WILDFIRE
By Aysia Anderson (a.k.a. Nikki)

Chapter Fifteen: The Rules of Engagement

“Perhaps a word with the both of you before we get started here?” Barbara Walters requested as her crew began to unload in the living room. Wordlessly she and Camille followed behind the man of the house and into the den. Once inside he dropped down onto the sofa drawing Camille down at his side as Barbara took a seat in his Lay-Z-Boy.

“Are you absolutely positive that this is what you want to do?” the prestigious journalist questioned seriously.

Justin turned to Camille, smoothing his knuckles over her arm, as he sat with his arms around her. She spoke up without delay. He was glad that she was so certain in that moment because he could feel the inside of his mouth taking on a cottony texture.

“I respect your not wanting to disguise the way that you feel but as someone very prevalent in the media I want you to consider how big this could actually become.” Barbara began. “Camille has never been under this sort of scrutiny and, trust me, it will come. Justin, you know what this is like but my intuition is telling me that your past relationships will pale in comparison to this union. People are already calling you a musical icon and the expectation for Camille rivals your own. You have to understand that what you’re about to do is so much bigger than yourselves.”

“So there will be more cameras and a lot more gossip columns printed all over the world. What’s the worst that could possibly happen?” Justin inquired, unprepared for the truth that she was about to shed on them both.

“The two of you are the marriage of two different styles of music.”

“We do the same music.” he countered.

“Hear me out.” Barbara put her hand up to silence him. “You’re the marriage of two separate musical avenues as well as the union of two races and ethnicities. You’re going to get a lot of flack along with the praise. I’ve seen it happen before and it’s hard to say if you’ll be any different. Society has changed a lot but at the same time it still harbors some of the old feelings from the past. Now once again, are you sure that you would like to take this step?”

The interview with Barbara Walters of 20/20 seemed to be going on for hour upon hour upon hour. Though the crew had set up in the den filming didn’t begin there. They requested that Justin and Camille just relax together as if the cameras weren’t around so that they could be documented in their everyday lives. Operating that way was like second nature to Justin since he had grown used to living under the microscope but for Camille things felt off kilter. When the time arrived for the actual interview to begin she breathed a sigh of relief. She wouldn’t have to say anything because it wasn’t her whom they had come to see. All eyes were on Justin.

Half and hour into the interview Barbara and Justin had covered the topics of his album and how his style had progressed from when he had originally came out with a solo project. They dissected his first major movie role in Edison and what it was like for him to work with big names like Morgan Freeman and Kevin Spacey. When she finally got around to questioning about his private affairs both parties in the relationship were excited that the truth would finally come out as well as terrified of the possible repercussions.

“What Camille and I have is very special and I don’t want it to be tainted by the media. When we first started going out we were in a really fragile stage and too much exposure could have damaged it. It’s happened to me in the past.” Justin explained to Barbara Walters the reason behind his and Camille’s decision not to go public about their relationship sooner. “We both really wanted to take the time out to get to know each other better and to feel secure with where we were before we let everyone know what was going on.”

“So why now? Why after all of this time would you decide that ‘today is the day that we come out to everyone?’ What is the motivation behind this move?” Barbara questioned as Camille stood off on the sidelines not wanting to be a part of the interview as not to infringe on Justin’s spotlight.

“We both just felt like it was time. After so long you just get tired of dodging the questions when everyone around you is speculating that you’re with someone. You know what I’m saying?” he crossed his ankle over his knee as he spoke. “A lot of relationships that are brought to the light in the entertainment industry fizzle out quickly so the both of us were weary about getting together and saying ‘look at us, here we are’. Its not the way that the two of us work. People were already making comments about seeing us together and anyone with two eyes can see that I love this girl because as much as I tried to hide it, contain it, and keep it on the low, I can’t keep doing it. I don’t want to hide the way I feel for her when it runs so strongly and so deeply inside of me.”

