“Yeah, just let me tell Cam bye,” Cole stated, spinning on his heel and nearly running into me. “Oh, hey.” His eyes swept down that dress, and a smile tugged at his lips. “Hey…I mean…wow.”
“You’re leaving?” I asked quietly as he reached his hands out and rested them on either side of my waist.
“Um, yeah, I think…” Giggling, I stared up into his eyes.
“You’re very eloquent,” I teased.
“Yeah, well, you…with the…you know.”
“Come on, Cole,” Bill said as I smiled at my husband.
“Have fun with the Phillies,” I instructed him, setting my hand playfully on his chest. Shaking his head, he laughed as he stared into my eyes.
“Pull yourself away, Casanova,” Charlie pleaded from the doorway. Bringing his hand up, Cole wrapped his fingers around mine against his chest, leaning down until our lips met. His free hand circled my waist, and he pulled me against him, seemingly forgetting the fact that there were other people in the room.
“Do you see what I have to put up with, Grandpa?” I heard Charlie lament from the other side of the room.
“Oh, hush Charlie, they’re in love,” Grandpa told him. Grinning slightly, I gently pushed Cole away. He responded with a smile as he lowered himself so his lips rested near my ear.
“Grandpa’s right,” he whispered quietly enough that only I could hear. “I am desperately in love with you, Cam. Say the word, and I’ll back out of the ballgame.” I glanced at Hannah, who quickly diverted her eyes and asked Meg a question, clearly uncomfortable at this display of affection.
Cole, why are you tormenting me? You can’t leave Grandpa and Charlie, and I can’t do that to Meg and Hannah. And seriously, how the heck do you smell so good?
“Don’t be ridiculous,” I muttered as quietly as possible. He expelled a breath against my neck, and I knew instinctively that I was blushing.
“You can call me ridiculous if you want, but I’m serious,” he exhaled into my ear. “Just say the word, beautiful, and I’m yours.”
Oh my…
This charity thing probably really isn’t that big of a deal, is it? I mean, they’ll get over it. I really didn’t come to see Meg and Hannah anyway – I’m just here to support Charlie.
And Charlie? He’s here to meet Grandpa, so why does he need Cole? They won’t miss him, really.
For goodness sake, breathe, Camdyn. You’re making yourself lightheaded.
“Come on,” Charlie insisted, taking Cole by the shoulder and pulling him away from me. “Sheesh, Camdyn, will you loosen the leash a little?”
“As if I have any control over that man,” I replied a little breathlessly, moving my hand up to my neck.
“You do, total control,” Cole said as he took a step back, following Charlie. Flashing one of his impeccable smiles, he winked in my direction. “Five more seconds, and you were a goner.” I stared after him in surprise as my mouth dropped open.
“Just shut up and get out of here,” I ordered, placing my hand on my hip. He paused at the doorway long enough to smile at me once more.
“Save your spunk for later, missy,” he insisted, mischievously lifting one eyebrow before he disappeared around the corner.
Chapter Fifteen
Struggling to regain my composure, I leaned against the wall. Like it or not, Cole most definitely had an effect on me, and even though he wasn’t in the room anymore, my pulse was still racing. Feeling slightly stupefied, I dared to glance over at Meg.
“I’m sorry,” I muttered, placing my hands on either side of my face.
“Forget sorry,” Maureen stated from where she had snuck in beside me. “Where exactly did you get that man, and how do I sign up?”
“If you find out, Maureen, let me know,” Hannah added. “I wouldn’t be opposed to signing up for some of that, either.”
“I don’t have any answers, girls,” I laughed. “I stumbled upon that one rather clumsily myself.”
“Well, I doubt we’ll find one at this idiotic play,” Maureen grumbled, “especially not if it’s starring Olivia Vandersnoot.”
“Please don’t start that, Maureen,” Meg pleaded, shooting her daughter a look of exasperation. Maureen grabbed the long string of pearls around her neck and started swinging them absently as she smirked in my direction. She looked almost as classy as Hannah in her pale pink sheath dress with the lace panels on the side, her rich brown hair twisted into a chignon at the nape of her neck. Unable to resist, I asked the obvious.
“Who is Olivia Vandersnoot?”
