Remi must’ve read her thoughts because just as he was about to pounce on her lips, he pulled away. “We should probably get going so I can...feed you. You and that dress are doing something to me right now and if we don’t get out of here someone might use this scene against me when— Never mind. Let’s go.”
Remi then grabbed her hand and they continued their stroll along the square, not letting her respond to his last statement. She wanted to ask what he was about to say, but he pulled her away too quickly so she shrugged it off for now.
They passed a few booths before Remi stopped at a ticketing counter and picked up enough tickets to feed five people.
Chapter 10
“Bug...? Is that you?” Camille knew that was the voice of her father coming from behind her. She smiled and then let go of the firm hold Remi had on her hand and hugged her father.
“Why didn’t you tell me you wanted to get out of the house today? I would’ve made sure to be home to take you.” She knew Remi had told her that her father had someone to take him where he needed to go, but she hadn’t expected to see him out with a woman.
“I talked to Remington and he said he’d tell you. I didn’t want to interrupt your fun,” her father said suggestively and she rolled her eyes. She and her father were close enough that they could joke about things like their dates. He often tried to explain to her that the women he’d made “friends” with over the years could never replace her mother, but he was a man and he had needs. Camille may not have liked the fact that her father had dated a few of the women in town, but there was no way she’d object. She’d never told him but she’d always felt as if it was her fault that he was alone and that if she’d never been born then he and her mother would be living happily ever after.
“Oh, please, Daddy. You know I would’ve dropped everything for you,” she said and then looked over her shoulder at Remi. He held his hands up in mock surrender.
“I was just doing as I was told. Your father insisted I didn’t bother you.” Remi made his way closer to her side, taking her hand in his once again. Her father smiled at the gesture and Camille then turned her attention to the woman beside her father who seemed to be getting tired of being ignored.
“Hello. I’m Camille.” She extended her hand to the woman who introduced herself as Ms. Savage. She had light brown skin, light brown eyes, a neat, shoulder-length hairstyle, and was dressed casually in a modest A-line skirt and matching top. The woman was above average in beauty, but the slight scowl she flashed Camille when she and Remi linked hands turned Camille completely off.
“So nice to meet you. Your father is always talking about his ‘Bug’,” she said, and it didn’t sound like she was too happy to meet Camille. It was the first direct display of hostility toward her besides what she’d gone through with Remi’s grandfather.
“She’s right, Bug. I am proud of my baby girl for going out and making something of herself. I tell everyone about how successful you are in New York,” her father said proudly.
Camille’s stomach turned at the words from her father. She was lying to him and he did nothing but give her the utmost praise and adoration. Remi must’ve noticed her blanching and squeezed her hand as a show of support. She felt better but that still didn’t excuse her lies. She’d have to tell her father and hope that he would not be too disappointed in her. He was the only one she wanted to please and his approval meant the world to her.
The group talked a little more about the event and whom they’d seen so far. The conversation prepared her for who she might see while they were at the food fair, but it didn’t prepare her for the invitation Ms. Savage extended to a dinner at a home Camille technically owned. There was no doubt the woman was letting Camille know of her claim on Reese Ryan and she confirmed that when she mentioned she’d invited Charlie to the dinner she’d be hosting. Camille didn’t say a word in protest and felt she was adult enough to handle one evening with the woman.
“Oh, and Mr. Krane, we’d be honored if you’d join us, as well. There will be plenty to go around. I have no qualms about cooking for three gorgeous men!”
Camille had a feeling that this woman was going to be trouble. She’d already been giving Camille sideways glances and she wasn’t sure if the woman didn’t like her because of the attention she got from her father or if it was that she’d been drinking the same “hate Camille Kool-Aid” the rest of the town had been sipping. It was probably both.
“I’d like that,” Remi said, “if Camille doesn’t mind.”
Camille had been caught up in her thoughts. The woman made her paranoia return after Remington had helped her through it just a few minutes ago. She was looking around now, noticing the scathing glances from the women and covetous ones from the men. “Huh?” she said when she heard her name mentioned.
“Dinner. Ms. Savage invited me. You don’t mind if I—”
“Of course she doesn’t, Mr. Krane, and please call me Bernice.”
“Well, in that case please call me Remi. But we really should get going. I want to show Camille around a little if you don’t mind.”
“Oh...sorry to hold you guys up,” her father said. “I’ll see you at home, Bug. Do you need anything while I’m out?”
“Daddy, you were the one in the hospital and you’re asking me if I need anything?” Camille shook her head at him. “I’m fine. You and Ms. Savage go ahead and enjoy the rest of the day.” Camille turned to Bernice Savage and put on her most charming smile. “Please make sure he takes it easy. He has the tendency to—”
“Don’t you worry about him, Camille. I have it under control.”
Camille just stared at the woman for a moment before her father pulled Bernice away. He gave Camille a sympathetic look over his shoulder as they walked in the direction that she and Remi had just come from.
