“Well, for starters, I have the answer to that question…the one you wanted me to answer for you…” He said, trying to be as vague as possible. Obviously he was trying to be discreet.
“Thank you. Want me to come down to talk to you?” Adam asked, suddenly feeling very nervous. He was, after all, about to discover whether or not he was the worst kind of man whore who couldn’t even remember the names of all the girls he slept with.
“Yeah, why don’t you do that. We can even grab lunch after if you have time,” Jake said.
“That sounds great. I’ve been eating alone all week.” Adam hung up the phone and all but raced to Jake’s office.
When he arrived, he knocked and leaned in, as he was accustomed to doing. This time, since Jake was expecting him, he smiled and chuckled. “Well, you made it here in record time. Hungry?” He joked.
“Yeah. That’s it. So, enough pleasantries. Who is Cammie’s sister?” He leaned forward in interest.
“I would have been able to give you an answer much faster, but since you gave me so much to go on…it took a while.” He raised an eyebrow and gave Adam an annoyed look. “This is New York City. It was a needle in a haystack, trying to find a family owned party company. Then…did you know that Cammie’s real name is Chamomile?”
Adam tilted his head. “I think she may have mentioned it. I like that. It’s different, unusual in a good way.”
“Well, then you should love that her sister’s name…is Cinnamon. And apparently the family calls her Cin.” Jake smirked. “Since you slept with her, the nickname seems even more fitting.”
Adam leaned back in the chair. He reached into his inside jacket pocket and pulled out the dreaded list. He stared at it for a moment. There was no way that he had left anyone out. That name still meant nothing to him. Frowning, he finally looked at Jake. “I don’t suppose you have a picture?” He asked weakly.
Shaking his head, Jake said, “As a matter of fact, I do.” He pulled a paper from the folder in front of him and pushed it across the desk towards Adam.
Picking it up, Adam studied it for a moment. “She looks familiar.” He looked at her picture again with his one eye closed. Then he tilted his head and squeezed his eyes until everything looked blurry. Still nothing. Of course, he hadn’t even remembered Cammie. They had undoubtedly worked all the same parties. It would only make sense.
He studied his list again. Had he ever left a party without a girl? Maybe that was the direction to go. He thought and thought. There was only one that came to mind. It was his buddy, Devon’s 21st birthday party. The guys had all vowed it would be a guy’s night, since every one of them was now over 21. They had planned to leave the party and hit a few strip clubs. It was a strictly male after party.
It was all coming back to him. They had just walked over to the limo and were starting to get in when she came over. She brought them some cupcakes or cake or something. All he remembered for certain was that they were in a hurry. Suddenly, she started to cry. They paused and asked what troubled her. She had missed her ride. Would they bring her home? The guys took pity on her. She was younger, just barely 18 and they could tell she was feeling pretty grown up. As they started driving away, she started cozying up to him. He had been nice about it, pushed her away, again and again until it was obvious to her that she wasn’t coming home with him. She refused to give him an address, so when they arrived at the strip club, he gave her money for a cab.
That was when she made her last ditch effort. The rest of the guys had already left him to deal with her. They were alone, but for the driver, when she lifted her shirt to expose her breasts. She had said something about…not having to pay for hers and he could touch them, too. Adam pulled her shirt down, covered her, and told her to go home and stay out of trouble. He had the driver see her into a cab. That was it. Only now it turns out that she had been wrong in one respect. He was paying for it. Obviously he had hurt her pride and she was hurting his chances at something real with Cammie.
“Cin,” he said. Then he looked up at Jake. “I didn’t forget her. I didn’t sleep with her.” Then he smiled and repeated what he said, happily this time. “I didn’t forget her. And I didn’t sleep with her!”
He stood up and reached out to shake Jake’s hand. “Give me a minute and then, we’ll grab lunch…wherever you want…my treat!”
Adam yanked out his phone. This could very well be the most important text of his life. He hoped that he could convince Cammie to spend the night. They really had to talk.
Call me! I have great news. I’d love to talk over dinner.
That seemed perfect. His world seemed brighter and full of hope. They could fix this. They could be together.
Cammie was just about to give her final presentation of the semester when the text came in. Adam wanted to talk over dinner. She smiled. She did have to eat. She’d call him after.
Feeling happy and relieved, she walked to the podium in the auditorium. This was her business plan. This was her future. And maybe, just maybe, Adam could be a part of it.
When Cammie made it to her cupboard, Cin was waiting in the hall, sitting on the floor outside her door. “What brings you here?” Cammie asked.
“I need to talk to you about tomorrow. I think it will be really uncomfortable. I think I shouldn’t be there. I don’t want to do anything to ruin your future opportunities.” Cin stood and was pacing around outside the door.
