Changing the Rules

by Erin Kern

  “Funny.”

  Cameron set the spoon down and turned to face her. “Okay, you want to know why?” When she nodded while swallowing past the lump in her throat, he went on. “I wanted to have something to remember you by when you leave.”

  Oh. Oh.

  “I was thinking maybe I could cradle them in my lap while I watch The Notebook.”

  She lifted her eyes to the ceiling. What had she expected? “Now you’re just being an ass.”

  He turned back to his gravy. “Yep.”

  She came closer and set her water bottle on the counter. “No, but seriously. Why did you save all those?”

  “I just told you,” he said with a shrug.

  She snorted. “You’re not going to sit down and watch a Nicholas Sparks movie.”

  “Maybe I am,” he told her. “The Notebook was pretty damn good.”

  She crossed her arms over her chest and stared at him. “You’ve actually seen The Notebook.”

  He jabbed his gravy spoon at her. “Only because I was forced. I want to go on record with that. I don’t sit around and watch Nicholas Sparks movies by myself.”

  “Why, not enough blood and guts in them?”

  “Now you’re getting it,” he answered with a grin, and her heart flipped again.

  Yeah, she could totally picture him sprawled out on the couch watching Rambo or maybe one of the Terminator movies. And maybe she’d be curled up next to him with a soft blanket and Piper lying across their laps…

  “Okay, but truth time,” she said. “Why do you have all those?”

  Cameron continued to stir the gravy before turning the burner to low. Then he pierced her with a look that sent shivers down Audrey’s spine. “Okay, you want the truth? They make me smile. I don’t get enough of that in my life.”

  Her insides just about cracked open at his confession. How could he not have enough in his life to make him smile? Everyone needed to smile every once in a while. Cameron had a great one; too good to not be flashing it at everyone he met. Audrey considered it a travesty that more people didn’t get to enjoy that heart-melting grin.

  Except Piper. He smiled a lot around Piper. But it was impossible not to be happy around that little girl.

  “Okay,” she said.

  “That’s it? Just ‘okay’?”

  “Did you expect me to mock you?” she questioned.

  He scrubbed a hand down his face. “Actually…”

  Audrey was about to give him the mocking he was looking for when she realized he was kidding. The grin tugging at the corners of his mouth gave him away.

  See, he smiles for you too.

  “They’re quirky and different,” he went on. “I like that about you. It’s refreshing.”

  Heat flared across her cheeks at his roundabout compliment. And she’d gotten to know him enough to acknowledge the fact that his words were genuine.

  Just tell him. Tell him you don’t want to leave.

  But Cameron wouldn’t want to settle down, even if, just last night, he’d told her she was it. He wasn’t that type of guy, and she feared it would only be a matter of time before he tired of her. Hadn’t every other one of her boyfriends done that very thing? Tired of Audrey and moved on to the next hot thing?

  “I was just going to say the gravy needs more flour,” she blurted out. Because she couldn’t help herself. Because she was a coward who couldn’t admit to her biggest fear.

  “No, it doesn’t,” he responded without even looking at the gravy. “And don’t use my food control issues to distract me.”

  “It usually works,” she muttered to herself.

  “Not this time,” he muttered back and took a step closer to her. “Now, tell me what’s wrong before I have to coax it out of you.”

  Make him coax it out of you. She narrowed her eyes.

  “You’re blushing,” he said.

  He was close. Too close. As in close enough for her to see the brown flecks in his eyes.

  “It’s just hot in here,” she said.

  His mouth curled further. “Yeah, it is.” His hungry gaze dropped from her face down her body, touching on all the places where she wanted his hands. Her breasts, her stomach, her thighs. Basically everywhere.

  “I think the question you should be asking isn’t why I saved all those notes,” Cameron told her. “It should be why you still haven’t said yes to me. What’re you afraid of, Audrey?”

  Everything.

  She opened her mouth, but the words were stuck in her throat. She was afraid of what he could do to her, and afraid of admitting she was afraid. She’d never opened herself up to a man before, not like the way Cameron was demanding.

