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TREV

Ever since my ex-husband had dropped his ultimatum, all I’d been able to think about was figuring out my childcare situation. When Cam had agreed to come and help me out, I’d been overwhelmed with gratitude, not to mention anxiety that Bryan would find some way to declare Cam unfit for the job.

Now Cam was here, and I could barely think.

Our mutual friends had mentioned him from time to time over the years.

They’d talked about going out with him and his now-ex-boyfriend.

They’d mentioned in passing that they’d all met up for a baseball or football game.

There’d been holiday parties and birthday get-togethers, not to mention our class reunion, which I’d been unable to attend.

There’d been photos and the odd video including Cam.

But somehow, now that I was in his presence, I was absolutely blown away.

When precisely had he had this incredible glow-up, and how had I not noticed?

One thing was for sure—I noticed it now.

He’d always been cute when we were teenagers, both before and after he’d transitioned. In college, same thing. I just wasn’t ready for how breathtakingly well he wore thirty.

As I showed him around the house, I kept tripping over my own words and my own feet. Every time I glanced at him, I was startled all over again because my cute friend had grown up to be so fucking sexy.

He’d been working as a personal trainer, and he’d obviously practiced what he preached.

The gangly kid from a decade ago was long gone, replaced by this man who wouldn’t have been out of place in a row of marble statues.

He reminded me a little of my team’s skating coach—though he was only about five-foot-nine and fairly compact, he was built .

Powerful shoulders. Defined arms. Flat abs.

The thin white fabric of Cam’s T-shirt hinted at tattoos underneath, and my fingers itched with the need to trace those inked lines and curves. And while piercings had never really done much for me, I was intrigued by the telltale shape of barbells through each nipple.

Get a grip, Trevor. Jesus Christ.

Why was I getting so stupid over him? I mean, yes, he was way hotter than I’d anticipated. Mostly because I hadn’t thought about whether I’d be attracted to him or not. I hadn’t been attracted to anyone—hadn’t wanted to be attracted to anyone—since before the divorce.

Was that what this was all about? My libido had suddenly awakened, and now I was hyperaware of how long it had been since I’d had sex? So I got utterly tongue-tied over my old friend?

Yeah, maybe.

But also…

I mean…

I was around ripped, hot men every day of my life. I saw them naked so often it didn’t register.

Cam, though… My God, every inch of him registered, and the way my mind short-circuited whenever I looked at him—that went way beyond catching an eyeful in the locker room or checking out a teammate wearing a particularly nice suit.

Because it wasn’t just his body. Yeah, he was hot as hell, but whenever he smiled, my train of thought completely derailed.

Time had been incredibly kind to his physique and his gorgeous face, but there was so much more to it than that.

So much that I hadn’t even considered while I’d eagerly awaited his arrival.

He carried himself differently now. As a kid, he’d been a little shy, and he often moved or sat like someone who didn’t want to be noticed. A complete wallflower except around his closest friends.

Adult Cam walked with his back straight. Shoulders square. The wallflower was a distant memory, replaced by someone who didn’t hesitate to look the world in the eye.

Which… like everything else about him today… scrambled my damn brain. I barely recognized him, and yet I also couldn’t see anyone but Cam. As if the whole time we’d been ugly duckling kids, it had been a foregone conclusion that Cam would grow into this confident, sexy man who was just so damn?—

“Trev?”

I shook myself and met his gaze. Oh fuck. Had he been saying something? Had I?

He cocked his head, though there was humor in his eyes. “You zoned out. You still with me?”

“Yeah. Yeah. Just…” Thinking things that would make this arrangement way too awkward. I cleared my throat. “Trying to remember if there was anything else I needed to tell you.” I laughed nervously. “There’s probably a lot. Like… about my kids, for one thing.”

“That would be a good start, yeah.” Some nervousness entered his expression.

“I’m, uh… to be perfectly honest, I don’t have a ton of experience with little kids.

I took this job because I’m seriously desperate, and I’ll absolutely follow your lead, but if you wanted someone with years of experience as a nanny… ” He grimaced.

I waved my hand. “I didn’t have shit in the way of experience before we adopted them. You’re someone I can trust. We can figure out the rest.”

That seemed to catch him off-guard. “You… haven’t seen me in years, though.”

“No. But I know you. And our friends know you.” I paused.

“Look, I’m desperate, too, but these are my kids.

I wouldn’t just grab some rando off the street and leave them alone with them.

You’ve always been good people, and our friends who’ve still been in touch with you all this time would’ve told me if there was some reason to think you’d changed in a bad way. ”

“Oh.” He blinked. “I’m, uh… I’m glad they put in a good word for me.”

