Ruining Mr. Perfect (The McCauley Brothers) (19 page)

“Thing?”

She shrugged. “I’m pretty good at reading people. I know when a guy is hitting on me. Usually.” She frowned. “He said he loves me.”

“Oh boy. Did you rip him a new one?”

She frowned. “I’m not that much of an ogre.”

He just looked at her.

“I’m not,” she snapped.

“You also don’t mix business with your personal life. I take it you let him down easy?” Cameron sounded way too calm as he asked, “He does know you’re not available, doesn’t he?”

“Yes. I told him I had a boyfriend. I don’t think he cares.”

“You need me to talk to him, just let me know.”

She stared at him, somewhat annoyed he didn’t sound more aggrieved that another man had hit on her. Okay, it was just Josh. But still.

“I can handle Josh, thanks.” She met his stare with a narrowed one of her own.

After a moment, he shrugged. “Your call. So you saw Willington too, eh? Did he ask you out again?”

“No. Nor did he ask for, and I quote, ‘a fuck.’”

Cameron’s lips twitched. “What a dick.”

“Anyway, it lasted maybe thirty seconds, and it wasn’t awkward at all.”
Until
I
practically
fainted.
“I did meet his cousin. And surprise, surprise, that guy doesn’t seem to like John either.”

“Good.” Cameron fiddled with the oven timer, then drew out a bottle of wine. “How about some merlot?”

She paused. She knew for a fact she couldn’t be pregnant, but her stomach had been acting up lately. “You know, I think I’ll pass.”

“You sure?” He frowned. “You okay?”

“I’m fine. I think there’s something going around though, so I’m trying to eat healthy and stay away from bad stuff. I like wine, but it doesn’t always like me.”

“Huh.” He put the wine away.

“You can have some.”

“Nah. I’m good. Water then?”

She nodded, oddly touched he’d accommodate her so easily. But then, he was always doing things like that. Remembering small details about her. Helping without overwhelming her when she asked for his opinion and, in rare cases, his assistance. Cameron had to be one of the few men who had no problem with his masculinity, because he never gave her grief when she wanted to be in charge…so long as she didn’t monopolize the control.

“You know, I like you, Cameron McCauley.”

He turned from the refrigerator with two glasses filled with ice. “Um, thanks?”

She laughed. “You’re pretty comfortable in your own skin. You always listen to me, and you don’t try to take over all the time.” She made a face. “Sometimes I see Flynn taking over with Maddie. And it’s annoying.”

“Flynn bosses her around? I hadn’t seen that.”

“No, no. He’s great with Maddie. But she acts so helpless sometimes, and she’s not.” Vanessa frowned.

Cameron shrugged. “So he gets a kick out of being useful, and she feels good because he cares enough to help. I like the dynamic.”

“I just meant… Oh, forget it.”

“No, explain it to me.” The timer beeped and he withdrew their steak. She came around the counter to help him set the plates.

“See? We work well together,” she said. “I don’t need you to cook for me.”

He raised a brow.

“Well, yes, I’m not as proficient at cooking as I could be. But I won’t starve if you don’t make me something. I
like
you cooking for me.”

“I like to do it.” He gave her a quick kiss. “What’s wrong with that?”

“Nothing. I was just trying to say that I don’t
need
you to do things for me. I
like
when you do them. See the difference?”

“I guess.” He joined her at the counter to eat. She enjoyed being closer to him, physically as well as emotionally.

The domestic scenes were starting to get to her. She found she took pleasure from eating meals with him, being with him, or just arguing for the sake of arguing with an intelligent man. Cameron could talk about anything with a degree of intelligence she’d often found lacking in most boyfriends.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” he asked softly. “Your eyes seem really, really blue.”

“I’m in love with this dinner,” she said with enthusiasm. “I’m intense because I’m so hungry, and you’re doing your best to fill me up.” Before he could pounce on her unintended entendre, she held up a hand. “Please don’t.”

