Total pages in book: 100
Estimated words: 94630 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 379(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94630 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 379(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
“I don’t need much in the way of breakfast, but there is some Walsh Foods turkey bacon in the fridge. And maybe just some fruit.”
Cam didn’t even realize his feet were taking him toward the shower until Jo snapped her fingers at him, borrowing his wicked grin.
“Don’t get distracted. And I thought you wanted to take it slow?” Jo closed the shower door. “My breakfast, please.”
Cam backed out of the bathroom with slow steps, relishing the opaque flashes of Jo’s body through the glass. Slow was overrated. He might want to sort things out in his mind before making love to Jo, but his body was ready now. He wasn’t sure how much longer he’d be able to convince his body to wait until he was sure it was safe.
Chapter Thirteen
Jo fell back, starfishing on the bed, letting the mattress envelop her tired body. She didn’t even bother taking off her dress and heels. What a day. She had been in meetings, taking calls, and plowing through paperwork all day to get things settled for the first Haitian adoptions. And Kenya wasn’t far behind.
“Am I doing good, Aunt Kris?”
Not that she ever expected an answer, but sometimes it made Jo feel closer to speak aloud. Made her feel like Aunt Kris watched and cared from heaven. That one spot no one would ever occupy again flooded with loneliness and overflowed Jo’s eyes. Just a few tears. Fewer every time. It had been nearly three years, and Jo still sometimes forgot she and Aunt Kris wouldn’t be headed for Paris to shop. Or planning the annual Christmas benefit. Or doing any of the many things that had drawn them closer than blood. That had made them friends. That had always made Aunt Kris feel more like Jo’s mother than the mother she had never known.
“I’m trying my best,” Jo whispered, her throat swollen with tears. “You always told me that’s all you expected from me.”
Seemed everyone else had other expectations of Jo and had no trouble making them known. The board expected bigger donations, more fund-raisers, a quicker pace on the adoption project. And what about the domestic front? Let’s not neglect home for foreign soil. Daddy was chairman of the board and had brilliantly positioned the foundation as one of the country’s most respected nonprofits, but Aunt Kris had been the heart, drive, and soul behind it. Aunt Kris was irreplaceable, and Jo had to replace her.
Thank God for Peter. Little had she known when the board hired him that he’d be such a godsend. Maybe he was just passing through. Hell, he had his family’s lumber empire waiting for him, but Jo would enjoy the help and support while she had him. And his friendship, even though he so obviously wanted more. Now that Cam had finally shown her how he actually felt, she knew she would have to talk with Peter. He had asked her to an outdoor concert tonight, and she’d pled exhaustion. Valid, but still a delay tactic. If Cam hadn’t stolen her heart long ago, Peter would have been the perfect match.
Even though she and Cam hadn’t made formal plans before she’d left after breakfast, he said he would see her after work. Daddy and Q were both still out of town. Jo closed her eyes and smiled. Maybe she could persuade him to stay again. She shivered a little, anticipating a repeat of the night before. Maybe more.
“You look like you’re thinking naughty thoughts.”
Cam stood over her, his grin wide and open. He looked happier than she had seen him in years. Had she done that?
“Cam, you have got to stop sneaking up on me.”
He lay down beside her and gathered her into a hug, pulling her into the crook of his shoulder.
“Sorry.” He kissed her temple, laced their fingers together, and rested them on his chest. “Hi.”
“Hi.” She scooted closer and threw one leg over both of his. “Hmmmm. I waited all day for this, you know.”
“Hard day?”
“Long day.” Jo tugged the dark hair flopping over his eyes. “This is getting really long.”
“You don’t like it?” He frowned into her palm.
“I like everything about you, mister.”
His body stiffened against her and he sat up, legs over the side of the bed, giving her only the breadth of his back.
“You don’t know everything.”
Jo scooted behind him, skirt scrunched up her legs on either side of him, and laid her head against his back.
“I know everything I need to know to lo…I know everything I need to know.”
Surely Cam knew she loved him? But it didn’t take Einstein to figure out it wasn’t just the sex he wanted to take slowly. They had been together not quite twenty-four hours. That L-word would have to wait, but Jo wanted to send an intergalactic memo so the whole world would know.