“Honestly, Maureen,” Meg shot at her daughter before answering. “Olivia Vanderhuff is the daughter of one of Bill’s business colleagues, who happens to be on the board of the charity we’re supporting tonight. Maureen doesn’t much care for her.”
“She’s snooty, and I don’t like her,” Maureen huffed. “Besides, she is thirty-three – way too old to be playing Alice in Wonderland. It’s weird, and nepotistic, and I don’t like that, either. Nepotism, I mean – I’m not a fan.”
“Maureen never likes much of anything,” Hannah stated with a wry smile. “I’ve never heard her complain about Adam Vanderhuff, though.”
“Adam Vanderhuff is smug and pretentious,” Maureen began, “but he certainly got all the looks in the family.”
“Yes, indeed,” Meg agreed with a sigh. “Shall we go?”
The ride to the theater was mostly uneventful, as Hannah and I listened quietly to Maureen’s opinions on every subject her mother dared breach. She was definitely an equal opportunity offender, and seemed to dislike absolutely everything, as Hannah had pointed out earlier.
“Do you think they’ll have those disgusting crab cakes again? Completely inedible.
“Did I tell you about my grade from Professor Shipp, mother? B minus, can you imagine? And all because he didn’t agree with my assessment about Beethoven’s Concerto in D Major.
“And then the salesgirl actually suggested I try a bigger size. Yeah, right, because I’m all lumpy around the waist, and it’s not just your poor quality clothing.
“Bradley Smart, yes, the one you know. He honestly walked right up to me and asked if I would study with him. Can you believe that? What a riot.
“I’m telling you right now – if Miffy Shnufferpants is at this play, she better not talk to me. I’m serious.”
Hannah rolled her eyes at me from where we sat together in the back seat of Meg’s car, and I put my fist against my mouth. Maureen’s complaining was a little humorous, but even I knew that there was no real person named Miffy Shnufferpants.
“I’m just curious, Maureen,” I interrupted, smiling over at Hannah, “do you have one of those cutesy nicknames for me?”
“Right now, I’m considering Camdyn de le Steamy Husband,” she stated matter-of-factly while I stifled a laugh. “If someone like him asked me to study, I’d have my nose in the books for weeks on end.”
“Maybe if I hired a handsome man to escort you to class, you would have gotten an A on your assignment about Beethoven,” Meg suggested, earning a smile from Hannah.
“I’m perfectly fine with that,” Maureen admitted. “In fact, I’ll put it on my Christmas list. One handsome man.”
“Duly noted,” Meg stated with a hint of sarcasm.
We pulled up to the front of the theater where a valet was waiting to park the car, and I pulled up on my door handle to release myself from the back seat, when to my surprise, the door opened seemingly by itself. That illusion didn’t last long, however, because an arm encased in a tuxedo jacket reached down for my hand, and I found myself looking up into the face of a rather handsome gentleman with brown wavy hair and dark blue eyes. I noted that the valet had opened Maureen’s door, so I thought perhaps this gentleman was working as well, although his uniform was decidedly more posh than the valet. Reluctantly I took his hand, stepping out on those slightly too big heels.
“No one told me we were entertaining royalty this evening,” he announced
loudly, giving me an enchanting grin from where he stood about two inches taller than me in those heels.
“Pardon me?” I muttered, noticing that he did not release my hand.
“Please allow me to introduce myself,” he stated, bowing slightly. “Adam Vanderhuff, at your service. You must be a princess, or a duchess, or perhaps a goddess?” At that, I instinctively started giggling at the man that Maureen had described minutes before as smug and pretentious, adding the adjective preposterous for my own benefit.
“This is my cousin, Camdyn,” Maureen interjected, standing as close to me as possible. “She is happily married to a very studly man – tall, handsome, physically imposing, who was pawing all over her right before we left the house. Hannah and I are very single, though.”
“Good grief, Maureen,” Hannah whispered behind me.
“Ah, Maureen,” Adam crooned. “Coming across as a little desperate, no? Subtlety is an asset.”
“And you’re always so subtle, Adam,” Hannah stated as she grabbed my elbow. “Let’s go inside, Camdyn.”
