by J. Kenner
"I can't believe you talked me into this," she said.
"Into what? All you're doing is coming with me to my best friend's welcome back party. We came together. That's it."
She smirked. "Fine, don't tell me. It's not like I told you about my crush on Eric. Which, by the way, I totally expect you to keep secret."
"Don't you trust me?" They'd started working at The Fix the same week, and then learned that they shared three classes. There'd never been any sexual attraction between them, but Cam and Tiff had become fast friends.
"Don't you trust me?" she countered.
"Fine. We slept together."
Tiffany stared at him like he was an idiot. "Well, duh. Nobody goes through these kinds of machinations if sex isn't at stake."
He couldn't help it, he burst out laughing. "Let's mingle, and I'll give you the full scoop."
They walked, and he did, making sure to talk when they wouldn't be overheard. The bottom line was that Mina's speech in bed had been one serious kick in the heart, not to mention parts further south. He understood not wanting to tell Darryl--hell, he'd spent years not making a move on Mina because of her brother--but her talk about it inevitably ending had twisted him up way more than it probably should. So much so that he'd gone home, stood in the shower until the water ran cold, and replayed the conversation over and over and over, trying to figure out what about it had made him feel like such a damn loser.
It wasn't the way she'd reacted to him, that was for sure. She'd said she wanted him, and everything they'd done together had been evidence that she'd meant it.
She'd also dismissed the very idea of Zach, which had definitely made him happy.
She'd even suggested that they'd have a reasonably long run. After all, it was only early June, and she'd mentioned Christmas.
That, however, was the problem.
"A timeline," Tiffany said, and he shrugged. "She saw the end before you two had even begun."
"You sound like a psychology major," he said, which made her laugh because, of course, she was.
They were by the table with all the alcohol, and he poured her a glass of wine as his eyes searched the living room and the connecting patio. The doors were open, and guests were mingling inside and by the pool. He saw Darryl talking to Nolan and waved, but his gaze didn't linger until he finally found Mina. She was standing by the pool chatting with Easton, a local lawyer who was a regular at The Fix and, Cam knew, did work for her father's company.
As if she'd felt his gaze on her, she looked up, her eyes finding him immediately. He saw a flash of heat in her eyes, then her brow furrow as if in question.
He looked away, his heart pounding, and offered the wine to Tiffany.
"She says she doesn't do commitment, and I can live with that."
"You can?"
"In a way." He'd thought about it a lot. He wanted to try and start something with her; he knew that. He wanted to go slow and see what grew. To twine their lives together even more than they already were and see if they ended up being a fit.
They already had so much in common. Both focused on their educations and careers. Both with successful siblings. Both trying to prove that they could make it on their own. Him, despite growing up with no money and no parents. Her, despite a physical frailty and a father and brother who couldn't seem to believe that she'd left those weaknesses behind.
He saw all that with the same clarity that he saw a story from the past play out in his mind as he pored over ancient documents. But those same documents also told him that sometimes the end was inevitable. The pieces on the chess board set in a way that no other outcome was fathomable.
And with Mina, she always set the board up for failure.
"But that's not anything you can change," Tiffany said after he'd laid it all out for her.
"No, but Mina can." He nodded across the room to where Jenna stood, her back to Reece's chest, their arms entwined. Gently, Reece tilted his head and pressed a kiss to Jenna's hair. "They were friends," he said. "Now look at them."
"Jenna's pregnant, you know," Tiffany said.
He'd suspected as much; she'd stopped drinking alcohol during her off hours. "Did she tell you?"
"She glows. Plus the water."
"They fit. And you can damn well believe neither one of them went in thinking that it would be over by Christmas. Because they both wanted the other one too bad."
Tiffany turned away from Jenna and Reece to look up at him, her eyes wide. "You devil," she said. "You're making her jealous."
"Nah," he said. "I just want her to notice. I just want her to want. Not the fling. Me. At the very least, that might get us past Christmas and all the way to Valentine's Day."