“See what I mean?” Camille said when she and Remi started to walk again. “People can’t help themselves. They think it’s okay to be that way to me. It’s not right. They think they can judge me for leaving when they have no idea why I left.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Why are you sorry?” Camille stopped again and looked up at Remi, wondering what he could be sorry about. “You’re the one person that should be able to judge me for what I did and—”
“I forgave you the moment you left. No point in wallowing in anger when I could spend that time loving you.” He lifted their joined hands and kissed Camille’s knuckles. “I never stopped loving you, Camille. Out of sight does not mean out of mind. You were on my mind each and every day, but I respected your wishes not to contact you, which Charlie never hesitated to remind me of whenever he saw me.”
“Oh, God...was he rude? I mean I told him to gently hint to you that I didn’t want to be contacted but...” she trailed off, not knowing how to finish. Charlie was overprotective and if he thought Remi was on the verge of finding her out and exposing her, he’d do whatever he could to prevent that.
“He was rude, but that’s cool. I can respect him for wanting to protect you.”
“Remi? I didn’t expect to see you here,” a voice said from behind them. “You weren’t at the—” She swallowed the rest of her words when Camille and Remi turned around.
Sonya Brandt. She was the last person Camille wanted to see today.
“Oh... Camille. I didn’t see you there. I heard you were in town. I guess a third trip to the hospital finally got you to come see your dad,” she said snidely. “How lucky are we to have you back.” That last sentence came out strained as if it hurt the woman to say it.
She didn’t have to fake with Camille because Camille was completely aware that Sonya Brandt did not care for her. The feeling was mutual, with good reason. The woman had tried to come between Camille and Remi on several occasions and those were just the times she knew about. Sonya was a viper in designer stilettos. C
amille still wasn’t sure how she got a law degree, since she remembered Sonya not caring about school very much. Maybe her parents threatened to cut her off if she didn’t get herself together. But maybe she was a good lawyer. She had to be if she was the lawyer for Krane Foods...unless there was something else going on there. But she’d asked and Remi had answered and she believed he wasn’t ever involved with Sonya. Not that it mattered, because once she made sure her father was well enough to take care of himself properly, she’d be going back to New York and her life.
But if returning to New York was a good idea, why wasn’t she more excited about going back to the place she called home? Why was she getting uneasy about Sonya Brandt’s presence in Remi’s everyday life?
She gave Sonya the once-over. “Sonya, you haven’t changed one bit.” The statement was meant to be a compliment wrapped in an insult. Her scowl, her dirty looks, her superior attitude were all still the same, but Camille could admit that the woman looked like a million bucks. She was tall and lean, with hair down her back. She had flawless skin, perfect teeth, and flirty eyes. Hell, if she weren’t straight, she’d go after the girl herself.
Camille could easily see why Sonya’s presence would be threatening, but Camille did well to hide her insecurities. When they were younger she’d never nagged Remi about what he was doing and whom he was doing it with. Her theory had always been that if he cheated on her then he wasn’t hers to begin with, so good riddance. Yeah, she would’ve had a broken heart if they’d broken up, but nagging someone about cheating wasn’t the type of thing Camille did. And anyway, she’d ended up causing her own broken heart when she’d left.
Sonya smiled. “I know, right? Good genes, probably. I should give you the card for my personal trainer. He could really help.” She then scrunched her nose and looked up as if she was thinking of all the ways her personal trainer could help Camille. Camille simply rolled her eyes and ignored her offer. She knew it was just a dig at her naturally curvy body. She was by no means large, but she had full breasts, a small waist, a high, curvy rear end, and what Southern folks called childbearing hips. No, she did not fit a model’s size at a few inches over five feet and a size eight, but she liked her curves. Sonya’s observations were irrelevant.
Remi cleared his throat, taking the focus away from the growing tension between the women. “What brings you downtown, Sonya?”
“Oh, you know...getting some lunch and supporting our booth. You know the one we planned together in your office that night. We should do it again.” She then walked off, her heels clicking a few times before she stopped and turned around to Remi. “Oh...Santos told me to thank you for the graduation gift to Vegas for him and his friends. He’s having the time of his life,” Sonya said, mentioning her younger brother.”
“No problem. He’s a smart kid and there is nothing shabby about graduating second in your class. He earned the trip.”
Sonya then smiled. There was something personal there and Camille did not like it at all. She was jealous. It was an annoying emotion but there it was... Sonya and Remi had been intimate and Sonya didn’t mind letting her know. But what had Camille confused was her suggestion that she and Remi had slept together recently. Camille decided to ignore the woman because she was probably trying to get under her skin, a mission she had accomplished.
Camille had no idea what was going on with her. She’d remained oblivious to the menial stressors of life by not dating anyone seriously and mostly focusing on her career. Her only real friends were her agent and Charlie, and the only events she went to were those Anna forced her to attend. So these newfound emotions were confusing her. Her feelings about the way Sonya looked at Remi, Remi’s declarations of love, people in the town shunning her, and the possibility of someone putting the pieces together and finding out that she was Reese Elaine...it was all talking a toll on her. It was this town. She’d been here much too long already. That much was obvious.
