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"No. What Ithoughtwas Willow would like someone around the same age as me, so we'd be more like…"

I waited, but he never did finish the sentence. "Like what?" I said. "A regular family?"

"Shit. I dunno."

"Yes, you do," I said. "So you go out and hire hot single chicks – me excluded of course and—"

"Why not you?"

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Why are you excluded?"

I sighed. "Because I'm not the hot single type. I'm just a regular girl."

"Trust me, Cami. Whatever you are, it's not regular."

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, sure. But the point remains, you keep having the same problem over and over. But what do you do? You keep hiring the same type of people. And then, you act all surprised when the inevitable happens."

"And what's that?"

"When like total idiots, they fall for you."

Shit.

I hadn't meant to say it. But as soon as I did, I realized all too well that Ihadfallen for him. And it wasn't because he 'banged' like a Trojan or made my knees turn to jelly.

It was because for some messed up reason, I actually liked him. No. Imorethan liked him.

I loved him.

I loved his mind and his devotion to his family. I loved his strength and the way he'd sacrificed his own freedom to give Willow a home. I loved his smiles, as rare as they were. I loved his protective streak, even as maddening as it was sometimes.

But there was something Ididn'tlove.

It was the fact he didn't love me.

Maybe he was right. Maybe he didn't have it in him. Or maybe, he simply hadn't met the right person.

Either way, I'd meant what I said.I wasn't walking away.

Meaning from Willow, not Mason.

Him, I could totally do without – now, anyway.

On the other end of the phone, Mason had grown utterly silent. I knew why, too.

It was time to set him straight.

"And just so you know," I said, "I'm fine with keeping things professional. Like I already told you, I won't be knocking on your bedroom door. So unless youareplanning to fire me, I'll see when you get home."

And with that, I hung up on him for the second time in two days. And I didn’t feel the least bit guilty.

Chapter 45

Cami

When Mason returned two days later, I figured we'd at least talk about it. Or maybe he'd simply fire me and call it good.