  She lifted her hand and toyed with the neckline of his T-shirt, momentarily distracted by the strong column of his throat.

  “I…don’t really know how to do this,” she admitted.

  “Do what?” he pressed.

  “Leave myself vulnerable for someone. Especially a man.”

  Cameron’s brows lowered a fraction. “Who hurt you?”

  She shook her head, then forced the words out. “No one in particular. I just don’t have the best track record with men. Men who…” How could she explain it in a way that she was sure he’d understand?

  “Men like me,” he finished for her.

  Had she thrown that accusation out at him before? Yeah, she was pretty sure she had. Thinking back now, Audrey realized it had been an unfair thing to say to him. It was a defense mechanism to keep him away, keep him from seeing how vulnerable and scared she was.

  “I didn’t mean it the way you think,” she said.

  “Yeah, you did.” His hand found its way back to her hair, threading through the strands. “But it’s okay. You’ve been burned in the past by guys like me, so you’re gun-shy. Nothing wrong with that.”

  She dropped her gaze to this throat. “That’s why I had such a hard time when I saw Tessa here. I was brought back to every other guy I’d been with. It opened a wound I thought had closed.”

  “Understandable,” he agreed. Then he lowered his head so he could see her eyes. “And maybe a little jealous?” he asked, as though hopeful.

  “Don’t push it,” she warned.

  He pinched her chin. “Come on, you know you were a little jealous.”

  “Do you want me to be?” she countered.

  “You’re the one who said it was truth time.”

  “Yeah, but we weren’t talking about this,” she pointed out. You can’t expect him to be brutally honest, if you’re going to hold back. Audrey wanted to smack her inner voice upside the head for being so damn sensible. She blew out a breath and admitted defeat, something she did a lot around this man. “Okay, maybe a small part of me wanted to scratch her eyes out.”

  Cameron’s half grin became full-blown. “There it is.”

  “Do I get a gold star now?” she teased.

  “How about a kiss instead?” he murmured.

  His mouth hovered just above hers, close enough to feel his hot breath, and Audrey had to hold herself back from jumping on him, from sliding her tongue in his mouth before she had a chance to second-guess herself.

  “I think I’d rather have the gold star instead,” she whispered back.

  His mouth slid along hers; then he grinned against her. “Liar.”

  Audrey’s lips parted just slightly, inviting him in, when the sliding door was thrown open. Piper came running in, wild hair flying around her face, shoes untied and cheeks pink.

  Cameron had already moved back before Audrey even realized they’d been interrupted.

  “Audrey, guess what Pinkie Pie just did?” the little girl asked. “She saw a bird, then climbed up the tree to try and catch it.”

  “Is she stuck?” Cameron wanted to know, as though he hadn’t been about to shove his tongue in Audrey’s mouth.

  Piper switched her attention to her uncle and shook her head. “No, she jumped down. But she’s all dirty with leaves and bark and stuff.”
r />   “She jumped?” Audrey repeated.

  Piper hopped on both feet. “Yeah, and she landed on all four of her feet. Isn’t that cool?” Then Piper was gone, running out the door as fast as she’d appeared.

  She and Cameron exchanged a glance, but his expression didn’t mirror her amused one. His eyes were hot and dark and the pulse at the base of his neck was hammering. Audrey’s smile slipped as she remembered the way he’d been about to kiss her.

  One of these days they weren’t going to stop at just kissing. And then she wasn’t sure if she’d be able to save herself.

  Eighteen

  The fall afternoon was crisp and cool, perfect weather for the extra sprints the players were doing to make up for their piss-poor attitudes. Blake had little patience for their whining and moaning about how tired and overworked they were. He’d blown his whistle and told them to start running and not to stop until he felt like they’d had enough.

  “They think they’re tired now,” Blake muttered. “I’ll give them something to whine about.”

  Cameron grunted as the players sprinted from one side of the field to the next. They knew better than to give it less than their all. If even so much as one kid slowed down, Blake would make them pay. Cameron understood they were nearing the end of the season, but the kids knew the drill by now. Prima donna attitudes didn’t go unnoticed or unpunished.

