Jennica and Cameron bundled up in their winter gear before venturing into the cold. He took her hand, claiming it would help them stay warmer, though he suspected she knew his real reason.

[The promotional sentence about the website should be removed as it's irrelevant to the story and inappropriate for inclusion.]

"You know, there's nobody out here. You don't have to pretend anymore," he said.

"Who says I'm pretending?" she retorted.

She stopped abruptly, slowly looking up at him. "I suspected you had ulterior motives for helping me. Why didn't you say something earlier?"

He shrugged. "I didn't want to scare you, since we haven't known each other long. Truth is, I've never met anyone like you."

"What do you mean?"

He kicked at a patch of hardened snow. "I felt comfortable around you immediately, like I'd known you for years. That's never happened before."

Cameron had been with Melody for almost two and a half years, and was considering proposing when she left for Florida. Even she had never made him feel this way. Jennica was bright, beautiful, interesting, and easy to be around. He couldn't ask for a better companion, and he wasn't getting any younger. He could actually see himself marrying her, and he'd only known her for a little under a month—which was completely crazy.

"I felt that too," she confessed. "But…isn't this moving a little fast?"

"Who says relationships need a specific timeline? I like you, you like me. Isn't that enough?"

"I never said I liked you!"

He grinned. It wasn't explicitly stated, but it was obvious. "No, but you do, don't you?"

"yes." She bit her lip, hesitant. "You don't mind my inconsistent job? Or my family? You've met them; you know my mom is crazy."

"Everyone's mom is a little crazy. And you're passionate—that's one of the things I like about you. You wouldn't be the same with a regular job. If you wanted, you could focus solely on auditioning for things you care about, and I'd handle your bills."

It would be easy. Even easier if she moved in with him, but he didn't want to rush her.

Her jaw dropped. "Why would you do that? You hardly know me."

"I know enough to realize that letting you go would be the stupidest thing I could do. We'd spend more time together if you didn't have to worry about odd jobs."

Jennica shook her head. "That can wait. Why do you like me?"

Cameron reached out, tilting her chin up so she looked at him. Her dazzling emerald eyes held clear questions.

"You're creative, talented, fun to be with, and we have a lot in common. Spending time with you is my favorite part of the day. It doesn't hurt that you're drop-dead gorgeous, either."

Her face broke into a wide smile. "Drop-dead gorgeous, huh?"

He nodded, his heart pounding.

"Alright. I'll be your girlfriend. I'm pretty sure Valentina predicted this would happen on this trip anyway," she said with a laugh.

He swept her up, spun her around, then held her close. "You won't regret it, I promise. You already said you thought I'd make a good boyfriend—I'll prove it to you."

He leaned down and kissed her forehead, surprising her enough that she leaned back to look up at him. She was especially cute in her beanie with the giant pompom.

Jennica was irresistible. She stood on tiptoe, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Cameron."

"Yeah?"

"You're supposed to kiss me now."

Oh. OH! He tightened his hold as his lips met hers. He'd kissed before, but it had never felt like this.

Melody who? The only woman in the world was Jennica Stevens, whose lips still tasted like whipped cream.

His phone buzzed in his pocket, but he ignored it, trying to focus on the kiss. The buzzing persisted, breaking his concentration.

Finally, he apologized profusely before answering, "What?!" rather sharply, as she giggled. She'd felt the phone buzzing too.

"Am I interrupting something?" Aaron asked icily.

The warmth from Jennica's kiss vanished instantly. "I was going to reply to you, I was just busy," he said lamely.

"Busy how?"

Jennica grabbed his hand and yelled into the phone, "Hi Aaron!" She giggled even harder.

Cameron was tempted to laugh too. When it came to messing with people, she was on par with Aiden.

"I see."

Those two words could freeze an ocean. Even Jennica felt it and stopped laughing. "Oh crap," she whispered. "He's scary."

He wrapped his arm tighter around her. "Look, I'll tell you everything at work on Monday, okay? This is better said in person anyway. Aiden actually knows more than I do."

Sorry, Aiden! he thought. He had to throw his friend under the bus.

Aaron wasn't cursing, but Cameron knew him well enough to know a volcanic eruption was imminent. Aiden was a dead man.

His boss hung up, and he quickly texted Aiden: 'Code red: Hurricane Aaron is headed your way.' Aiden responded with a curse.

"What was that about?" Jennica asked curiously.

"I may have to attend Aiden's funeral next week."

"Why?!"

"it was his idea to keep this a secret from the boss," Cameron said grimly. "He knew about it first."

"About what exactly?"

"The guy Aaron's possible future girlfriend is close to. That's all I can say; it's his business."

Jennica mumbled a prayer for her neighbor, and Cameron would have laughed if he didn't know how screwed they both were on Monday. He should have known Aaron would find out eventually.