“So what is it about Camille that sets her apart from all of the other young ladies that you’ve dated in the past, Justin? You’ve dated the likes of Janet Jackson, Cameron Diaz, and Alyssa Milano…even Britney Spears. Sitting here with you now you seem so much more serious about this relationship with Camille than you did in your relationship with Britney and you were with her for years.”

“What sets her apart from the people that I’ve dated in the past?” Justin asked, scratching the side of his jaw anxiously. “It’s hard to say because I’ve dated women that all have something uniquely them, you know? With Camille everything just feels different. I wake up every morning and I’m like, ‘oh my god, I am with this girl’. It amazes me. She’s the first thing that I think about when I wake up in the morning and the last thing that I think about before I go to sleep at night. There was this void that I felt but now that I’ve met her and we’re together I feel more complete than I ever have in my life.”

“Do you have any intentions on marrying her?”

“We haven’t discussed marriage or anything like that. We’re at a point right now where we’re comfortable together just the way that we are. I’m not saying that something like that would never happen between us because I don’t honestly know but we haven’t talked about it.”

“Now, looking at the big picture here, Justin, what do you see coming out of this relationship? Where is it on your personal list of priorities right now?”

“I know what I should say to that question and I know what my heart is telling me to say as an answer,” he started, eyes shifting from Barbara’s face to Camille’s. “My career and all of the things that I’ve done and plan to do in the future are very important to me so it will always be high on my list. At the same time, as new as this relationship is I feel it’s strength. I can honestly sit here with you and tell you that Camille comes first. She’s number one at the top of my list. There is God and family which is unshakeable and forever but when you get underneath that, where the true numbers come into play, my heart comes first and that’s what she is to me. She’s like a vital organ. She stops breathing then I stop breathing.”

“You would sacrifice your career for this woman?”

“Barbara, I’ve already done everything that I’ve set out to do. All of this fame and all of this fortune could be gone tomorrow and though it would hurt I know that I would be able to survive because for richer or poorer I know Camille would still be by my side. If my career stalled today and I was to go bankrupt she’d be there working her ass off for me and I for her. We’ve got this bond that I can’t even begin to explain. It’s incredible what we feel and I just want the both of us to be able to experience the full magnitude of the love that we share without having to hide behind closed doors to do so.”

Camille didn’t know what else had been said over the course of the next forty minutes of his interview with Barbara Walters. She hadn’t stuck around to hear the end of it. After listening to all of the words that he had said, the words he had just said to the public at large, she needed a moment to breathe. She had to take the time to absorb what he had just done and why when he had said the things that he said it made her want to cry.

Three hours later, while sitting on the couch in the den watching television, Justin heard the sound of the front door opening and closing. When she entered the room in her jacket with keys in hand he looked her over and then continued to focus on the television screen. He had no idea why she had run out the way that she had but at that point he was definitely not in the mood to discuss it. There had been enough talk for the rest of the week.

Mechanically Camille shrugged out of her jacket and let it drop to the floor along with her keys while analyzing her boyfriend’s body language. He sat mid center of the couch with his long arms sprawled out along the back. He was slouching down slightly and held a look on her face that told her that he was drained from the events from the day. Fluidly she crossed from the doorway to stand before him and positioned her knees on either side of his body so that they were face to face.

“Where’d you go?” his voice was a whisper as he stared into her eyes unmoving from his prior position.

“Went for a drive to try to clear my head,” she answered. “I didn’t expect you to say all of those things.”

“What did you expect?”

“I don’t know,” she shrugged. “I just needed to get away and let it all marinate for a little while. I didn’t want to get into it while you were being filmed.”

Justin nodded that he understood. They couldn’t have possibly requested to stop the filming so that they could run upstairs, lock themselves in the bedroom, and discuss everything that he had just divulged to the cameras. He couldn’t hold her departure against her.

“You meant everything that you said?”

His eyes roamed over her gentle face trying to figure out why there was even a doubt in her mind that anyone could feel the way that he did for her. “Yeah.”