Cammie studied her for a moment. “Okay,” she began slowly, “let’s go inside to talk.” She opened the door wide and let her sister walk in first. She knew Cin. This could take a while. She sighed. So much for dinner. Maybe she could surprise him later. Well, she at least owed him a text.
Can’t do dinner. Talking my sister off the ledge. I’ll call later.
She smiled at that last part. Secretly, she hoped to surprise him at the loft later. She would be at the loft all day the next day working on preparations for the big party anyway. This was going to be the event of the holiday season. This one event could make her entire career. After all those discussions with Sam and Haley, even with Adam, she knew what she was doing. She just needed to do it.
He’d be lying if he didn’t admit to being disappointed when her text arrived. He wanted to see her. He had been eager to give her the good news for hours. More than that, he had been desperate to see her all week. He needed to see her, to hold her, to feel the warmth he only felt in her presence. In such a short period of time, she had become such an integral part of his life. With a frown, he called Neville. “So, old man, what are you doing for dinner? I thought I’d bring takeout.”
With that settled he left the loft, locked the door, and headed for the nearest Italian restaurant. That would make for some good leftovers. Neville had taken care of them for years. He would use this as an opportunity to reciprocate. Maybe Sam and Haley would be around for dinner, too.
Adam and Neville were still eating at the island when Sam and Haley finally arrived. “What are you doing here?” Sam questioned suspiciously.
“What? I can’t come and eat with my favorite butler/chauffer/father figure without raising suspicion?” He laughed.
“Is that all?” Sam narrowed his eyes. “Is there a problem with tomorrow? I noticed that Cammie isn’t here. Have you dumped her and ruined our engagement party?” He crossed his arms over his chest.
“Sam!” Haley admonished. “If anything, she dumped him. Look at those eyes.” She leaned against Sam’s shoulder. “See how sad he looks.” Haley walked over to him. “So what happened?”
“Her sister had some issue, so she couldn’t meet me for dinner.” He shrugged.
Haley laughed. “You have got it bad.” She shook her head. “I almost never would have seen this coming, only…having met Cammie, I completely get it.” She gave him a quick hug.
“Oh, is that all?” Sam softened. “Let’s all go relax in the study. Neville?” He invited the butler to join them.
“No thank you, sir,” Neville sai
d as he backed out of the room.
The three went to the study to talk. As soon as they were seated and drinks were poured, Adam asked about the trial. “Think that it will be done soon?”
“Yes, actually. It looks like it will be over before the holidays. The prosecution rested the other day. Now we’re listening to the defense. And let’s face it, there isn’t much of one.” Sam frowned. “Oh, but you should see Haley. She has held up beautifully. I am so proud of her.” He hugged her close. Adam watched as Haley closed her eyes and clearly savored the closeness. All he could think was that one day…one day this could be Cammie and him.
“So, how have things been going around the office?” Sam asked.
“Great. I had lunch with Jake today.” He said with a smile.
Sam looked at him a moment. “So, you had Jake check out Cammie’s sister. Will you never learn?”
Haley laughed. “Oh, like he’s the first brother in this house to misappropriate company resources. He learned it from watching you,” she joked.
“Yeah, Sam.” Adam scowled at him. “It’s a good thing I did, too. I told you I didn’t sleep with her.”
He spent the next few minutes relaying the story of his only interaction with Cin. While he had technically seen her boobs, he hadn’t touched and he definitely hadn’t initiated any of that. “So, really. I don’t see how I can be held responsible at all. What I don’t understand is why Cin is lying to begin with.” He frowned.
“Well, I get it,” Haley said. “I think you embarrassed her.” Adam started to protest, but she stopped him. “I know you didn’t mean to. I know you thought you were being a gentleman, doing the right thing and all, but I bet you bruised her ego. Now it has gone on so long that she is too ashamed to take it back. I’d bet anything on it.”
Once again, Adam felt better. “I’m so glad to have you in this family,” he said sincerely. “We need you.”
When he walked into his loft an hour later, he found Cammie asleep on his couch. Happily, he walked to her side, knelt next to her, and kissed her forehead. He wanted to talk to her. He just knew that would make everything right. Of course he knew that she needed sleep more. Carefully, he picked her up and carried her to his room. Slowly, lovingly, he undressed her. When she was down to nothing but her panties, he pulled the blankets up around her, walked to the other side of the bed, undressed, and joined her.
Wrapping himself around her, he murmured in her ear, “I didn’t sleep with your sister. We’re going to make this right. We can be together.” Then he joined her in her slumber. The last thought that crossed his mind as he drifted to sleep was that he certainly did sleep better with her around.
When Cammie woke, she was surprised to discover she was undressed in Adam’s bed. She was pleasantly surprised to see that he was awake and staring at her.
