Finally Found (13 page)

He had tossed and turned for hours. He had tried out the top bunk, the bottom bunk, and Sam’s bed before breaking down and traipsing back to the other wing. It wasn’t that the beds were uncomfortable. It was that he was too far away. He couldn’t hear her breathe or move or anything
. He hated not knowing. So he finally walked out of Sam’s room, crossed the wide-open empty great room, and headed down the hall towards the master bedroom. Taking a moment to lean on the door and listen intently, he discovered that somehow Cammie had managed to fall asleep. How could she when he was struggling so? He peered in at her. Her long blond hair was fanned out around her head. Her eyes were shut and the moonlight made her skin appear even paler than before. It was those eyelashes fluttering slightly as she dreamed that made the biggest impact.

Though he hadn’t managed to wake up with her from their afternoon delight, he would make certain that soon, he would. After a meager four hours of sleep, he climbed out of his parents’ bed, took a long hot shower, dressed, and headed into the kitchen. While he had secretly hoped she would be up and waiting for him there, she had unknowingly disappointed him once again. To discover her car was gone when he glanced out the window only added further injury to his ego.

With little else left to do, he moped out to the great room, stretched out on the couch, and fell back to sleep. Adam, who was always calm, confident, and self-assured, was now simply shaken. His ego had done nothing but take a beating since that woman walked into his life.

Soon he awakened to the sound of her laughing. “How is it possible that you are still sleeping? Get up. We have work to do. I brought food…”

That was enough to urge him from his rest: Cammie’s presence and the chance to spend time with her. A smile spread across his face as she poked him. “I’m up!” He argued half-heartedly with a chuckle.

“Oh, no. See by definition, you are the exact opposite of up. It’s called lying
down
for a reason.” She prepared to stomp off, but he rolled over and caught her.

Without warning, he had hauled her onto him and had captured her legs with his own. “Oh, see now we’re both lying down. What do you have to say about that?” He playfully bit at her neck and rubbed his stubbly face against her smooth soft cheek. He loved the scent of her and kept burrowing closer while trying to play off how much it meant to him.

“Let me go,” she protested even as she smiled and squirmed.

Slowly, gradually, by degree, he released her. Though he expected her to leap from the couch and rush off, she didn’t. He smiled. “It must be exhausting to be so tense all the time.”

She frowned. “It is.” Then with a sigh, she said seriously once more, “Can we get to work now?”

He reached up and brushed a few wisps of blond hair from her face. He studied her for a moment; her eyes were shyly closed, looking down, desperate to avoid his face. He could see how important all of this was to her. He couldn’t make her suffer. “Of course,” he replied. “Right now even.” She had climbed off him and was now standing quietly just out of arm’s reach. “Help me up.” She looked at him suspiciously. “Come on. Trust.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Trust? Trust you?” She tilted her head as if she was considering it. Then she whipped around and hurried to the kitchen.

She was shaking her head as she considered his harmless request. Trust him. Right. Her sister had trusted him. Her sister had slept with him. Then Cin never heard from him again. Honestly, she didn’t know what hurt her more, that he had chosen her sister over her, or that he had hurt her sister. It was really too close to call.

That’s why she decided not to think about that. Instead, Cammie decided to focus on preparing food. That was her outlet. Whenever she needed thinking time, time to release and decompress, she cooked. Cin ate. And that’s why she was voluptuous, big in all the right places. Cammie, on the other hand, cooked and cleaned. She stayed thin with the lean dancer’s body. That was why she stopped gymnastics and spent more time working on ballet. Then she broke her ankle, thus ending what might have been a promising career with some company.

It was all for the best. She had never been as passionate about dance as she had been about food. She hated performing, being the center of attention, but she loved being behind the scenes, spreading happiness, fulfilling hunger. Her food was a treat to the plate, palate, and soul. Huh. Maybe she could incorporate that into the advertising.

Minutes later
, Adam had slowly walked through the door. He held his laptop in his hand. “We could work on sending out the evites now,” he suggested quietly. He was baffled about her reaction.

Again he was left to wonder what he had ever done to her. She had said they never slept together previously, and after their experience the night before, he had to believe that he would have remembered that. She was incredible. She was simply unforgettable. Already he wanted more. Much more. This week wasn’t going to be long enough. There had to be a way for him to keep her around at least long enough to tire of her. How long could that possibly take? Most of them couldn’t last more than a few hours. Oh, but with her there were plenty of mysteries to unravel.

