All You Need Is Love

by Marie Force

  “That’s amazing. Truly. I can’t imagine how difficult it must’ve been to start a business of your own in that city. I know how difficult it is to run a business I walked right into just by being born.”

  Warmed by his praise, Cameron reached for her beer. “Thanks.” She took a sip and tried to focus on anything other than the unwavering golden-eyed gaze he had directed on her. “We’ve had our ups and downs, especially during the recession, but we’ve battled through. For the most part.”

  “Do you need this job, Cameron?”

  His insight further unsettled her, but she was determined not to show him that. “I will neither confirm nor deny that. The last thing I want is for you to feel obligated to give me the business. Either you want the website for the store or you don’t. How it affects me should be of no concern to you whatsoever. Twenty-four hours ago, you didn’t even know I existed, so you shouldn’t be making six-figure decisions based on anything other than what’s best for your business.”

  A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.

  “Sorry,” she said. “I don’t mean to be so bossy.”

  “Twenty-four hours ago my life was a whole heck of a lot less interesting than it’s been since poor Fred crossed your path.”

  Cameron stared at him, trying to get her head around what he meant by that. “Are you making fun of me?”

  “Definitely not. You intrigue me, Cameron Murphy. Not just because of your ideas for our business, but for other reasons, too.”

  “What other reasons?”

  He propped his chin on his upturned hand and did that thing with his eyes, the thing that made her insides go all crazy. “I like the way you rolled with what happened last night, despite how upsetting it had to be for you. I like the way you showed up for the meeting this morning, battered and bruised, when a lot of people—okay, I mean women—would’ve postponed because they’d be worried about how they looked.”

  Cameron had been worried about how she looked, and she’d considered postponing, but she didn’t tell him that because she didn’t want to stop him when he was on a roll.

  “I like the nice things you say about my family and the way you responded to the store, when you’re certainly used to far more sophisticated retail outfits. I like the way you appreciate what makes Vermont special even though everything about it is foreign to you. And I think you’re really pretty.”

  She’d been floating along on a nice wave of compliments until that last one fizzled her brain cells. “You . . . You do? Even looking like this?”

  He got up slowly, yet purposefully, and came around to her side of the counter.

  Cameron’s breath got caught in her throat as he came closer, reaching out to tip up her chin with the gentle brush of his index finger. That single bit of contact started a riot inside her as she fought the overwhelming urge to lean in to get closer to him.

  “Even looking like that.” He looked down at her for a long time before he let his hand drop down to his side. One of the dogs was right there to take advantage of the opportunity for a scratch.

  The dog let out a low moan of pleasure that Cameron could relate to. Right about now, she’d love a scratch behind the ears from Will Abbott. Christ alive, she’d wanted him to kiss her and was disappointed that he hadn’t. The realization landed with a heavy thud in her belly, reminding her that this was about business—and it could be only about business.

  She’d known him for one full day, and she already knew he had the power to rock her world like no guy ever had before. Never in her life had she experienced such a physical response to a man, the kind of response that had her picturing all sorts of naughty scenarios that had no place in a business-only relationship.

  The line between personal and professional had already been crossed when she shared her challenges in school as well as her relationship issues with her dad. She shouldn’t have told him all that, especially when she was trying to convince him to hire her company. Lucy was right—she sucked big-time at the hard sell. Heck, she sucked at the soft sell, too.

  A pounding knock on the door drew her out of her musings.

  “Who is here at this hour?” Will muttered as he strolled past her with the dogs hot on his heels. He threw open the door, and a young man pushed past him into the living room. Tall and lanky, he had blond hair that was wet from the snow.

  “I’m so glad you’re home. I didn’t know where else to go.”

  “What’s wrong?”

  “I can’t say it. If I say it, it’s real.”

  “Max, you’re freaking me out. Whatever it is, just tell me, and we’ll figure it out.”

  Ahhh, the youngest Abbott, Cameron thought as she watched Max pace the small room, completely oblivious to the fact that his older brother had a guest. She wondered if she should make a sound so he’d know she was there, but she was hesitant to interrupt such an intense exchange. So she kept quiet and hoped Will would tell his brother she was there before this went too much further.

  “Chloe is pregnant.”

  Oh shit, Cameron thought as Will finally glanced at her.

  CHAPTER 6

  Every path has its puddles.

  —The gospel according to Elmer Stillman

  Max followed his brother’s gaze directly to Cameron. “Oh, sorry. I didn’t know you had company.” He combed his fingers through his hair almost frantically. “I’ll go. Sorry.”

  “No,” Cameron and Will said in the same instant.

  Will reached for his brother to stop him from heading toward the door, relieved him of his wet coat and propelled him toward the sofa. “Stay. Talk to me.”

  Max landed heavily and leaned forward, elbows on knees. Will sat next to him, resting a hand on his brother’s back.

  “Take a deep breath,” Will said, glancing at Cameron.

  Max took a couple of deep breaths. “I just found out tonight.”

  “She’s been to a doctor?”

  “Yeah. She’s eight weeks along.” He looked up at his brother, his face stained with tears. “What am I supposed to do, Will? I don’t know what to do.”

