interest. He was an ass man through
and through, and though Eve was slender, she had a generously rounded behind that balanced a nice
C-cup up front. Before he left Harmony, he'd know that kil er body intimately. That reality helped to
soften the others as he faced his past.
"I'm sorry," Cam said again. "I'm attacking you with questions. You must think I'm nuts."
He didn't know her wel enough to pass judgment on her mental state. "It's okay."
"One at a time, I promise. So ... where were you before coming here?"
Dean shook off his reserve. If Cam could be so at ease, then so could he. "When I got your letter I
was in Vegas. Before that, I'd been out of the country."
"Where?" she demanded playful y. "Someplace exotic?"
"Europe mostly."
She pretended a half-swoon. " Europe. I'm so jealous."
"I travel a lot. It's not a big deal."
"It is to me. I've never even been out of Kentucky."
"Never?" Eve had gone in so fast, she left the sliding doors open, and Cam urged him into a cool breakfast and family room combination that opened into the kitchen. He glanced around,
reacquainting himself with his childhood home. "You're kidding, right?"
He'd watched morning cartoons in this room, stretched out on the sofa in his pajamas. He'd played
with two-year-old Cam on the carpeted floor. Things were different— pieces of the furniture, the
window treatments, even the wal colors. But it was also the same.
"Nope. After school I attended a local col ege for awhile, but..." She rushed past that topic with nervous haste, as if embarrassed that she hadn't gotten a degree. "What would you like to drink?
Soda, tea, coffee?"
Dean eyed her. "Got a beer?"
She blanched. "Sorry, no." After a quick glimpse at the clock on the wal , her fingers tangled in a fretful way.
Did she consider two in the afternoon too early to drink? "Is there a problem, Cam?"
"No, it's just..." Her shoulders lifted. "I'm sorry, but Aunt Lorna doesn't believe in drinking. She forbids alcohol in the house."
Grover had told him a lot about Lorna, including what a pious, judgmental bitch she could be.
Because of her, he didn't know his sisters. Lorna had forbidden any contact.
Was she due home soon? Is that why Cam checked the clock?
Unwil ing to make an issue of it so soon, Dean shrugged. He trailed her into the kitchen area.
"Unsweetened ice tea then, if you have it."
"Of course." Cam pul ed out a chair like a gal ant knight. "Please, sit down. Make yourself comfortable. Are you hungry? I could make you a sandwich."
"No, thanks."
"Soup? We have some left over from yesterday. Or I could make you—"
He cut her off, saying, "I'm not hungry." Good God, Cam could talk a mile a minute. He supposed
some of that was excitement.
At seeing him.
Fuck.
"Then how about a cookie? Homemade. I baked some fresh this morning. Oatmeal and raisin."
Protective, with a Martha Stewart inclination? His sister was an interesting paradox. "I don't eat
sweets very often."
He might have said he had two heads, with the way she reacted to that. "You don't? Why ever not?"
"I have to stay in shape."
With a half laugh, she scoffed at him. "You're in shape, al right." Plopping her hat and sunglasses on the counter, she strode to the refrigerator to get his drink. '"Just look at you. You're al bulging
muscle."
Dean didn't want her thinking him a fanatic, so he explained. "I'm a fighter, Cam. My diet is an
important part of my lifestyle."
Drawing to a halt, she turned to gape at him. "A fighter? "
Unsure if her look meant revulsion or intrigue, he said nothing.
"No cookies, but beer is okay?" Suspicion brought her brows down and she propped her hands on
her hips. "How's that work?"
He realized she was teasing, and he smiled with her. "Hey, I have to draw the line somewhere. No
way am I going to give up everything, and I'd rather watch the sweets. But I limit my drinking to the times in between fights. When I'm training, I cut out the alcohol, too."
"You must have