Chapter Twelve

“Out!” Gael shouted from across the net on the tennis court.

“That was in by a mile,” Nash argued from the same side of the court as Cam. They were playing doubles. Cam and Nash against Gael and their dad. Gael had questionable eyesight when it came to calling balls in or out.

The set was tied at five, and with Gael’s call, he now had the advantage to win the game on the next serve and bring the score to six-five.

Their dad turned to Reese. She’d arrived a few minutes ago to say a quick hello, but another controversial line call had Nash asking her to stay and watch as line judge. Cam hadn’t seen her in two days, deciding to put some distance between them and focus 100 percent on his screenplay. It had paid off; he’d written more the past forty-eight hours than he had in the past two months.

Seeing her today made him appreciate her even more. She’d been happy to let him do his thing, sending an occasional text to cheer him on, and he’d missed her. Missed her voice and the smiles she so freely gave. Her smell. Even her interruptions to his writing routine.

That last one was more telling than he was comfortable acknowledging. Although his entire family disrupted his writing schedule when he was home. Case in point: their tennis game.

“What do you say, Reese?” his dad asked her. “In or out?”

“I agree it was out.”

Nash grumbled on his way to the service line while Cam got in position at the baseline. Gael served and Cam hit a forehand down the sideline, past his dad standing at the net, for a winning shot. Deuce. He and Nash fist-bumped. And they won the next two points, breaking Gael’s serve and giving them the lead.

The four of them walked to the bench for a drink of water before changing sides. Cam grabbed his towel to wipe the sweat from his face and neck. The lone cloud with the potential to block the sun drifted too far south to be helpful.

His eyes met Reese’s when he pulled the towel off his face. He tried his best not to go there, to the warm, generous window to her thoughts. She was easy to read and right now he swore she’d missed him too. Missed him as more than a friend.

“I’m telling you, cold showers have physical and mental health benefits that hot showers don’t,” Nash said, continuing their conversation from the last change of sides.

“Don’t care,” Gael said. “I’m not giving up hot water.”

“You could ease into it,” Cam suggested. “After a few minutes of your hot shower, turn the water cold for a minute, then go back to hot.”

“And ruin a good shower. No thanks.” Gael tossed his towel onto the ground.

“Your mom got me one of those cryotherapy things once after I hurt my back,” his dad said. “I went into a freezing tank for a few minutes and let me tell you, I couldn’t get out of there fast enough. I suppose I might have gone into it with the wrong frame of mind, but I didn’t feel better afterward.”

“You’re lucky your balls didn’t fall off,” Gael said.

Their dad cleared his throat and looked pointedly from Gael to Reese.

“Sorry, Reese,” Gael added.

She waved off his apology. “I worked in a physical therapy office for a little while and athletes would come in to soak in ice baths. They came back more than once so I’m guessing it worked for them.”

Nash grinned. “Hear that, gentlemen? It works.” He lifted his racquet from where it rested against the bench and strode toward the baseline, picking up two tennis balls as he went.

Cam and Reese shared another glance before he walked to his position on the service line. Nash served to their dad. He hit a blooper over Cam’s head, but not good enough. Cam jumped up for an overhead and smashed the ball for a winning shot. Next, he poached the ball on Gael’s service return, volleying for another point in his and Nash’s favor. Was he showing off for Reese? Yes, he was.

He and Nash won the next two points, taking the set seven-five. They slapped their palms against each other’s, slid their hands back to pull on each other’s fingertips, then waved their fingers as they lifted their hands into the air.

“Boo-ya,” they said in unison.

Reese watched them, not that he had one eye on her or anything.

“Good game,” their dad said with joy, walking to the net. He was the one who had gotten the three of them into the sport as kids, and they rotated partners every time they played.

“Good game,” Cam echoed and patted his dad on the back before bumping knuckles with Gael. Time with his family was the reason he came home every July. He reminded himself to cherish it.

“Your mom’s got lunch waiting for all of us.” Dad didn’t let them off the hook until they’d eaten, too.

“I’ll catch you next time.” Reese picked up his dad’s racquet cover and handed it to him. “I should get back to work.”

“You got it.”

