“Then why didn’t you say one word about it during the meeting and then kick me out of the conference room to talk to the guys about it without me?”

Cam crossed the room, coming to stand opposite her across her wide desk. “That’s not what happened.”

“You kicked me out of the conference room to talk to the guys about something,” she said.

“I didn’t mean for that to come off as me kicking you out.”

She rolled her eyes and dropped her arms. “Seriously? How did you think it would come off?”

Okay, that was fair. “Sorry,” he said honestly. “I was…”

Did he want her to know that he’d been coming to her defense with his friends?

“You were…?”

Fuck. Honesty. That’s what he and Whitney needed a lot of. Open communication. “I was telling them how I expect them to treat you.”

She opened her mouth, but seemed to process his words and shut it again, simply frowning.

“I didn’t like how Grant wasn’t giving you immediate feedback and how Dax was getting distracted with the website idea.”

“You can’t do that.”

“Yes, I can.”

She blew out a breath. “I need to handle all of that on my own, Cam. Grant doesn’t need to treat me any differently than he does anyone else. Dax is just Dax and—”

“And while we’re talking about how people are acting, you have to stop giving them passes,” Cam interrupted.

She looked surprised. “Excuse me?”

“If Grant isn’t communicating his thoughts about a project, you need to ask him for input and feedback. Don’t let him just sit there with that infuriating nonexpression on his face.”

She lifted her chin. “I will deal with—”

Cam was around the corner of her desk, his thumb on her chin before she even finished the word with. He pressed on the center of her chin, tipping it back down.

“Don’t,” he said softly.

Her eyes were wide as she stared up at him. “Don’t what?”

“Don’t lift your chin with me, Whit.”

“What?”

“This.” He pressed gently again. “You lift your chin whenever you’re getting pissed but are trying not to yell at me. You don’t have to act tough. You don’t have to gather your… fortitude. Or whatever that is.” He ran the pad of his thumb back and forth over the soft skin under her bottom lip. “Just talk. Tell me off. Tell me what you’re really thinking.”

She wet her bottom lip with the tip of her tongue and his gaze followed the movement.

“You find the way Grant sits there and doesn’t say anything infuriating?” she asked.

Cam met her eyes again. “Not until today. When he did it to you.”

The corner of her mouth twitched. “I don’t find it infuriating.”

“No?”

She shook her head slightly, causing his thumb to slide over her chin again. “No. He’s just taking it all in. I know he’ll tell me what he thinks eventually.”

Cam thought about that. So it was all his problem. That didn’t surprise him, actually. “Guess I’m feeling a little protective of you.”

That corner of her mouth fully curled now. “You don’t need to.”

“I do. Those guys are used to working together only. And with Piper. They don’t know how to be gentlemen with a woman who doesn’t know them and their quirks and how to read them. I want you to know that they all think you’re amazing and they’re completely impressed with you and what you’re doing.”

Something in her expression softened and she fully smiled. “And all this time I expected you to be the one that wasn’t a gentleman when we worked together.”

He nodded. “I expected that too. I guess…” He swallowed. “I didn’t expect soft feelings. I expected fighting and fireworks. Especially when it came to this company.” He felt himself smile. “Who would have guessed that the thing I’d want most would be for you to be successful and happy at Hot Cakes?”

She gave a soft, surprised laugh. “Crazy.”

“Yeah.” His voice was gruff and his eyes were on her lips again.

“What did you think of the new ideas?” she asked.

He looked up. “I love it. All of it.”

“Really?”

“Of course.”

“You didn’t say that. You didn’t say anything.”

“I knew you wanted to hear from Aiden and Grant,” he said.

A slight frown pulled her eyebrows together. “I did. But I certainly wanted to hear it from you too.”

“But…” He shrugged. “You know I think you’re amazing.”

She stared at him. Slowly she shook her head. “No. I don’t.” She leaned in slightly. “I don’t even know if you want to kiss me anymore.”

“Liar,” he chided softly. “You know very well that I want to kiss you.”

“You’re the one who said we don’t know each other anymore. I don’t assume anything about how you’re feeling or what you’re thinking,” she said. Now her gaze dropped to his mouth.

Damn. He really had assumed they’d be arguing a lot more. Fighting. Hashing the past out. Maybe angry fucking in the kitchen. Instead, every time he was with her he felt soft. Protective. Proud. Amazed. Happy.

“You’re right,” he said, moving his thumb from her chin to her bottom lip and stroking back and forth. “We both need to be very clear about what we’re thinking and feeling. And wanting. And needing.”

The tip of her tongue darted out to wet her lip, but touching his thumb in the process. He felt the jolt to the soles of his feet.

“You first,” she said.

“Okay.” He looked into her eyes. “I think you are completely different from the girl I was in love with in high school. That girl was confident and daring and knew who she was and where she fit.”

She sucked in a little breath and almost pulled back, but Cam caught her upper arm, holding her in place.

“Now you’re a grown woman who’s a little broken, a little hurt, but even if she’s not sure where she fits, she knows what she wants and is willing to work her ass off for it. You’re creative and sweet and a little too humble and you’ve never been more beautiful. Seeing you keep trying, keep working, keep wanting in spite of years of being taken for granted and overlooked kills me and inspires me and makes me want you so much more than I ever did when you were sure of yourself.”

He saw the shock in her eyes but knew he had to keep going.

“I thought I could encourage you to yell and argue and push and fight but… instead, you make me… softer. I’m quieter and more patient and more open just since being around you. I’ve been knocking heads and fighting and being a pain in people’s asses for the last ten years. I thought I liked that. It made me strong. No one overlooked me or got away with anything. I thought I was tough.”

He gave a soft huff of laughter and shook his head.

“But I had no idea what tough was. Tough is being ignored but not leaving. Tough is being overlooked, but knowing you have something to contribute. Tough is being able to see long term in spite of the short-term shit you have to plow through. Tough is… you.”