Avoiding Brad’s perceptive gaze, I saw a handsome young black man, a familiar one, though much older than the last time I’d seen him. He saw me too and did a double-take.
“Leroy,” I said, acknowledging him.
“Cam.” He stood from a nearby table set for four and joined us.
“Who is this?” Brad’s gaze narrowed.
“A childhood friend I haven’t seen in years.” I gestured between them. “Brad, this is Leroy Jordan. Leroy, this is Bradley Marshall.”
“Her boyfriend,” Brad said, giving me a pointed glance that let me know I’d have to fill him in more later. He and Leroy exchanged a long look, obviously sizing each other up.
“I was never that,” Leroy said, the first to glance away. “It was always Cam and Chris.”
“She’s mentioned him.” Brad’s words were clipped. “Sounds like a douche.”
Leroy smiled. “Chris Shiner is. Most professional race car drivers are douche-level full of themselves.”
“What?” Brad’s dark blond brows disappeared under his hair.
“I told you he was a driver,” I whispered quickly when he glared at me.
“No wonder you like to drive fast.”
“That she does. I remember when—”
“Leroy.” I stomped my foot, interrupting him. I wasn’t sure exactly what childhood tale he’d been about to recount; I just knew I didn’t want to reminisce about Chris. That was a closed chapter in my life, one that didn’t reflect favorably on me. I planned to share all the remaining details with Brad eventually. Just not yet. “Brad and I are here on a date.”
“I can see that.” Leroy’s assessing brown gaze dipped to where Brad had his hand pressed to my lower back. I could feel the imprint of his warm fingertips directly on my skin through the crisscrossed laces.
“I would love to talk some more. Could we exchange phone numbers?” Leroy slid his phone from his dress slacks.
“Sure.” I swiped my fingers over mine. Within seconds, we’d completed the exchange.
“Chris should be here soon. Wouldn’t you like to say hi to him?”
“No, she would not.” Brad’s tone was terse. “He knocked her around and stepped out on her. Did he not mention those details?”
Leroy’s eyes widened. “No, he didn’t. We haven’t talked much about the past.” His gaze returned to me. “We’re in a business deal together. He’s trying to restart his career.”
“You’re investing in him?” I asked.
“His investors are looking at my patented carburetor.”
“Ah. You took over your father’s business.”
“In training to. But I’m seriously rethinking this venture, knowing Chris mistreated you.”
“It’s business. Don’t let what happened to me sway you.”
“You’re my friend, Cam. I missed you. This is a red flag on the deal for me.”
“I understand.”
“I’ll call you.” He leaned in and kissed my cheek.
“Good-bye, Leroy.” I touched his arm.
Brad made a low annoyed sound and pulled me away.
“Your grip’s a little tight.” I dragged my stiletto heels into the carpet to slow him down as he continued leading me at a breakneck pace toward the back of the restaurant. “Why are you going so fast?”
“I want to get somewhere more private so you can explain.”
“You know all there is to know that’s relevant.” I stopped in a back hallway beneath a flickering wall sconce, and as he stopped with me, I placed my hands on his sleeves. His muscles were hard beneath the fine fabric.
“How do you figure?” His teeth were clenched, and a muscle spasmed in his jaw.
“Chris is in my past, like Bree is for you.” When Brad’s eyes narrowed, I rushed to explain. “A mistake. He was a terrible mistake. I was eighteen. I told you all that. He doesn’t factor with us, except that I learned not to be swayed by a handsome face and flattering words.” Frowning, I said, “Well, I’ve learned that lesson now. With my background, it took two disastrous relationships to teach me that hard lesson.”
I laid my hand against Brad’s cheek. His skin was warm and smooth. He must have also shaved when changing clothes.
“You’re handsome. You also say flattering things. Sometimes. You also say a lot of straightforward words. But you always mean what you say, or you don’t say it. I appreciate your honesty, and your words. I treasure them. And I treasure you.”
