The Billion Dollar Proposal [#9]

Chapter 6

The whispering in the kitchen drew Connor's attention in the morning. He had gotten a call from Isaac telling him to meet the guys for a game of golf. No one in the family played golf, so he couldn't understand why they'd try.

Olivia was facing away from him once he entered the kitchen, and Camilla instantly ended their conversation when she spotted Connor. She smiled at him, accepted the kiss he placed on her lips and offered him a fresh plate of breakfast.

"I could get used to mornings like these," he murmured, taking the stool beside her at the island table.

Olivia smiled at the couple and swung her purse over her shoulder. "I should get going. Athena is waiting for me down by the bakery."

"You aren't going?" Connor asked.

Camilla shook her head at him. "I wasn't feeling well, so I had to skip girl's day."

"Feel better, and call me if you need anything at all," she said to the woman. She waved to Connor then made her way to the front door where she abruptly left.

"What's the matter?"

Camilla took a sip of her milk and shrugged her shoulders. "I'm just exhausted, Connor."

He frowned at her response then cupped a hand over her forehead. Her skin was warmer than usual. "I'm staying here with you then."

"I'll be fine," she assured him, swatting his hand away. "Go have fun with the guys. I'm sure it's been awhile since you've all really spent any time together."

"You really think I'm going to leave my girlfriend alone at the house while she's sick?"

"Kaine will keep me company."

He laughed. "Dad sleeps all day, or he visits Mom's grave for hours at a time."

Her heart jumped. She could remember the days she did that after her father died. "You really don't mind spending the day with me?"

"When was the last time I was able to?" he asked, genuinely wondering. He didn't need a response. "I'm your boyfriend, Gracie. I should be taking care of you when you're sick. So let's get back into bed and rest up."

Camilla blinked hard at him, dumbfounded.

"Don't look at me like that," he whispered almost dejectedly. "It makes me feel like I don't do enough for you."

"It's not that at all." She leaned into him, and with a deep sighed, said, "We only have one way to fix us, and it's not something I'm willing to give you. I'm selfish for it, but you're here for me, taking care of me."

"What's that you're not willing to give me?"

She looked down, ashamed. "My old job. If I come back and work with you, we wouldn't have to spend so much time apart. We don't communicate the way I want to. We barely see each other, and we live under the same roof. This is the most time I've spent with you in the past three months."

He exhaled deeply. "You know I'd never ask you to do something you don't want to, at least not twice if you've disagreed with me the first time."

"You're too good to me, Devereux. I don't deserve it."

"I think you do, Gracie."

•••••••••••••••

Camilla was still fast asleep in the bedroom when Connor decided to get up and pour himself a glass of whiskey. He didn't want to leave her side, but she had seemed peaceful enough to him. He sat down on the couch in the living room and absentmindedly flipped through the channels on the television. It was the middle of the day, so there wasn't much to watch. He settled on an old movie and let it play as he sipped on his whiskey.

The front door opened then closed, and Stephen walked into the living room to find his brother alone. He sat on the other side of the couch and grabbed the bottle of whiskey on the coffee table to pour himself a glass.

"So Cami's feeling unwell?"

Connor nodded. "What happened that night I didn't come back?"

Stephen took a long sip from his glass and grimaced at the taste. "She stayed up worrying about you. I saw her cry for the first time in years. It must have hurt — whatever she was feeling."

Connor winced at the words and leaned back into the couch, squeezing his eyes shut, as if it would hide him from the world somehow. "Joseph and I have yet to come up with a plan to propose to her. Despite what's happening between the two of us, I still want to marry that girl. I can't picture myself with anyone but her."

"I used to feel the same way," his brother murmured into his glass before taking another sip. "You've got your own issues going on, Connor. You need her too much."

"I always have."

"What are you afraid of? You're not clinging on to her just because you love her that much."

He sighed. He didn't want to admit to his brother that there was a long list on things he was afraid of when it came to Camilla. One of his fears included losing her to someone else who could give her the entire world. He was barely holding it in his hands, but he was working hard to carry it on his back to please her.

"You know she'd never leave you," Stephen said, as if he had read his brother's mind. "If that's what you're scared of, you can stop. You left her here in a mess. She still wants you after that. I'm sure if you left for a week, she'd let you back in."

"I don't think I can ever leave her."

Stephen scoffed. "Then stop worrying. Stop waiting for the perfect moment to ask her to marry you. It's not that difficult."

"It is when she deserves the best." Connor picked at an imaginary piece of lint on the couch and scrubbed a hand down his face. He felt as if he had gone through this conversation so many times with so many different people. "Why do I constantly feel like I'm fucking up with her?"

"Camilla Grace is easy to love when she's your best friend. Tell her you love her, and shit goes downhill from there. But if you can't get back up, you don't deserve her."

Connor flinched. The look on his brother's face was almost impossible to read. "Stephen, do you still..."

"Love her?" he finished for him. He nodded his head. "I'm not going to come between the two of you, but if you disappear like you did the other night, I can't promise you I won't be her shoulder to cry on."

He didn't know what to say to Stephen. He figured there would be some tension when he and Camilla returned home, but he didn't think he would have to feel completely threatened by him. Before now, it was just a dangerous idea in his mind that he would take Camilla away from him.

But Connor truly believed Stephen wanted her back, and he confirmed it.