she squashed me in her embrace.

Blake's father looked more like his older brother than his parent. The two of them were so alike in looks, it was almost scary. Rather than pull me into a bone crushing hug, Thornton's hug had been more gentle, but just as enthusiastic. Then he'd insisted on fixing me a drink out of the crystal decanter that had been sitting on the coffee table. I was pretty sure it was whiskey, but I'd been too worried about meeting them to even take a sip from the glass he'd offered.

They'd invited me to sit on one of the comfortable sofas next to the open fireplace and they'd asked me questions about my work, my daily life, what I liked and didn't like, and chatted like I was part of the family. They laughed, smiled and included me.

And it left me feeling ... happy, I guess. There was an unfamiliar emotion in my chest that warmed me up from the inside. I was pretty sure I had never felt this way before. The feeling of being included, part of a group, a family ... it wasn't something I was used to.

It was the first time I'd ever met these people, yet I felt comfortable already around them. Part of me was trying to understand why I was feeling this way so quickly, while the rest of me was silently relieved to finally be included.

Blake had sat to my left the whole time, one arm draped over the back of the sofa behind me, his thigh pressed firmly against mine. He had kept looking at me, making sure I was comfortable whenever someone asked me a question, nudging me and smiling when his sister cracked a joke. He had seemed kind of proud to be showing me to his parents.

And it didn't feel strange at all.

It was almost as if I fit right in with their family. They had treated me like I had always been part of their lives. It was both amazing and a little frightening.

Blake tugged on my hand, snapping me back to the present and I lifted my head to find him smiling at me.

"You okay? You kinda spaced out a bit there." He nudged my shoulder playfully, so I nudged him back, comfortable and confident enough around him to be able to do it.

"Your family is nice," I muttered out loud, then ducked my head as his smile grew impossibly wider at my words. Shit. I hadn't meant to say that out loud. I sounded ridiculous. Desperate. Stupid.

He obviously didn't agree with my thoughts as he leaned in closer, his lips near my ear. "So are you," he breathed, sending a shiver along my spine and a shock through my body.

I had kind of convinced myself that bringing me to meet his family was a sign that Blake liked me, really liked me, although I still wasn't sure why. I was nothing like him and totally out of his league. He could have absolutely anyone he wanted, but he'd chosen me.

Why?

Why me?

What could I possibly offer this guy?