Camille diverted her eyes and stared down at the couch cushions while shaking her head. “I’m trying to understand how someone like you could feel so deeply for me. I just can’t…I can’t fathom it.”

“Hey?” he moved his right arm to tilt her chin up with the side of his index finger. “I’m never going to break your heart, okay? I’m never going to hurt you. You’re the type of girl that I’ve dreamt about since I was a little boy. You’re feminine and respectful and refined but at the same time you’re my best friend and my confidant. I can take you home to my parents and know that you’ll impress them but I can also bring you here and get into a burping contest with you…”

“You owe me five dollars from yesterday.”

“Don’t interrupt.”

“Sorry,” she apologized quickly and allowed him to continue saying what was on his mind.

“Baby, I said all of those things in that interview today because it’s the way that I feel. My only regret in doing that was that I didn’t have the nerve to tell you all of that to your face a long time ago before the question of going public ever arose. I should have been telling you from the day I met you, from the day I kissed you.” he smiled when he realized that she wasn’t saying anything to his words because she didn’t want to interrupt again. “Go.”

“I have to go to Wisconsin tomorrow.”

“Baby, we just got back from overseas and you just started moving in…”

“I know, I know, but my daddy really wants me to come and I haven’t seen him in ages.” Camille explained. “I don’t want to board another plane for the rest of the year but it’s something that I have to do.”

“Alright,” he sighed, “then we’ll go tomorrow.”

“There went asking you to go.” she giggled.

“I want to meet your dad especially since I think I’d rather him kick my ass now rather than later after hearing what I said on 20/20.”

“My daddy’s not like that, sweetheart.”

“Yeah. Okay.”

“Anyway, mom and I thought it would be the appropriate time for you to meet the rest of the family and everything. Some of them aren’t worth seeing but what can you do?”

Justin nodded that he understood and finally brought his arms around her. “Since we’re doing all of this family meeting why don’t we swing by Tennessee on the return trip? Kind of do a loop?”

“You want me to meet the rest of your family?” Camille couldn’t help but to smile at the mere idea.

“Of course I do, baby! I want you to meet my grams and gramps, my dad and step mom, but most of all you have got to meet my two kid brothers!”

“Steve and Jonathan, right? You showed me pictures?”

“You’re going to love them.”

/*/*/

“I can’t live my life pretending that everything is okay! I can’t be in the same space as you knowing what you did with her and…I hate what you did so much Justin! I hate what you did!” Camille struggled not to shout as she and Justin sat together on the couch trying to talk through as much as they could for the evening without getting too deep into it.

“Baby, I am so sorry. You have to believe me.”

Camille shook her head, her knee bouncing up and down as a nervous reaction to stress. “I want to hate you so much, Justin, but I can’t. It almost feels like it was something that happened separately from you that you just got pulled into but…”

“Camille, what I did will never make sense or add up. If I can’t justify my own actions then how can you?” Justin interrupted. She was always trying to rationalize things and make excuses for him. Even when he had come out and told her the truth and the details behind what had happened she still tried to soften the things that he had done in her mind.

“This just feels like a really bad dream that I can’t wake up from, you know? It’s like I’ll never be able to escape this.”

“If you need more time then I’ll leave, okay? I’ll go to that hotel or if you need more space than that then I’ll get an apartment for a while…”

“Justin, Nicole needs her father.” She stated pointedly.

“I understand that because I need her too, Camille, but her father also needs her mother. The questions is do you need me as much as I need you?”

/*/*/…////

“In a way you could say that Justin and Camille grew even closer because of their family lives. They had the same background in that both of their parents had split and moved on so they had two different sets of parents to divide their time between.” Lynn explained as she neared the end of the stretch for her interview that evening. “Justin never seemed to be all that bothered by it but Camille had a few more demons to sort out than he did. Her situation was a lot more complicated than his...”

////…****

“Baby, there’s something that I haven’t told you about me.” Camille stated, sitting behind the wheel of the rental car with Justin sitting at her side scribbling words down into a notebook.

