Page 75 of Her Faithful Protector

“Hey, you don’t have to fake a smile for me,” he admonished.

She squeezed his hand. “I’m not. I promise. This has been something I needed to talk to you about, and I’m so glad it’s out in the open, so I’m happier now, truly.”

Nic looked deeply into her blue eyes and saw that she really was smiling.

“You amaze me, Cami.”

Her smile got bigger. “In that case, let’s eat before the food gets cold.”

He nodded.

* * *

Her shoulder was really hurting, but there wasn’t a chance in hell she was going to take a pill before having this next talk with Nic. She could tell he was bracing for something big, and she wanted to be able to explain things correctly, which was going to be tough since she would basically be explaining a bunch of illogical emotions.

“Honey, are you planning to rip the stuffing out of that pillow?”

Camilla looked down and saw that she had actually picked at one of the threads on Nic’s sofa pillows and was now plucking at the stuffing. She thrust it away from her.

“I’m so sorry,” she exclaimed.

“Forget about it,” he said as he sat down next to her. He took her left hand in both of his. “We can talk about anything. Absolutely anything. You know that, right?”

She took a deep shuddering breath. “Yeah, yeah I do. But you’re going to be mad at this one.” For a second she gave him a smile. “Mad at me,” she clarified. “Not my mother.”

“Ah, you caught that, did you?”

“I might have caught on that my mother is not one of your favorite people, yeah.”

He rubbed her cold hand. “You’re stalling.”

“I know.” She blew out a deep breath, then looked him in the eye. “This is going to seem so warped, so don’t be mad at me, okay?”

“I promise not to be mad at you no matter what, okay honey?”

“Okay. Oh yeah, and don’t interrupt me. Can you do that?”

He leaned over and brushed a kiss against her temple. “You look like you’re going to shatter apart, Cami. Can I ask you a favor?”

She stared at him for a moment, then finally nodded.

“Can I hold you in my arms while you tell me?”

That sounded like heaven. “But how would that work, with my shoulder and everything?”

“Is that a yes?”

She nodded.

“Okay, leave the logistics to me, baby.”

He let go of her hand and stood up. Then he gently lifted her into his arms and went over to the big, winged-back chair near the fireplace and sat down, settling her softly onto his lap. He was careful to keep her left side close to his chest. She looked up at him in wonder.

“This feels really nice.”

“Yes it does, baby.”

She took a few minutes to snuggle closer until she was finally settled in a way that she liked. He felt so good, and she felt safe. Okay, she could do this. She looked at the front of his chest since she couldn’t meet his eyes.