She had to admit that her noontime meeting on the beach with him had gone well. After their walk they had returned to the towel and shared lunch. Their conversation had mostly been about the new addition to the Steele family, a beautiful little boy named Alden who had been born to Chance and Kylie, who had joined his teenage son and her teenage daughter together into an amazing blended family. They also talked about Morgan’s bid for political office and how Cameron intended to be a part of Morgan’s campaign staff. After they had finished eating, Cameron had walked her back to her place and, with nothing more than a peck on the cheek, he’d left.
“I never did thank you for the roses. They’re beautiful,” she said, finally breaking the silence surrounding them in the two-seater vehicle. “And the wine was a nice touch.”
He gave a quick glance over at her. “You’re more than welcome for both.”
When silence settled between them again she decided to ask, “Is this car yours or is it a rental?”
“It’s mine. I purchased it the first day I arrived, and I plan to keep it here on the island to use whenever I’m here. Do you like it?”
She smiled. “Yes, actually I do. Morgan bought a sports car for Lena as a wedding gift, but I’m sure you know that.”
He chuckled. “Yes, I know. It’s a nice set of wheels.”
Vanessa nodded in agreement. “Lena said she’d always wanted one, but had always stuck to purchasing something practical. Morgan decided to indulge her and she loves it.”
“And he loves her.”
Vanessa glanced over at Cameron. He sounded so sure of that, but then everyone was aware of how Morgan felt about his wife. He wasn’t ashamed to wear his heart on his sleeve. Neither were Chance and Sebastian. They had been fortunate enough to meet women who were worth every ounce of their love, and since getting to know them and seeing what beautiful people Kylie, Lena and Jocelyn were, both inside and out, Vanessa understood why.
Deciding to keep the focus of the conversation on anyone but them, she said, “At what point do you think he fell in love with her?”
She had heard the story of how Morgan had been swept off his feet the moment Lena had walked into the ballroom at some charity function, but since Cameron and Morgan were close friends she wanted to hear his thoughts.
“According to Morgan, he fell for her the first time he saw her. Instant love. I understand it can happen that way sometimes.”
“Do you really believe that?”
They had arrived at the restaurant and Cameron noticed he was behind a few other cars waiting for valet parking. He turned to Vanessa, thinking that she had asked a good question and he wanted her to see the similarities between their situation and Morgan and Lena’s.
“Yes. I believe a man can meet a woman and fall in love the moment he sets eyes on her.” He could tell by the gentle lift of her brow that she was surprised by his response.
“That’s interesting to hear you say that. Please elaborate.”
He smiled. He’d figured she would want him to. “There’s really nothing to elaborate on, Vanessa. Contrary to what some women think, all men aren’t horrid.”
“Women don’t think all men are horrid.”
“Maybe not all of you, but enough of you do to give some of us a bad rap. All it takes is for one man to mess up, and the masses of your gender assume the next one will do the same.”
She straightened in her seat, her body going on the defensive as she frowned at him. “Are you saying if the roles were reversed that a man wouldn’t be just as cautious? That a man wouldn’t protect his heart from further pain?”
Cameron smiled weakly, remembering that he was currently at that stage in his own life. Stacy McCann had definitely done a job on him when she’d claimed that although she loved him, she had to obey her father and marry a man who’d been born into wealth instead of considering marriage to Cameron—a man her father referred to as a “young punk with pipe dreams.”
“No,” he said. “All I’m saying is that at some point you have to move on and take another chance, risk all.” At least to a certain degree.