Chapter 45
* * *
Bradley
I knew who Chris Shiner was and what his standing had once been on the LA Stock Car Racing Circuit, but she hadn’t mentioned his full name once. Blindsided tonight by the run-in with her friend, I’d assumed that it did matter to her, but she set me straight. She’d omitted who Chris was because it didn’t factor.
Cam wasn’t impressed by wealth, or power, or fame. She didn’t care that I was Bradley Marshall of Marshall Enterprises who had a few celebrity clients and friends. What mattered to her was that I was straightforward, honest, and that I treated her right. Simple, but profoundly her, and who she was meant so much to me.
“You’re the treasure, my lady.” I pulled her closer, sliding my palms to her lush ass.
She smiled slowly. The moment seemed significant, her happiness like the petals of a rose unfolding over time-lapse photography. I lowered my head, breathed her name against her dewy lips, and kissed her.
“Brad,” she said softly when I lifted my head a few moments later. “I like the way you kiss.”
“I like practically everything about you.” I loosened her hands from the silk of my shirt to take and thread her fingers together with mine.
“Practically?” She gave me a disgruntled side glance as I led her toward our table in a secluded dining area.
“You’re reckless, babe, with your own safety. I don’t like that. I remember telling you to call so I could come outside to get you.”
“I forgot.” Her long lashes fanned cheeks my kiss and my chastisement had turned rosy.
“Not something I want to be a repeat occurrence.”
She nodded.
“Here we are.” At our table, I released her hand and pulled out a chair.
“By the fountain.” She glanced around as she lowered herself into her seat. “I never knew there were tables back here. It’s a beautiful spot.”
She placed her napkin in her lap, then folded her hands on the table and stared out the window at the twinkling lights in the courtyard.
“You’ve been here before. With him.” Fuck. I’d wanted it to be special for us.
“I love that you brought me here.” She unfolded her hands and reached for one of mine across the small table. “You’re giving me a good memory to replace the bad.”
“Not doing that yet. We’ve hit a couple of speed bumps.”
“You are. The way you looked at me when I came in . . . I’m never going to forget that. Or that kiss.” She released my hand to touch her lips, then smiled. “Perfection.”
“I’ll give you that later.”
“Only once?”
“As many times as you’ll allow me to.”
“Brad.” She sighed.
My cock jumped. She’d sounded like that this morning when I had my mouth between her legs. “Remind me why we’re here instead of back at the house.”
“You have to meet Logan and his band. At the club.”
“That’s right.” I snapped my fingers. “And I want to dance with you.”
“I’m looking forward to that.”
“And I’m looking forward to an excuse to put my hands all over you.” Those ties on the back of her dress made me want to release them. The slick leather nipped alluringly between the globes of her sexy ass. I wanted to nip her skin with the fine edge of my teeth, and lick—
Later. I would later, but now I needed to push away thoughts like those. My cock was already as hard as steel. I shifted in my chair and rearranged my napkin on my
lap.
“Me too. So, what’s good here?” she asked.
“Don’t you know?
She shrugged. “Never actually ate here.”
“The seafood’s supposed to be fantastic.”
Her eyes lit up. “I love seafood.”
Grinning because I knew that, I called the waiter over. “I was told the special seafood menu for two is the way to go.”
“Branzino is the feature tonight, sir.” The waiter kissed his fingertips. “It’s very good.”
“Does that sound okay to you, Cam?”
She nodded. “Sounds perfect.”
“How about a cocktail to start?” I asked her.
“I’d love an aperol spritz.”
“Make that two,” I said, turning to the waiter.
“Coming right up.” He stepped away, and I returned my full attention to her.
“Aperol is an uncommon aperitif.”
“Not in Italy. My mom used to drink spritzes when we were overseas.”
“Ah. Tell me about her. The good stuff.”