The great thing with Cameron—she rarely needed to explain herself. It was like they lived on the same wavelength.

He grinned. “Oh, come on. A line like that and I have to let it go? No references to filling you before? You know, when you seduced me against the wall?”

She groaned. “Happy now?”

“I’m okay, but if I could be happy later, like I was happy earlier? Then you’ll have made my night perfect.”

She laughed. “You think about sex a lot, don’t you?”

“I’m a guy. It’s genetic.”

She snorted. “Speaking of guys and sex, how is your dad doing with your mom?”

He cringed. “That was just cruel.”

“I know.”

As she ate, he filled her in. “So I got most of this from Mike, because Dad is being closemouthed about Mom. More than usual. Anyway, Dad is going to counseling with Mom now, and they’re finally talking.”

“That’s great.” She felt genuinely happy for the pair.

“That’s how we all feel, but we’re keeping quiet. No sense in screwing them up by butting in. Or so I told the others when Flynn had some stupid notion to involve himself. Honestly. He needs to remember his place.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. He’s the charmer. Brody’s the crook. Mike’s the muscle. And I’m the calm, reasonable, intelligent, handsome son. The
best
one.”

“Of course.” She smiled. “I’m proof of that.”

“You are?”

“I only date the best. You, by far, are the best McCauley.”

“By far.” He held up his glass of water and she clinked it. “Now would you like to hear about the rest of my week, since we’ve missed a few days?”

“You have more to add? Bring it.”

“This past Wednesday, my cousin had a huge blowup with a rival at another job, and the woman decided to come to the office to bitch her out. Mind you, I was with a client at the time, so Alex did his best to step in and talk her down.” Alex was Cam’s other associate.

“Oh boy.”

“Yeah. Hope was flabbergasted.”

Trust Cameron to use a word like
flabbergasted
in casual conversation. Was it any wonder she loved—
liked
—him so much?

“The client thought it pretty funny,” he was saying. “A good thing he’s an old friend of mine. Anyway, when even Alex had no luck, I had to threaten to throw the woman out. Then, get this, she started coming on to
me
. I mean, really. Like I’m going to take her and her double Ds seriously while she’s bug-eyed bitching out my cousin?”

A haze of rage came over her at the thought of another woman hitting on her boyfriend.
See? This is what
you
should
have
been
feeling
when
I
told
you
about
Josh, Cameron.

“She hit on you?”

“It was no big deal. I’m with you.”

No
big
deal?
Annoyed because she was annoyed, Vanessa forced herself to detach. Hell, if Cameron couldn’t bring himself to care that another man had confessed himself in love with her, she wouldn’t make a big deal about some bimbo with double Ds—
nice
of
him
to
notice
—flirting.

They spent the remainder of the evening talking and laughing, but for Vanessa, some of the joy had disappeared. The slight retreat she sensed in Cameron didn’t help any.

Cameron couldn’t put his finger on it, but something in his relationship with Vanessa had changed. Due to the heavy tax season, she’d been busier than usual, so they hadn’t seen each other as much the past week. But now, a week and a half since that last dinner at his place, and he knew he had to bridge the strange gap settling between them.

He’d prepared a meal he planned to take to her at work, but a call from Mike had him detouring. He stopped at his brother’s.

Mike opened the door before Cam had left his car. “Oh man. Thanks.”

“Sure thing. What are brothers for?”

Mike wore his work clothes and had his tool belt in one hand, his keys in the other. “I wouldn’t have asked you but we’re shorthanded at the jobsite and we have the owners swinging by tomorrow for a look-see. There are a few items Rod and I need to hit before that happens.”

“Can’t use Dad?”

“Nope. He and Mom are at one of their counseling things, Flynn and Brody are on a job, and I couldn’t reach Maddie or Abby.”

“Did you try Vanessa?”

“Are you nuts?” Before Cam could chide his brother for being mean to a woman who’d never been anything but good to his kid, Mike ended with, “It’s tax season. I may not be a genius with numbers, but even I know better than to bug an accountant until
after
April fifteenth.”

