Free Something About You by Julie James

her shoulders. “Not in a million years, babe.”
    Cameron smiled and leaned against him, taking comfort in the firm solidness of his chest. In turn, Collin pulled her tighter, turning serious. “You know we were just kidding around at the restaurant, don’t you?”
    “I know.”
    “Because we’re very both worried about you.”
    “I know that, too.”
    They came to a stop in front of her house. Collin faced her, and she could see the worry in his hazel eyes. “Seriously, Cam—you were an eyewitness, earwitness, whatever you want to call it, to a murder. And you saw the killer leave. I hate to go down this road but . . . is there any chance he knew you were watching?”
    Cameron had asked herself this very question several times over the course of the last twelve hours. “I was behind the door the whole time. And even if he heard me or somehow otherwise suspected I was watching, there’s no way he’d know my identity. The FBI and CPD have kept my name confidential.”
    “Not exactly a good night for you, was it?”
    “That’s putting it mildly.”
    Collin cocked his head in the direction of her house. “So, then . . . would you like some company tonight?”
    Cameron thought about it. After the bizarre occurrences of the night before, the idea of spending the night alone in that big house was not particularly appealing. But she knew that if Collin stayed, there would be problems. “Thanks for offering. But Richard already thinks you spend too much time with me. I’ll be okay by myself.”
    There was a flicker of emotion in Collin’s eyes. “Actually, Richard and I decided to take a break.”
    Cameron was shocked. She knew they’d been having problems—personally she blamed Richard; he’d always been a little arrogant and strangely unappreciative of Collin, whom half the male population in Chicago practically worshipped—but the two of them had been together for three years and she just assumed they’d work things out.
    “When did this happen?” she asked.
    “Last night. He said he changed his mind about going to Amy’s wedding. He used the old ‘But-I’ll-be-uncomfortable’ excuse, but really he just didn’t want to sacrifice a whole weekend in Michigan.” Collin emphasized this last part in mock horror. “I told him that the wedding is at a nice hotel, but you know him—if it’s not a Four Seasons, he thinks he’s roughing it. Anyway, we argued about that, and then we argued about a lot of things, and now . . . well, here we are.”
    “Do you think there’s any chance it’ll all blow over in a few days?” Cameron asked gently.
    Collin shook his head. “If he can’t do this for me, then no. He knows what this wedding means to me, and I think that’s the problem. It’s all part of his stupid competition with you and Amy. So he’s moving his stuff out of the condo tonight. Probably right at this very moment.”
    “I’m sorry, sweetie.” Cameron hugged him. “So I guess the real question is: do you want some company tonight?”
    “Yes.” Collin held open the gate for her. “But you have to promise to get me very drunk.”
    Cameron walked up the steps. “As long as you promise to still make breakfast in the morning.”
    “Babe, I always make breakfast. You can’t even warm an Eggo.”
    “That was one time.” Their senior year, and Collin had never let her live it down. “The stupid box said one to two cycles—I did two cycles. How the toaster caught on fire is just as big a mystery to me.”
    SITTING IN THEIR unmarked car across the street, Officers Phelps and Kamin watched as the couple headed up the front steps of the house.
    “And that will be the last anybody sees of them tonight,” Officer Kamin said, satisfied. He folded up his Sun-Times as Phelps started the car. “For a minute there, I wasn’t sure our boy was gonna get the go-ahead signal. Looks like he’s home free now.”
    Phelps squinted, trying to get a better look at the pair as they stepped inside the