“It was all good stuff with her.” Cam’s gaze drifted, seeming far away. “She didn’t have an easy life. But she filled every day, even the rainy ones, with sunshine. She was the only daughter of a couple who always wanted a child and finally had her later in life. They loved her totally and completely, but they didn’t spoil her. They couldn’t. Although they had love in abundance, their day-to-day living was tough. The restaurant did well. Everyone in Sorrento knew how good the food was. It just wasn’t in a fancy part of town, and it wasn’t fancy food at fancy prices.”
The waiter returned. He set down our drinks and a calamari appetizer, sliced and stacked pieces that looked like building girders.
“Fancy,” I said, glancing at the food, then at her.
“Yes.” She nodded.
I speared a piece with my fork, offering it to her from my own hand after dipping it in the sauce. Staring into my eyes, she opened her pretty mouth and took the bite.
“Mmm.” Her lids fluttered, and my cock hardened, witnessing her pleasure. “It’s delicious. Fancy and delicious.” She glanced at the platter. “You should have a bite.”
“I will, but finish your story.”
“It’s not a story.”
“I know, but you have a way of spinning words, Cam. A true talent. You should consider going to college, taking classes, developing that talent even more.”
She shook her head. “I can’t. I had that chance before leaving home. You know my history. Only I didn’t tell you one part.”
I stilled at her words, and she kept on going.
“I didn’t tell you because it’s a lie. They’re not supposed to hurt, but this one did. Chris told it to try to keep me tied to him, but it had other consequences, worse ones he couldn’t foresee.”
Maintaining eye contact, she lifted her chin. “I worked at an automotive shop on this side of town, trying to make ends meet between Chris’s wins that became fewer and fewer with his drinking. After one of those binges, he hurt me, and I told him I was leaving. So he told my boss I stole money, but he’s the one who took it. It doesn’t really matter what the truth is. In the end, I’m the one with a record that will come up on a background check.” She let out a sad sigh. “And you know the rest.”
“I do. I’m sorry, Cam.” Damn. She’d been betrayed terribly.
“I didn’t tell you to feel sorry for me.” Her chin inched higher, and a few more long tendrils fell from the top of her regal head to her slim shoulders. “I just wanted to point out that wishes and dreams don’t come true for people like me. Just in stories. My stories.”
Her brows drew together, forming a tiny crease. Tiny, maybe, but it chased away too much of her previous pleasure.
“But back to my mom.” Cam’s gaze turned reflective. “She met my dad. She gave him and me all the love in her heart, but she also passed on her wisdom. I know, because of her, that it’s up to me to make my own happiness. To nurture it with love and kindness. To make every day sweeter for those around me.” Her eyes shone determinedly, reflecting the flame of the flickering candle on the center of the table.
I reached for her hand. “Sorry isn’t what I feel, only admiration for the way you live. I admire the way you infuse your stories with hope, and how you refuse to give up, no matter what life throws at you. I wish I could have met your mother, but if she were here, she would be proud of you too for what you’ve overcome to be who you are today. Sweeter and prettier than any flower in her garden.”
“But—”
“A rose that blooms in adversity is still a rose, Cam. Blooming in harsh circumstances only makes it that much more beautiful, that much more worthy of admiration.”
Chapter 46
* * *
Camaro
I was the one who was proud. Proud to be with Brad.
We had a lovely dinner together. He didn’t just say things to make me feel worthy of him . . . he treated me like I was worthy, continuing to give me the first bite of everything. He told me stories about his family, about growing up in the Midwest, about him and Rush getting into trouble more times than not while growing up. We laughed often during the meal, and ate until we were stuffed.
As we stood from our table, I was happy because of him. So happy. But I should have known it wouldn’t last.
“Cam.”
I froze as we were leaving the restaurant, recognizing the voice. Brad’s strong arm tightened around my shoulders as I turned in the corridor to face my past.
“Chris,” I said, my mouth suddenly dry.
My former boyfriend gave me a long, skin-crawling once-over. “You look nice.” His gaze flicked to Brad before coming back to me. “Landed on your feet after me, or should I say landed another sucker.”
