Close to You (Fusion #2)

by Kristen Proby

  “We’re going to put them in the middle of the room, back-to-back, and she can use the top for jewelry and her hair stuff. Trust me.”

  Steven and I eye each other dubiously, but we wrestle the matching six-drawer dressers into the room, set them back-to-back, and I grin. She’s right. They’re the perfect height for her to use them, and they leave plenty of space for her to walk around them.

  “I’ll be right back,” Steven says, and runs out of the room as Riley passes me a stack of shoe boxes.

  “You can start unboxing those and placing them on the shelves, and I’ll come behind you and organize them based on color and style.”

  “This is really involved,” I reply.

  “You have no idea,” Riley says, nodding. “But it’ll be so worth it. It’ll get you laid for days.”

  “Gross,” Steven says as he comes back in the room carrying an ottoman from her office. “She doesn’t use this, and it’ll look great next to the dressers. She can use it to sit on to put shoes on and stuff.”

  “Brilliant!” Riley says, clapping her hands. “That chandelier is a great touch.”

  “I thought it made the space feel more feminine,” I reply, happy that we’ve done a good job.

  “This is Girl Central,” Steven says. “I’m gonna have to go play football or something, just to get the girl germs off of me.”

  “What are you, nine?” I ask, and throw a sparkly shoe at him, hitting him in the shoulder when he dodges.

  “No, I’m out of here,” he says, and grins. “Have fun touching all the girl stuff, man, but this is above my pay grade.” And with that, he escapes.

  “Punk,” I mutter, but can’t help but smile. “She’s going to be surprised.”

  “This might be the nicest thing anyone has ever done for her,” Riley says, and pats my shoulder. “You did good. When will she be home?”

  “In about two hours. Kat texted and said they were just leaving a few minutes ago. She’s going to text again when they’re about a half hour out so I can order a pizza.”

  “Swanky,” Riley says with a wink. “And FYI, don’t give her wine tonight. She’s been drinking wine for two days.”

  “Yeah, I figured.”

  EVERYTHING IS READY for her when she walks through the doors. Sunflowers are set out, candles lit, pizza waiting on the coffee table. And Scoot, who thankfully wasn’t interested in the construction process, thus staying out from under foot, is curled in a ball on the back of the couch.

  She steps inside and immediately kicks off her shoes, sighs, and glances up, surprised to see me standing in her house.

  “Hi,” she says, and smiles. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”

  “I haven’t seen you in two days,” I remind her, and step to her, taking her overnight bag from her, her purse, and helping her out of her coat. “There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”

  “Do I smell pizza?”

  “Mm,” I reply, and kiss her on the forehead, breathing her in. Damn, I’ve missed her. “Come eat.”

  “You’re a prince,” she says, and flops on the couch, scrubbing her hands over her face.

  “You know you’re always beautiful, but you look tired tonight.”

  “God, I’m exhausted.”

  I pass her a slice of pizza and she immediately takes a big bite and sighs in happiness. “So good.”

  I’m going to be inside her later when she makes that same exact sound.

  Rather than grab a slice for myself, I pull her feet into my lap and get to work rubbing her arches, and making her purr while she munches happily on her dinner.

  “I could seriously get used to this.”

  I smile. “Me too.”

  “I think I’m getting the better end of it.”

  “That’s up for debate,” I reply. “I get to touch you, talk to you. I think I’m in pretty good shape here.”

  “You say some really sweet things, you know.” She watches me with tired green eyes.

  “I don’t say anything that I don’t mean,” I reply. I pass her another slice of pizza and switch to the other foot, paying it as much attention as I did the first. “How did it go?”

  “It was great,” she replies. “Cuppa Di Vita has a few new wines in their cellar, and we tasted them all.” She frowns. “But for some reason it didn’t sit well with me, so I tasted, then spit. I didn’t swallow.” She giggles, making me grin. “I always thought spitters were quitters, but . . .” She shrugs and giggles again.

  “Are you coming down with something?”

