Are you fucking serious? The guy can’t see past his own love for you.

What? What the hell are you talking about?

Ah, hell. I forgot. You can’t see it, either. He’s so fucking in love with you—or thinks he is—it’s awkward to be in the same room with the two of you together.

Cam still didn’t believe it. There was no way Roan had feelings for him. No matter what Dare said.

Only, standing there now, it looked as though Roan’s anger was directed at him. Since Cam had called Dare and asked him to fill in, he couldn’t imagine that Roan had been inconvenienced by his absence.

Could it be true?

Was Roan jealous? Of Gannon? Or was something else bothering him?

“I care,” Cam retorted. “She’s like family.”

“Then I guess you shoulda been here,” Roan snapped.

“What the fuck is your problem?” Cam spat, angry that Roan would treat him this way. They’d been friends for too long for Roan to act like this.

“Not a goddamn thing,” Roan yelled. “Why don’t you go back to your boyfriend and leave me the fuck alone?”

No.

God, no. It couldn’t be true.

Cam didn’t say a word, didn’t know how to address this in a civil manner. Not to mention, he didn’t want to jump to conclusions. Accusing Roan of being jealous—when there wasn’t anything to be jealous about because their relationship wasn’t like that—would only piss him off more.

Roan held his stare for another few seconds, then spun around and hauled ass out the front door, not looking back.

Cam remained where he was, confusion and, yes, anger replacing the giddiness he’d felt that morning when he’d woken up beside Gannon.

Just when he’d thought he had overcome the toughest hurdles this relationship had brought thus far, Roan had to go and do this.

Thirty-Three

At seven o’clock that night, Gannon stepped into the marina office, hoping to find Cam, but a quick perusal told him that Cam wasn’t there.

But Dare was.

The man’s head lifted from the magazine he’d been reading, hazel eyes leveling on him. “Hey.”

“Hey.” Gannon glanced around, trying to appear casual. “Cam around?”

Dare leaned back in his chair, flipping his ball cap around backwards. Gannon noticed, unlike most of the other times he’d encountered Dare, the man was shirtless. It was hard to miss the muscles in his chest flexing as he crossed his arms. “Everything cool?”

Gannon wasn’t sure at this point. He’d texted Cam several times throughout the day, letting him know he’d be stopping by if Cam was up for company. Never heard from him. Then, when he’d left work, before he’d pulled out of the parking lot, Gannon had shot off another text, letting him know he was on his way. And when he still didn’t get an answer, he had attempted to call only to get Cam’s voice mail.

It appeared as though Cam was avoiding him. Or perhaps that was his own insecurities talking. It was possible that Cam was just incredibly busy, making up for taking off the weekend to spend with Gannon.

“Yeah,” Gannon said. “Just wanted to see him.”

“How’s work?” Dare asked, getting to his feet and moving to the counter.

“Good. Busy.”

“Any upcoming trips?”

Dare seemed oddly curious, but Gannon didn’t mind. Considering he knew that Cam was close to them all, he welcomed the casual conversation.

“Yeah. Gotta go back to California in a couple of weeks.”

“The travelin’ thing…” Dare said, resting his arms on the counter. “It’s not easy for Cam.”

He knew that already, but still, Dare’s blunt assessment of the situation sparked Gannon’s curiosity. He knew he shouldn’t encourage Dare because it was an invasion of Cam’s privacy, but he couldn’t help himself. The words simply came out. “I know. It’s been tough, but I think we’ll make it work.”

“Think?”

Gannon swallowed hard, trying to figure out what Dare expected from him. What was he supposed to say?

Dare continued to study him. Gannon fought the urge to fidget.

“You’re good for him, you know.”

Well, that wasn’t the direction he’d expected the conversation to go, but it did help to alleviate some of the tension. “Thanks.”

“It’ll take him some time, I’m sure. But don’t give up on him.”

He hadn’t planned on it, but still, something seemed off about this conversation. “Is there something I need to know?”

Dare glanced behind him, then met Gannon’s gaze again. “Do you love him?”

Gannon didn’t feel comfortable telling Dare how he felt about Cam, so he lifted his eyebrows in question.

Dare smiled. “Fine. Not my business. But if you do, just fight for him. That’s all I’m sayin’.”

Fight for him?

Gannon forced his jaw to remain closed, although he was sure he looked as confused as he felt. He wanted to know what Dare meant by that, but he couldn’t bring himself to ask. Nodding, as though he understood completely, he looked around again. “So, is he here?”

“Out in the shed. He’s been runnin’ around like crazy today. I think he’s helpin’ Roan put some stuff up.”

The door chimed and Gannon looked back to see a young couple coming in.

Dare smacked the counter, nodded at Gannon, then greeted them with a smile.

Gannon gave a curt, two-finger wave and then headed outside. He needed to talk to Cam.

Making his way down the pier, he noticed that the doors to the shed were open, so he figured Cam and Roan were still inside. He didn’t want to surprise Cam, but he didn’t know what else to do. Maybe Dare was right and they’d just been busy, which was why Cam hadn’t answered him.

But if not, and Cam had once again gotten cold feet, Gannon knew he needed to address it before they took two steps back and ended up right where they’d started.

Considering how much work it’d required to make it this far, Gannon damn sure wasn’t about to let that happen.

Cam had followed Roan out to the shed, wanting to get him to talk. After the way they’d left things that morning, he couldn’t sit by and allow this rift between them to grow. If he didn’t address it now, he risked losing Roan completely. And that wasn’t something Cam was willing to do.

Clearly something was bothering Roan, and Cam needed to get to the bottom of it, even if he didn’t want to know. And if Roan’s issue had to do with Cam and Gannon, he definitely didn’t want to know.

For weeks now, Roan hadn’t been himself. Every time Cam attempted to talk to him, he found himself shut out. At first, he’d thought it was just the summer months arriving and work increasing. Then, he’d figured it had to do with Roan’s sister and her relapse.

Now, he wasn’t so sure it had anything to do with those things.

They’d been friends for so long, and Roan had always talked to him when he had a problem, and now it seemed as though his best friend was purposely avoiding him. Which made Cam think that Dare might be right.

Although he hoped that wasn’t the case.

He really hoped that wasn’t the case.

“Hey,” Cam called out to Roan when he stepped into the shadows inside the large shed they used to house tools and extra equipment. He’d expected to see Roan moving things around or getting supplies.

That definitely wasn’t what Roan was doing. “What’s wrong?”

Roan’s head jerked up, his hands sliding up to wipe what looked a hell of a lot like tears from his face.

“Is your sister okay?” Cam asked, immediately assuming something had happened to her.

Dare had filled him in earlier after Cam’s failed attempt to get Roan to talk. According to him, Roan’s family had attempted to get her into rehab, but she’d refused to go. Dare hadn’t expanded on the details, probably because he didn’t know the details, but Cam knew how hard that must’ve been on everyone.