“Now, wait a minute, Shiner,” Brad said in a warning tone.
“No, Brad. It’s okay. I’ve got this.” I lifted my chin and narrowed my eyes on a man I’d once found handsome and now saw only as weak. “What do you want, Chris?”
“To talk to you alone.”
“That’s not going to happen.” Brad’s growled words made the fine hairs on my arms stand on end.
Chris took a noticeable step back. It was good to see him frightened by someone bigger and more powerful than him for a change.
I put my hands on my hips. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”
“Your father’s looking for you. He wants—”
“Bullshit. You have no idea what my father wants, any more than I do. He hates you. Despises you for being with me.”
“He’s filed for divorce from Kathleen.”
“Oh.” That was surprising. A new development, if true. It certainly hadn’t made the news yet.
“With her not poisoning him against you, you might be able to talk to him.” Chris loosened his tie and the collar around his tanned neck. “Put in a good word for me, Cam. I’m sober now. I’m trying to make a comeback—”
“Good for you,” I said, interrupting him.
How had I not seen how self-serving and full of himself Chris was, how little interest he had in me, except if it furthered his own agenda?
“But what’s good for you has absolutely nothing to do with me. And my father wants nothing to do with me. He made that abundantly clear after I left you, and he wouldn’t even talk to me. You lied to me, you never cared for me, you cheated on me, and you hurt me. I don’t wish anything good for you.” Not even for my mom’s sake would I be civil to him. I curled my fingers into my palms.
Brad moved me behind him. His wide shoulders were tense, his large hands clenched into fists. “She’s through making her point. Time for a personal message from me.” He took another step toward Chris, and with no more room to retreat, my ex backed into the wall behind him. “You need to get that you’re beneath her, and go away now, or—”
“Or what?” Chris asked, seeming to shrink in size in Brad’s shadow.
“Or stay and give me an excuse to f
uck you up like I’m dying to.”
“I’ll go.” Chris didn’t look my way once as he slunk along the wall and then practically ran away.
“The only wise thing he did,” Brad muttered.
“What’s that?” I asked, taking his hand and unfolding his fingers so I could weave mine through his.
“Leave.” Turning his gaze to me, Brad softened his expression. “It’s his tremendous loss not to get one last look at you, worse than any race he could lose. And I hope he loses a shit-ton of them.”
“Me too.” My lips curved. Brad made even my past seem not so bad. “Thanks for coming to my rescue.”
“You didn’t need it, babe. You had him on the ropes, or whatever the equivalent racing terminology is.”
“The final lap.”
“Yes.” He squeezed my fingers. “Speaking of driving, I’ve got the Z, and there’s a little straightaway on the way to the club. Would you like to drive us there?”
I nodded.
“Within the posted limits.”
“For you, I can. For you, I’ll follow the rules.”
“Not asking you to be boring and dull, Cam. Just want you safe.”
“I know. I don’t think you’re boring.” I might have at one time, but I wasn’t a little girl anymore, wanting to drive fast and rebel to get her father’s attention. I was a woman, head over stiletto heels for the right guy for a change.
“I’m glad.” Brad placed his hand on the small of my back, directly over the laces. Carefully, he steered me past the hostess stand and out the door. He kept me close and warm as the valet brought the Z around. Closing the driver’s door once I settled in, he rounded the hood.
“You ready?” I gave him a glance as he settled himself in the passenger seat.
He clicked his belt and nodded.
“You’d better be, Bradley Marshall. Because you have your ideas on how to keep me safe, and I have mine for you.” I smiled. “Different methods, same goal.”
“What’s your point?” His eyes were wide and sky blue, reflecting the glow of the dash lights. “I’m almost afraid to ask.”
“Between two points, even on the straight and narrow,” I said, waggling my brows, “is a whole lot of room for improvisation and creativity.”
The Right Wish Page 25