He thought the comment would make her laugh, but instead, she just looked thoughtful. Then she stepped closer, until she was mere inches from him. She set her wine aside, then took his and put it down, too. "Don't even look her way," she whispered. "But I think now would be a very good time for us to go."
Chapter Eight
"Are you looking for my Daddy?"
Mina turned away from Brent's living room window to find Faith's big blue eyes staring back at her. "Oh, no honey. Your daddy's working all day. I was looking for a friend."
"Aunt Jenna and Uncle Reece?" the five year old asked, bouncing in her footie pajamas.
"No, sweetie. I think they're at work with your daddy. I was looking out for my friend Cameron. You know Cam, right? He works with your dad? And he'd said he was going to help me sit with you."
Faith clapped her hands. "He plays fort with me."
Despite her melancholy, Mina couldn't suppress her smile. She had vivid memories of Cam engineering all sorts of forts in the vacant lot down the street from where he'd lived with his grandmother and sister, Kiki. He'd spend hours poring over books filled with pictures of medieval castles and forts, and then he'd try to recreate them out of abandoned building material, discarded furniture, and soggy cardboard boxes.
Once the forts were up, he and Darryl would round up the neighborhood kids, and Cam would assign all their parts. Never did the two opposing sides just attack; no, for Cam, their neighborhood battles rose to the level of historical re-enactment.
She bit back a smile, remembering what a nerd he'd been. Still was, she supposed. But a damn sexy one.
With a heavy heart, she reached down for Faith's hand. "I don't think he's coming," she said. "Come on. Let's get you changed. And then maybe we can go do something. What do you think? Want to go on an adventure?"
"Puppies?" Faith asked, jumping up and down. And since Brent had forewarned her that one of Faith's favorite places was the nearby Brentwood Neighborhood Park because so many of the locals brought their dogs out to play, Mina nodded in agreement.
"We'll get changed and go see if there are any puppies, and then maybe we can get some lunch, okay?" It was already after ten, but Faith had been watching cartoons in her PJs when Mina arrived. Now, the little girl rushed off to find some clothes, and Mina lingered more slowly behind, feeling lonely and melancholy.
She'd known she'd screwed up with Cam the second she'd seen his face in bed yesterday morning. That stupid, foolish moment when she'd pretty much told him that it would be over by Christmas.
All she'd wanted was to be clear. She liked him--and God knew she'd liked sleeping with him--but she wasn't ready to get serious. Not with him. Not with anyone.
But that didn't mean they couldn't have fun.
Except apparently it did, because it hadn't taken him any time at all to switch his attention away from her and over to Tiffany.
And to think she actually liked Tiffany.
Or she had once upon a time. Now she was thinking that Tiff fell into the category of raging bitch.
Which wasn't fair, she knew, but at the moment Mina didn't care.
But, honestly, he couldn't wait a few days to date someone else? Especially when he'd offered to help her babysit, and now not only was he blowing her off, but he was probably
off blowing another woman?
Her chest tightened with the thought, and she grabbed her phone, then started to pull up his contact information, because right then the only thing she really wanted to do was give him a piece of her mind.
She hit the button, the call connected, rang once, and then her sanity returned. What the hell was she doing?
She scrambled to end the call, but before she could manage, she heard his voice.
"Mina?"
"You're a jerk."
"Nah, I'm a great guy. Everybody says so."
"I don't. You're supposed to be helping me babysit. You went on and on about how I didn't know what I was doing, and you have tons of experience, and I'd be an idiot to try to watch over Faith without you around."
There was a beat, and then he said, "Well, that's pretty much how I remember our conversation."
"You stood me up," she said. "And you brought Tiffany to Darryl's party." Damn. That just slipped out.
"I did. But you invited her."
"Obviously poor judgment on my part."
"Why? I thought you guys were friends."
"Friends don't swoop in on guys that their friends are sleeping with." She said the last in a whisper as she walked down the hall to check on Faith, who was sitting on her bed playing with her stuffed animals.