“Morning, doll,” he said sweetly. “Let’s get this day started right. It was wonderful coming home to you last night. Sorry I wasn’t here when you arrived.” Just from the look on her face, he knew that she was curious as to when he returned home and where he had been. Hell, if the shoe had been on the other foot, this morning would have started something like the Spanish Inquisition. “I went over to Sam’s and had dinner with them. They asked about you.”
He started kissing down her neck. While he kissed, he could feel her body respond. She moved her head to give him more access. Her cheeks rose in a smile. As he closed in on her breasts, she moved her hands and he began to kiss her around her nipples until she groaned in agony.
“Adam,” she moaned.
“Yes, Cammie,” he murmured with a smile.
Her eyes flew open. “Say it again. Say my name.”
“Cammie,” he said then he slowly and deliberately licked her nipple, playing with the hard peak until he captured it between his teeth and applied pressure. Her head flew back. Her back arched. Adam continued to murmur her name while he explored her body, slowly working his way down her torso until he reached her pelvis and her panties. He yanked them down with both hands before he returned to kissing and nipping his way down her body.
Soon he had her legs spread; her beautiful folds were open and inviting. He could never turn down such an opportunity. As excited as she was, her hips were writhing in anticipation. Never would he disappoint her. He kissed his way down her thigh to her parted lips. There he devoted the most attention, licking, kissing, sucking, and gently tugging with his teeth until she was whimpering.
“Cammie, shall I finish?” He whispered.
Shaking her head, her eyes flew open. “In,” she moaned. “All in, please.” Then she reached down grabbed him under his arms and yanked him up her body with his help until his erection was pressed against her. She wouldn’t even let him take his boxers off. She reached and fumbled until she had pulled his cock out of the opening, then she raised her hips to guide him in.
It was heaven. This was the first time in his life Adam had cause to believe in an after life, in a higher power, in heaven and hell. He experienced it daily now…the hell of separation, the heaven of moments like this, time spent together. The only explanation could be a higher power smiling down on him. Cammie was his angel.
They came together passionately, again and again. The excitement built until she wrapped her legs around his waist and held on as though her life depended upon it. Seconds later, he joined her, murmuring her name again and again. It was all he could do not to declare his feelings, but he knew she would never believe him if they came pouring out at a moment like this. The first time he said those words, they wouldn’t be in bed.
After, they held each other for a few minutes in silence, neither one wanting to break the mood of the moment. Then the phone rang, Sam’s ring tone. The moment he never wanted to end was lost. The time to prepare for the engagement party had arrived.
Quietly, he spoke to her, “I know we don’t have time to talk right now, but could you please make time soon. There’s something that I need to tell you.” He tried to be patient and understanding while ensuring she understood the urgency of the matter.
“Sure,” she said. She sounded relaxed, maybe too relaxed. Then with her cat-like stretch, she leapt from the bed and went to start the shower.
Adam knew that if they could just have that talk, there was a really great chance he could start every day like that. That would be some kind of perfect life. He bent his arm behind his head while he waited for his turn, then he smiled.
The guests arrived over the course of an hour between 7pm and 8pm that evening. The help had been there since five. It had taken little time or effort to set up. They had all worked there so recently that it was easy enough to recreate that set up. Adam stayed out of the way. He was busy working on the final touches of Cammie’s ad campaign. He knew that school had ended and graduation was near. He hoped that he’d merit an invitation after he told her about Cin. He had so much to look forward to. Just about every one of those experiences involved her. How quickly she had become a part of his life.
Sam and Haley arrived and the congratulations began. The guests were most of the same faces he had been seeing over and over again since his birthday. He was still hoping his old friend Devon would show. He needed someone to corroborate his story. He was going up against her sister. While she had the benefit of being blood, he was the wrongly accused who had a horrible reputation to fight. He would definitely need the backup.
Walking into the kitchen, Adam looked at Cammie, confidently running her employees. They were following her orders without question. He was swelling with pride. That took a lot. He knew it. “Is there anything I can do to help, doll?” He asked affectionately.
“Nope we have it all under control. Although, I must admit, it would help if you looked like you wanted to be here,” she said sarcastically.
His brow furrowed. “What makes you think I don’t want to be here?” He asked.
“Well, for starters, you keep staring at the door,” she pointed out.
He laug
hed. “Oh, that’s just because I’m watching out for a friend who hasn’t been here in a while. I haven’t seen him in years. No big deal.” He walked closer to her. “I wouldn’t miss this event for anything. I get to celebrate my brother’s engagement and I get to spend time with you.”
“I’m glad you are enjoying the party.” She said seriously.
She was all business at the moment and Adam was completely uncomfortable. It made no sense. They had only been getting closer and closer. There was no reason for this sudden distance. This might be the right time to bring up at least one idea he had been considering all week. Maybe that would cut the tension, alter her mood.
“So, I was thinking about something,” he began slowly.
Finally Found Page 19