“Most of her work is corporate, and they have different deadlines.”

“Uh-huh. So where is your blond dictator?”

“At work.” He flushed. “But that’s mostly because she’s a perfectionist.”

“And you love that about her. I know. Gah. You kids make me sick.” Mike winked. “Anyway, Colin’s been fed, but he’s going through some weird rebellious phase. I’m just warning you.”

“Terrific. Hurry home.”

“Two hours at most. Maybe three. This job’s in Queen Anne.”

“Take your time, Mike. I can handle Colin.”

Mike waved and hurried to his truck parked in front of the house.

Cam entered and found Colin sitting on the couch, his arms crossed over his chest, a mutinous expression on his face. God, he looked so much like Mike had as a kid.

“Hey, little man. I’m going to hang out for a few hours while your dad’s at work, okay?”

“I guess.”

“Don’t get all flowery with praise or anything,” Cam said drily. “You’re just like Vanessa.”
Lately.
The woman made excuses not to talk to him, and when they did manage to connect, she wore sarcasm like a shield. And okay, no sex after having his world tilted on its axis by the sexual blond dynamo was killing him.

“I like her.”

“Yeah? I thought she was too mean.”

“She is, but I like her anyway.”

“Me too.” Cam sighed. “So why are you so angry with your dad?”

Colin’s scowl grew blacker. “He won’t let me see her.”

“Vanessa?”

Colin gave him the McCauley
What
are
you, a dumbass?
expression.

“Ah, her who?” As far as Cam knew, Colin hadn’t finished his anti-girl phase yet. Did the little stinker have a girlfriend?

“Del.”

Cam blinked. “Del, as in, blond lady with tattoos?”

“Yeah.” Colin sniffed. “She was so nice when she came over. We played and she talked to me. She’s so funny.” He smiled, then frowned. “But I heard Daddy yelling at her. Then she yelled back. And she left.” His eyes filled. “She won’t come over, because I can’t ask her to, because Dad won’t let me call her.” He started crying. “I want to play with Del.”

Astonished that Colin had taken to Del so deeply, Cam weaseled what details he could out of his nephew. When Colin finished filling him in, Cam sat there a moment. Since when had big brother ever yelled at a woman before? One who had done nothing worse than share candy with his kid? Cam recalled how Mike had watched every move Del had made at the bowling alley weeks ago. Clearly his brother had some unresolved feelings about the lady mechanic.

“I just want to talk to her, Uncle Cam. I don’t want her to think I don’t like her too.” Colin had been known to cry on command, but these tears were genuine.

With a sigh, Cam told Colin to fetch her number. The boy bolted off the couch and returned seconds later, breathless. He handed a scrawled phone number to Cam, and Cam reached for his cell phone.

After a few rings, Del picked up. “Yeah? Who’s this? How did you get my personal number?”

She didn’t sound pleased. Terrific. “Hey, Del. It’s Cameron McCauley.” A pregnant pause. “You know, Colin’s uncle? Mike’s brother? You met Abby when you fixed her tire?”

“I know who you are.”

He had the sense she readied to hang up on him, so he spoke quickly. “I’m sorry for whatever my idiot brother said. I just wanted to thank you again for watching Colin—”

“That was two months ago.”

“—and to tell you how much he misses you.” He glanced at Colin to see the boy staring at him with big blue eyes, as if pleading for Cam not to screw up his chances. “I think he overheard you guys arguing. He’s really upset he hasn’t been able to talk to you himself.”

“Well, hell. Is the kid there?”

“Staring at me and waiting for his turn to talk to you. Yeah.”

She chuckled. A good sign. “Put him on.”

Cam handed the phone to Colin, and the kid lit up. He chattered happily to Del for a few minutes. His end of the conversation steered toward his butthead dad until Cam gave him “the look.” Then he talked about school, his buddy Brian, his grandparents kissing, and the possibility that he might get a dog.

