“Seriously, I believe in hard work. You believe in hardly working. I am debt free.” His eyebrows shot up at that. “Yes. I know you saw my teeny tiny living space and assumed that I was poor and had nothing, but I am about to graduate with my MBA. I have been saving every dime since…” She was silent a moment. He could tell there was something she longed to admit, but wasn’t quite able to.
“What? Tell me.” He urged. He was looking at her, wishing she would let him in.
“Ever since you slept with my sister, I focused on being my own person, never needing anyone, especially a man. I made sure I had a big fat bank account. I made sure I worked for everything because I could never expect a hand out. Would you believe I’m about to graduate completely debt-free?” She looked at him proudly. “From Colombia. Seriously. And I have enough money in the bank to start my business.”
“Wow. Really, wow.” He looked at her admiringly.
“I want so much from my life. I have such big plans.” She was going on passionately and as much as it hurt, knowing how she saw him, knowing that hurting her sister had hurt her, too, he was proud of her, proud of the woman she had become in the process.
“This isn’t what I want to do the rest of my life. In five years, I want my own café.”
He smiled as he pictured her running a café. It made sense. She would be perfect for that position. “I can see that.” He nodded.
“I want to have a family. I’ll work early in the morning and close at 4pm every night. On Saturdays and Sundays, we’ll only be open 10-2pm. There will be a brunch buffet. I’ll cater some…business meetings, that kind of thing, but really…a nice simple café. I think it could be a nice family place, family run, family owned. That is my dream. Five more years of working my ass off to prepare for a lifetime of happiness.” Cammie smiled. She never looked more beautiful than she did when she was all happy and driven and confident.
“I love that. I could help.” He meant it. He wanted to be a part of her dream. He wanted to help her achieve everything she wanted.
“How? How do you see yourself helping?” She challenged him to find a place in her world.
This was an entirely new experience. Every other woman he had ever met had wanted to be a part of his world. He had turned lazy into an art form. He made lazy look good. Here was Cammie, calling him out, making him question his very existence, making him feel like he…the millionaire playboy…wasn’t good enough, wasn’t worthy of sharing her life and building her dream.
“I can do your marketing, your ad campaigns. I can work with the graphic design department to build your brand…” His voice trailed off. A word had popped into his mind. It was a word he had never used before. He wasn’t ready. He wasn’t comfortable. Yet with her, it seemed…natural. Given time, given a chance, he really might just love her. He really could. Shocked and a little scared.
She looked at him, and it was almost as if she knew what he was thinking, or maybe she was just trying to figure it all out without asking. Had she not realized yet how often that resulted in a misunderstanding between them? He slouched in his seat. He had just about had enough talking for the drive. Closing his eyes, he laid back and closed his eyes. It would be better if she thought he was asleep, rather than get him talking again.
When they pulled into his parking garage, Adam stretched and prepared to make a clean getaway. He would regroup and talk to her again soon. After all, they were planning the engagement party together since Sam and Haley would be dealing with punishing Chase. While he was deep in her trunk, Cammie spoke.
“So, I need a favor. And since you want to be my big helper, I thought that maybe you wouldn’t object.” She was looking at him expectantly.
Pausing, he glanced at her before answering. “Sure, doll. What can I do to make your life better? I am more than happy to lend you my ear.” He smirked.
“Well, I’d be happier if you’d lend me your kitchen.” She smiled widely at him.
On the outside, he sighed. Inside he was ready to rejoice. “You need my kitchen?”
“Yes,” she half pouted. “This was your idea. I’m starting this catering company before I was really set up or ready. You saw my apartment.” She frowned.
“What? You can’t run a catering company with only a hot plate and a microwave? What kind of caterer are you?” He smirked.
“So, see you at 3pm?” She asked hopefully.
“Fine. I’ll be sure to be here to let you in, but my help ends there.” He tried to act put out, but it was hard to pull that off when he was so thrilled to know he was going to spend time with her again.
As he walked to the elevator with his bag, he realized something. Shakespeare was wrong. Parting wasn’t sweet sorrow. He wasn’t sad at all. He just had some time to kill. Soon she would return.
Doing that was easier than he anticipated. Adam was home all of half an hour when his doorbell rang. He rushed to the door and realized it was because he secretly hoped Cammie had come back already. Damn, he was such a fool.
Opening the door, he didn’t even attempt to hide his disappointment when he discovered Sam and Haley there. “Oh, it’s you.” He said glumly.
“I thought you’d be happy to see me,” Sam said. “After all, I bring gifts.” He held up Adam’s phone, wallet, and keys.
“Gee, thanks,” Adam said as he grabbed everything out of Sam’s outstretched hands. He started to shut the door and walk away, but Sam caught the door and followed him in. When Adam realized what was happening and that Haley hesitated before she entered, he said, “Come on. You might as well come in, too. Obviously you are staying for a while.”
“Did you notice anything different when you returned?” Sam asked, trying to joke with Adam.