  Of course, the end of the season also meant something else that Cameron didn’t want to think about. Being without Audrey had been keeping him up at night. She was distracting him at work, sucking the breath from his lungs. Every time he looked at her, every time he was around her and heard her soft laughter, he wanted to beg her to stay, tell her to think about Piper and how much the girl loved her.

  Not just Piper.

  But Cameron didn’t have the right to ask that of Audrey, especially after she’d caught him with Tessa. He was surprised she hadn’t yanked Piper and run for the hills.

  She has faith in you.

  Now he had to show her that faith was justified. But first he needed to make a decision about Denver. Over the past few weeks, the offer had become less important, less urgent. Every time he looked in the backyard and watched Piper play with her psychotic cat, Denver held less appeal. Every meal he shared with Audrey, or Post-it note he found, he wanted to burn the offer letter. Problem was, he hadn’t been able to bring himself to even tell her about the offer. He’d made the decision to turn it down before Audrey had a chance to put all the pieces together.

  Blake whistled again and ordered the players to take a breather. They slowed to a stop, sweat dripping down their faces, chests heaving with exhaustion.

  “Take a water break, gentlemen,” Blake told them.

  Cameron was about to have a word with the offensive line when he spotted Drew Spalding exiting the field house. He wasn’t alone. An older man with thinning hair, a white polo, and a belly that spilled over the waistband of his khakis shook Drew’s hand.

  Cameron elbowed Blake. “Hey, who’s that guy with Drew?”

  Blake blew out a breath. “I’ll tell you, but you have to promise to be chill.”

  A feeling of unease curled Cameron’s stomach. “What the hell does that mean?”

  “Apparently he’s expressed interest in your job. Drew’s showing him around the facilities.”

  “He’s interviewing candidates for my job?” Cameron glanced at Blake. “I haven’t given my notice yet.”

  “But you’re going to,” Blake pointed out. “It’s only a matter of time, right?”

  Cameron glared. “Says who?”

  “Um…” Blake scratched his chin. “You?”

  “Bullshit.” Cameron turned to confront the athletic director and put the man in his place, when Blake’s hand shot out and latched on to Cameron’s arm.

  “Hey,” Blake warned. “When I said be chill, I specifically meant don’t go over there and beat the shit out of Drew.”

  Cameron pulled his arm free. “I only did that once,” he pointed out, then stalked away.

  Cameron’s long legs ate up the ground beneath him, his irritation growing with each step. In all honesty, Cameron was irritated with himself for allowing Drew to think he’d just bow out, that he’d give the smug bastard the satisfaction of getting rid of Cameron Shaw that easily.

  And the man still deserved an ass beating for almost ruining Cameron’s squeaky-clean reputation at his previous school.

  Cameron had never told anyone what Drew had done on the sly, mostly to protect those he loved the most. He hadn’t wanted to put his mother through the agony of thinking her son was a homewrecker, especially having lived with a cheating spouse. To this day, Cameron wanted to kick his own ass for getting involved with Drew’s wife. It had been the biggest mistake he’d made, and Drew had seen to it that Cameron continued to suffer.

  He reached the two men just as Mr. Potbelly said his thanks, then turned to leave. Drew popped a bubble with his gum, then gave Cameron an openmouthed grin. Cameron wanted to knee the guy is his too-small balls.

  “How’s it going today, Shaw?” Drew asked.

  Cameron gritted his teeth together. “Yeah, don’t start with that bullshit. What’s with you interviewing someone for my job?”

  “Technically that wasn’t an interview,” Drew explained. “I was just showing the guy around. His actual interview isn’t until next week.”

  Cameron blew out an impatient breath. “I haven’t turned in my resignation yet, Drew.”

  Drew waved a hand in the air. “A technicality. It’s a matter of time now.”

  Cameron took a step closer to the guy and tried desperately to remember Blake’s warning not to kick Drew’s ass. “I know you think you can push me out of here, but it won’t work.”

  Drew’s smile grew even more smug. “I’m not pushing you out of here, Cameron. You’re leaving on your own.”

