Return To Passion. Carla Buchanan

hidden. She’d left for his sake—for their sake. Her leaving was supposed to be her liberating act—one that left them both free to realize their dreams.

      “I’m here for you, of course.”

      Had Camille been expecting that response? No. Should she have expected nothing other than the confident man she knew he’d become? Probably.

      “We don’t know each other anymore, Remi. That was ten years ago and we were stupid teenagers. Stupid teenagers who made stupid promises they could never have kept. I left, Remi. Obviously you haven’t heard. So, you should probably just...go.”

      Tears were forming and threatening to spill by the time she got out the last word. She didn’t think saying the words would hurt her so much. She wanted to turn away so she could experience the full range of her emotions, but she needed to know if she’d hit her mark. Pushing back the tears, Camille squared her shoulders and waited.

      “Know you? Well, that is a joke, isn’t it? Of course I don’t know you, Camille. I don’t know the person who lied and said she would stand by me. I don’t know the person who left without so much as a call or a note. You have some nerve, you know that? I should be angry with you. I should never want to speak to you again and here I am trying to—”

      “Leave,” Camille said in a low voice. Charlie was her best friend and Remi was nothing more than an ex—an ex whom she still needed to protect despite her true feelings. “Leave, Remington! Get out now,” Camille said and balled her fists at her sides. She then looked at Charlie and he nodded his support, knowing why she had to do this to Remi.

      Remi noticed their eye contact, and he glanced from one to the other. “You two together now? Is that what this is about? You finally get her into bed, Charlie?”

      Slap.

      Camille could not believe she’d just done that and stepped back shaking her hand while Remington held the side of his face in astonishment. Although she had to admit it had worked out perfectly. She’d provoked him to anger and surely he’d leave now and forget about her. It was why this whole act was necessary.

      “I deserve that,” Remi admitted. “I shouldn’t have said that and I’m sorry.”

      “I said leave, Remington, especially if this is all you came here for.” He really needed to remove himself from the premises because she could almost feel herself slowly giving in. “Maybe...maybe we can talk...”

      Had those words fallen from her lips? She’d meant to think them, not say them aloud. Thankfully Remington said, “Forget it,” and turned to walk toward the door. “And just so you know... I forgave you a long time ago,” he said not looking back at her and then walking out the door without another word.

      Was this what gum on the bottom of someone’s shoe felt like? Probably pretty close to it. She’d known this encounter would happen, but she didn’t think it would be this soon and she hadn’t expected him to do that when he first saw her.

      Camille didn’t know what had driven Remington Krane to go through the trouble of actually stopping by, but he’d left her with a simple, sweet, memorable kiss that had so much power and meaning behind it. It would take a while to get over this, but she knew it was for the best.

      * * *

      What had come over him, he wasn’t quite sure. Remington had gone over to that house to simply let Camille know that he was aware she was in town and that this time she wouldn’t be hiding from him. He also wanted to tell her that he was sorry about her father and to offer his help in any way she needed.

      But the visit had not gone that way.

      She had opened the door before he’d had a chance to knock, catching him off guard. He’d planned to give himself a little pep talk before ringing the doorbell but seeing her had made him forget all that.

      He’d looked down at her standing there with her mouth opening and closing like a cute little guppy and his little friend down below had started to throb as if asking him if they were both seeing the same thing. They were. Camille had stood there in a pair of sexy little lounge shorts and a tank top with no bra. He even guessed that she might have been panty-less since the shorts left little to the imagination.

      His groin had done the moving for him as it took over and propelled him in her direction. He’d not intended to kiss her without even saying hello but other parts of him had other plans and he’d not been in control of his actions.

      That was the story he was sticking to.

      Then it had all gone to hell with her best friend being there. He knew the man thought of her as a little sister so he couldn’t blame him for his protectiveness. However, when it got in his way, it was annoying.

      It was easy to see she had not meant the words she’d yelled at him. It was even easier to feel how she’d responded to his touch. It had been unmistakable. The girl was a woman now and the woman had wanted him.

      Remi drove through the streets of town trying to calm himself. He was angry with himself for not sticking to his plan, he was angry with Camille for her reaction to his presence, and he was angry with Charlie for simply existing.

      The anger had him driving aimlessly around town, but somehow he had ended up right back at her house. He didn’t go in this time but instead stood outside the gate. He looked over the fence at the shed. He and Camille had spent many a day making out in that shed when they were supposed to be completing a task for her father’s landscaping business.

      He smiled as he remembered when he and Camille had first started dating. Mr. Ryan would not allow Remi to set foot in his home. His daughter was only fifteen and a sophomore and he was about to be eighteen and a senior. Mr. Ryan had forbid his daughter to date until she was sixteen but she’d begged him to let Remi come over, vouching for his good nature. Her father was a pushover when it came to Camille and couldn’t say no. After that, Remi became a regular fixture at the Ryan home since Remi’s grandfather had made it clear that he did not approve of his grandson dating someone with such a “common” background.

      Remi stood in front of Camille’s childhood home for a while longer before leaving. He noticed the light in her old bedroom was on and briefly watched as her silhouette passed the window. Seconds later the room went dark, which was his signal to stop acting like a stalker.

      “God, please watch over the man who raised the woman I love and restore him to full health,” he prayed before getting in his car and returning to his home.

Chapter 4

      Two days after her arrival in town, Camille’s father was released to her care and that of that home health nurse. He was given a better prognosis than she’d anticipated, along with the all-clear to return to normal activities as long as he cut down on some of his more strenuous ones.

      She’d taken him home to find the nurse already waiting. Camille had cooked a small meal and prepared an area for her father to rest and relax. He’d grumbled and groaned as she’d helped him to the house, but his whole demeanor had changed when he’d laid eyes on the woman who’d be caring for his needs for the next week.

      Now as she stepped into the grocery store, Camille thought about her life in New York for the first time in days. She’d have to return to her apartment soon. She had a profession that was ruled by deadlines and she needed to get in touch with her agent to discuss them. The woman was a barracuda and a shark and any other ferocious animal all rolled into one. She could find a bookstore in the middle of Antarctica to sell Reese Elaine books in if she so chose. And she’d done just that if her lengthy phone message that morning was anything to go by. Anna had arranged for Camille to meet with a potential distributor who was also a fan. The woman had agreed to not take any pictures if she could simply meet Camille, the woman attached to the pseudonym Reese Elaine. Her publishing team had wanted to do business with this distributor but it was too costly. The meeting would guarantee a substantial discount for them and make it happen. Camille was just glad she’d packed for