Page 7 of Only in Our Dream (Moonflower Cove #15)

Cameron

W atching the door close behind Melanie, Cameron felt torn between running after her or staying put.

The former was romantic and sweet and exactly what would happen in every movie, book, or TV show.

But Cameron was living in the real world.

A world in which her best friend had just kissed her and her daughter was still walking toward her.

“Mom?” Dylan asked again.

Cameron would have to address her own feelings later. Putting a smile on her face, Cameron turned to face Dylan.

“Yes, baby?”

“Why did Aunt Mel leave?”

“What?”

“She left in a rush.” Dylan walked over to the door, looking out the slender window to the side. “Everything okay?”

“Totally.” Cameron’s heart beating a hundred beats a minute would negate that statement. “It’s just getting late, so she had to get home. To Hank and Lucy. And Rob,” she nervously added with an uncomfortable laugh. “But more so Hank and Lucy.”

“So,” Dylan smirked, “the kiss had nothing to do with her bolting out the door as soon as she heard me?”

Shit.

Cameron’s head was spinning as she tried to process what Dylan had just asked. And the implications that came with the question. Dylan had to have seen them kissing. Otherwise, why would she have asked?

Oh, my god.

After years of not letting the women she dated meet her kids, now her youngest had seen her kissing Melanie.

Aunt Mel. The most constant figure in Dylan’s life other than Cameron and Jonah.

Cameron felt angry at herself for kissing Melanie.

She’d always been so careful, so why had she messed up now?

The answer hit Cameron like her back had hit the wall during the kiss.

Melanie had kissed her . No, Cameron hadn’t stopped her or pushed her away.

But it was Melanie who took the giant leap over their invisible line between friends and lovers.

Cameron would be lying to herself if she hadn’t wanted to kiss Melanie multiple times over the years, but she’d never acted on them.

And yet now, she couldn’t stop thinking about when the next kiss would be.

“Hello?” Dylan waved her hand in front of Cameron’s face. “Earth to Mom. Are you even listening to me?”

Cameron hadn’t realized how zoned out she had been for the last few seconds. Or minutes. She truly had no idea. “What?”

“Are you and Aunt Mel dating?”

“No.”

“Then why were you kissing her?”

It was a valid question. One Cameron couldn’t answer with her thoughts still full of how Melanie’s lips felt pressed against hers. Shaking her head, Cameron put an arm around Dylan’s neck.

“Come on. Let’s go into the kitchen and talk.”

Cameron led Dylan down the hall to the kitchen where Dylan sat on a barstool at the kitchen island. Opening the refrigerator, Cameron took out the bottle of lemonade she and Dylan loved and poured them each a glass. She sat one in front of each of them before taking a sip.

Over the glass, she tried to read Dylan. Was she upset? Angry? Confused? Cameron herself was the latter. How could she explain to Dylan what she’d seen when Cameron herself didn’t know?

Melanie had kissed her.

On the lips.

Back against the wall.

Like they were in some kind of romance movie.

Cameron had never felt the way she felt with Melanie’s lips on her.

It was like her entire life had been in a haze and Melanie’s kiss was the sun.

She wasn’t sure what would have happened if they had kissed longer.

Because as badly as Cameron might have wanted something to happen, there was one glaring truth she hadn’t been able to look past yet.

Melanie was married.

The thought made Cameron sick to her stomach. She didn’t go around kissing married women. Forcing her thoughts to the back burner, Cameron focused on Dylan.

“So, how much did you see?”

Dylan shrugged. “Not much.”

“Define not much .”

“I saw you two lip locked in the foyer.” Dylan looked torn between laughing and running out of the room. “But I don’t know who started it or how long it had been going on. I just backed up the stairs and called for you to give you a heads up.”

“I appreciate that.”

“You’re welcome.”

Cameron never planned on having such a conversation with her daughter.

She didn’t know what to say or what to do.

Especially when she herself had no idea what the kiss meant.

Melanie had left so quickly that there wasn’t time to ask.

For all Cameron knew, Melanie was embarrassed and never wanted it brought up again.

I hope that’s not the case.