That was it. She needed to leave this place. It didn’t matter that she loved Remi. She had yet to say it out loud so she could cut her losses and hope one day she’d find someone who’d help her forget about Remington Krane. Or maybe her career would be her happiness and it would be enough to fulfill her.
The smirk Sonya gave Camille before finally sauntering off said it all. She was issuing a challenge. She did not like the fact that Camille was back in town and it was even worse that she was with Remi. Sonya had had him to herself all these years and Camille’s presence was derailing any progress she’d made with Remi. That made Camille just the slightest bit satisfied with herself, but it also made her wary of Sonya. Just what did the woman have up her sleeve and how long would it be before she made her move—whatever that may be?
Chapter 11
“Okay... I promise this outing is going to get better. Sonya was just being Sonya, you know that.”
Camille nodded in understanding and Remington was relieved. He’d been with women who would’ve made a big deal out of what Sonya had implied. He had to remember that Camille was unlike any other woman he’d known. She wasn’t up for the drama or games. She didn’t let the Sonyas of the world get to her and if she did, she did an excellent job of covering up her feelings.
“It’s fine,” she said. “Let’s eat. There better be some of my favorite snack left when we get to your booth. I want my favorite dessert.”
And that’s what they did. He took her mind off nosey people by flirting and keeping her attention on the next booth. There were a few people who recognized her, but thankfully they were all very nice. If they felt negatively about her being in town, they didn’t show it. For the next hour they ate and laughed and he was amazed at the amount of food such a little body could put away.
After about the fourth booth, Camille declared that she was stuffed but wasn’t leaving until she got her favorite snack to take back with her.
“I sent you enough to last for a couple months or more,” he told her.
She laughed and waggled her brows. “I can never have enough.”
That one simple statement flared Remi’s desire and he kissed her passionately right in the middle of downtown Fairdell in front of the people who’d be voting for him in a little over a year’s time. If they’d gotten away with avoiding attention before, that was no longer the case because all eyes were now tracking the amorous couple.
Before Camille had a chance to be embarrassed Remi grabbed her by the hand and dragged her over to the Krane Gourmet Snack Foods booth. There were several interns there as well as David, the Employee Communications and Morale Specialist for the company.
“David, how are things going? Lot of people stopping by?”
“Of course. And who do we have here?” David said, ignoring business to find out who Camille was. “I don’t think I’ve seen this beauty around town.” His intent look had Camille’s cheeks flaming.
“This is Camille Ryan, she is—”
“Reese’s daughter...oh, yeah... He speaks highly of you. But I thought you’d be wearing a habit and singing hymns. He always made you sound like a saint. He never said you were an angel.”
Remi chuckled at David. The man was laying it on thick. He even kissed her hand when she offered to shake his. He was a charmer in every way and usually got the girl even with the lame one-liners. But not this time. Camille was his.
Blond-haired, blue-eyed David Wunner had a frat-boy persona and often flippant ways, but he was exactly who Remi needed to run into that night at the bar. Their personal and professional views were similar, which led to a great conversation and a friendship that had lasted six years.
Remi had been at an Atlanta bar nursing a drink after he’d been told by his grandfather that he would be in charge of Krane Foods. Frederick’s health had deteriorated to a point where he could no longer deal with the day-to-day responsibilities of running the company and he had decided to hand over th
e reins to him. Remi had been basically running the company anyway since he was twenty-one, but at twenty-four—a little over a year after he was done with graduate school, being named CEO had been a lot to take in. He’d known he could make the company even more successful but the weight of the position had driven him to drink.
David had been in a similar way that night after having lost his job as head of human resources for a top shipping company. They’d started talking and David had told him of his idea to take human resources to another level by having employee team-building activities like company picnics, holiday parties and family days as well as volunteering opportunities and community outreach—all sponsored by the company.
Remi had been surprised that the company David worked for had fired him. He didn’t understand how a company would not want to implement such ideas. If employees were happy and fulfilled, then productivity would increase. It was a win-win. He knew that was what Krane needed under his guidance. He came up with a position right there on the spot and the next week David had started working for him.
Camille cleared her throat, bringing Remi out of his memories. “Uh, thanks,” she said. “I know my father brags...but I’m no saint or angel.”
Remi protested. “She’s all that and more. Don’t let her fool you, Dave. She’s just being modest.”
“Sounds like you know something about Ms. Ryan. I hope that’s not the case because then I’d be poaching my best friend’s woman.”
Camille laughed at David’s antics. “Oh, I need to watch out for you. You’re a bad one.” David winked at her and then gave Remi a look that said that Remi had some explaining to do about Camille. Remi knew his friend had never seen him holding hands with any woman since they’d known each other. Remi was the type who avoided getting serious, not wanting to get close to anyone for fear of losing them the way he’d lost Camille. But if he were being honest, he’d admit his heart belonged to Camille and he would’ve never given it away to anyone else.
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