  “Maybe.” Her hands are resting on her belly now as she watches me rub her feet. “You have great hands.”

  “They enjoy touching you.”

  She smiles softly. Her hair was once in a tight bun, but it’s loosened and soft tendrils frame her sweet face. Her makeup is simple, like she usually wears it, and her lips are bare and kissable.

  “How are you?” she asks.

  Anxious to take you upstairs. “I’m great. It was pretty uneventful around here while you were gone.”

  “Uneventful is good.” She yawns. “I should take my stuff upstairs and get some comfier clothes on.”

  “I’ll go with you,” I reply, and hold my hand out to help her up. She’s so tired it seems that just lifting her feet up each of the stairs is a challenge. When we get to the bedroom, she crosses to where her dressers used to be, then comes up short.

  “I’ve been burgled,” she says. “By a burglar that has a thing for yoga pants and bras.”

  “I’m sure those exist,” I reply with a chuckle, and take her hand again. “But I think I have another explanation.”

  “I hope so. I was really looking forward to those yoga pants. And why is there a door in that wall?”

  “Come on, Sherlock, I’ll show you.” I lead her through the door and she simply stops and stares, her jaw dropped, trying to look everywhere at once.

  “Oh my God.”

  I hang back and watch as she slowly steps inside and touches the edges of her hanging clothes, runs her hand over the top of a dresser, and sits at her vanity, as if she’s never seen any of those things before.

  “It’s beautiful,” she whispers. I walk up behind her and massage her shoulders, watching her face in the mirror.

  She’s not smiling. She’s not clapping.

  She’s crying.

  Fuck.

  “I need you to talk to me, sweetheart,” I murmur, kneading her tense muscles.

  “I love it all so much,” she says, and sniffs, completely confusing the hell out of me.

  “But you don’t like the color?”

  “No, the color is perfect,” she says, and reaches for a tissue.

  “If you love it, why are you crying?” I squat next to her and take the tissue out of her hand, gently blotting at the tears on her cheeks.

  “Because it’s just so sweet,” she says, her green eyes swimming. God, she’s killing me here.

  “I was hoping it would make you happy.”

  “I am happy.”

  I chuckle and reach for another tissue. “So these are happy tears?”

  “Yeah.” She sniffs again. “Landon, it’s seriously great. Did you find my closet Pinterest page?”

  “Honey, I don’t know what a Pinterest is,” I reply honestly. “I just built what I thought you’d like, and what I thought would be functional.”

  She turns in her chair and takes it all in again. “The light is pretty. How did you do all of this in two days?”

  “Steven helped me,” I reply, and feel completely helpless as she breaks down in tears again. “And Riley came to help me organize it.”

  “You all went to a lot of trouble.”

  This is happy?

  “Hey.” I pull her into my arms and rock her back and forth. “Stop with the waterworks, baby.”

  “I’m just tired,” she says. “I’ve been really tired lately.”

  “Maybe you’re coming down with something,” I reply, rubbing circles on the
middle of her back.

  “I hope not. I have a lot of work to do.” She pulls back and smiles through the tears now as she gazes at her rows and rows of fancy shoes. “I can finally see them all at the same time.”

  “Are you sure you like it?”

  She throws her arms around my neck and hugs me tightly. “I couldn’t love anything more.”

  My thoughts exactly.

  “Thank you so much, Landon. This is better than anything I could have imagined.”

  “You’re welcome.” I kiss her forehead, then pull her to her feet. “Come on, I’m going to put you in a hot bath, and then bed.”

  “God, that sounds like heaven.”

  I smile as I help her sit on the bed, then march into the bathroom to run the water, making sure it’s not too hot, then return to the bedroom, laughing when I see that she hasn’t even flopped back on the bed, she’s simply sleeping sitting up.

  Her eyes blink open when I start to undress her.

  “Do you think you can sit in the bath for a few minutes without drowning?”

  “I can’t guarantee anything,” she says, her smile soft and a bit shy. “I’m sorry that I’m so sleepy.”

