Page 21 of Camden

A smirk pulled at the corner of my mouth. “It’s got sex in it if that’s what you’re asking.”

“You’re not even a little bit embarrassed I caught you reading erotica?”

Tucking one leg underneath myself, I rested back in the corner of the booth. “Not erotica. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but this is classified as romance. And should I be embarrassed?” I asked. I’d never been ashamed of the fact I read romance. It’s no one’s business but my own. I mean, I didn’t go around asking men what kind of porn they watched. Why should I have to explain my choice of book?

I stared at him as he inspected the book further.

“Not at all. It’s kinda hot. Tell me, Stephanie, do you picture me when you read about this cop?” He licked his bottom lip, his hot gaze trained on mine. My core clenched.

I swallowed hard. “No.”

“I think you do.”

“Why would you think that?” My fingers toyed with the edge of the table.

Cam motioned to the cover. “Because I would look better on the cover than this bozo,” he said. He wasn’t wrong. I had only seen Cam without a shirt one time by accident, but it wasn’t something I would easily forget. The man’s muscles had muscle and I swear there were at least eight abs. Not Six. Eight.

“Ah, but this guy knows what I like. That’s why I’m reading it for the second time.” I teased as if the character was real. It was my second time reading the book and although the sex scenes were hot, the love story captivated me.

The hero loved the heroine unconditionally, regardless of her past. He loved her with his entire being and always put her first always. That’s what made romances so much better than real life. Why book boyfriends were so much better. It was hard for real men to measure up.Especially the men I dated.

“What you like?”

“You know, what gets me hot.” I bit the inside of my lip to hide my enjoyment of watching his mouth drop open.

He recovered quickly, rubbing his jaw thoughtfully. The day-old scruff made him that much more attractive, though I knew he would have to shave it soon.What would he look like with a full beard?Probably a mountain man. “Hmm. I bet I could do it better,” he said, snapping me out of my wayward thoughts.

“For that to happen, you would need to know what he does,” I pointed out.

“You could tell me.”

“Or, better idea, you could read the book.”

He stared at the cover, one brow cocked. “You want me to read this book?”

I laughed at the surprise lacing his voice. “No, I said you could read the book. If you wanted to know what happens in it. What he does to the heroine to make her toes curl.”

“Well, damn,” He mumbled and pulled his phone out, hovering it over the book.

“What are you doing?”

He glanced at me with darkened eyes while the camera shutter sounded, clicking loudly in the quiet lobby. I shifted to look around and noticed the other two customers left sometime during our conversation. Even Stacey disappeared into the kitchen, leaving Cam and me alone. “Taking a picture of the cover.”

“Why?”

“So I can buy myself a copy. I’m going to read it and then prove to you that the real-life version is better.” He was definitely confident in his abilities.

While the idea of Camden reading a book with a half-naked man on the cover amused me, the idea of him reading the same sex scenes and romance I enjoyed made my skin prickle with nerves.

I took a sip of my coffee to calm myself. “There’s just one problem with your plan.”

“What?”

“You would have to convince me to participate.” I shrugged, but at this point, I’m not sure it’d take much. I had to stay strong and let my gut lead the way. I needed to know more about him. Needed to know him like he seemed to know me.

He leaned in to press a quick kiss below my ear, making me still. “Working on it, babe. Working on it.” Warm breath ghosted over my skin, causing my eyes to slowly close. It wouldn’t take much for either of us to lean forward and press our lips together. As tempting as the thought was, I couldn’t do it. My phone buzzed on the wooden table, breaking our connection, and signaling it was time for me to leave.

Gathering my book and phone, I motioned for him to scoot out of the booth. “Sorry. I need to get to the hospital.” I hesitated as we both awkwardly stood at the end of the table. Okay…I was awkward. Cam was perfect with a cute, boyish smile. Without much thought, I went up on my toes and gave him a quick hug. One so fast he didn’t have time to hug me back before I pulled away.