“They rave about you all the time. And Jake’s the one who reached out and said maybe you and I could help each other.” I hesitated, then decided to be a little more candid. “I’ll help you, you help me, and I finally get to see you again. Kind of seems like a win all around, you know?”

His eyebrows rose, as did some color in his cheeks. “Oh. It’s, um… It’s great to finally see you again too.” Dropping his gaze, he murmured, “It’s been way too long.”

I chewed the inside of my cheek. I wanted to ask why it had been so long. Why every attempt I’d made to reach out to him had come up empty.

But now wasn’t the time. He was here, and we’d have plenty of opportunity to catch up. It didn’t all have to happen ten minutes after he’d walked in my front door.

“Anyway, uh…” I cleared my throat. “Let me show you your room, and then I can take you downstairs to the home gym.”

That brought Cam back to life, and he looked at me with wide eyes. “You have a home gym?”

“I’m a professional athlete,” I said, chuckling. “Comes with the territory.”

“Ooh, sweet.” He grinned, a little cautious mischief entering his expression. “So, do I get to teach your kids how to do burpees and squat with proper form?”

I snorted, pretending my head wasn’t spinning as that trace of my old friend—the shy but devilish kid I’d grown up with—peeked through. “If you can get a pair of high-energy six-year-olds to sit still long enough, be my guest.”

“Pfft. I’ve trained teenagers hopped up on pre-workout. Challenge accepted.”

“Oh my God. Anyway .” I gestured down the hall. “Follow me.”

He did, unaware of my heart doing wild things and my stomach doing somersaults.

I really needed to get it together. He was going to be living here, after all.

In my house. And I couldn’t afford to have him leave because he caught me staring at him with nostalgic hearts in my eyes.

Or getting a badly timed hard-on. Or both.

Dude. Seriously. Get a grip.

I held on to my dignity, at least enough that he hopefully didn’t notice my brain spinning out, and took him up to the top floor.

The boys’ bedrooms were at one end of the hallway, the guest room was at the other, and mine was right in the middle.

I took Cam to the guest room, pushed open the door, and flicked on the light. “It’s all yours.”

He stepped in, and his lips parted as he looked around. “Dude, this isn’t a room—it’s a suite .”

I chuckled. “I mean, kind of?” Pressing my shoulder against the doorframe, I scanned the room, which…

yeah, it was a suite. There was a small living room area, a full bathroom, and a bedroom.

One kitchenette shy of a small apartment, really.

“We set it up this way for my ex-mother-in-law. She…” I waved a hand and shook my head.

“It was better to do it like this than not, let’s put it that way. ”

Cam turned, eyebrows up. “Difficult to please?”

Rolling my eyes, I nodded. “I always thought mother-in-law stereotypes were exaggerated, but I have seen the light, let me tell you.”

He grimaced. “That bad, huh?”

“Worse. But fortunately, she’s not my problem anymore, and the bright side is…” I gestured at the room. “I’m not just sticking you in a tiny guest room. This way you can have some space to yourself, you know?”

He gave a slow nod as he looked around the room, and something in him seemed to deflate.

No, that wasn’t right—it relaxed. As if he were releasing a breath he’d been holding.

Tension visibly melted out of his shoulders.

“My own space,” he murmured, more to himself than me. “That’ll be—God, that’ll be nice.”

I cocked a brow but didn’t ask. As curious as I was, I reminded myself again that he’d only just arrived. We still needed to catch up as friends, and he was also working for me now. The personal stuff could wait until I knew where we stood with each other.

“This is…” Cam shook his head and exhaled. Facing me again with wide eyes, he said, “You’re sure this is all mine?”

“Well… yeah?” I gestured over my shoulder with my thumb.

“Mine’s up the hall across from the stairs.

The boys’ rooms are at the other end of the hall.

We’ve all got plenty of room, and you’re doing me a gigantic favor just by being here.

” I waved at his surroundings. “Giving you all this is the least I can do.”

He looked around the room again, still obviously dazed. “Wow. This is… It’s amazing. The room. The job.” He met my gaze. “You’re seriously saving my ass right now, and I’d have slept in a broom closet if it was all you had. This?” He motioned at the suite. “Is phenomenal.”

“Well, like I said, you’re saving my ass, too. I have no idea what I’d have done otherwise.”

“Yeah. Same.” Cam swallowed. Silence hung between us that I didn’t know how to fill, and the moment threatened to get awkward. Then he shook himself. “You said you have a home gym?”

Grateful for the diversion, I said, “Yeah. Downstairs.”

He grinned. “Show me the way.”