  Will put his arm around Max and held him when he broke down.

  Cameron pointed to the other sofa, silently asking Will if he wanted some help.

  His desperate nod would’ve made her laugh if the situation hadn’t been so serious.

  “This is Cameron,” Will said.

  Max raised his head and used the sleeve of his chamois shirt to wipe his face. “You’re the one who hit Fred, right?”

  “Yep. I guess that’s going to stick to me for a while.”

  “Forever,” Max said with a hint of a smile. He was much younger than Will but every bit as handsome in his own way.

  “Good to know.”

  “Sorry to barge in on you guys. I didn’t know where else to go.”

  That statement told Cameron a lot about how close the brothers were, despite what had to be at least a decade between them.

  “You didn’t barge in,” Cameron said, hoping to put Max at ease. “We were talking business, and it’ll certainly keep.”

  “That’s nice of you,” Max said. “Thanks.”

  Will’s smile conveyed a world of gratitude.

  Since Cameron found herself smack in the middle of an Abbott family drama, she figured it couldn’t hurt to offer a woman’s perspective. “I take it Chloe is your girlfriend.”

  Max nodded as new tears ran down his face. “I’m kind of a mess right now. I didn’t see this coming, that’s for sure.”

  “Have you been together a long time?”

  “About six months. Since before Thanksgiving.”

  “What does she say about it?” Will asked.

  “She can’t stop crying long enough to talk about anything. She keeps saying her parents are going to kill her, and all I can think about is what Mom and Dad are going to say. I don’t even graduate until May, and now this. They’re going to be so mad.”

  “You don’t know that,” Will said. />
  “Are you crazy? Of course they will be. You know how they are about safe sex and birth control and all that stuff.”

  “Yes, I do, which makes me wonder how this happened. And please answer that question with the fewest possible details.”

  Cameron shared a smile with him.

  “All I can think of is that the condom didn’t work, because I wore one, Will. Every time. I swear to God.”

  “They’re only nine-eight percent effective,” Cameron said.

  Max’s eyes bugged, which is when Cameron noticed they were a lighter shade of brown than Will’s. “No one told me that! No one ever said they don’t work! So two out of a hundred women get pregnant using condoms, and one of them is sleeping with me?”

  Cameron covered her face with her hand so she wouldn’t be tempted to laugh at that which was truly not funny. Max was beyond cute, however, and she could easily see why he’d have no shortage of women who wanted to spend time with him.

  “Take some more breaths,” Will advised. “What do you want to do?”

  “How the hell do I know?”

  “Do you love her?” Cameron asked.

  “I don’t know,” Max said miserably. “How do you even know that?”

  Cameron tried to think about that from the perspective of someone who wasn’t sure she’d ever actually experienced the feeling. “I suppose you know when she’s all you think about, when you can’t wait to spend more time with her, when you can’t seem to keep your hands to yourself when she’s around.”

  “That last part is pretty accurate, but the rest . . . I don’t know. I like her—a lot—but do I want to be with her forever? I don’t know. I just don’t know.”

  “You know what’s best about babies?” Cameron asked.

  “What’s that?”

  “It takes almost ten months for them to be born.”

  “I thought it was nine months.”

  “Ah,” Cameron said. “A common misconception. We did a website for a free clinic in the city, which is how I know it takes forty weeks, or closer to ten months. The way I see it, you have thirty-two weeks until that baby arrives. That’s a lot of time to figure out what you’re going to do.”

  “Cameron’s right, Max. You don’t have to decide anything tonight or even tomorrow. You’ve got time.”

  “I want to do the right thing, but I have no idea what that is.”

  “You’ll figure it out,” Will assured him. “You and Chloe. You’ll figure it out together.”

  Watching him with his brother, Cameron liked Will even more than she had before. The thought was rather unsettling on top of all the other thoughts she’d had about how much she liked him during this eventful day.

  “What’ll I do about Mom and Dad?”

  “You tell them ASAP—before you tell anyone else. It’d be far worse for them—and for you—if they hear it through the grapevine, rather than from you.”

  “Will you go with me?” Max asked his brother.

  Will groaned. “Do I have to?”

  “Please? They won’t kill me if you’re there to witness it.”

  “All right. If it’ll save your life.” Will let out a laugh. “Unreal.”

  “What is?”

  “That you, the youngest, are going to provide the first grandchild.”

  “You might want to work that angle,” Cameron advised. “Moms tend to be soft on grandkids.”

  “That’s a good idea,” Max said, brightening considerably. “Thanks, Cam. Is it okay if I call you Cam?”

  “Sure, it is. All my friends call me that.”

  “You were a big help. I appreciate it.”

  “I know it seems overwhelming right now—and it is—but it’ll be okay,” she said.

  “I’ve got to get past my mom before it’ll be okay. Oh God. And Gramps, too. Ugh.”

  “Don’t worry about him,” Will said. “He’ll be proud of you. He’ll smack you on the back and tell you ‘Well done, boyo.’ “

  “Yeah,” Max said with a small laugh. “That’s exactly what he’ll say.”

