Page 11 of Finding His Silver Fox Daddy

Cameron grabbed a bamboo fork I’d set on a stack of napkins, dowsed his poor salad in copious amounts of ranch dressing, and tucked into his lunch. “Yeah,” he offered around a mouthful of dressing and barely any lettuce before swallowing. “I had an idea for a scene in my next book, and I couldn’t wait to get it out. It’s totally out of continuity, but I think I may know where it’ll fit. But I’m not gonna worry about that right now—it just felt good to get back to drafting.”

I nodded knowingly as I chewed on my green goddess salad that had a respectable and completely normal amount of salad dressing. He’d often shared his writing process with me, so I understood it, mostly. I knew he had a book coming out next month, though, and since I’d been through a book release with him many times over, I knew he could get really overwhelmed with the marketing. Starting a new work in progress—or just writing a random scene like he had today—helped relax him, get him into the creative headspace his mental health needed. “That sounds amazing. Toward the end, for the angsty part?”

He grinned, nodding. “Of course. You know I like to put my characters through hell from time to time.”

I was smiling as I shook my head at him. “You love torturing them, don’t you?”

He lifted his hand in the air, pinching his thumb and forefinger together with the tiniest amount of space between them while squinting. “Little bit?”

I laughed, reaching for my bottled water and taking a huge gulp. No one could accuse us of eating unhealthy today. “So how are things going? Besides the writing, I mean.”

Cameron blushed and stared at his salad way too pointedly.

“Okay, spill. What’s going on?”

His shoulders heaved with a big breath. “Well, I sort of . . . met someone.”

My eyes shot wide. “What?!”

He caught my gaze with a grin I could tell he was trying to hide but couldn’t. “Yeah. It’s an online thing yet somehow totally old school—email pen pals, essentially—but . . . yeah. I’m not even sure it’s a romantic thing.”

My brows furrowed, and I tilted my head to one side. “Um, okay?” I thought for a second. “Yeah, no, I don’t get it. Explain.”

He furrowed his brows, taking another swig of his juice. “So you know a fan emailed me several months back. They sounded really sweet, were going on and on about how my books changed their life, so I emailed them back to thank them like you suggested. But what you don’t know is we’ve been exchanging emails ever since.”

My heart squeezed. “Aww!” I clasped my hands to my chest, meal abandoned for now. “That is the cutest thing I’ve ever heard, Camethon.”

He snickered at the ridiculous moniker. “Yeah. I really like them. I don’t know much about them, like their name or even their gender, but I feel a connection, you know?”

I nodded. “I’m happy for you, man.”

“Thanks.” He picked up his fork to finish his lunch but didn’t tuck in before asking, “So what’s new with you?”

I couldn’t hide my own grin this time. “Well, I think I met someone, too. I mean, he’s come to a few of my live streams now. I don’t usually remember specific people, but this one seems to know exactly which of my buttons to push and when.”

Cameron smirked at me, a sexy expression on his attractive face. Not to say I had any interest—we’d only ever been friends—but he would have his pick of Daddies if he ever opened himself up to love again. After his horrific date last fall, though, I didn’t blame him for guarding his heart. It would’ve been hypocritical of me to object. “That sounds promising.”

“I know.” I sighed, frowning. “But I don’t know if he even lives anywhere near here. Do you think it would be creepy to reach out to him and ask?”

My best friend frowned back. “Hmm . . . maybe. What interactions have you had with him so far? Just the streams?”

I shook my head. “No, he’s messaged me a few times right after a show to compliment me.”

“Aww!” Cameron echoed my earlier interjection, and I snickered. “You definitely should continue the conversation, see what comes of it.”

“Yeah?”

He nodded. “Sure. What could it hurt? If he’s messaged you before, multiple times, he’s not going to report you for harassment or anything. So worst-case scenario? He’ll ghost you.”

I squinted at him as I considered it. Then I straightened in my chair, waving the idea away. “No. It’s weird. I’ll wait.”

Cameron took a breath, and I cringed internally. He did that when he was trying to figure out what he should say next, and it was probably something I didn’t want to hear. “Listen, Tris, you know I love you. I just want the best for you. You’re still young, but you don’t have to stay single forever, you know.”

I raised an eyebrow at him. “You’re one to talk.”

He studied me a little too closely before scoffing and turning toward his nearly empty lunch container. “We’re done talking about me. This is about you. Besides, there’s a good reason I swore off men.”

“I know. But still.”