Page 12 of Meeting Me, Loving You (Hearts of Maple Lake #1)

JULIET

I keep walking toward Main Street, and I’m certain by the sound of footsteps behind me that Cam is on my heels.

“Do you want to go back to the diner where it’s warm?

” he asks, his long legs catching up to me.

“Obviously something bothered you just now, and I’m sorry for prying.

We can talk about something else. I can be a good distraction .

” He waggles his eyebrows suggestively, with one side of his mouth smirking up at the corner.

Through my slippery emotions I roll my eyes at him, knowing he’s only teasing me to make me feel better.

“Actually,” I say, looking toward the diner up the street. “The diner will be filled with Shirley’s knitting club ladies right now and I really don’t want to bother with a crowd of eavesdroppers. Why don’t you walk with me to my apartment? I have hot cocoa there, and we can get warm on the couch.”

Cam raises an eyebrow and his lips twitch in amusement. “I know I said I could be a distraction, but I didn’t mean it like that .”

My cheeks flame red and, this time, it’s not from the winter wind hitting my face.

“Not like that! I mean, with blankets. S eparate blankets. Or we can forget about the couch and sit in the kitchen, wherever you’re more comfortable .

” My words run together as I stumble over what I’m trying to say.

In reality, I’m just digging myself deeper into this hole, and I’m in need of a twelve foot ladder to escape at this point.

His face brightens and he chuckles, his backward hat doing nothing to lessen the swirling in my core.

“Well, Juliet, if you wanted to get me on your couch this whole time, I would have asked you back at the diner what your intentions were in showing me around town.”

I stare at him, eyes wide and voice nonexistent.

Does he really think I was implying that I wanted to bring him home for that ?

“Relax,” he says, breathing out a deep laugh. “It was a joke, and then you just snowballed it. But I didn’t mean to fluster you. Sorry about that.”

I cover my face with one gloved hand. A second later I feel Cam bending the gloves away from my face, one too-large finger at a time, until he can see my right eye.

“Have you been distracted enough?” he asks.

“Yes.” I huff out, a smile daring to form on my lips.

“Good. I have that effect on people.” He smirks. It seems, no matter what he says, he always knows the right thing to say at the right time. It makes me excited to spend more time together so I can know him more. “I’d love to get cocoa at your place, and we can sit wherever you’d like.”

As embarrassed as I am about my slip up and word choices, I realize that I think he was flirting with me. He was flirting with me, and he made it completely obvious.

I tuck this bit of information away for later because I have to tell someone. That someone being Aliana, who will completely freak out about this.

“Well then, let’s go,” I say, trying to sound not at all affected by my lack of decorum and Cam’s blatant flirtation. Instead, I manage to come across a little too chipper and commanding, similar to a Girl Scout leader on a hike.

I point in the direction of my apartment building, and we walk back in general silence, Cam’s arm brushing lightly against mine the entire way.

I remove the snow gloves I borrowed from Cam and return them to him with a “thank you.” Then, I turn the key in the doorknob and pull it out, repeating the step in the bolt above it.

Cam looks around the hall outside my apartment door, commenting on how well the building was renovated after having originally been a movie theater.

He has one hand in his pocket—his signature stance, I’ve noticed—while the other holds his ball cap by the bill.

He scratches the back of his head, mussing his thick brown hair, before putting the cap back on.

It’s still backward, and I have to look away from him before I’m caught staring.

“They made it look great,” he says, his eyes scanning the ceiling and the beautiful art work there. It’s a beautiful mural of the night sky, stars shining through the deep blue behind them. Pinks and purples overlap in the clouds, making up the beautiful image of a Pennsylvania sunset.

“I know, right? I love it. The movie theater was one of my favorite places growing up, and I was really glad they chose not to tear it down and rebuild completely.” I point to the art on the ceiling that stretches the full length of the long hall.

The building holds twenty apartments. After making our way through the small lobby and up the wide staircase, mine is the first on the right.

“They kept the original art on the ceilings, as you can see. The steps we came up were there as well, only they had to be re-carpeted, obviously. They added a second level inside the actual theater rooms and leveled the floors to make the apartments. But anything in the halls and foyer that they could preserve was left the same to keep the town’s character alive in here. ”

“That’s really neat. How long have you lived here?” Cam asks.

