Cameron''s smile lingered, bright enough to make Elijah''s pulse stutter. He quickly averted his gaze, flustered.


    Seeing that he didn''t answer, Cameron didn''t push. Instead, she scrolled through her phone and mused, "This couple is adorable too. Everyone s rooting for them. High school love stories just hit different."


    Elijah remained silent. It took him a while to steady his breathing. He rehearsed the question in his head over and over again before voicing it. "Cameron, you... Do you... have a girl you like?"


    He knew it wasn''t Amelia. Otherwise, Cameron wouldn''t have gone to such lengths to break off the engagement. But if it wasn''t Amelia, then who? In all their time together, he had never heard Cameron mention any girl.


    Cameron blinked at the question. She thought, ''What? Weren''t I supposed to be asking him that? Well, since he brought it up, maybe I could use it as an opening.''


    "Me? No." She shook her head. "What about you, Elijah? Anyone caught your eye?"


    Elijah tensed up upon hearing this. He thought, ''Why did ask that?


    Did he know something? No. It''s impossible. I only figured it out myself


    There was no way he could''ve known.''


    His fingers dug into the couch cushions as he fought forposure. He kept reminding himself that he was overthinking it.


    Still, he couldn''t bring himself to meet her eyes. His feeling for Cameron stole even that simple courage.


    "No," Elijah muttered, staring at Cameron''s phone.


    Cameron''s brow furrowed. She thought, ''No? But the butler went out of his way wrong?"


    call and tell me that Elijah had someone he liked. Did the butler get it


    Cameron could tell Elijah was off today. Since he wouldn''t admit it, she would offer some encouragement.


    "Guess neither of us has a crush right now," she mused. "But if I ever like someone, I''ll go for it, no regrets. Even if it doesn''t work out, at least I tried. What if it does?"


    Elijah''s head snapped up. He stared at Cameron, eyes wide. He thought, ''What did that mean? Was Cameron... nudging me to be brave? Could I? If he knew my feelings, would he see me as a freak and cut me off forever?''


    The risk silenced Elijah. He couldn''t dare hope for Cameron''s response. Right now, they were still friends, If he confessed, they wouldn''t even be that anymore. Worse yet, Cameron mighte to hate him.


    Cameron tilted her head slightly, watching him.


    Elijah had always been quiet, but today felt different.


    A momentter, Cameron added thoughtfully, "Love is worth experiencing, even if


    it ends in heartbreak. We''re almost in college. Dating is part of the


    deal."


    Elijah finally met her eyes. "You sound eager for it."


    Cameron almostughed. She thought, ''Eager for love?''


    In her previous life, Cameron had forced herself to love Amelia and failed. She had spent thousands of years world-hopping, and she had been little more than an emotionless taskpleting machine. Love? It was irrelevant to her.


    Yet Cameron nodded. "Sure. Who isn''t?"


    Elijah asked cautiously, "You... What kind of girl do you like?"