Changing the Rules

by Erin Kern

  Audrey took a step back, and Cameron realized his error. He had called her out on one of her deepest insecurities. Not just called her out on it, but thrown it back in her face.

  Yeah, good way to get the two of you on the same side.

  He reached for her, but she pulled away. “Audrey, I didn’t mean—”

  “No, I get it. I try to control her too much.”

  The light in her eyes dimmed, and Cameron wanted to kick his own ass for putting a damper on another conversation.

  “That’s not what I meant,” he tried to clarify.

  She smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “I think you did,” she whispered.

  Okay, he did. But he’d only been using it as a defense mechanism for the way she made him feel. An asshole move, sure. But he didn’t know what else to do around her.

  “Audrey—”

  “Okay, I admit I have control issues. But you…” She took a step forward and jabbed him in the chest with her finger. “You have commitment issues. And you know what? I think you’re just as controlling as I am.”

  Say what? “How do you figure that?”

  Audrey spread her arms out to encompass their surroundings. “Look around you, Cameron. Who do you see?”

  His brow twitched. “Is that a trick question?”

  “I don’t see anyone,” she answered for him.

  He shook his head. “Not true. You and Piper are here.”

  She crowded him again, getting all up in his face. “I’m not talking about me and her. We barged into your life with no warning. I’m talking about other people. A wife, kids, girlfriend. Friends. Family who comes to visit.”

  Cameron shifted, knowing where she was going and wanting to tell her to shut the hell up. But he didn’t, because he knew she was right.

  “There’s no one.” She drilled her point home by poking his chest again. “Because you keep people away. That makes you just as controlling as me.”

  Cameron wrapped his palm around her hand and tugged it away. “I keep people away because it’s safer that way. Because then they can’t come in and fuck everything up.”

  The second the words were out of his mouth, Cameron wanted to yank them back. Of course he didn’t mean them, at least not the way Audrey would take them. But when she exhaled a slow breath and moved away from him, Cameron knew she was shutting him out.

  “Point made,” she uttered. Then she strolled out of the kitchen, leaving Cam to wonder how he’d gone from apologizing, again, to making an ass of himself. Again.

  Thirteen

  Pamela Shaw was a five-foot-five whirlwind of energy with a crop of short chestnut hair and a fierceness that seemed to have Cameron shaking in his boots.

  Okay, maybe shaking was too strong a word. But, Audrey noticed, the normally gruff, often brusque, six-foot-three scowling man was on much more acceptable behavior. In other words, he wasn’t taking swipes at Audrey, nor was he cornering her in the kitchen or, say, the bedroom, and muttering husky words in her ear. In fact, he hadn’t said much of anything to her since his mother had swept through the door an hour ago with three sacks full of pork chops, potatoes, and asparagus. Audrey liked to think it was because Pamela brought out the best in her son, and not because of the awkward encounter in his kitchen yesterday. One that left Audrey wanting to jump him while simultaneously punching him in the nose.

  Luckily Piper had been blissfully unaware of the tension skirting between Audrey and Cameron. She’d dragged J.J. over and told Pamela all about how she’d rescued the cat. Pamela had patted Piper on the head and crooned at how nice she was for taking the cat in, while secretly sending Cameron a smile as though congratulating her son for his open-mindedness.

  Audrey had just finished cutting potatoes and was reaching for the fridge when Cameron’s hand shot out at the same time. She jerked back, then remembered her own rule to not let the man get to her. With a lifted brow, she opened the door and snagged the heavy whipping cream off the top shelf.

  Cameron lifted his own brow in response as though to say, Challenge accepted, Bennett.

  “I like your mom,” she blurted out. You’re supposed to be giving each other the silent treatment, remember? Why can’t you keep your mouth shut around him?

  Cameron nodded and pulled away from the fridge with an old-fashioned bottle of Coke in his big hand. Audrey tried not to pay attention to those hands, or to remember the way the heat of them melted into her skin whenever he touched her.

  “You don’t like me getting close to her, do you?” Audrey pressed.