“Is it something serious?” he questioned, completely focused on getting the lyrics floating around in his head onto paper.

“Yeah, I think it is.”

“Okay,” he nodded and finished up his line before closing the notebook and chucking it into the backseat of the car to give her his complete attention. It wasn’t the first time that he had been in this area of Wisconsin. He and his band mates had driven through Racine on the way to either Milwaukee for a show or Kenosha for a baseball game. The whole idea of him driving right through her town on the way to another while she sat tucked away in one of those house harnessing her craft blew him away. The thought of him passing her by over and over again only to come to her later on in life just set his creative wheels spinning.

Pulling the rental car over into a quiet residential neighborhood, Camille threw the car into park and cut the engine. She wasn’t quite sure where to begin and didn’t even know if the information that she was about to give him had any relevance. She just felt that since their relationship was becoming more and more serious that she wanted him to know everything there was to her even if there were things that she had never intended to share with another human being. Justin adjusted in his seat and waited patiently for her to begin.

“So I’m taking you to go and meet my father,” she began, fingers curled around the steering wheel. “I love my father so much but there is something that I’ve never been able to tell him and I don’t think that I will ever be able to. I know it will kill him.”

Justin’s brows furrowed as she spoke. He noticed her uneasiness instantly. Her grip on the steering wheel was becoming more and more intense and as she spoke the emotions that she was harboring infiltrated into her voice.

“When I was eleven years old my mother introduced me to this guy and said that he was my great-uncle’s younger brother,” she cleared her throat. “A week later she asked me if I remembered her introducing us and then sprung it on me that he was my real father. All of my life she had been lying to me about who my father actually was and then all out of the blue she decides to have a moment of integrity.”

“Camille?” he reached out to her and massaged her shoulder in an attempt to calm her down.

“She said that she decided to tell me because he showed her a picture of my younger sister and she looked like me.” Camille laughed since it was the only thing that she could think of to do. “So here I am, eleven years old, and suddenly I’ve got a whole other family that I’m supposed to get to know and embrace without letting the family that I’ve always known in on the secret. I’ve got two younger sisters and a younger brother, Justin, and even now I don’t know what to do with it.”

“Have you tried to talk to this guy? Your biological father?”

“That’s a joke. He thinks he can buy my love or something and the only reason he would ever call was to pump me for information to find out if my mom was seeing anyone because he wanted her back.”

“What about your siblings?”

“The oldest one is the only one that would honestly remember seeing me. She worships the ground that I walk on.”

“Do you think that maybe you should try to incorporate some sort of relationship with them into your life?”

“Then how do I explain them to my dad and his side of the family? ’I just wanted to introduce you to my kid brother and sisters!’ That’s really going to fly.”

Justin nodded that he understood. The situation was insane. He had always had so much respect for her mother but he couldn’t see hiding something like that from his own child. Why would she ever even tell that secret when nothing could have come out of it?

“I understand why things happened the way that they did in regards to before she told me what happened. She was young, he had left her to go to college and she didn’t want him to marry her because she was pregnant. My father on the other hand was here and he loved her and he didn’t care that I wasn’t his biologically because I was his in his heart.”

“Then it sounds to me like you know where you’re at and where you need to be.” he rubbed his hand over her back soothingly. “You’ve got everything you need already. I think it would be a plus for you to have contact with your sisters and brother but you don’t have to have any contact with the other guy at all because he doesn’t have good intentions.”

“Okay,” she took a deep breath and restarted the engine.

“I’m glad you told me this. It makes it easier to understand you and what you’re going through.”

“Maybe I should have told you sooner.”

“No, this is the appropriate time.” Justin disagreed. “I’m not so scared to meet your father anymore. He sounds like the type of man that I want to be.”

Camille smiled softly and touched her fingertips to the side of his face as he looked at her. “You’re already on your way.” She moved to kiss his lips. “I love you.”

