Page 64 of Made to Be

“What are you hollering across the diner for?” Another woman’s voice called out from somewhere in the kitchens, equally as loud as Dolly’s had been. “You’ll interrupt our lovely customers’ breakfasts with your yammering.”

The woman that stepped out appeared to be the same age as Dolly, but her gray hair was long, pulled back into low braid at her neck. Her features were sharp but not unkind, her smile lines just as deep as Dolly’s. She was tall and slender and wore simple jeans with a white button up blouse. I expected another warm, heart-felt embrace for Cam, but he actually shuffled slightly behind me from where my hand was still clasped within the other woman’s.

“Camden James Hawkins.” She prowled toward us, and that was when I noticed the large wooden spoon in her hand. “You don’t show your face for a whole year and just waltz on in here without even coming back to say hello?”

She wielded the spoon high, preparing to strike. Threat detected, I stood my ground in front of Cam using me as a human shield against the irate old woman. But then Dolly stepped in to our rescue.

“Deli darling, it’s Camden!”

The other woman, Delia, halted and gave her wife an incredulous look. “Yes. I see that.”

“Well then, put down that mighty weapon of yours and hug him for goodness’ sake. Can’t you see he’s anxious to be home after so long?”

Delia, seeming to remember exactly why Camden moved out of town, softened. Her gaze grew sympathetic, shadowed with sadness.

“Aaaand,” Dolly dragged out the word, “he’s brought his lovely boyfriend here especially to meet us.”

That word made my stomach somersault again, fluttering with happy little butterflies. If... if Cam had already introduced me as his boyfriend, then it was okay to do the same, right?

“Uh, hi. I’m Victor Grimsley, Cam’s boyfriend. It’s very nice to meet both of you.”

Both of the women “awed” and, after shaking Delia’s hand as well, she proceeded to pull Cam into a long hug. With our introductions out of the way, we sat back down in our booth right as our food arrived. Cam took up the spot next to me as Dolly and Delia settled across us.

“So, Camden, tell us what you’ve been doing with yourself since we saw you last,” Delia said as we began eating.

And that was how I learned many new things about Cam. I absorbed it all like a dry sponge, starved for any bit of knowledge about him, even with what I had just learned.

After the tragic deaths of his family, Cam moved to a small town a short ways outside of Briarwood. He hadn’t gone back to bartending and instead found a job as a motorcycle mechanic at a shop.Like wow, hot. While living there, he occasionally took baking lessons at a local bakery and even donated time at the small library they had there. He said he particularly loved the reading classes they held every Sunday and helping teach the kids that could make it.

He had found a small apartment in town, but he’d been wondering if he should move back to Briarwood to try starting fresh. Even with the painful memories, it was still home to him.

When his memory got a little foggy, his eyes would grow distant, but the women didn’t seem to notice as they chatted on and on.

All the while, Cam held my hand beneath the table. The fingers laced around mine never loosened their grip. When we were finished eating, the two women went back to work, only allowing us to leave upon promises – okay, they sounded more like threats – that Cam and I would come back to visit often.

It was only then that it hit me, that coming here had likely been a bad idea. That anyone from Cam’s past seeing him could risk us being discovered. Risk Cam being taken away from me. But the two women clearly hadn’t heard of Cam’s death, seeing as neither had been all too shocked to see him here alive and well. Merely ecstatic to seehim. Plus, the tender joy on Cam’s face as they talked was entirely worth the risk.

He'd needed this.

As we stood on the sidewalk outside of the diner, Cam lifted his gaze toward the gray, cloudy sky.A brisk gust of wind blew through, sending Cam’s dark hair fluttering wildly over his head. God, he was so beautiful. Inside and out. Every part of him was something so precious and special that I couldn’t take my eyes off him.

His shoulders rose and fell in a deep breath as he took in the fall air. I did too, taking the cool scent and earthiness of fallen leaves deep into my lungs.

When he turned to me, those blue eyes of his had never been clearer. They took my breath away. Suddenly, I had the urge to say something to him. Anything. Everything. That I was so fucking happy he’d called me his boyfriend. That he’d allowed me to learn so much about him by meeting the women he considered his only remaining family. That I was so grateful to have found him, but that I was... so sorry about what had happened to him.

“Cam, I-” I started, but was then smothered by a pair of strong, big arms.

My face was smooshed into Cam’s chest as he crushed me to him. My arms immediately wrapped low around his waist to pull us even closer, until there was no space between us. I felt his cheek rub over my head then heard him inhale deeply as he breathed me in. I did the same, loving how he smelled like my soap, my fabric softener, like mine.

“Thank you,” he whispered into my ear.

His warm breath made me shiver, but his words filled me with warmth.

We stood there like that for long moments, not caring in the slightest of the passerby who gawked and openly stared at us. I only burrowed deeper into him and he hummed in approval, the sound vibrating through my chest.

“So,” I began, tone playful, “boyfriend, huh?”

I pulled back just enough to see the pink staining his cheeks. I knew it wasn’t from the cold.