“Simply can’t wait to see Olivia play Alice tonight,” Maureen threw behind her shoulder to Adam as we walked inside, and then she turned back to Hannah and me. “I would like to know how those two are related, seriously. Aside from the snooty attitude – they certainly have that in common. And the nerve, calling me desperate.”
“As always, you are the very definition of tact,” Hannah hissed at her from my right. Maureen latched onto my left arm, and suddenly I felt like the middle of a very weird cousin sandwich.
Or, since I was still mulling over the possibility that Hannah was my sister, would it be a cousin-sister sandwich?
Meg was quickly hustled away by one of the other attendees, leaving us girls to ourselves. As we walked through the door to the theater, we were met by a waiter with a tray of champagne flutes, and Maureen had one in her hand in a split second.
“Maureen…” Hannah warned our pretty underage cousin.
“Don’t be a stick in the mud,” Maureen insisted, heading into the room like she owned the place. A waitress held out a tray of something that looked sort of pink on what appeared to be a type of cracker, but Hannah wrinkled her nose and shook her head at me, so I didn’t partake. Instead, we continued on to our balcony box where, much to my chagrin, I was informed that we would be sitting with the Vanderhuffs. Hannah and I chose seats that were against the wall in order to allow Maureen to sit the closest to the other attendees, which I knew she wouldn’t mind, because for some reason she still wanted to be close to that smug playboy.
Maureen didn’t follow us up immediately, however; she had become engrossed in a conversation with none other than Miffy Shnufferpants (introduced to me as Mindy Shaffranz, but I figured the connection out myself).
In my precious moments alone with Hannah, I decided to breach the subject I had been pondering all day.
“So, Hannah, I’m actually glad we’re alone, because there’s something I want to talk to you about,” I began hesitantly. She turned to me, giving me her full attention.
“Something about Grandpa?” she asked warily.
“No, not really,” I countered, taking a deep breath. “It’s something about you.”
“About me?” she repeated skeptically, crossing her slender ankles under that cocktail dress.
“Yeah, Grandpa told me that you came from St. Peter’s,” I began, but then decided that sounded idiotic. “I mean… St. Peter’s contacted them about you, and…” Chuckling, she looked down at her hands in her lap.
“Don’t bother being so uncomfortable,” she informed me. “I know where I came from, Camdyn.”
“Might I get anything for you ladies?” Adam asked, settling himself next to Hannah. I fought the urge to roll my eyes at his intrusion.
Well, Maureen, if you had kept your promise about Miffy Shnufferpants, this wouldn’t have happened.
“No, thank you,” Hannah stated politely, turning back to me. Rather than entertain himself elsewhere, Adam leaned forward and gazed over at us.
“Cameron, is it?” he directed at me, and I reminded myself to be gracious before I turned towards him.
“It’s Camdyn, actually,” I corrected. Grinning at me, he propped his elbow on his knee.
“Camdyn, I find you quite mesmerizing.”
Oh, come on! Is this guy for real?
“Really?” I questioned, taking a second to glance at Hannah. “I actually find you rather insufferable.” Hannah stifled a laugh as she gazed straight in front of her.
“You’re a feisty little thing, aren’t you?” he wondered, undeterred by my insult. “I genuinely enjoy a challenge.”
“Go eat your weight in crab cakes then, Adam, and leave Camdyn alone,” Hannah insisted. At that moment, Maureen made her presence known, and she lowered herself next to Adam and demanded his attention, much to my relief.
“So, what were you saying, Camdyn?” Hannah asked quietly.
“It’s just…when I talked to Rita, about being Darlene and everything,” I began again, looking at her intently to gauge her reaction, “she had her baby. She came back here, and she had her baby, and…”
“And, what?”
“She left her at St. Peter’s.”
There it is – I said it. It’s huge, right? Earth-shattering. So why isn’t she reacting?
“So you think just because I was at St. Peter’s…” She smiled at me and shook her head, as though I was a child telling her a fairy tale.
“It seemed like it could at least be a possibility,” I insisted, but she turned to look back at the stage as she laughed.