  “No, I’m not,” Cameron corrected him. “Because I turned Denver down.”

  A flicker of doubt shadowed Drew’s eyes. But it was gone quickly. “No, you haven’t. You want your own team too badly to turn that down.”

  “I changed my mind,” Cameron said with a shrug. “I’ve decided to stay.”

  Drew ran his gaze up and down Cameron. “Bullshit.”

  Cameron patted Drew’s face. “Nah.” He leaned closer and dropped his voice low. “I know you think you won this round, but I’ll never give you the satisfaction, Spalding.” He turned and walked away, mentally giving himself a pat on the back for not smashing his fist into the other man’s smug grin.

  “Hey, is that lady friend of yours single?” Drew called out, but Cameron kept walking. “The blond one with the kid?”

  Cameron immediately halted, but he didn’t turn around. He counted to ten and gritted his back teeth and willed his feet to keep moving, knowing that Drew was only bringing Audrey up to piss him off. Hell, it was working, but Cameron closed his eyes and gave himself a healthy pep talk. Behind him, he heard Drew approach, but Cameron still didn’t turn around. He knew he was being too generous by giving the man a chance to save his own skin by keeping his big mouth shut.

  When Cameron opened his eyes, he saw Blake watching carefully, shaking his head in silent warning.

  Then Drew spoke again and broke through Cameron’s waning calm.

  “I was thinking of giving her a call,” Drew said in a low voice.

  Cameron cracked his knuckles.

  The man stepped closer and lowered his voice again. “She seems real…sweet,” Drew added with a chuckle.

  Cameron didn’t give himself time to think. He spun around and landed a blow to Drew’s jaw. The man’s head was jerked back, but he recovered quickly and got his own punch in, square in Cameron’s eye. Fire exploded across his skull, drowning out Blake’s curses and hollers from the players.

  Cameron knew he’d pay for his action later, but he’d been unable to stand there and listen to the prick taunt him about Audrey. Drew laughed as Cameron staggere
d back. Seeing the evil grin breaking across the man’s mouth, even as it dripped with blood, only fueled Cameron’s bloodlust for the other man. He lunged and tackled Drew to the ground, landing on top of him with a loud grunt. Drew struggled, but Cameron was able to hold the man back with another punch across the face, adding to the blood already decorating his jaw. Somehow Drew wriggled an arm free and clocked Cameron again, this time getting him across the jaw. The taste of blood immediately filled his mouth, but Cameron was too focused on the asshole beneath him to tend to his pounding eye and already swollen lip.

  “Get off me, you animal,” Drew grunted as Cameron punched him again.

  Behind him, he heard Blake coming to stop Cameron, but he ignored him and everyone else. The red haze clouding his vision wouldn’t allow him to do anything else but vent years of anger and hatred for the man who had made Cameron’s life a living hell.

  “You’ll fucking pay for this,” Drew muttered around a mouthful of blood and an already black eye.

  Cameron shrugged Blake’s hands off as he tried to pry Cameron off Drew. He grabbed a handful of Drew’s pretentious-as-shit polo and lifted the man’s head off the ground. “You ever mention Audrey again, I’ll end you,” he said in Drew’s face through gritted teeth. “You hear me? I’ll fucking end you.”

  “Cameron!” Blake barked. This time he managed to haul Cameron to his feet, leaving Drew sprawled on his back, his head lolling to one side.

  Cameron ignored the gawkers and whispers from the players and other coaches as he shoved Blake’s hands off. He stood over Drew and jabbed a finger at him. “Don’t ever forget that.”

  “What part of don’t beat the shit out of him did you not get?” Blake questioned.

  Cameron ignored the question and swiped a hand across his mouth, not surprised to see the smear of blood. His left eye was blurry and swollen and dripping with something. Probably more blood. Cameron had underestimated Drew’s agility, but he hadn’t cared because he’d gotten the last word. The whole thing had been worth it to see his nemesis lying on the ground like a defeated contender, face covered in blood, eye just as swollen as Cameron’s.

  “Go get that checked out by the school nurse,” Blake told him.