“So,” Dylan lowered her gaze from Cameron as she mindlessly ran her hand over the rim of the glass, “what does this mean?”

“I—I don’t know, honey. And believe me when I say I hate giving you that answer. I just don’t know what it means. Not yet. I have to talk to Mel first.”

“So, Aunt Mel kissed you first?”

Cameron nodded.

“I should have known by the way she had you pushed up against the wall. She’s got moves , Mom.”

“Oh, geez.” Cameron groaned, leaning onto the counter as she covered her face with her hands. “I can’t have this conversation with you right now.”

“Why?” Dylan groaned dramatically. “I need all the details. Your love life has been so boring until now.”

Cameron put her hand on her hip and cocked her head at Dylan. “Okay, first off, my love life hasn’t been boring . I just don’t share every detail with you or your brother until I think the woman I’m with is worthy of being a part of your lives.”

“Well, then it’s a good thing Aunt Mel has been with us since the day we were born.”

“Yes, but you also forget that Aunt Mel is married to Uncle Rob.”

“Not for long, if that kiss was any indication.” Dylan’s comment made Cameron jokingly throw a dish towel at her as they both laughed. “I’m just saying, Mom.”

“Yeah, well, why don’t you keep your thoughts to yourself until I figure this out, okay?

” Walking around the kitchen island, Cameron stood beside Dylan as she looked into her daughter’s eyes.

“I promise I will keep you updated on everything when it’s time.

But right now, I have nothing more to say than I know just as much as you do about why Aunt Mel kissed me. ”

“Because she loves you, Mom.”

Dylan’s voice was more confident than Cameron ever remembered hearing. Not knowing what else to say, Cameron gave Dylan a kiss on the cheek.

“I promise I’ll keep you posted with everything. Just don’t tell your brother yet, please. I’ll be sure to let both of you know if or when anything happens between me and Aunt Mel, okay?”

“Okay,” Dylan nodded, hugging Cameron. Kissing Dylan goodnight, they made their way to their bedrooms. As Cameron crawled into her bed, thoughts of Melanie clouded her mind.

What did the kiss mean?

Did she regret it?

Had they just had too many glasses of wine?

What did this mean for Melanie’s marriage?

Was their friendship forever changed?

The barrage of questions made sleep almost impossible for Cameron. She looked at her phone, hoping to see a message from Melanie, but instead, she found work emails she would deal with the next day.

Looking up at the ceiling, Cameron thought back to the kiss.

It had to mean something. Otherwise, Melanie wouldn’t have done it.

What if, after all the years they had been friends, they were finally ready to cross the line into something more?

Cameron could nearly giggle at the mere thought of being with Melanie.

She’d never crossed the line before out of respect for Melanie’s marriage.

But if Melanie was kissing her , then maybe there was more going on in the Wright-Sullivan house than Melanie let on.

Oh, my god. Stop wishing your best friend’s marriage was over just so you can kiss her again without feeling guilty.

By the next morning, Cameron barely got herself and Dylan up and out the door on time to make it to work and school.

With a light workload for the day, Cameron was keenly aware she hadn’t seen or heard from Melanie yet.

Taking the elevator to the labor and delivery floor just before eight a.m., Cameron was surprised to find Vera there at the nurses’ station.

“Hey.”

“Hey.” Standing, Vera hugged her and kissed her cheek. “How’d you know I was here?”

“I didn’t. I came to see if Mel was still here, but she already left.”

“Ouch.” Vera dramatically put her hand to her heart. “I’m hurt.”

“Oh, I think I can make up for that.”

Nodding her head, Cameron walked toward an empty room as Vera followed her. She closed the door behind them, tucking her hands into the pocket of her dress as she turned toward Vera.

“You’re not going to kiss me, are you? Because I have to say I’m still madly in love with my wife.”

“Ew,” Cameron laughed, “no. I don’t want to kiss you. No offense.”

“None taken.”

“But you know who did kiss me last night?”

Vera’s blue eyes lit up. “Who?”

“Melanie.”

“ What ?” Vera dramatically gasped, covering her mouth with her hand for a moment as she seemed to process what Cameron had said. “Our Melanie? Kissed you?”