“I love you too, baby girl.”

She smiled again. “That’s what my daddy calls me.”

“Sounds like I’m getting closer then.” he kissed her once more and checked over his shoulder to see if there was any oncoming traffic. “You’re good to go.”

As Camille directed the car back onto the street and into the route of her father’s home Justin reached back behind his seat to gather up his notebook and pen. Flipping to a clean page he began to incorporate what she had just told him into the words of a song. As she drove he scribbled furiously with his right hand and with his left intertwined her fingers with his own. The ride there didn’t last much longer but it was sufficient time for him to complete his work.

“Oh, great.” Camille sighed as she parked the car and noticed the group of people heading toward her father’s house and into the backyard. “Everybody’s here.”

“That’s a bad thing?” Justin unbuckled his safety belt and stepped out of the car. It was refreshing to be in a place where no bodyguards were necessary. It was like being home in Millington, Tennessee for him.

“Yes and no.” she replied, climbing out of the car with him and locking the doors. Anxiously she waited for him to cross in front of the car and trek across the street with her. A few family members noticed her right off as they climbed out of their own cars and scurried to walk with her toward the backyard of her father’s home.

“Well, look at this,” one woman said as she approached to embrace her. “It’s been a long time since we’ve been able to lay eyes on you.”

“How have you been, Auntie?” Camille pretended to be enthused when in reality she hated family functions.

“Pretty good, honey. Who is this you have here with you?”

“Oh! This is my boyfriend, Justin Timberlake.”

“Boyfriend?” The older woman was taken aback. “Hmm. Do I know you, Justin? You look familiar.”

“No, ma’am, not personally.” Justin shook her hand politely. “Camille and I are in the same profession. We’re both performers.”

She eyed him suspiciously. “You look like that kid that exposed Janet Jackson’s breast some years back at the Super Bowl.”

Justin’s mouth began to move to excuse himself when Camille stepped in to change the subject. He took a deep breath as she ushered her aunt ahead of them and took his hand into her own. Maybe him accompanying her wasn’t such a bright idea. Most of the afternoon followed in the same pattern. Justin Timberlake? Who is it that? Is he the guy from that Super Bowl catastrophe? Is that the white boy that they said was the next king of pop? Most of the questions came from all of the older generations but those from their own age bracket possibly irked both Justin and Camille the most.

“You’ve dated a lot of beautiful women that are really powerful in Hollywood. Why would you want to date our cousin?” One of Camille’s twin cousins, Riana or Tiara, questioned snidely.

“Why wouldn’t I want to date her? She’s just as beautiful and talented as all of the other women that I’ve seen in the past.” Justin retorted, sipping from a can of beer wishing that wherever Camille had disappeared to she would return from.

“We just think that you can do better.”

“And who is better than her?”

The twin that was doing all of the talking shrugged while the other one stood idly by. “Look around you.”

“Tiara,” the quiet one took a deep breath. “Forget about all she’s saying, okay? Do you love our cousin?”

“Yeah, I love her.” Justin nodded his head.

“Then that’s all that matters.” Riana concluded, tugging her outspoken sister away. “Welcome to the family!”

“Um, thanks.”

“It’s like walking into the pit, isn’t it?” the voice of an older man asked from behind Justin and he turned to see Camille’s father, Kenneth, standing proudly to his side. “Don’t mind any of it, son. Everyone with a new face that walks in here gets the same treatment. They know who you are but they don’t care.”

Justin nodded and shifted his beer to his other hand in order to shake hands with him. “They’re about to drive me insane.”

“Trust me, I’ve been in this family my whole life and I’m shocked that I haven’t been admitted to the psych ward yet with having to deal with them.” Kenneth replied. “Why don’t you come on over here with me and take a seat? We can have some grown man talk away from all of the kids.”

“Yes, sir.”