  “You’re adorable.” And if the truth be told, I don’t mind taking care of her in the least. “But because you’re exhausted, I’m going to get in with you so I can revive you if you go under.”

  “You’re the cutest lifeguard I’ve ever seen,” she says around a big yawn.

  “Thanks,” I reply, and lead us, both naked, into the bathroom, and into the steaming-hot water. She leans against me and sighs deeply.

  “Mm, this is delightful.”

  “I missed you,” I murmur against her ear, and watch as water glides over her skin, skimming her breasts. Her light brown nipples are puckered, begging for my fingers to graze over them gently.

  “I missed you too.” She kisses my arm. “Thank you for my closet.”

  “You’re welcome, baby.”

  “I bet Riley was jealous.”

  “I believe she proposed to me at least three times this afternoon.”

  Cami laughs. “She can get her own man.”

  “That’s what I told her.”

  She tips her face back, gazing up at me with sleepy eyes, but her lips are slanted up in a grin. “I love you.”

  And there it is. Every time she says those words, it’s as if my world is kicked off its axis and I have to catch my breath.

  I am one lucky son of a bitch.

  I lean in and sweep my lips across hers. “I love you too, Cami.”

  Chapter 15

  ~Cami~

  “Breakfast is our thing,” I announce as we sit in my kitchen the next morning, sipping coffee and eating pancakes that Landon whipped up before I even left the bed this morning.

  “We have a thing?” he asks, his brow raised.

  “Yep, we do. And it’s breakfast.”

  “Huh.” He seems to think this over before flipping a pancake on the griddle that I’m pretty sure I didn’t have yesterday. The man keeps adding to my kitchen appliance collection. “I thought our thing was hot sex.”

  “Okay, we have two things.”

  He smirks. “How are you feeling this morning?”

  “Better. These pancakes were the perfect medicine.” Before I can slip the forkful of sweet pancake into my mouth, Landon grips my wrist and steals the bite for himself.

  “Stealing a woman’s food isn’t a smart thing to do, you know.”

  “You’ve never seemed to mind before,” he says with an unconcerned shrug, and pours the last of the batter onto the griddle.

  “Are you home?” We hear Steven call out before he shuts the front door.

  “In the kitchen!” I yell back, and glance down at what I’m wearing, relieved that I pulled on pants before coming downstairs for breakfast.

  “I’m just in time,” Steven says with a smile, and sits next to me at the breakfast bar. “You never told me Landon could cook.”

  “I didn’t think he could,” I reply around a full mouth.

  “That’s polite,” Steven says, but I just smile at him, then open my mouth wide so he can see my half-chewed food. “And classy.”

  “I’m a classy girl,” I reply as Landon slips some pancakes on a plate for Steven. “What’s up?”

  “I came to find out if you liked your surprise.”

  My closet!

  I jump off my stool and wrap my arms around my nephew, then gross him out by kissing his face. “I love it. Thank you, thank you, thank you.”

  “I should have called,” Steven says, trying to push me away. “Help.”

  Landon, laughing, just shakes his head. “You’re on your own.”

  “So much for men sticking together,” Steven says, pushing my face away. “Seriously, I’m almost losing my appetite.”

  I take mercy on him and bounce back onto my own stool. “I really love it, sweetie. Thank you so much for all of your hard work.”

  He shrugs one shoulder, his eyes trained on his food. His cheeks redden under the praise. “It wasn’t a big deal.”

  “It was a big deal to me,” I reply. “Also, you need a haircut.”

  “God, you’re a nag,” he says, and scowls at me, then Landon. “Does she nag you like this?”

  “He doesn’t need a haircut,” I say before Landon can reply.

  “You’re worse than Mom,” he informs me, but his lips twitch and I can tell that he doesn’t really mind the tiny amount of parenting I dish out.

  “No one is worse than your mom, but she loves you,” I say, suddenly missing my older sister, and make a mental note to give her a call later.

  “Have you talked to her?” he asks me, his eyes suddenly wary. He glances up to Landon, making me look at Landon too, but he’s not watching us, he’s stuffing pancake in his mouth and cleaning up the breakfast mess.

