Chapter 205: Something in Return
"To be with me..."
Her breath caught.
The silence between them thickened, heavy and electric. Her fingers tightened around the stem of her glass. She couldn’t look away—not from his eyes, not from the storm quietly building behind them.
She had no clever reply. No snarky comeback. Only the thunderous beat of her heart, and the undeniable, terrifying thought that maybe—just maybe—he was right.
"No response?" Ric asked, his voice low and edged with a teasing smirk. But beneath it, his eyes searched her face—hungry for an answer, any answer. "Not even a comment?"
Cammy parted her lips, then closed them again, struggling to speak. Her voice—always so quick, so sure—betrayed her now. Nothing came out. Just silence. Charged and deafening.
Ric let out a breath, almost a sigh, masking the tension rising in his chest. "It’s alright," he said, more gently this time. "I know how you feel about Greg. I’m not blind. But Cammy..." He hesitated, then leaned in slightly, his tone quiet but firm.
"If things between you and him fall apart—if they crash and burn like I think they might—I need you to know that I’m here. I’ve always been here."
Her heart twisted. Cammy gave a small, sad smile, one that didn’t quite reach her eyes. She nodded, her voice barely a whisper. "I know, Ric. And... thank you. Thank you for always showing up, even when you didn’t have to."
He looked at her a moment longer, as if memorizing the curve of her smile, the glint in her eyes, the shape of her silence. Then he broke the spell with a nod and rose from his seat.
"Well," he said with forced lightness, brushing invisible lint from his sleeve, "if there’s nothing else you need tonight, I should head out. I hate to cut the night short, but I’ve got to be up early for the hospital program in the morning."