“Just since my parents started traveling. So, a year. They sold our childhood home and used the money for their giant camper.” I smile, remembering the day they brought it home. “My dad never drove anything so large before, so when they first got it, he backed it into our fence.”

Cam matches my smile with a laugh. “Oh nooo, that’s the worst.”

“They had to repair it before the property would sell, but at least they didn’t crash into the house.”

“Yes, very good point.”

Pushing open my apartment door and stepping inside, I sneak a peek over my shoulder at Cam as he follows behind me. Once he’s fully in the apartment, I reach back and shut the door, scanning the living room as I do.

I haven’t told Cam what to expect upon entering my home, and I’m curious how he’ll react to what he’s about to see. In fact, I find it funny that he hasn’t seen it yet.

But then he stops dead in his tracks, his eyes wide while a huge boyish grin forms on his face.

“You have a dog,” he states.

My favorite animal in the whole world, my best friend, and the creature who saved me in more ways than one is sitting calmly five feet from the door, his tail wagging uncontrollably. His perked ears and swishing tail are the only signs that he’s very, very excited right now.

“You’re not allergic or anything, right? Are you okay with dogs?” I say, suddenly realizing that of course allergies are a big deal, and he could be deathly allergic.

“No, no.” He smiles. “No allergies. I love dogs.”

I crouch and pat my thigh.

“Good boy! Come, Dax.”

Dax comes bounding over to where I am, his large body reaching me quickly and almost knocking me over as I squat near the floor.

He’s a Golden Retriever, his coat on the lighter side of yellow, almost white.

Dax licks my hands with pent up joy, his long, hairy tail swaying back and forth with energetic force.

He licks my cheek, and I scratch under his chin and pet his soft ears where I know he likes it.

“This is Dax,” I look up at Cam from the ground.

Cam bends down, taking a knee beside me. Dax bounces over to him, allowing him to pet his neck and down his back.

“I didn’t even see him at first,” he says with awe. “He sat so still. I’m used to seeing dogs jump all over the place when their owners get home, but he waited for you to call him over.”

“I got him as a puppy, and I’ve worked on his training since then. But other than training, he’s just a really good boy. He has the best temperament. I really couldn’t have asked for a better dog.”

“How long have you had him?” Cam asks me, still on one knee as he scratches Dax’s muzzle.

“I got him shortly after I moved in here. I didn’t really love the idea of living completely alone, and I had always wanted a dog that could be adventurous with me when I hike.

” I stand and put my coat away in the nearby closet, as well as toe off my boots before setting them by the door.

“Dax does almost everything with me. As cheesy as it might sound, he’s my best friend.

Somehow, he always knows what I’m feeling and how to cheer me up. ”

“Is he a service dog? Or trained in therapy or something? ”

“No, he’s just really good.”

“Have you ever brought him to the hospital to see patients? I don’t know anything about medicine, but I’ve heard stories of how dogs can really help a patient in their healing process.”

I flash back to all the times I’ve needed healing in the past two years, and for the latter half of it, Dax has always helped me through my hardest moments.

“I haven’t yet, but I would love to someday. It would be great if I could get him therapy certified, then I could schedule him for patient visits and bring him to the hospital all the time.” I shrug. “I know the kids would absolutely love him. And the adults too.”

Cam nods, pats Dax’s head one more time, and stands, looking around the small living room.

He first glances up, noticing the high ceilings.

Then his eyes bounce around the warm, colorful space, taking a moment to land on every little thing that makes this place my home.

He shucks off his coat, a warm smile spreading across his face.

“What?” I ask him.

“Nothing, I just see a lot of you in this space.”

“You do?”

I’m surprised because it’s not like we know each other very well. How could he know what would make this space mine?

“What do you see here that shouts, ‘this place belongs to Juliet?’” I ask.

Cam shrugs a shoulder. “Everything. You have a lot of green in here, which is, or was , your favorite color, and the pillows on the couch are extra fluffy for starters.” He looks at me, “I remember you loved soft things, especially those ridiculous cow slippers you wore.”