With everything cleaned up and in their hands, Cam, his brothers, and their dad said goodbye to Reese and walked toward the house. Before they rounded the big oak tree, he looked over his shoulder. She’d sat down on the bench, seemingly content to enjoy the sunshine. Cam fought the urge to join her.

…

Reese stared at the white line of the tennis court, lost in space.

Or more precisely, lost in Proxima Centauri, the star system in one of the screenplays she’d read for Shay. If she were ever stranded on an Earth-like planet and could only bring one thing with her, she’d bring Cam.

She’d missed him the past two days. After falling asleep together while on the phone, she wasn’t surprised he wanted some space. He didn’t like needing her like that, even though she didn’t mind it in the least. In fact, she secretly loved it.

“You okay, Nitro?” Nash asked, casting a shadow over her.

She peered up at him. “Just enjoying the sunshine for a minute. Did you forget something?”

He sat down next to her. “When my mom heard we left you, she insisted someone come find you and ask you to reconsider lunch.”

And he’d volunteered, not Cam.

Nash laughed.

“What’s so funny?”

“You. And my brother. Thanks for confirming my suspicions. He looked like he wanted to punch me when I said I’d go find you, and you just looked like you’d lost your puppy when I said someone and here I am.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You’re a terrible liar.”

She hoped not. There was too much at risk this month. She also knew she could trust Nash. “Fine. There’ve been some weird vibes between us.”

“Oh, I know.”

“He’s my best friend, Nash.”

“Know that, too.”

“And…” She didn’t know what to say or how to explain these new feelings.

Nash put his elbows on his knees and stared at the ground before lifting his head and saying, “If you want my opinion, I think it’s a bad idea. If he screws it up, then we all lose you because of the awkwardness that would happen afterward.” He turned his head to look right at her. “And not saying we all don’t love you, but the person it would destroy the most is our mom.”

“I know. It would kill me, too.” She glanced away. “It’s me who’s screwing it up already, by the way.”

“What are you talking about?”

She wiped a bead of perspiration from her temple, eager to ease her guilty conscience with her trustworthy friend. “His jerkface agent asked me to spy on him and make sure he turns his script in on time.” God, it felt good to get that off her chest.

“Spying is never good.”

“I know! I feel terrible about it. He said… He said my job was on the line and that he’d ruin Cam’s career.”

“Jesus. I knew Leo Halston could be a dick, but that’s taking it too far. I can have my agent—”

“No. Please don’t do anything. Or say anything to Cam. I’ve got this.” Maybe. Hopefully.

“The guy threatened you and my brother. I can’t just sit back and—”

“Please. Let me figure out what to do. I shouldn’t have said anything.”

He squeezed her hand. “I’m always here for you, 24/7, and I’ll stay quiet for now, but if you need me for any reason…”

“Thank you.”

“Cam is going to be pissed when he finds out.” Nash leaned back on the bench.

“I’m hoping he doesn’t find out.”

“Like you can keep this from him forever. Especially if you two decide to…take things beyond flirting.” He raised his eyebrows in question.

“Nothing is going to happen. We won’t let it. Like you said, it’s not just my friendship with Cam that I want to protect, but with you and Gael. Pixie and Paul. Your family means too much to me. And the bottom line is, you guys are Cam’s family, and I would never do anything to cause tension between you. Not after the loss you went through as kids.”

Nash gave her hand another squeeze. “Hang in there.”

“Thanks, I will.”

“Now, if you want a piece of this…” He waved down his body. “Since we aren’t besties.”

She laughed.

“Not the response I usually get.” He winked at her.

In that moment, it hit her square in the chest that the only brother with the power to sneak into her heart like that was Cam.

“Now, how about some lunch? If I don’t return with you my mom will just send me back out.”

“Okay.” She walked to the house with Nash, nervous to see Cam, which really pissed her off. They didn’t get nervous around each other. Not that he was nervous. Or maybe he was? The obvious edge to some of their interactions meant it was time to get back to normal. She’d been a part of this family her whole life and she wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize it.

Walking into the kitchen, Gael greeted her with, “Get over here, Nitro.”

Paul smiled at her.

Pixie hugged her. “Oh good, all my kids are here now.”

And Cam? His eyes welcomed her with assurance. He wanted his best friend here as much as everyone else did.