“I’m glad you found Grandpa, Camdyn, in whatever weird way it worked itself out, but life is not a series of mysteries,” she told me. “Some things are just what they are, and you don’t have to turn them into book plotlines or movie of the week melodramas.” Smiling slightly to myself, I glanced down in the orchestral pit where a couple instruments were making random noises, and the lights had begun to dim slightly.
“You think I’m unhinged,” I muttered, causing Hannah to laugh out loud, and Adam and Maureen to glance over at us.
“I most certainly didn’t say that,” she corrected, shaking her head. “You write fiction – I get it, okay? You love a great story, but that doesn’t mean that everyone has a great story. Take Grandpa, for example. He thinks you showing up was a miracle, and it was perfect timing. Well, that’s just ludicrous. A better story would have been finding Darlene a long time ago, so Grandma could have made her peace with it before everything happened. You finding that letter was nothing but a coincidence, but Grandpa can’t see it that way. So I’m sorry if I can’t indulge your sentiments, but I’m a realist, Camdyn.”
“I am not a realist,” Adam interjected, interrupting our conversation. “I much prefer fantasy.”
“Oh, shut up, Adam,” Hannah ordered, as the lights went down, the curtain rose, and the performance began. Alice was on the side of the riverbank, dreamily doing a monologue, and it was extremely difficult to forget what Maureen had said about Olivia Vanderhuff. Not only was she too old to be Alice, but she seemed more masculine than her brother, and bigger somehow. When she began following the white rabbit across the stage, she looked like a horse galloping clumsily across a hay field, pulling her knees up toward her chest in a most unbecoming way. To make matters worse, her garish yellow wig was decidedly unflattering, and her blue dress was very boxy.
About halfway through the first act, Mr. and Mrs. Vanderhuff began chattering to each other behind us to our right, clearly having given up on their daughter’s performance. Maureen wrote something on the back of her program and handed it to Adam, and with a chuckle he handed it back. When he ripped a piece off the program and asked Hannah to give it to me, she shoved it back at him gruffly. He allowed his eyes to linger on me a bit too long, and I scowled at him before returning my attention to his unfortunately cast sister.
Intermission finally arrived, and that box
cleared out so fast I hardly had time to look around to notice people were missing. Leaning over the rail, I watched the people below us for a minute, wondering if they were as perplexed by that mess of a play as I was. Hannah asked if I wanted to walk around, and I told her that I would use the restroom in a moment, but she could go ahead. After I peered at the symphony players for a moment more, I excused myself to the hallway, finding the area upstairs mostly secluded. Ultimately returning to the box, I sat alone and studied my program. As the lights started to go down again, it was clear to see that most of the audience had given up on the play and were still in the lobby mingling, my previous company included. The music began, the curtain rose, and Alice was back in her awkwardly inappropriate glory.
“Is this seat taken?” Adam asked from my right, slithering in next to me.
“Yes, actually,” I replied, shifting away from him.
“It seems the fates want us to be alone,” he entreated, totally invading my personal space as he inclined toward my chair.
“No, it seems you are acting like a stalker,” I muttered, leaning even further against the wall.
“Why are you running from me?” he muttered, somehow coming even closer.
“Do not touch me, I mean it,” I hissed. “I’m a married woman, you creep.”
“I’m not a big fan of fidelity, as it happens.” He slid his arm over to touch my waist, and I slapped his hand away angrily.
“Well, I’m a huge fan,” I whispered as he lunged at me. Twisting away to my left, I found myself against the railing, unable to escape past him. When he grabbed me again, moving in to kiss me, I shoved hard against his chest, sending him backwards a few inches. His hand clamped around my wrist, and I jerked it back in an attempt to free myself. When he refused to let go, I made a futile attempt to kick him in the shin, which only served to give me a momentary sense of panic when I found myself too close to the rail. Noticing a painful sensation spreading across my wrist, my eyes searched the entryway, wishing anyone would join us.
“Stop!” I finally barked at him, causing his eyes to widen. The entire theater went silent, and somehow in that moment, Alice in Wonderland turned into Camdyn in Adamland, only I wasn’t acting. I was a combination of terrified and mortified, because I was still unsure about whether he was going to attempt to attack me right there in the balcony, and by that point several people were staring up in our direction.
A Reason to Forget (The Camdyn Series Book 3) Page 20
