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before shaking
her head. “I don’t believe so. Why?”
    “Nothing. Just, um, ran into him today.
Wondered if he was a weirdo freak or anything like that.”
    Serena smiled, and it was probably the first
genuine smile that Camryn had witnessed all week. “So this is a guy
that seems interesting to you?” she asked, putting down the scarf.
She left the bed and decided to walk down the hall with Camryn to
the kitchen. It was totally unexpected, but Camryn just went along
with it.
    “Yeah, he was pretty good-looking.”
    “And what was his name again?”
    “Teague.”
    She raised a perfectly sculpted eyebrow.
“Hmm, that’s not a name I’m used to hearing.”
    “Mmhmm,” Camryn replied as she removed the
meat from the fridge.
    “So did you exchange numbers or anything?”
Serena asked, preparing a pot for the noodles at the same time.
    Since Camryn was so happy that her mom was
actually doing something, she decided to keep answering her
questions. “Nah, we didn’t. Maybe I’ll see him around again. Hey, I
met Kyah,” she added, changing the subject.
    “Oh, did you? What’d you think of her?”
    “She seems really nice. I think we really
should go over there for Christmas dinner.” She noticed her mom’s
frown and said, “Why don’t you want to go? It’s for Christmas, Mom.
Please?”
    “Cami, I’m not ready to be around people.
Why don’t you go? You and Kyah are both twenty-two; you’ll have
someone fun to spend the holiday with. I really wish you didn’t
have to be here this time of year and…” The waterworks returned and
she grabbed a paper towel from the counter to blot her tears. “I’d
feel so much happier if you just went, Camryn.”
    “Fine, I’ll go,” she agreed. It bothered her
that she was going to spend Christmas with a bunch of strangers,
but if it meant getting out of her mom’s house again, she’d do it.
She almost wished she hadn’t told Serena she could stay with her
for a couple of weeks, but being dishonest about stuff like that
wasn’t Camryn’s style.
    For now she would just bide her time the
best she could.

Chapter Four
     
     
    A run was a run. At least that’s what Camryn
tried convincing herself. It was four o’clock on Christmas Eve and
now she was facing the nine flights of stairs that led to the
beach. Teague might not even be at home, but she was still driving
herself crazy with anxiety. Maybe what she felt was fear, but she
was trying her best to ignore it. She was interested in
Teague—which was understandable since he was sexy as hell—but she
did not like how off-balanced he made her feel. After one run-in
with him— one , damn it—he had her thoughts jumbled up instead
of nicely arranged with logic. That hadn’t happened since Zach, and
Camryn was taken by surprise that she had actually met someone she
couldn’t stop thinking about.
    “It’s called lust,” she decided, and she
descended the stairs in record time, breaking into a jog the second
she hit the sand. But she wasn’t going to kill herself this time.
The tide was out and she had no reason to hurry.
    She didn’t even look directly at his house
as she got closer. She could see the stairs were empty, but he was
never there on her first trip by anyways. Out of the corner of her
eye she couldn’t tell if anyone was on the deck, either.
    Damn, she was tempted to push herself, just
to get through her run faster so she could pass by his house on her
way back. She did urge herself to hurry—just a little—but didn’t
want to overdo it. When she was finally close enough to see his
stairs on the way back, she didn’t like the disappointment that
rushed through her. He wasn’t there, and she was mad at herself for
even caring.
    To hell with pacing. She pushed even harder,
passing his house and using the memories of her crashing into him
on the sidewalk to punish herself. She’d been utterly humiliated,
but landing on his body like that had been entirely worth it. She
wondered what it