  “Just don’t use the words great-grandfather around him.”

  “Good point.”

  “I’m going to be an uncle,” Will said with a smile for Cameron. He seemed so pleased that she couldn’t help but smile with him.

  “This is going to be a great big Abbott family scandal,” Max said, glum again.

  “My best friend Lucy’s sister Emma got pregnant when we were all still in college,” Cameron said. “Emma was totally panicking about telling their dad. Their mom had died of cancer the year before, so the family was still pretty raw. You know what Lucy said to their dad when they told him about the baby and he got upset?”

  “What?”

  “She said, ‘I’d rather hear that Emma is pregnant than has cancer.’ Her point was that it can always be worse, you know?”

  “You’re so right about that. Did it work with their dad?”

  “Sure did. He’s the happiest grandpa you’ve ever met. Feel free to borrow that line if you need it with your folks.”

  Max smiled warmly at her as he stood. “I will. Thanks, you guys. I feel a lot better than I did when I got here. You really helped me.”

  Will got up to hug his brother. “That’s what big brothers—and their friends—are for. Let me know what time you want to talk to them tomorrow. I’ll free myself up to go with you.”

  “You’re the best.” Max turned to Cameron. “Can I hug you, too?”

  “Of course you can.” She got up and stepped into his outstretched arms. “It was nice to meet you, Max.”

  “You, too. Sorry to dump all my shit on your night.”

  “It was fine. Glad we could help.”

  “You’re not driving back to Burlington now, are you?” Will asked. “It’s really coming down out there.”

  “I’ll be fine. Don’t worry.”

  “That’s ridiculous. You want to see Mom and Dad in the morning. Just stay here. Crash in the loft. You shouldn’t be driving in the snow, especially when you’re upset.”

  Max glanced at Cameron and then back at Will. “Are you sure you don’t mind? I don’t want to interrupt whatever you guys have going on here.”

  As Cameron turned bright red at the implication, Will slugged his brother’s arm. “Way to be subtle, asshat. We’re talking business, and you’ve already interrupted us so you may as well stay put.”

  “Chloe and I like to talk business, too,” Max said, waggling his brows. “That’s what got us into the current predicament.”

  Will gave Max a shove toward a closed door off the living room. “Go take a shower in my room and get your ass to bed before I kick it.”

  With a smile and a wink for Cameron, he did what he was told.

  “Sheesh,” Will said. “Sorry about that. He’s an idiot.”

  “And you love him.”

  “Always have since the day he was born. I remember thinking we didn’t need any more kids in our family, and then Max came along to prove me wrong. He knows I have a soft spot for him, which is why he came here tonight.”

  “You were good with him.”

  “So were you.”

  Touched by his praise, she said, “I hope it was okay to butt into his business the way I did.”

  “It was more than okay. You were a big help to him—and to me.”

  She shrugged off the compliments, nervous as he moved toward her without seeming to blink. “It was nothing.”

  “It wasn’t nothing.”

  “Congratulations, Uncle Will,” she said, attempting to ease the tension between them with humor.

  “Sounds funny.”

  “You’ve got time to get used to it.”

  He finally stopped a few inches from her, right when she was about to take a step back. “Sit with me for a few more minutes?”

  “Um, okay.” She took a seat next to him on the sofa. The heat from the fire warmed her toes.

  He turned to face her, resting his head ag
ainst the back of the sofa. “I like you Cameron Murphy from New York City. I shouldn’t like you, but I do.”

  Unnerved and trying not to show it, Cameron swallowed hard. “Um, why shouldn’t you like me?”

  “I’ve found that people from dramatically different backgrounds don’t often gel.”

  “And you know this from personal experience?”

  “Extremely personal experience.”

  “Hmm, sounds like a story.”

  He shrugged. “Not one worth repeating.”

  “I’d still like to hear it.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I seem to like you, too.”

  “You do?”

  Cameron found that there were no words. All she could do was nod.

  He looked at her for a long time before he started speaking. “I met a girl named Lisa in college. She was from Boston and was up here visiting her friend who went to UVM. We started dating, commuting for a long time between here and Boston, getting together when we could. She transferred to UVM after our sophomore year and came up here to live near me. I took that as a positive sign, you know?”

  “I can see why you would.”

  “Anyway, I made the mistake of assuming she knew I was going to stay here after school and work for the family business. She assumed we’d go back to Boston when we graduated.”

  “You never talked about that?”

  “Not really. With hindsight, I think we were both afraid to say what we really wanted because we knew it wasn’t what the other one wanted.”

  “As twisted as that is, it makes a certain bit of sense. How did you find out your plans were out of sync?”

  “When I brought her out here to the place I wanted to build a house for us and she turned down my proposal after telling me she could never live in the woods—or Vermont—permanently. She thought I knew that.”

  “Oh,” Cameron said, wincing. “I’m sorry. That had to be rough.”

  “It wasn’t the best day I ever had, that’s for sure. I guess I had it in my head that if she loved me, she’d understand me a little better after so much time together or that I’d understand her better than I did. I don’t know . . . It was kind of a mess all the way around.”

  “I’m sorry you went through that.”