She shouldn’t.

She shouldn’t get used to him being here. She shouldn’t like him being here. It was nice that he was here helping if Didi really did want him here. Whitney definitely wanted her grandmother to be happy, of course. And it was only for the month. That made it not one-hundred percent crazy. Maybe only eighty percent.

But the strongest emotion Whitney should feel was gratitude. Gratitude that she could work late. And that Didi was happy. And that her house hadn’t been on fire at any point in the hours since she’d left it that morning.

As far as she knew.

If there had been a fire, it had been taken care of and the house was still standing. That was fine in Whitney’s book. As long as she didn’t have to deal with it.

She stopped in the doorway to the kitchen.

Cam was at the stove, his back to her. He was stirring something in a bowl on the counter next to the stove. There was a pan of something on the stove and she noticed a cake pan next to him as well. It smelled heavenly. Chocolatey. Rich.

He was wearing one of her grandmother’s aprons too. Over a dark gray t-shirt and a pair of jeans. The t-shirt fit snugly to his shoulders and back which tapered to his waist and tight ass. His muscles bunched as he stirred, drawing her attention, as always, to his tattoos.

Yeah, her grandma wasn’t the only one who liked muscles and tattoos.

Whitney sighed.

Gratitude was not the only thing she felt about him being here.

She felt hot and like there were bees buzzing around in her stomach. Not butterflies. Nothing as gentle and sweet as that. The sensation was a lot more insistent and absolutely not sweet.

She also felt conflicted.

So Cam wasn’t really her boss in the way that she might have to worry if she was the VP of Marketing and Sales in any other company. The owners of the company, including Cam, trusted her and needed her. They didn’t treat her like a subordinate. She didn’t actually think they’d fire her if she and Cam slept together. Even if it ended badly and she threw one of Zoe’s muffins at him during a meeting. Or something.

In fact, she had the impression that she might even have the other guys on her side if she threw a muffin at Cam. Provided she had a good reason. Which she would. Of course.

If they were to try to have a relationship and he left dirty socks all over the bedroom rather than putting them in the hamper or something, she’d just throw muffins at him at home. She’d save work muffin throwing for work-related issues.

Not that she and Cam were going to try to have a relationship.

At least not one that involved his socks on her bedroom floor.

They were going to be… something that had nothing to do with socks. She supposed they had a relationship in the strictest sense of the word. The way she had a relationship with Aiden. There was history, sure, but she had history with Aiden too. Hers and Cam’s was more complicated and involved but she was now as involved with Cam as she was with Aiden.

Though Aiden wasn’t in her kitchen right now. With chocolate. Making her think about how chocolate sauce would be far better for nipple-licking than cookie dough.

She really wanted to go into that kitchen right now.

So instead she turned and headed upstairs to check on Didi.

Didi was in bed but not asleep. She had her favorite pink nightgown on and was sitting up, propped against her headboard, reading. Whitney smiled as she stepped into the room. She’d listened to so many stories sitting on that very bed in that same position with Didi.

They’d started with the usual childhood bedtime stories and nursery rhymes but they’d quickly gotten to Little Women, Alice in Wonderland, A Little Princess, The Chronicles of Narnia, Little House on the Prairie and Nancy Drew. They’d read The Diary of Anne Frank together, a first for both of them, and gone on to read other classics that Didi hadn’t read before, discussing them under the down comforter in their own little world. It had been their own tiny book club and Whitney would always be grateful to Didi for her love of reading.

“What are you reading?” she asked, moving into the room.

Didi looked up and smiled. She turned the book so Whitney could see the front. “I’ve had this book forever, but I don’t think I’ve read it.”

It was Anne of Green Gables. Whitney kicked her shoes off, making sure they landed over near Didi’s armchair and out of the path Didi would take from the bed to the door when she got up in the night. Whitney pulled her blouse from the waistband of her skirt as she joined Didi on the bed, sliding in next to her, and cuddling close. “You have. We read it together.” They’d read it three times, actually.

Didi laughed softly. “Well, it’s like reading it for the first time. Which is actually lovely.”

Whitney put her head on Didi’s shoulder and took her hand, cradling Didi’s between her own. “I would love to be able to read some of my favorites again for the first time. You’re lucky.” She meant that. There were so many unfair things about Alzheimer’s and she dreaded most of them, but she’d take the few silver linings she could find.

Didi kissed the top of her head. “I think so too. I’m very lucky to have you and Cam taking care of me.”

Whitney smiled. Of course Didi already loved Cam. “You had a good day?”

“Oh we’ve had a lovely few weeks,” Didi said. “He’s so funny and kind. Yoga is fun, the kittens are so cute. I’m so good at the east warriors. I had four purple diamonds and killed three trolls just today. I’ve never met a man who can make good mashed potatoes. And the margaritas are the best I’ve ever had. He didn’t even get mad about the dented pot.”

Whitney repeated all of that silently, trying to figure each thing out. Okay, yoga and kittens did actually go together in Appleby. Had they gone to Paige’s? It was possible. Cam did go to yoga at Paige’s studio. It was why Whitney had changed the class time she attended. Watching Cam stretch and bend and flex the one time they’d been in class together had been too much for her. Apparently, it had been too much for several women because, according to Piper, who also attended regularly, Paige had asked Cam to move to the back of the room for future classes.

But Whitney had never thought about taking Didi to yoga. She’d assumed Didi would be bored after just a few minutes and they wouldn’t make it through a whole class. She hadn’t wanted to disrupt class for everyone else and, if she were being honest, she wanted to have a full class. She loved yoga.

As for the east warriors, she assumed that was something about Warriors of Easton, the guys’ video game, but she’d had no idea that Didi knew how to play, not to mention being good enough to win. Then again, Whitney knew nothing about the game. She’d stubbornly ignored learning anything about it over the years because, while she was happy for Cam and happy to have been proven right, it was also a reminder that she had, in fact, been right about him being better off without her.

Moving on from that, Whitney thought about the rest of what Didi had said.

It was possible that Cam had made her grandmother mashed potatoes and margaritas today.

But Didi also thought Cam had been here for a few weeks.

“He’s such a good man, Whitney.”

Whitney tipped her head to look up at her grandmother. Didi might not know what day it was for sure or how many she’d spent with Cam, but Whitney could see that she was perfectly aware of what she was saying right now.