  “I didn’t say that,” Cameron answered as he twisted the cap off his soda, then tossed it on the counter.

  Audrey gave herself props for not admiring the strength of his hands. “You don’t have to. I can see the annoyance all over your face.”

  Cameron lifted the bottle to his lips, then paused. “I’m not annoyed.”

  Audrey resisted chuckling. Barely. “You haven’t said two words to me since Piper and I got here.”

  Cameron took a deep pull of his drink. “I need to apologize for last night.”

  She hadn’t been expecting that. Audrey glanced around the kitchen, trying to gather her thoughts. Piper and Pamela were in deep conversation as Pamela sliced up asparagus. Audrey’s potatoes were still sitting in a bowl of water.

  “Okay,” she acknowledged. “I’m sorry too.”

  His grin widened. “And you weren’t even struck by lightning that time.”

  “Always looking for ways to be pleased with yourself.”

  “Who says I have to look?” he countered.

  “The rest of us earthlings,” she said.

  He stepped toward her. “Is that your way of saying I’m special?”

  Audrey narrowed her eyes at him. “More like an alien being.” She glanced at the space around them. “Why are you always crowding me?”

  He came even closer. “Because it makes you sweat.”

  Immediately her brain conjured up all the ways he could make her sweat. Even more than she already was. She didn’t like it, but at the same time she also kind of loved it. When was the last time a man had made her feel alive like this? Made her heart triple beat in her chest? Made her knees tingle?

  “And you like intimidating people, is that it?” she pushed.

  One of his brows quirked as his gaze dropped to her mouth. “You and I both know intimidation isn’t what you’re feeling right now. Remember, Audrey, all you have to do is say yes.”

  Audrey was painfully aware of Pamela and Piper, just feet away.

  She placed a hand on his chest, to halt his further crowding. “And then what?”

  He blinked. “Huh?”

  She tried to move back but was blocked by the fridge. “I say yes. What happens then?”

  “Are you saying yes?”

  Not quite. But she desperately wanted to. “Hypothetically.”

  His evil grin was back. “Well, then. Hypothetically, I’d push you against this fridge so you can feel exactly what you do to me. Then I’d put my mouth at that sensitive spot just below your ear…” He dipped his head in demonstration. “Because I think I’ve already proven just how much you like that.”

  The man was an evil, masochistic bastard. Audrey would have told him that, but she was too busy being turned on.

  “Then,” he whispered in her ear, “we’d take things to my king-sized bed, where we’d make love until neither one of us could walk.”

  Holy Mary, mother of…

  “Kate Spade,” she whispered.

  Cameron chuckled against her neck, then pulled away. “But since we’re just talking in hypothetical…” The tip of his index finger skimmed across her collarbone, driving home his point with painful clarity.

  “Sorry I asked,” she whispered.

  “No, you’re not.” His smug grin widened. “You’re too busy picturing it.”

  Hell, yeah, she was picturing it, which was why she was sorry for asking, because she’d go to bed with the image
s of Cameron pinning her to the mattress, his big thighs holding hers down as he drove into her…

  No, it couldn’t happen.

  Yes, it could. He said all you have to do is say yes…

  And it would be so good too. But she couldn’t keep her wits about her and leave with an objective heart if she gave in to her impulses. She was stronger than that and needed to remember why she was here.

  Cameron must have sensed the moment she shut her mind off, because he stepped back and reached for his soda again. He took a long, casual sip, while carefully watching her.

  “Cameron, will you leave that poor girl alone so she can finish the potatoes?” Pamela called from the stove. “The pork chops are almost ready.”

  That’s right. She’d left the potatoes sitting in a pot of water. Then Cameron had come along with his apologies and bedroom eyes and seductive suggestions and thrown her agenda out the window.

  She should go, like, cook. Or something.

  She straightened from the fridge, attempting more confidence than she felt, returning Cameron’s cocky gaze with one of her own. At least she hoped it was cocky. For some reason she felt questionable.

