The Billion Dollar Proposal [#9]

Chapter 2

Camilla was already gone by the time Connor left the house. He was on a mission to find her just to say good morning, given the fact that she left without saying a single word to him. He had loved her for years, but only three months had passed since he was able to tell her just how much. They couldn't possibly be falling apart already.

He spotted her new partner from a short distance and approached. She was standing in the kitchen pouring herself a cup of coffee, unfazed by the noise around her.

"Where is she?" he asked once he had reached her.

She jumped at the sound of his voice. "You scared the shit out of me, Devereux."

"Sorry," he murmured. "Where's your partner?"

"Your precious Gracie?" she laughed into her cup of coffee and absentmindedly reached for a packet of sugar. "She's getting cozy with your new partner."

His face fell. "Where are they then?"

"Break room in the east wing." She didn't offer him much else before turning to a table to sit alone.

He moved fast to reach Camilla. He was desperate to get to her just to catch a glimpse of the beautiful face that kept him functioning.

He found her sitting alone, flipping through a magazine with her head in her hand. She looked exhausted, and all he wanted to do with help her somehow. He walked the rest of the hallway to reach her but abruptly stopped when Jeremy approached her and handed a mug over.

He hardly knew Jeremy. Since he joined the force as Connor's new partner, Camilla had spent more time with him than Connor had.

She smiled at him, took a sip from the mug and completely turned her body to face him. It hurt Connor to see the smile on her lips grow as soon as Jeremy spoke. He hadn't even been able to make her smile like that in the past three months.

He should have turned away and continued on with his day, but he couldn't. It wasn't easy watching her give her attention away to another man. It wasn't long ago that he almost lost her to his brother. He'd be damned if another man came along and swooped her.

Camilla caught the view of powerful strides down the hallway and set her mug down on the coffee table. She excused herself from the conversation and met Connor at the door, opening her arms to him.

He bowed his head to kiss her instead, as if to claim her as his in front of his partner. "Good morning, pretty girl. You left without your kiss."

She laughed. "We're adults. If I forget to kiss you before I leave, it isn't a big deal. I'll most likely run into you here anyway and then see you at home."

He raised a brow at her. "Has that been the case since you and I came back?"

She looked away, ashamed. "You know I love you, Connor."

He hummed. He hadn't ever had a doubt in his mind about her love for him, but he did in that moment. "I'll see you at home, Camilla. That's if you get back before I'm asleep."

She opened her mouth to speak, but all words failed her as he turned to walk away from her. Her heart broke inside her chest the further he got from her. It was a completely different world they entered the second they arrived back in Washington.

Connor carried on with his day filling out paperwork from his last case and fought his mind every time Camilla came up. He couldn't breathe when he thought about her. His love for her was suffocating him. She was always on his mind; she was everything he needed, and he had become so reliant since their time together became so limited.

His phone rang on his desk, and he glanced at it only to realize that he had spent an extra hour at work. Isaac's name caught his attention, so he reached for it and answered. He couldn't imagine why he would be calling him. The two hardly kept in touch unless Connor was in town.

"I'm surprised to hear from you," he said through the receiver.

Isaac chuckled. "You know how Tristan overworks us at the office."

"Sounds like my little brother."

"Since you up and moved away from your apartment, I had no idea where to send my invitation."

Connor raised a brow although he couldn't be seen. "An invitation for what?"

"Athena and I are renewing our vows," he told his cousin through a single breath. "It would be nice if all of the Devereux members could be there."

Connor fell silent and squeezed his eyes shut.

As if Isaac had found his mistake, he said, "You know what I mean, Connor."

"Yeah," he said. He pinched the bridge of his nose and glared at the time on his computer. It was already past eleven.

"I hear you and Camilla are out in Washington together."

Connor swallowed the lump in his throat before speaking. "I'm on my way home to meet her."

"Then I'll see the two of you this week," Isaac said to him.

"This week?"

"Even if I couldn't send an invite through mail, I'm certain you got the memo on Facebook."

Connor laughed, but it was humorless. "Camilla and I will be there."

•••••••••••••••

All the lights were off when Connor got home. It was quiet, and the only sounds that could be heard were his footsteps as he climbed the stairs to the bedroom.

The door was wide open, but even that room was dark. Camilla was sitting on the edge of the bed, holding a hand to her chest as she watched Connor silently walk into the walk-in closet to change.

She didn't budge until he returned in nothing but his briefs. He crawled under the covers, and she quickly followed, tucking herself into his arms.

"I do love you," she said to him. She felt him pull her even closer. "I don't know what else you want me to do to prove that."

He couldn't speak on behalf of their conversation. There wasn't anything for him to say. He had already expressed what he wanted, and she wasn't willing to give it to him.

So instead he said, "Isaac and Athena are renewing their vows next weekend. We should go to help them prepare."

"I'm not going to find anyone to cover for me in that time."

"Sometimes you forget who you share a bed with, Gracie."

"I'm not letting my boss give me a free pass because I'm dating him," she said with the roll of her eyes. She looked up at him and allowed her eyes to adjust to his image in the dark. "But I'd go anywhere you want me to. Why'd you come home so late?"

"I lost track of time," he told her. He kissed the top of her head and inhaled deeply, mesmerized by her exhilarating scent. "You seemed awfully comfortable with Jeremy today."

She smirked, even though he couldn't see her too clearly in the dark. "Are you jealous, Devereux?"

"I wouldn't mention it if I weren't."

She frowned. She couldn't imagine why Connor Devereux of all people would be jealous of anything. "We're friends. There's no man that will ever take your place. You're all I need."

He released a breath of air, as if to express his relief. "Maybe take it down a notch."

She laughed. "Whatever you say, babe."