that the hard part was over—Journey loved Cam, and Cam loved Journey, and that was all we needed to know—but I guess we had skipped over a few critical issues.
“Say it,” I said with a sigh.
“I will. I’m just savoring this moment a little longer than that before I ruin it.” He shook his head. “I’ve only had you for a freaking minute.”
You’ve had my heart a lot longer than that. “Say it,” I insisted.
“All right.” He still looked a little hesitant as he forged ahead. “First off, I’d like to say that I was wrong to spring the whole rainforest thing on you. I didn’t mean it as an ultimatum—either say yes and come with me, or we’re done. I just… I got so excited about sharing that part of my life with you.”
“I know.”
He blew out a breath. “Good. I’m glad. Spending the summer here was an eye-opener for me. Turns out that travel isn’t the only thing I like to do. I enjoyed teaching the kids at the center.”
“Do you think that’s something you want to keep doing?”
“Yes, I already talked to the director, and she was open to it.” He smiled a little. “Livy is over the moon.”
“That’s fantastic.”
He bobbed his head. “I also enjoyed working on your Day in the Life of a Vet videos. Don’t take this the wrong way, but whoever was filming them before did a crappy job. I mean, the camera angles were all over the place, and sometimes the action even went off-screen.”
“Thank you for the recognition,” I said dryly. “I share this honor with my tripod, who would like you to know that we did our best.”
“Oh, whoops.” He smiled charmingly. “I guess what I’m saying is that I’ll have no shortage of things to do around here. But I’m not willing to give up my job. Not entirely.”
“Okay,” I said slowly. “I’m not sure what that means.”
“It means that I love my job. It’s something I wanted to do my entire life, and I can’t believe that I finally get to do it.” When I opened my mouth to speak again, he hurried on. “I hope that’s not a deal breaker.”
“Journey—”
“I mean, I wouldn’t be away all the time. My schedule isn’t all that rigorous. And I could cut it down even more. Instead of seven trips a year, I could do three or four. Max.”
“JJ—”
“Maybe just two times, even. And the trips are never for long,” he rushed to say. “Well,
maybe I was in the Dominican for a while, but that was by design. I was catching up with a friend of mine, and I had no place pressing to be.”
“That’s—”
“Compromise,” he said loudly. “It’s the cornerstone of a healthy relationship, so just
think about that before you say no.”
We looked at each other for a bit without speaking. He shuffled from one foot to the other. After a moment, he cleared his throat. “Cam?”
I raised an eyebrow. “Yes?”
“You’re not saying anything.”
“I wasn’t aware I was allowed to speak.”
“Oh, right. Your turn. I’ll be perfectly quiet.” When I opened my mouth to speak, he whispered, “But don’t say no.”
I barked out a laugh. “For God’s sake, JJ!”
“Sorry.” He made a zipping motion to his lips. “Last time, I promise.”
“I’m not saying no. How could I say no to you?”
“You did before,” he said suspiciously. “Several times. And not just about this, either.”
“Well, having sex on the deck is always going to be a no,” I said exasperatedly. “Anyone could’ve seen us.”
“We don’t know that.”
“My point is that I’m all-in. You know, a little while ago, you told me that I reminded
you of John, and I couldn’t stop thinking about that.”
“What does he have to do with anything?” His brow crinkled adorably. “Are you sure I said that?”
I chuckled. “Yes, you said that when he was looking for a partner, he was looking for an idea. Not a person. He thought he knew exactly what he wanted, but then he met Mindy and all those ideas went out the window.”
He nodded slowly. “What’s your point?”
“I’m done trying to make things go a certain way or fit a certain mold. I just want you. Everything else is negotiable.” I wiped sweaty palms on my khakis. “I can’t go with you this time around, but next trip, I’m there.”
His eyes widened almost comically. “Really?”
I nodded. “Rosy is coming back to the clinic to help out. Officially, not just popping up when she’s bored. Having someone on deck who can fill in