  “I know you don’t want me to get to know your mom,” she told him. “But you’re going to have to get over it. Because I like her, and she’s good with Piper.”

  Cameron’s arm shot out and stopped Audrey’s retreat. “She gets attached to people easily.”

  “And what?” she asked with a lifted brow. “You think she’ll get attached to me, then I’ll crush her heart when I leave?” Cameron opened his mouth to argue, but she stopped him. “I know that’s exactly what you think.”

  “My mother likes you,” he said in a low voice.

  Audrey had another retort all ready, but something stopped her. Something in Cameron’s gaze that closely resembled pleading. Then she got it. Pamela had been hurt before when someone she loved and cared about left. But how could Cameron compare Audrey to his father?

  Audrey turned back to him so Pamela wouldn’t overhear them. “Not everyone is a selfish ass like your dad,” she told him. “I know you’re trying to protect her, but give her some credit. She seems like she’s a strong woman. And I doubt my leaving will faze her much, since I’m not anything to her.”

  Dinner had been an uncomfortable affair that was a mixture of tension between him and Audrey and easy banter between her and his mother.

  They liked each other. It was obvious with the easy smiles Audrey kept flashing and the infectious laughter at the stories his mom kept telling. About him. Like that time he’d wet the bed at a friend’s house and had to come home in the middle of the night.

  Yeah, thanks for that one, Mom.

  Audrey and Piper found this story to be hilarious.

  Then Pam had moved on to Cameron’s awkward tween years and the time he’d been caught with a “naughty” magazine and in a compromising position in the bathroom.

  Seriously, why did his mother hate him?

  “Honey, are you all right?” his mother asked.

  “Are you sure you’re not constipated? This kid at school couldn’t poop all day and his face was all red. Kind of like yours,” Piper said to Cam.

  Yeah, that was awesome. He resembled a red-faced kindergartener who needed to take a shit.

  “Piper, you know that talk isn’t appropriate. Do you need to be excused?” Audrey asked in her authoritative tone.

  Across the table, Pamela hid a grin from behind her napkin.

  Cameron bit back a smile, because it was kind of funny, and looked at Piper. “I’m fine, kiddo. But thanks for asking.”

  “Can I have some more mashed potatoes?” Piper asked Pamela.

  “Of course, sweetie.” His mom got up from the table and returned shortly with the bowl of potatoes. She gave Piper a healthy scoop and set the bowl down.

  Piper stabbed her spoon into the food, then proceeded to dump it on the floor. Cameron opened his mouth to ask what the hell she was doing, when Jellybean Jr. scampered over and inhaled the potatoes in one bite.

  “Piper!” Audrey exclaimed. “Why did you do that?”

  “J.J. was hungry,” Piper answered with the calm casualness of a six-year-old.

  Audrey scooted her chair back so she could clean the mess up. “Well, J.J. has a bowl of food in the kitchen. We don’t give cats people food.”

  “But that food has eyeballs in it. She doesn’t like it,” Piper added with a pout. “This kid at school says they grind up eyeballs and put them in cat food. He says it’s because everyone hates cats.”

  Christ. It was probably the same kid who hadn’t shit all day.

  Audrey masterfully hid a grin. “Piper, not everyone hates cats. And there’s no eyes in her food. It’s just regular cat food.”

  Cameron placed his palm on Piper’s skinny arm. “If it’ll make you feel better, we can go to the pet store and I’ll let you pick out different food. You can get whatever kind you think she’ll like.”

  Cameron kept his gaze on Piper and ignored the proud look on Audrey’s face, like he’d just announced that he’d ridden his bike without training wheels for the first time. Piper slowly blinked; then her gaze rounded even more.

  “You mean I can keep Jellybean Junior?” she asked in a soft voice.

  And dammit, his heart wasn’t supposed to go all squishy when she looked at him like that. He shouldn’t care about pleasing her and wanted to put that sweet smile on her face. The one that lit her up from the inside out and made Cameron want to beat his chest in pride.

  “Yeah, you can keep the cat,” he told her.