Camille stepped outside of the house carrying a casserole dish in her hands just as her father and Justin sat down on the lawn chairs on the opposite side of the yard. She hadn’t intended to leave him alone for any amount of time but when she was at home she was just like everyone else. She had to help out and get things done. The women of the family guaranteed that. As she made her way to the table to set down her dish she kept her eyes on them. She wasn’t sure what they were discussing but they seemed to be getting along well. They were both talking and laughing like old friends. She could only hope for the same type of reception when she would be the one placed into the hot seat and would have to talk to his father and stepmother one on one. In all honesty, she was a lot more worried about impressing his kid brothers.

….////

“Mrs. Harless, thank you so much for coming in to talk to us this evening.” Gary shook the curly blonde’s hand firmly as he walked her to the exit of the building. “You’ve been a great help in the process.”

“Oh, you’re welcome. All I want to do is help out and make sure the truth gets told.” Lynn assured him. “If Justin or Camille could be here they’d straighten out everything themselves but they have to work on their relationship from the inside before working on the outside.”

“I understand completely. We’ll be seeing you later this week?”

“Just have your people give me a buzz whenever you need me to come in and I’ll share what I can.” she began to open the glass doors leading to the parking lot as Gary followed her out, not wanting her to walk to her car alone. “If you don’t mind my asking, who else are you interviewing for this?”

“We’ve already begun interviewing Nastassia J. and we’ve contacted both Trace Ayala and Nelly to give their spins on the story.”

“Well be sure that you get into contact with Camille’s mother, Linda, and that you speak to the kids’ bodyguards.”

“Their security teams?” his brows furrowed questioningly.

“Of course. They could barely leave the house without those men to keep them safe the more and more attention that was cast in their direction. I’m sure that Lonnie, Dre, or Eddie could tell so much more things that could be relevant to what you’re searching after…”

////

“Is she okay?” Justin asked after trumping up the stairs to see Nastassia exiting the playroom with his daughter asleep in her arms.

She nodded tiredly and passed the small two-year old over to her father. “She’s asking a lot of questions. I did my best to answer them.”

“She worried about Camille and I?”

“Yeah. She doesn’t miss anything.”

“I know,” he sighed heavily, holding her in one arm as she adjusted in her sleep circling her arms around his neck and resting her head on his shoulder. “She just fell asleep?”

“Yes…did you and Camille talk things through?” Nastassia asked though a bit uneasy on bring up the topic with him.

“Not really. We pretty much just sat there trying to feel each other out, you know? At this point there isn’t too much more that can really be said. She either forgives me or she doesn’t. We stay married or we get divorced. It’s kind of cut and dry right now.”

“I understand.” she took a deep breath and rested her hands on her hips. “Well, I’m going to get going. It’s getting kind of late and I promised Nelly that I’d come over and help him out with the kids tonight.”

“Okay,” Justin reached out to hug her. “Thanks for coming over and helping out, Stassia. I really appreciate that.”

“No problem. Tell my girl that I’ll call her a little later on tonight.” she waved goodbye and headed down the stairs and out of the front door once collecting her keys from the side table.

“Daddy?” Nicole’s small voice called as she straddled the line of consciousness and sleep.

“I thought you were sleeping, Piglet.”

“I am,” she yawned with eyes still closed as her father began to walk with her toward her bedroom where he flipped on the light switch and carried her over to her bed.

“Which pajamas tonight, angel?”

“Power Puff Girls.”

“Okay,” Justin set her down gently on the bed and went to the dresser to retrieve her pajamas. By the time that he had returned to her she had already removed her clothes and was prepared for him to help her get into her nightgown. After he had slipped the thin pink material over her head and arms he lifted her back up into the air, pulling back the covers and sheets, and set her down once more to stretch out beneath them. “Are we all good?”

“All good.” she nodded with heavy eyes as he placed a kiss on her forehead and started to stand up. “Daddy?”

“Yes, baby?”

“Can you sing a song for me before I go to sleep?”

“What do you want me to sing?”