  “Not recently, why?”

  “Good.” Steven lets out a gusty breath in relief. “Because I wanted to tell you myself.”

  “Tell me what?”

  He’s silent as he finishes his food. I’m convinced he’s doing this to me on purpose. All I can think is that he’s gotten his girlfriend pregnant, or they kicked him out and he’s going to ask to move in here, or he’s flunking out of school.

  Please don’t let the girlfriend, whom I’ve never met, mind you, be pregnant.

  “Killing me here, Steve.”

  “Okay, but first you have to promise not to be mad.”

  “Was your mom mad when you told her?” I ask, still racking my brain.

  “No,” he says, and shakes his head.

  “I can’t promise, but I’ll do my best.” I glance over at Landon, who’s now leaning back against the sink, his face impassive, completely calm.

  Why do I get the feeling that I’m not going to be calm in about 3.2 seconds?

  “I’m joining the Navy,” Steven blurts out, still not meeting my gaze.

  I blink at him, then narrow my eyes in confusion. “Excuse me?”

  “You know, the Navy?”

  “I’m familiar with it, yes, but for a second there I thought you said that you’re joining it.”

  “I did,” he says, and looks me in the eyes. “I already signed the paperwork. I ship off to basic in three weeks.”

  My mouth won’t work. I’m pretty sure my lips have fallen off because I can’t find them. Steven is leaving?

  Finally, Steven rolls his eyes and says, “You’re freaking out.”

  “No,” I say, my voice breaking. “I’m not freaking out.”

  I’m totally freaking out.

  “Look, I think it’s a good idea. They’ll put me through school—”

  “You’re going to school now,” I interrupt.

  “But they’ll pay for it, Aunt Cami. I’ve been thinking about it for a long time, and when I talked to Landon about it the other day, he had lots of great things to say, and—”

  He keeps talking, but my head has whipped around a
nd I’m staring at my not-so-innocent boyfriend, who just holds my gaze with perfect calm.

  “What did you do?” I demand, standing up and shoving my stool away.

  “I answered some of his questions,” Landon says, and crosses his arms over his chest.

  I refuse to think about how great his arms look when he does that. Because right now he’s not my hot boyfriend, he’s the person who is encouraging the only family member I have to leave me.

  “Aunt Cami, it’s really a great thing.”

  “No.” I spin and point my finger in Steven’s chest. “It’s not a great thing. It’s dangerous, and it takes you far away from home, and in case you’ve missed it, world affairs are more than a little shaky right now, Steven. Are you telling me you want to run off to war?”

  “He’s not running off to war,” Landon says, and I spin on him now.

  “You are not helping! Why would you encourage this?”

  “Why wouldn’t I?” he asks, his voice rising with mine. His ice-blue eyes are flashing with annoyance. “What in the hell is wrong with the Navy, Cami? In case you’ve forgotten, it more than paid my bills and took care of me very nicely for a decade!”

  “Yes, and it also took you far away from all of the people who gave a shit about you! You came home every other year to say hi, and then you were off again, until one day we got a phone call and you’d almost died!”

  “I’m not going to be a pilot,” Steven says, surprisingly calmly.

  “You’re not going to be anything in the goddamned Navy,” I say, my voice hard. I’m panting. I can’t catch my breath. “You’re going to stay here and—”

  “And what?” Landon demands, on a roll now. “Do what you tell him he can do? He may be young, but he’s an adult, Cami. You can’t make him do anything. You’re not his mother. And even if you were, this is not an irresponsible decision.”

  “How the fuck do you know?” I ask, yelling now. “You were always gone.”

  Landon visibly takes a deep breath, then walks around the island and toward the kitchen door.

  “You’re leaving?” I demand. “I piss you off, so you bail?”

  He stops cold, then turns around, and before I can react, grabs my face in his hands and kisses me hard. Still holding me, he pulls back and says, “We’re both too pissed off to resolve this right now. I need some space and you need to talk to your nephew and calm the fuck down.”