Page 9 of Below the Surface

“Let me guess—Piper?”

I feel the corners of my mouth curling into a smile.

“You’ve been spending a lot of time with her,” Sheila says.

“I guess I have.”

“I’m happy for you, Cam. Piper is terrific.”

Yes. She is.

“I haven’t heard you mention Kelsey much,” Sheila says.

I sigh.

“Avoiding her?” she asks.

“Maybe. I love Kels, but I kind of want this time for me and Piper. You know Kelsey. She’ll want details, and then she’ll want to tell me herthoughtsabouteverything.”

“Cam, you know Kelsey loves you more than anyone.”

I shake my head.

“She does,” Sheila says. “You’re the person who has always kept Kelsey from becoming reckless—with everything in life.”

“Honestly, Sheila, if that’s true, I don’t know why she insists on trying to convince me I should follow inherfootsteps.”

“Can I say something?”

Sheila is more than my assistant. In many ways, I’ve grown closer to her than I am to Kelsey. We’ve worked together for eight years. I bounce ideas and issues off her all day long. She went to high school with me and Kelsey. I haven’t spent a lot of time thinking about it, but Sheila knows me better than almost anyone. If I’m honest, she hasn’t been anassistantfor years. I count on her honesty and her ideas. She didn’t like the last woman I dated. She never said that. I could tell. But she adores Piper.

“Sure,” I say.

“Don’t worry about Kelsey right now. Concentrate on you and Piper, Cam. I see the way you light up when she calls.”

“Do I?”

“More than I’ve ever seen. You’re in love with her.”

The words hit me like a brick.

“Aren’t you?” she asks.

“I think I could be.”

Sheila laughs.

“Why is that funny?” I wonder.

“It’s not. You make me giggle sometimes. I get it. You’ve always been careful. Don’t be too careful this time,” Sheila says.

My gaze narrows.

“Let yourself be happy, Cam.”

“You like Piper.”

“Who wouldn’t like Piper? I also like the way she affects you.”