“The goodnight song that you used to sing to mommy when I was still in her stomach.” she requested as her hands found her stuffed bunny rabbit on the bed beside her and drew it around under her chin.

Justin was silent for a few moments as more old emotions flooded over him. He could remember the nights when Camille would be sick with fever due to her pregnancy or when Nicole would be unruly in the small confines of her mother’s belly. He never knew how or why but whenever he sang that song their baby would calm down. Whenever he sang that song Camille would forget whatever idiotic thing that he had done over the course of the day to get her worked up.

“Could this be true? Tell me, can this be real? How can I put into words what I feel? Thought I was complete. I thought I was whole. Why do I feel like I’m losing control?” he sang softly as his daughter’s eyes slowly began to close. It was a song that he hadn’t sang with his group members in years but it was something that lived on throughout time. It always took him back to start and reminded him how far he had come. “I never thought that love could feel like this. Then you changed my world with just one kiss. How can this be that right here with me there’s an angel? You’re a miracle.”

Camille stood just inside of the doorway to her daughter’s room as her husband sang one of the first songs that launched he and his group mates to stardom. She recalled him singing it to her a few times in the past but each and every time it had been special and sacred. With all that had happened between them she hadn’t expected to ever hear him sing it again.

“Your love is like a river, peaceful and deep. Your soul is like a secret that I never could keep.” he continued, not knowing that anyone was listening and believing that his audience was already well on her way to sleepy-town. “When I look into your eyes I know that it’s true. God must have spent a little more time on you…”

“Why don’t you ever do the second verse?” Camille questioned and noticed Justin tense.

“It’s JC’s part,” he answered and turned around as not to seem embarrassed by his mini-performance that he had just put on for the apple of his eye. “Are we going to talk now or do this later?”

“Later.” she sighed heavily and crossed her arms over her chest. “I think I’m going to follow Nikki’s lead and go to bed.”

“Okay.” he watched as she turned out of the room and headed down the hallway before casting his eyes to the floor and shoving his hands back into his pockets dejectedly.

“Are you coming?”

Justin looked up after hearing her call out to him and stepped out into the hallway, closing the door behind himself so that Nicole wouldn’t be disturbed, to see his wife standing in the middle of the hallway. She waited for him to walk over to her before continuing on and into the bedroom. Silently he closed the door behind them and followed her lead in disrobing and changing into night clothes.

He didn’t try to hide the fact that he watched her slide into her short satin gown that stopped mid-thigh as he peeled off his clothing and stepped into a pair of pajama pants. It had definitely been a while since he had been with her and the lack of affection was nearly as bad as the damaged emotions. He would never know why he had risked making love to his wife every night for the rest of his life to have a single night of casual sex with another woman that didn’t have anything on her.

“Can we just pretend for one night that none of this ever happened and that everything between us is fine?” she asked, coming to stand in front of him after he had turned down the bed and switched off the light of the lamp on his nightstand.

Justin nodded, moving his hands to her waist, and lifted her slowly up into the air with her hands resting on his shoulders. Her long dark brown hair hung down over her shoulders and at the sides of her face as he set her down on her toes on top of the bed though not letting her go. Staring down at him she lowered her head down to his and tasted his lips. She had missed kissing him so much more than he could have ever known.

After a moment he lifted her up again so that she could wrap her legs around his middle and her arms around his shoulders. She felt weightless in his strong arms as he carried her into the master bathroom and nudged the door closed behind them. He had been hurting her so much recently that all he wanted to do was make sure that he kissed all of the pain that had caused away.

“Do you think you’ll ever be able to trust me again?” he whispered his question to her in the darkness of the master bath.

“My trust in you has never been a part of the situation.” Camille answered truthfully. “I never stopped trusting in you or believing in you this entire time. You could have lied to me and told me that you never did anything even if there was overwhelming evidence saying otherwise. I would still believe you because you’re my husband and I promised myself to you.”

“Then let me promise myself all over again…” Justin brought his lips down over hers.

Are His Promises Empty?