That also seemed intimate. Him coming as close as he could but then wanting actual acquiescence from her. Verbal acknowledgment that she was agreeing.

“Whit,” he said, his voice low and rough. “Push me back or pull me closer.”

She slid her hands up to his chest, not sure until the last moment if she was going to fist his shirt and pull him in or push him away.

Cam, however, didn’t look surprised when she pushed.

He let go and stepped back though. He didn’t seem angry or even frustrated. It seemed that he’d been expecting her reaction actually.

“Okay,” he finally said.

She wet her lips. “Thanks,” she said, hoarsely. And she meant it. She appreciated that he was giving her these choices. Kind of.

It would be a lot easier to just climb him like a tree and give in to everything zipping between them if he’d just back her up against the wall, seal his mouth over hers, and start running his big hands over her body. Then she could pretend she was just caught up in the moment and enjoy the hell out of it without actually admitting she wanted any of that.

Which he knew.

She could see it.

He knew that she wanted him, but that she didn’t want to admit it.

So, of course, he was going to make her confess before he did anything more.

“In case you’ve forgotten, I’m very stubborn,” he said.

Whitney gave him a nod. “I remember.”

“And something you should know about me and the past ten years,” he said, holding her gaze steadily, “I’ve also gotten very used to winning. “

That actually made her heart trip and her inner muscles clench.

See, she should really feel trepidation at that implied promise from him. But she didn’t. Right along with liking the feel of being wanted was a flutter of excitement over being pursued. No one came after her. Outside of invitations to fundraisers or, again, the occasional dinner date that she almost always said no to, she wasn’t asked for much. And no one ever asked more than once.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” she said, trying desperately not to act excited about the idea of him trying again and again to get close to her.

He looked at her for a long moment and a thought flickered through her mind—he knows.

It was possible. Cam knew her well. Or he had known her well. But back in high school she’d been a lot more sought after. People had wanted her on school committees and projects. She’d been a cheerleader, runner-up for Homecoming Queen, invited to parties. She’d been popular. Wanted.

For stupid things like picking a winter dance theme or helping girlfriends do their hair for pool parties.

But she’d absolutely been wanted by Cam back then. He’d wanted everything then. He’d planned on them getting married. He’d planned for them to spend their lives together.

But now, no one wanted her for important things.

Until Aiden and the guys had taken over Hot Cakes.

Until Cam had decided he wanted to date her again.

She blew out a breath. It was crazy how important both of those things were to her.

She shouldn’t lead Cam on. She shouldn’t tease him and make him think there was a chance if there wasn’t.

But maybe it was okay to relish being wanted for a little while.

And for sure Camden McCaffery could handle being teased. He might even enjoy it.

“You gonna show me to my new room?” he asked, his tone changing to a more playful note. His eyes told her that he was onto her.

“I’m sure you can find your way,” she said, feeling a jolt of… something. Playful and teasing could be fun. It was clear that Cam was going to let her call some of the shots. That made her feel less jittery about everything. “Third door on the left is probably the best choice.” She moved to step around him, planning to join Didi while he headed upstairs. She didn’t need to show him the way. She shouldn’t show him the way. They might not make it back down here.

“Why is that?”

“It’s one of the bigger rooms,” she said. “It has its own bathroom.”

“And how many doors are there between that one and yours?”

Her belly flipped and she felt warmth rush over her. She glanced over her shoulder feeling something she hadn’t felt in a very long time. Sassy.

“A couple. And several squeaky floorboards,” she tossed back to him. She paused. “But it’s not like Didi can hear squeaky floorboards when her hearing aids are out.”

Then she turned and headed down the hall before he could say—or do—anything else.

It wasn’t as if he’d never been mixed up and wound up because of Whitney Lancaster before.

She was the only woman who had ever actually confused him. But he knew why. She was the only woman he’d ever cared enough about to try to figure out. He was sure that had he ever tried to figure another woman out, he would have been confused then too.

But as he took his suitcase up to his new temporary bedroom, he was trying to figure out what was going through Whitney’s mind for sure.

She’d given in on him staying here with Didi far easier than he’d expected. It was a little crazy when he first thought it or said it out loud. But when he was talking to Didi about it, or explaining it to Whitney, it actually made sense.

Bottom line, he wanted to be here, Didi wanted Katherine to not to be here, and Whitney needed someone to be here with Didi.

Win-win-win.

Whitney had agreed, if reluctantly. Then she’d let him almost kiss her. Sure, in the end, she’d pushed him back, but she hadn’t done it with any feeling. She’d seemed reluctant about that too.

He meant it when he said he was stubborn and used to winning.

The question really was, what was he trying to win?

He’d gone into this with Whitney thinking that they just needed to figure out what they were going to be going forward. They needed to see what was still there and what was real now.

It had taken less than twenty-four hours for him to shift to wanting her. Period. Not just physically—though that was as strong as ever, if not stronger—but just her. He wanted to be the one she leaned on when she needed help. He wanted to be the one coming home to her as he’d done tonight. He wanted to be the one she came home to.

He was shocked by how quickly that shift had happened and how strong those wants were.

They still needed to get to know each other again. They still needed time to go over the past ten years. And for what the next ten would look like.

He was still going to have to come to terms with how important Hot Cakes was to her. He was willing to help her do what she wanted at work. He wanted to support her. He wanted her to feel included and valued the way her family apparently hadn’t included or valued her.

But he also wanted to show her there was more to life than that company.

He felt a ball of frustration tighten in his gut thinking about how much she’d given the company and how determined she was now to make it the most important thing in her life.

He knew many strong, independent women. He’d been raised by two, was the older brother to one, got to work with one—Piper—every day. He loved strong women. He wanted Whitney to be one.

But his grandmother, mom, sister, and friend knew there was more to life than work.