Knowing his brother had no intention of adopting a dog until Colin aged a few years to take care of said canine, Cam thought it funny the boy was already plotting to outmaneuver Mike. In many ways, Colin had a lot in common with Brody and Flynn. His intelligence, of course, he got from Cam.

“Okay, dude. Time to let Del get back to her life.”

Colin nodded, a wide grin on his face. “Thanks, Del. I miss you. Bye.” He handed the phone back to Cam, but before Cam could thank the woman, she’d disconnected.

“We good?”

Colin nodded happily. “Thanks, Uncle Cam. Do you want to watch TV?”

With nothing better to do now that he’d been roped into babysitting his nephew, he nodded. “Sure. I can bring my girlfriend dinner tomorrow night, I guess.”

“Vanessa’s your girlfriend, isn’t she?”

For now. He had high hopes she’d be more in the coming future. “She sure is.”

Colin frowned, and a moment later asked, “Do you kiss her?”

“I do.”

“Gross. You like it?”

“Yep. It’s an acquired taste. Most boys hate kissing until they turn thirteen. Then you mutate from a normal person into a freakish alien and all you can think about are girls.”

“Ew. I think I’ll just be an alien. The kind that eats girls.”

Cam deliberately avoided the rejoinder inappropriate for his nephew. “Ah, right. So how about a snack? I bet you want something to eat before bed.”

Colin nodded, then slanted a cagey look his way. “I have a new bedtime, so we could probably open the new bag of cookies Dad bought.”

“Good try. Eight o’clock, teeth brushed, face washed. Snow your other uncles. I’m on to you, kid.”

Colin sighed. “Fine. But if I can’t have cookies, then I should get two scoops of ice cream because I was nice to Del.”

“Sure thing.”

They sat together watching television, and Cam had to admit he enjoyed the time he spent with Colin. He’d enriched all their lives, not just Mike’s. Looking at Colin, Cam imagined having a little boy he could teach and love. A small child with Vanessa’s blond hair and his blue eyes. And their brain. God, their kid would be so smart. And fast.

He grinned.

Colin smiled at him and moved to sit in his lap.

All in all, though he hadn’t gotten to see Vanessa, Cam thought his day had ended pretty damn well. He snuggled with Colin and watched mindless TV, planning to visit the neighbors before he went home.

But once again, his plans were for naught. He knocked and met Abby.

“Hey, Cam. Brody’s here. Want to come in?”

“Sure. I’m here to see Vanessa.”

“She’s in bed.”

“She’s asleep?” He looked with disbelief at his watch. “It’s barely nine.”

Abby shrugged. “She’s been under the weather lately. I think she’s sick, but she refuses to go to a doctor. She’s phobic like that.” She stepped back and Cam entered. In the living room, he saw Brody lounging.

“Hey.” Brody waved.

Cam nodded back. “Hey.” He turned to Abby. “I’m just going to peek in on her.”

“We’ll be here.”

He heard thumping and saw Hyde poke his head up over the couch.

“Vanessa must really be sick if the dog is here.”

Brody nodded. “She looks fine, but I think she was throwing up earlier.”

Cam frowned. She hadn’t mentioned she was feeling ill to him. At least, not lately. He walked upstairs to her room and knocked softly. She didn’t answer, so he went inside. She laid on her side, her hair obscuring her face, her covers up to her chin.

He crouched next to her and drew her hair from her face.

She looked tired, even in sleep. He frowned. On her nightstand, he saw antacids and cold medication. All natural, of course.

“Wearing yourself out.” He stroked her hair, and it seemed to him that she eased into a more restful sleep.

She sighed and tucked into his hand on her cheek. The trusting reaction hit him right in the heart. He wanted her to come to him. To trust him with all of her. She talked about want versus need, but to him, they both mattered. He wanted to love her. He needed to be with her. Without Vanessa, life felt stale and much less interesting. He loved everything about her. He loved…
her
.

