Camryn

"She's perfect." I said, watching as Mrs. Leonard played a matching game with Riley on the floor in the living room. "You've really thought of everything."

Derek smiled, slipping his hand into mine and giving it a tight squeeze. Just his touch sent electricity throughout my body and left me aching for more.

This was wrong. I was just a few days out of a miserably failed relationship and nowhere near the headspace to be getting attached to someone like Derek. He was almost too good to be true, and even though I knew he was nothing like Robby, I couldn't put myself in that situation again. A situation where I let a sweet talking man sweep me off of my feet and make all kinds of promises to me I knew he could never keep. This was fun, but Derek had a very established life back home—one that Riley and I weren't a part of—and at some point, he was going to have to go back to that.

Even I could recognize how unstable I was right now and how irresponsible this was, but I just couldn't seem to resist it. I felt safe with Derek; I felt at home, and a sense of peace I hadn't felt in years. He'd been a perfect gentleman about all of this, taking the chemistry between us in stride and moving excruciatingly slow. I knew I needed that, though. That was the only way this could ever work. I had to work out so many things before I could commit to Derek in any kind of way, and we both understood that.

"I'm glad you feel comfortable with her. I think this will be great for both of you. You've been focused on surviving for so long, but Riley needs her mom to be healthy just as much as anything. It's time to take care of you."

"You're doing a pretty good job of that." I smiled, running my thumb along the back of his hand.

"And I fully intend to take care of you. In every sense of the word." He smirked, but then his expression changed slightly. "Cam, I have to go back to New York for a couple of days."

My stomach dropped. "Because of Robby?"

"No." He said definitively. "I just have some other things happening at work that I have to take care of. I promise you guys will be in expert hands here, and I'll have a security team that will be with you every hour of the night and day."

I hadn't expected Derek to stay with us the entire time anyway, but now I felt slightly terrified at the prospect of being without him. "Okay."

"There's an alarm on every single door and window to this place, and you have to enter two access codes to even get up here. You're safe here, Camryn. I promise. I wouldn't be leaving if I thought otherwise."

"I know." I nodded, but none of those things are you. I didn't say the last part out loud. This was exactly why I had to keep some space between the two of us. I couldn't grow to depend on him for everything. He had his own life and his own job and things to worry about. Whatever was going on between us was most likely temporary, and he was right. I needed to prepare myself for when it was just Riley and me again.

Maybe that was part of the reason for his impromptu trip as well. Maybe he could sense that I was getting too dependent on him and he didn't want to string me along. Maybe he was having second thoughts, and this was a good way of letting me down easily.

There was definitely chemistry between us, but circumstances can bring out feelings you wouldn't normally have for a person. The last thing I wanted was to be clingy, like I didn't even know how to act like an adult without a man there to lean on. That was the way Robbie wanted me to feel, like I needed him, and it was time to kick that thought process.

I could do this.

It seemed like there was something else on Derek's mind, but he didn't say it.

"It will just be a couple of days, and you can call me whenever you need to." He added.

"I'll be fine, Derek. Really." I tried to reassure him, taking my hand out of his. "When do you leave?"

"About an hour." He clenched his jaw.

So soon. I put on a cheerful smile and hoped he couldn't sense my anxiety. "You better tell Riley goodbye. She'll miss you."

Derek locked eyes with me as if he expected me to say I'd miss him as well, but I didn't. Instead, I turned back towards the kitchen and started on lunch.

Derek joined Riley and Mrs. Leonard for a while in their game and then disappeared into his room to pack.

A little while later, he came back out and we said our goodbyes.

"Be good for your mom while I'm gone and when I come back, I promise we'll go see the whales again, okay?" He smiled, bending down to his knees in front of Riley.

She wrapped her arms around him tightly. "Bye, Derek!"

He stood back up and turned towards me. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine, I promise. You don't need to worry about us. We're going to have a great time, aren't we, Ry?"

She nodded her head in excitement and grabbed my hand.

A small smile tugged at Derek's lips. There was something off about his demeanor, but I couldn't tell exactly what. Why was I suddenly feeling so self-conscious around him?

"Please call me if you need anything." He said.

"I will. We've taken up too much of your time already. You need to get back to your real life."

Derek looked hurt by my words and kept his eyes locked on mine for a few extra seconds. I blushed under his gaze and immediately looked away, the intensity in his stare disarming me.

I reached down and picked Riley up, almost using her as a shield. I knew he wouldn't push me or ask me what was wrong with her right here. "We'll see you soon."

Derek glanced at me one more time before grabbing his bag and opening the door. "Bye girls."

The sound of the door coming shut behind almost made me jump. That was it. We were alone. For the first time in the last few days, Riley and I were on our own.

Derek

Leaving Cam and Riley behind has been harder than I expected. Especially since I could see Camryn's head was spinning, and she refused to tell me what she was actually thinking.

In fact, she'd basically rushed me out the door to avoid any kind of private interaction between the two of us. I'm sure she was overthinking my trip and why I was leaving so suddenly. I much rather would have stayed to sort it out with her, but I couldn't be late. Unfortunately, that would have to wait until I got back. Or at least until I could call her tonight.

Going back to New York was a last-minute decision. I felt bad, leaving Will to shoulder the brunt of the hacks and also do my dirty work with Robby. Not to mention, I needed to keep up appearances, just in case anyone ever connected me to Camryn. It was unlikely since we'd been so diligent with everything, but you could never be too careful.

I spent most of the flight pouring over the information that Will had emailed me about the account hacks. Both accounts had the money cashed out of them, which was odd because most of the time, our accounts required a certain level of clearance to change. Each of the affected accounts were dormant for the last few years, which meant no money had come in or out of them, and whoever did this probably knew that. This was looking more and more like an inside job, or the work of someone with elite hacking skills. Our systems were unpenetrable, so if it was hacking, it was coming from the customer's side.

When I got off the plane, it was late, so I headed to the penthouse. I pulled out my phone to text Camryn.

Just landed. Everything okay?

Doing great. Glad you're there safe. Her text came back quickly.

Can I call?

I'm just about to give Riley a bath and then head to bed. Raincheck?

Somehow, I didn't believe that. She was clearly still avoiding me and, although it irritated me, I let it go.

Okay. But tomorrow, I'm forcing you to tell me what's going on in that pretty little head of yours. No excuses. Sleep well, Cam.

For a few seconds, I watched the bubble with three dots pop up and then disappear, and I knew she was trying to figure out how to respond. Finally, she answered.

Goodnight, Derek. Talk to you tomorrow.

I put my phone up and headed down to my office. There was no sense in wasting any time while I was here. I had to make the most of a quick trip, and the first thing on my list was talking to Tom, the guy who was in charge of monitoring withdrawals.

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