The Billion Dollar Fiancé [#8]

Chapter 4

He was in the backyard skipping rocks along the lake. There were no emotions written on his face, and although he seemed completely impassive, Camilla knew he was feeling a great amount of pain.

"Stephen," she called out to him.

He turned to the voice, but he didn't stop. "Go back inside, Cami."

She jogged up to meet him and looped her arms around his. He wouldn't be able to pull away from her in fear of causing her any physical pain. "I'm not letting you face this alone."

"You're going to have to," he told her. He instinctively clung on to her and then released a heavy sigh. "I can't be around you."

"Why not?"

"I need to think," he said. But he wasn't saying it to her. "Mom is dying. This has to be some kind of sick joke."

"Stephen, stop." Camilla pulled him to a halt and wrapped her arms around his middle. She wasn't surprised that he hesitated before pulling her closer. "You stopped being my best friend when we went our separate ways after high school, but I never stopped being yours."

"You used to call me every night."

She exhaled and released a soft moan from her lips. "And you never answered."

"I got busy. I got caught up with the fraternity and college life."

"I heard," she said. She was staring off into the lake where there was nothing but more water and beautiful scenery of trees. "You used to bring me here to escape my crazy dad and overprotective mom. Your family made me wish I was apart of yours."

"You are." He kissed the top of her head and squeezed his eyes shut, instantly regretting his decision to do so. She was going to marry his brother, and that kind of affection wasn't allowed. "You will be legally, but you have always been a member of this family."

"Stephen, I've missed you."

He inhaled sharply and relished in the sound of those words. "You mean that?"

She nodded her head. "Nothing was the same once we stopped talking. It tore me apart when you ignored all my calls, but some friends weren't meant to last forever."

He brought a hand up to the back of her head and gently stroked her dark hair. He wanted to unpin it and watch it flow effortlessly down her back. "You were on my mind everyday. You still are."

"Stephen," she warned.

"I know. You're marrying my brother."

She wanted to cry in that moment. She felt like a child who needed to throw a tantrum to be heard, but she kept herself composed and pulled back just far enough to meet his gray eyes. "Your family needs you right now. Your mom brought you all together to remind you why you love each other."

"I love them," he told her truthfully. "They're family. I wouldn't have called Connor to help me if I didn't trust them with my life, but he and I have been on different pages, and lately it's been fucking with my head. Then he brings you along, and I can't think straight. I just need to think straight for once, Cami."

"What happened to you?" she dared to ask. She reached up to wipe the single tear in his eye that he refused to let fall, but he stopped her and released her from his hold. "You were never the kind to pull away from anyone."

"Stephen," Connor called, jogging toward the pair. "Mom wants to see you."

"I have to go," he muttered to himself.