“Oh, I don’t know. I haven’t really had a chance to check out the place. Did Kiki steal the silver on the way out?” He sighed.
“So you did notice that Kiki was gone. I kept my word.” Sam seemed pretty proud of himself.
“Okay, I’m not sure why that’s such a big deal, but kudos to you. After all, who would have thought that the reliable and responsible brother was going to keep his word?”
“What has you so sour?” Sam asked mildly irritated with his brother.
Haley finally made her presence known. “What’s going on with Cammie?”
Adam looked at Sam. “She’s going to make a wonderful wife and an even better sister-in-law. She’s so much more…perceptive than you are.” He turned to Haley. “She doesn’t trust me. She doesn’t think we have enough in common to date…”
“Knock me over with a feather. You want to date her?” Sam laughed.
“Are you still here? Could you at least not talk until you have something useful to add? Let the big people have a minute.” He scowled at his older brother.
“I’m sorry you’re having a difficult time with Cammie. That’s no reason to take everything on your brother.” Haley crossed her arms over her chest and wore a stern look.
“Of course there is,” Adam cried. “If he hadn’t taken my phone, and everything, if he hadn’t hired Kiki, I wouldn’t be hurting right now!” He looked completely exasperated.
“There were tons of women at your party. Most of them would have bowed to your very whim. You chose Cammie. Now whose fault is it?” Haley challenged him.
He walked over to the sofa and sank into it to sulk. There was nothing worse than being wrong except maybe hurting and only having yourself to blame. That’s where he was. Double whammy. While he and Sam had a way of fixing things that didn’t always involve an admonition of guilt and an apology, by adding Haley into the mix he had assured that this time it wouldn’t be the case. He sighed and made a mental note to never pick fights with his brother in front of Haley again. It was amazing. Add a couple of women to the mix and the entire dynamic changed. He leaned forward. That was what he was missing. Cammie had a gift for making everything better and worse. No wonder he had enjoyed most of his misspent youth in the bottom of a bottle.
<
br /> Slowly, he calmed down. He could hear Sam and Haley speaking in low voices. They were disagreeing about how to handle him, as if he was a problem to be managed. He cleared his throat and they both looked up. “You two will make wonderful parents,” he said with his usual impish grin. “I’m sorry for snapping and being mean and alienating the only family and friends I have in this world. I just have absolutely no experience in the world of dating and relationships. It’s like navigating shark filled waters on a two by four with a soup spoon for an oar.”
“Nice analogy,” Haley complimented.
“Maybe you should write country songs,” Sam suggested.
He chuckled. “I’ll manage. Hell, if you can do it,” he said looking at Sam, “a guy with my good looks and charm should have no problems whatsoever.” He glanced at his watch. It was barely noon. “Do you have time to go grab lunch? I just have to be back here at 3pm.”
At 2:45pm, Adam drove himself back to his loft. Oh, the freedom. It felt great. He forgot how much he hated driving in the city and how much he loved doing his own thing, not being beholden to anyone. He was humming happily to himself as he rode the elevator up to his floor. Then when he stepped off and walked to his door, he looked up and found Cammie sitting beside it looking at once both annoyed and scared. “Hey, doll,” he said, impossibly happy to see her.
“I thought you forgot me. I thought you had run off with some chick. I thought…” She sighed.
As he unlocked the door, he turned to grab some of the bags of produce she was carrying with her. “You thought wrong. I would never forget you. Never.” He brought the bags directly to the island in his rarely used kitchen and set them down on the black granite.
Gradually, she was recovering from what was clearly a bigger scare than he imagined. She was hurrying to unpack the bags and familiarize herself with the layout of the kitchen so she could get right to work. She opened the drawers and the cupboards. She peeked in the pantry and the fridge. He watched her in silence.
“Feel better,” he finally asked. “I mean, you did say 3pm, right?” He watched for her response. She nodded. “Okay, so I was even early.”
“I hate asking anyone for help. I hate needing people. I have learned that the one person I can count on is me. So, it just brought all those fears out when you weren’t here.” She sighed and suddenly met his eyes. “Sorry.”
He was taken aback. Certainly, saying that just about killed her. He was all too familiar with how she must be feeling. “I understand why you would have doubts. I know that I have been painted as the villain, the player, and the irresponsible trust fund baby. That was my past. That’s history, but it’s not my past history with you.”
She was staring down at the counter and he imagined that she was taking in all the words he had spoken. Finally, she looked up at him. “Be patient with me. I feel like I’ve been working alone and struggling alone for so long that I don’t know how to let anyone in.”
“Well, you are really good at it,” he said with a smile.
“Good at letting you in?” She asked bewildered.
“No.” He shook his head. “You are really good at being alone. Maybe you could teach me. I’m horrible at it.”
“You want me to teach you how to be alone?” She asked slowly.
Smiling, he said, “Yes. We could practice being alone together.”
Cammie frowned. “By definition, that wouldn’t work.”