“Yup.”

“Where?”

“On the lips.”

Vera shook her head. “No, where was the location of the kiss?”

“My foyer.”

“Oh, shit.”

“After movie night and some wine.”

“Oh, boy.”

“She just,” Cameron couldn’t stop her smile, “kissed me. Pushed me up against the wall and kissed me.”

“God, that sounds hot.”

“Says the woman who can’t keep her hands off her wife.”

Vera playfully twirled her ponytail as they laughed. “Fair. But Melanie kissed you! What does this mean?”

“I don’t know.”

“You mean you didn’t talk about it?”

“No,” Cameron felt a pang of guilt in her stomach, “not yet.”

“Cam,” Vera borderline whined as she put her hands on her shoulders. “You have to talk to her. I can’t have my two best friends kissing each other and then not talking about it.”

“We will, I promise.”

“Can I tell Isla?”

“I assumed you would.” Cameron snorted a laugh. “Just don’t tell Rob.”

Vera gasped even louder than before as she covered her mouth with her hand. “Rob,” she whispered, moving her hand to her cheek. “I forgot about Rob.”

“Something tells me Mel did too.”

“Oh, my god.” Vera buried her face in her hands for a moment before looking back at Cameron. “You need to talk to Melanie and soon, okay? You know how her brain is. She’s probably been overthinking everything all night. Especially since,” Vera abruptly stopped, “well.”

“Especially since what?”

Vera looked as if she was about to tell the biggest secret in the world. Cameron knew that look because it was the one she got when she was trying to remain professional and calm but secretly happy. Like when she was about to tell a person they were pregnant.

“Oh, my god, she’s not pregnant, is she?”

“No,” Vera shook her head adamantly, “no. I just overheard her on the phone with Blaire Anderson the other day.”

Blaire Anderson? The lawyer?

That could only mean one thing.

“Oh, shit.”

“Yeah.”

“Poor Mel.”

“I don’t know anything so this is all speculation.” Vera shrugged her shoulders. “Except the kiss. There’s no speculation there. The goofy look on your face earlier told me that much.”

“I hate that you know me so well.”

“The benefits of knowing you most of my life.” Vera playfully winked at her.

“But on the flip side of that, I will be asking you constantly if you’ve talked to Melanie because I can’t have this lingering over my two best friends.

Especially not while still casually hanging out with both of you as if I don’t know anything. ”

“Which you don’t, by the way.”

“Then you better talk to her. Sooner rather than later.” Vera’s tone was one she usually only reserved for patients when she needed to be firm, so Cameron knew she meant business.

As the two friends went back to their day, Cameron pulled out her phone as she sat at her desk. She opened her text thread with Melanie and typed out a message.

Hey, everything okay? You left in a rush last night, and I haven’t heard from you today. Just wanted to check in.

Cameron sat her phone down to work on her computer, but it wasn’t long before Melanie responded.

I’m okay. Had a lot to think about after last night. I spent the night at Palmer’s because I couldn’t imagine going home.

Palmer Thompson was Melanie’s coworker and close friend.

The two had worked in labor and delivery together for years and were very close.

She was also pretty, but that didn’t matter.

Cameron didn’t have time to decipher why she was so jealous that Melanie spent the night at Palmer’s house before she got another text.

I haven’t been able to stop thinking about that kiss.

Me either. Cameron texted back with a smiley emoji.

I’m glad to hear that. Melanie added a heart to the end of the message, then another one came through. I’m about to head home. I have to talk to Rob. Are we still on for drinks with Isla and Vera on Saturday?

Cameron was torn with how to answer. On one hand, she wanted to see Melanie before girls’ night.

She wanted to make sure they were okay and to clarify what the kiss meant for Melanie.

Because Cameron knew what it meant to her.

But on the other hand, Melanie could very well be ending her marriage.

A marriage that she’d been in since her twenties.

And Cameron couldn’t imagine how that must feel, even if Melanie wanted that.

We are and I’m here to talk anytime. I love you.

I love you, too.

Staring at the words, Cameron sent up a prayer to whoever was listening that Melanie would be okay, no matter what happened when she got home.