  Piper jumped out of her seat and threw her little arms around Cameron’s neck. He barely managed to stay upright in his seat. He hadn’t expected her to pack such a punch behind such a simple gesture. She’d thrown her whole body into the hug, and Cameron had to grit his teeth against the lump in his throat.

  “Thank you, Uncle Cameron!” she exclaimed into his neck. She let go and jumped up and down. “I can’t wait to get her her own bed, and toys and a leash so I can take her for walks.”

  “One condition, though,” Cameron said, choosing not the address the walking the cat thing. “We have to change her name. Something that’s more fitting to a cat.” Especially one that didn’t have fur. Like, say, Skeletor?

  Piper scrunched her face in thought. “How about Pinkie Pie? Like from My Little Pony.”

  Sure. Or that.

  “I love that name,” his mother chimed in. “It suits her perfectly.”

  Were they looking at the same cat?

  But Cameron didn’t say anything because, you know, picking your battles and stuff. He’d heard from parents it was important to let the little things go.

  Parent.

  Shit, was that what he was now?

  The familiar panic tried clawing its way back, and Cameron tried desperately to shove it down. He should have been over that by now. Right?

  He glanced at Audrey and saw she’d placed one hand over her chest and the other was holding on to his mom.

  “What?” he barked.

  “We’re just so proud of you,” Audrey gushed.

  Yeah, if she knew what was going on in his head, she wouldn’t be so proud.

  “Don’t go giving me a gold star or anything,” he told them.

  Pam shook her head. “Oh, honey, we wouldn’t do that. A pat on the head would probably be sufficient.”

  Audrey stifled more laughter.

  Cameron ignored the sarcasm because she was his mother and he loved her, no matter how obnoxious she could be. The woman meant well. She had been his whole world after his dad took off.

  And now you have Piper. And Audrey.

  Except he didn’t really have Audrey. She wasn’t his to keep. The thought startled him more than it should.

  To hide his discomfort, Cameron got up from the table and took his empty plate to the kitchen. They’d all but finished eating, and Piper had already scampered off to play with Jellybean Jr. Oh,
wait, Pinkie Pie.

  Because that was such a better name.

  Cameron was at the sink rinsing his dish when his mother approached. Instantly he tensed, because he knew what she was going to say to him.

  “You okay, honey?” she questioned.

  “Yeah. Why?”

  “I don’t know,” she responded as she set her dish in the dishwasher. “You seem…tense.”

  Cameron rolled his shoulders as though the mention of the word brought even more tension to his muscles. Hell, yeah, he was tense. Soon Piper would be solely dependent on him. And he was coming to realize that he didn’t want Audrey to leave.

  Cameron gritted his teeth and sloshed the sponge around the plate harder than he needed to. Water splashed over the edge of the sink and landed on his shirt.

  “Honey.” Pamela placed her calm hands over his and stilled his movement. “Why don’t you take a step back from the plate?”

  Cameron did as instructed and dried his hands on a dish towel.

  “You like her,” his mom calmly stated. Everything about the woman was calm.

  Perhaps he should take a page from her book. “Yeah,” he acknowledged.

  “She’s good for you.” Pam placed her cool palm over his forearm. “And just so we’re clear, I’m talking about Audrey. Though I think Piper is good for you too.”

  He slanted his mother a look. “Yeah, I got that. But she can’t stay here.”

  Pamela tilted her head. “Why not?”

  Cameron braced his hands on the counter behind him and sneaked a peek into the living room to make sure Audrey wasn’t close by. She’d moved from the table to the living room, where she and Piper were playing with the cat.

  “Because she lives in Boulder,” he told his mom.

  Pam waved that away as though it were such an easy problem to fix. “Oh, and people never move.”

  “Why would she?” he countered.

  His mother paused before answering. “That’s a good question.”

  He heaved a long sigh. “Mom, why don’t you just say what you want to say?”

  She smiled as though he was so amusing to her. “What I’m trying to say is, you like each other. And you both love Piper. Maybe you should give her a reason to stay. Make your move already.”