"You mean me?" he asked as Mina backed out, not wanting to disturb the little girl.
"No, I mean Santa Claus. Of course I mean you."
"And, ah, how was Tiffany supposed to know that we'd slept together? I thought it was a secret. When you said we couldn't tell Darryl, that pretty much meant we couldn't tell anyone, right? Certainly not someone like Tiffany who's his friend."
She returned to the living room, then paced from the front door to the kitchen. "You know what, you're right. Tiffany's fine. She's a goddess. A model of purity and sweetness. She's practically Emily Post. You're the asshole."
"I'm pretty sure that's where we started this conversation. Only then I was a jerk. What have I done in the last two minutes to make my stature drop to asshole?"
"You know what--forget it. I can handle a five-year-old. And as for you and Tiffany, you just have a grand old time, okay?"
"Mina."
"I'll see you at The Fix, I'm sure."
"Mina."
"I need to go check on Faith."
"Mina."
"What?"
"Open the front door."
She froze, the door just inches away. "What did you say?"
This time when he answered, his voice was gentle. "Open the front door."
She did, and when she saw him leaning against the porch railing, such a wave of relief washed over her that she had to hold onto the doorframe to steady herself. "You came to babysit."
He took a step toward her. "I came for you."
"Oh."
"You want to go inside? Or should I kiss you here on the front porch where anyone can see?"
Her stomach dropped, but the sensation wasn't unpleasant at all. "Inside," she managed, her voice sounding raspy.
"Good choice," he said, then steered her into the house just enough so that the door closed. Then he cupped her chin, tilted her head up, and kissed her so gently she almost feared that she'd cry.
"Cam, I--"
"We have company," he said, nodding to the little girl who now stood in the middle of the living area, her thumb in her mouth and her eyes wide. "Hey, kiddo," he added, then squatted down and held out his arms.
She raced into them, and he stood up quickly, holding her like a rag doll as she kicked and squealed. It was obviously a game they'd played before, and Mina moved to sit on the edge of the couch as she watched their easy playfulness.
"So what are you doing today?" He aimed the question at Faith, but he was looking at Mina.
"Puppies!" Faith said.
"We were going to the park," Mina explained. "After that, we were thinking lunch."
"Sounds like a good plan." He stood, then held out a hand for each of them. "Shall we?"
Brent had insisted she drive his car if she took Faith out, so she'd traded with him rather than have him use a ride share service to get downtown. Now, they buckled Faith into the pink car seat in the back of Brent's Volvo, then drove the short distance to the park.
There weren't many dogs, but an elderly man with a bouncy mutt that Faith obviously knew from other visits gave her a soggy tennis ball to throw. She spent a blissful half hour playing catch with Barclay the dog before moving on to join some other kids in the sandpit.
Mina and Cam watched her from a nearby bench, and after a while, he reached over and twined his fingers with hers. The last of the tension faded from her. She wasn't sure she completely understood what happened between them over the last twenty-four hours, but she was certain that this felt good.
For a moment, she simply sat there and soaked up his company, then he turned and asked, very simply, "What happened with Zach?"
She blinked, for the first time realizing that she didn't know, and she told him as much.
"He didn't come to the party? Did you ask Darryl why not?"
"No. I didn't think about it." Honestly, she'd been too busy cursing Tiffany to worry about some guy she hadn't wanted to meet in the first place.
Her mouth curved into a frown as she considered that, and she turned to face him more directly. "What was I right about? Yesterday, I mean, when you whispered in my ear?"
His mouth slid into a slow grin. "Wanting me."
She didn't deny it. "Confident much?"
"About some things."
She tilted her head, studying him. "What aren't you confident about?"
"I'm not confident you want me for the right reasons, for one."
"Oh." She pulled her hand back, then twisted her fingers together. "What do you mean?"