By then he had already taken a step closer. Several steps closer even. Leaning towards her, he watched as she gazed up at him, full of questions in those gorgeous blue eyes. “Shut up and kiss me,” he said with a smile. “No thinking. No arguing. Just kiss me.” He pulled her into his arms, and they had their first kiss. He had slipped past her defenses for one moment. He hoped that was enough. If he could just spark some emotion from little miss practicality, they might stand a chance. That was what he wanted…a chance.
Hours later, she had finished prepping and baking. The actual cooking of the meal would be done on sight. She felt ready. She felt calm. She felt flushed. She had been ever since The Kiss. Since then, she only had to look at him to turn many shades of pink again.
The cooking and prepping had gone so quickly while she considered The Kiss. Through the years she’d had her fair share of kisses. Though she had pretty much vetoed them and spent a lot of time talking about the intimacy versus the physical as she cited why it bothered her less to have sex than it did to kiss, she alone knew the real reason why. It was Adam. It had always been Adam. She had seen him kiss a girl once, under the kissing ball at a holiday birthday party. It had taken that girl a long time to recover. She stumbled some, struggled to find her footing and catch her breath. Truth was, he wasn’t dating her, he didn’t love her, and he might not have even known her. She had just been fortunate enough to get caught under the mistletoe.
Oh how Cammie had envied her. After that, even though she hadn’t experienced his lips on hers, she compared in her mind. Every male who kissed her just came up lacking. No one made her breathless or stumble. Most made her want to wipe her mouth. A few made her want to brush her teeth…with bleach.
It was no wonder that she wouldn’t let Adam kiss her when they had sex. After all, what if she had built it up so much in her mind that even Adam couldn’t compare to…Adam? Only, today, she had been in a bad place. She had felt a hurt and disappointment even though in the end he hadn’t hurt or disappointed her. She struggled. She hesitated. She knew what he was about to do. Finally, she let him.
Now in every way, she finally found out what it was like to be with him. That kiss…the one that would forever be emblazoned in her mind as The Kiss, the kiss by which all others would be measured. It was the most amazing, incredible…mistake she had ever made.
Ever since then, she had been quiet, lost in thought. When Adam had questioned it, concerned that he had angered her or over stepped, she would joke that she was teaching him how to be alone…together. Honestly, she rather liked the very idea of it. As she packed up the last or her containers and ran through her checklist one last time before departure, Adam hovered nearby.
“I’ll help you load the car,” he announced. “I know that you’ll still have to do it alone when you arrive at your destination…unless you let me come with you…”
“Adam, there’s no way it would look professional for me to show up with you. I’m trying to build a business here.” She explained.
“True, but how will I know you are safe? You are going to a guy’s house. Maybe this is just some really elaborate ruse to get you alone at his house.” He stared at her seriously.
“I highly doubt that. Isn’t he one of your friends?” She reasoned.
Shaking his head, he admitted, “None of these people are my friends. Not one visited me in the hospital. Not one called, sent a card, or even sent a text message. We hang out and party together, but that is as deep as our relationship ever went. Now, not even that. I just want you to be safe.”
She tilted her head as she studied him, wondering what she saw in his face. He really was concerned. It wasn’t that he didn’t want her to go. He wasn’t trying to ruin her business. “Why Adam Davenport, you really are worried.” She chuckled. It felt good to have him care. Maybe The Kiss had changed something in him, too. “Here,” she said, passing him a business card.
“Really? A business card? How…professional.” He looked a little hurt.
“I’m just being practical. Now you have my cell number. See?” She smiled warmly.
He hauled her closer to him. She basked in the new warmth between them. Then he pulled away.
“Well, I have something for you, too. It’s a little more personal than a business card.” He reached into his pocket.
“What could be more personal than a business card?” She joked.
His hand was closed in a tight fist when he drew it out of his pocket. “Oh, just this.” He flipped his fist over and opened it to expose a key.
“Oh, is
this to your heart?” She chuckled.
Shaking his head, he smirked. “Nope. This is the key to something far more valuable.” She quirked an eyebrow as she tried to imagine what that might be. “It’s a key to the loft. You can come here whenever you need to, even if I’m not home. That way you can grow your business just like you want and not be tied to anyone else’s schedule, reliant on anyone else.”
She could tell he was watching her to make sure she knew that he had listened. What was wrong with her tonight? She could feel tears welling up in her eyes. She sniffled loudly and cleared her throat before speaking. “What if I get here and you need your kitchen? I’ll be sure to call first.” She smiled.
“Doll, does it look like I ever use this kitchen? You now officially know better than I do where everything goes. Hell, you change where it goes and I still wouldn’t notice. The movers unpacked me. The buyer at Macy’s picked out what she considered to be the necessities. I make coffee, the occasional bowl of cereal, and toast. I also am on a first name basis with every delivery guy in a four block radius. What does that tell you?” He looked at her while he waited for her response.
Finally Found Page 15