Cam pulled up a chair and sat with her awhile, wondering how long it would take to convince her that he meant to be in her life for the long haul if she’d let him stick around, and how to get her to admit she just might be falling in love with him too. Because the probability that her odd behavior in dating him for so long, of them finding joy with each other, and that her intense study when she didn’t think he was looking pointed to the notion she might be falling in love with him.

***

“You’re pregnant, Vanessa. The test is conclusive.”

It was a good thing she’d been sitting down, because Vanessa’s vision blurred when the doctor delivered such devastating news.

“You’re sure?” she croaked.

“Yes. Your hCG levels make it certain. Urine tests are about ninety-seven percent accurate. But we can do a blood test as well to be positive.”

“Yes. Let’s.”

Half an hour later, Vanessa returned from the lab to her doctor.

“You’ll have the results in two days. Maybe sooner,” Dr. Johnson advised. The older woman smiled, as if Vanessa should be thrilled to find herself knocked up. “But from all your described symptoms and the hCG results, I’m pretty certain you’re pregnant.”

“But I can’t be. I take the Pill.”

“Which is ninety-eight percent effective, yes. But that still doesn’t account for that two percent, especially if you don’t use other means of birth control.”

“I didn’t miss my last period.”

“Was it normal?”

“Well, lighter than normal. Mostly spotty. But still. I had a period. I’m on the Pill.” She figured if she kept repeating that enough, she might undo the pregnancy. It simply couldn’t be possible. Vanessa had a five-year and ten-year plan. She made lists, organized, and plotted her future carefully. Having a baby wasn’t supposed to be part of her plan until she’d found a man worthy of donating his sperm.

Of course, Cameron was more than worthy. But they hadn’t discussed conception, hadn’t even mentioned the possibility.

“Because I’m on the Pill,” she said again.

“Vanessa, it will be okay. I take it the father doesn’t know?” Dr. Johnson asked kindly.

“No.”
Oh
my
God. I have to tell Cameron.

“Easy, Vanessa. Just relax.” The doctor patted her shoulder. “You’re in excellent health. You’re one of the most capable women I know, and you have choices.”

“Choices?”

The doctor nodded. “You have to know there are several choices available to you. Having the baby and keeping it. Giving the child up for adoption. Or terminating the pregnancy.”

The word “terminate” made her inwardly cringe. Despite the chaos a baby would bring to her life, she’d conceived it with a man she respected, a man she’d amazingly come to believe she might love, were she capable of such an emotion. At the very least, she held him in great esteem. And like. And lust.
A
lot.

“In any case, we need to book a follow-up appointment for you. I’ll personally call you with news of the blood test as soon as I get it. In the meantime, why don’t you see Barb in reception, and she’ll get you back in here in another week. Time for you to settle into this news, and we’ll see how you’re doing and where to go from there. Okay?”

Vanessa nodded.

“In the meantime, cut back on the caffeine and alcohol. No smoking, but then, I don’t need to tell you that. Your best bet is no more than one or two cups of coffee a day. And it’s okay to engage in sexual intercourse.”

“Because there’s no guarantee I’m pregnant.”

“Vanessa, you’ll get your results in two days. My dear, you have to accept the possibility you might in fact be pregnant. Get plenty of rest and fluids, and I’ll see you at your next appointment, okay?”

Vanessa waited until the doctor left before straightening her clothing. She felt shaky, unsure, and for the first time in her life, panicky about her future. She couldn’t have a baby! She’d make a horrible mother. She hadn’t planned for this.

Before she could suffer a meltdown in the doctor’s office, she got herself together and left. Detaching herself from the situation, she made her appointment and engaged in small talk with the receptionist. She drove herself home and said hello to Maddie and Abby before going upstairs to her room, where she undressed and put on her robe, then walked to the bathroom for a shower.

She turned on the water and after the temperature warmed, got in. The water coursed over her body, but Vanessa could do nothing but stroke her stomach and stare at the drops cascading down the wall.