He didn't answer. Instead, he said, "If you don't want Darryl to know, I can live with that. But I'm not interested in being fuck buddies or friends with benefits or whatever cutesy new slang is floating around out there."
Her eyes widened and she couldn't keep the horror out of her voice. "Wait. No sex? Are you kidding me?"
He laughed, rich and deep. "I'm flattered the idea mortifies you so much. Frankly, it does me, too. No, I'm totally keeping sex on the table. But I want more." He studied her face as he spoke, and she wondered what he saw in her eyes.
Confusion, probably. Because this wasn't the Cam she thought she knew. And desire, because this was most definitely the Cam she wanted. A Cam who laid it out and took charge. Who had a plan, and went after it. Even if she was the plan.
Or maybe especially if she was the plan.
"What kind of more?" she asked after a beat.
"If we were in high school, I'd say that I want to go steady. Now, I think we can just call it dating."
"But you said we didn't have to tell Darryl--"
"We can be discreet. We're already friends. No one is going to blink if we're together. But I want to get past Christmas. And if all we have between us is sex, that's never going to happen."
"I'm not looking for a relationship," she said, his mention of her Christmas timeframe making her feel a little trapped.
"Fair enough. I'm not asking you to marry me." He took her hand and twined their fingers. "I want to hang out with you, Mina. Not your vagina. At least, not entirely," he added with a wry grin.
And in some weird way that was probably the nicest thing a man had ever said to her.
"Exclusive?"
"Hell to the yes," he said.
She cocked her head. "Tiffany?" she demanded, and realized from his expression that she'd been played. "You bastard. That wasn't a real date? It was all bullshit?"
"Hardly. It worked."
"Worked?"
"You were jealous."
"The hell I was," she lied. But since he so obviously knew she was lying, it didn't count.
"We've become pretty good friends over the last year. She helped me out. But don't worry, she won'
t tell Darryl. She's got her own secret to keep."
"Really?" Mina pondered that for a moment, playing back every memory of Tiff she could conjure from the bar, but didn't have a clue.
"Nope," he said when she prodded. "I promised."
And even though she really wanted to know, she couldn't fault his integrity.
When Faith trotted over and finished the last water bottle before complaining that her tummy was gurgling, they decided it was time to head back to the house. Rather than grab fast food, Cam made them peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with the crusts cut off, apple slices, and pudding cups.
Technically, he didn't make the pudding cups, but Mina was still impressed with his mad skills with regard to the care and feeding of children.
"Puppies?" Faith asked after finishing off the last of her milk. "Please?"
"Oh, sweetie, we just got back from the park." Now that she was back in the house, Mina realized she was zonked. Considering all she'd done was sit on a bench in a park and then sit on a stool in the kitchen, she had nothing to complain about. But, honestly, childcare was hard, and her respect for Brent shot up a few more notches.
"Damnations," Faith protested, as Mina's eyes widened with surprise that bubbled into laughter.
"Dalmatians," she corrected. "And if you know where your dad keeps the DVD, we can put it on."
It turned out not to be a DVD, it was a digital movie, and Faith had the TV on and found the video in five seconds flat. Soon, she was happily ensconced on the couch, with Mina and Cam on either side of her. She wiggled and squirmed as she got sleepier, and eventually she was lying across them, her head in Mina's lap, and her legs sprawled across Cameron.
Since the one thing that Mina was certain of about childcare was that kids without naps could be grumpy little beasts, she feared moving Faith and waking her. So they stayed on the couch, their hands clasped on the little girl's back, as they finished watching the movie.
It was the last reprieve before Faith's bedtime. She woke from her nap completely invigorated. And between stories, baking cookies, playing chase in the backyard, and building a massive pillow fort, she ran both Mina and Cam ragged. So much so that when Brent got home at just before three in the morning, he found his daughter and her babysitters asleep on top of a pile of pillows that had only recently been a massive Scottish keep.
"Just stay," Brent said when Mina peeled her eyes open. "I'll fix breakfast in the morning."