Cammie looked up from the mushrooms she was slicing. “You do like mushrooms, right?” She watched him nod. “Because I make this incredible mushroom risotto that I thought might be nice to go with a pan seared herbed pork chop.” She shrugged.

“Oh, I hate pork.” He watched her for a reaction.

“Really? You are the biggest pig I know? How can you hate pork?” She had snapped at him so quickly that he could only imagine that the emotions had finally come to a head.

“I was joking about the pork. I like pork chops.” He stood there looking at her, waiting for a similar response.

She smirked some; he imagined she realized she had overreacted. “I still think you are a pig.” Then she turned away and started crushing garlic.

He started to comment, but then he decided against it. He wasn’t ready to confront all this. Maybe he could just win her trust. Maybe it was better if she didn’t trust him. He had never been the marrying kind in the past and there was little chance that he would be ready first time out of the gate. Keep the peace. That was the goal. Keep things pleasant. See what the rest of the week had in store.

Dinner was quiet. Soon he realized that it would be quiet as long as he allowed. There was a decision to be made. One of them had to break the ice. In his case, he had to break the ice queen. She hadn’t spoken more than three words since their interaction in the kitchen. He
had watched her and she seemed lost in thought.

“So, we are already getting responses to the evite. It has been overwhelmingly positive. Everyone is talking about what a wonderful idea it is to hold a cocktail party to kick off the holiday season. You’ll be meeting some of the guests at the tree lighting. It should be a good night,” he commented.

“Yes, I think so, too,” she said as she picked at the risotto.

“Dinner is really tasty. This is restaurant quality food. No wonder you want to be a caterer.” He studied her. She was staring off into the fire.

Talking about business hadn’t worked. Complimenting her hadn’t worked. He was fast running out of options.

“Cammie, what is it? How have I pissed you off now?” He sighed and laid his fork on the side of his plate.

“I snapped at you,” she said seriously. “I hate apologizing. I hate being wrong. I hate making mistakes. You absolutely bring out the worst in me.” She sighed heavily. Copying him, she laid her fork down beside her plate and leaned back.

While he watched her, he realized how difficult it must have been for her to admit all of that. “So what?” She stiffened and he realized that she had taken even those words wrong. “Not your feelings. I’m sorry that you are feeling embarrassed at your reaction. Can I let you in on a little secret?” He leaned in and gestured for her to do the same. It looked like she was trying not to smile as she leaned in, too. “I don’t bring out the worst in you.”

Her eyebrow arched. “You don’t, huh?”

“Nope. I bring out the real in you.” He leaned back and smiled warmly as he laid his arms on the arms of the chair. “For someone who is used to putting up a façade, for someone who is used to setting her feelings aside and trying to be what someone else wants her to be, rel can be frightening, completely unsettling, and seriously challenging.” He shook his head. “Sorry, doll. I bring out the best in you. I love you all fiery.”

She chuckled. “My parents named me Chamomile. Cammie is my nickname. I was the baby who never cried after birth. I slept through the night instantly. I was, by all reports, a joy to have around.”

“I find that hard to believe,” he said with a smirk.

“My parents often claimed that if my sister had been born first, I never would have happened. According to their recollections of that time period, she was miserable…colic for hours every night for months. We were only fourteen months apart. They claimed that was further proof that I let them alone.” She laughed some. “I’m not sure what I was getting at there. Why did I bring that up?” She tapped the table for a moment. “Ah, yes. I’m supposed to be all soothing and peaceful, but never around you.”

“There’s nothing wrong with these emotions. You remind me of my brother. You are the older sibling, right? He is so serious, so refined. How Haley ever fell for him is beyond me.” He knew that he probably wore a far off look. It always happened when he thought.

“You like her, don’t you?” Cammie seemed surprised.

“Yeah. She is pretty special. They are lucky to have each other.” He looked at her seriously. “And I’m lucky to have you. The meals alone are worth the aggravation of dealing with your ever fluctuating moods.”

He worried for a moment that he had gone too far. Instead, she chuckled. That was what he hoped for. The tension was broken.

Though they didn’t fall into bed together at the end of the night as he might have hoped, they were in a much better place. They were nearly friendly. That was a start. A strong start.