“You’re suggesting that Camila will head Cohen Real Estate?”
Poppy nods. “I called Shoshana’s mother, Natalie, this morning and fished around. Shoshana is still at Bard and years away from settling on any kind of career. If she’s anything like her mother, which I suspect she is, it’ll probably be some do-gooder thing. Camila, on the other hand, seems to have the right pedigree.”
Norah gives her a look and shakes her head.
“You can’t doubt my instincts. I have an eye for talent and where it belongs. She’s the right age, racial make-up and impeccably educated. Natalie told me she grew up on Jefferson Avenue. With the right connections, possibly a mother-in-law who’s an Appellate Court Judge . . . .”
“That cancer of yours is depleting your brain cells. You cannot possibly believe that bartender can enter the political arena in New York,” she scoffs.
“Maybe it is depleting my brain cells, but if you weren’t so biased, you’d see I’m right. Of course she may not get involved in the next year or even five years. She has something that we don’t—time. Step back and consider her credentials and what she can accomplish as the head of Cohen Real Estate. She’ll be in a position to literally shape the City.” Poppy stops to catch her breath. “Remember how we’d always talked about what it would be like to be the most powerful women in the City, and what we’d do? We may not have realized our goals perfectly, but we’ve never given up on the opportunity to mentor equally ambitious young women.”
Norah nods, slowly coming around to the idea.
“Ellen wasn’t the right person for Marshall. I know you saw the opportunity for them to be power players in D.C., with her as a Senator and him at the DOJ. But she was too singularly focused on her own objectives. That girl out there,” Poppy nods towards the door leading to the veranda, “I bet you couldn’t find a speck of dirt on her if you tried. She’s brimming with so much raw potential. And you, my friend, with all your contacts down at City Hall and in Albany are well-positioned to help her. And unlike Ellen, I’m sure your efforts will not be wasted.” She pats Norah on the shoulder and begins to lead her outside when she sees the housekeepers pushing a trolley toward the outdoor kitchen. “As for Marshall, I think you’ll have to accept that, at the core, he’s still a man and will do whatever it takes to be with her. You just have to figure out how to mitigate the risk to his career. He may want to be discreet about it until that young woman graduates, but . . . .” Poppy nods her head in Camila’s direction. “I doubt she’ll want to be anyone’s secret girlfriend.” She pauses and sighs. “Maybe Warren can help.”
“Warren and I haven’t spoken in years,” Norah reminds her.
“Understandable. Although I’m sure he’d take a call from you if it concerns Marshall.”
Chapter 53
“You promise no more unexpected meals or guest appearances, right?” Camila sighs and throws herself onto the sofa in her hotel room. She gazes out at the beach where she’d much rather have spent the past three hours.
Shoshana walks over to Camila and holds out her pinky. “Pinky promise. I’ll even spit on my hand if you want.”
Camila circles her cousin’s pinky with hers. “No need.” She tugs on her finger a bit. “Now you have to tell me about Eitan.”
“Says who?” Shoshana unlocks her pinky hold.
“You, last night,” Camila reminds her. “I asked you what he’s doing in New York, but we got interrupted.” She tries not to recall what that interruption was for. Dare is complete, brunch is over. Now they can both move on.
“I told you he works for the Israeli Consulate.”
“Doing what exactly?” Camila presses.
Shoshana shrugs. “Security stuff.”
Her cousin sits up a bit straighter. “What kind of ‘security stuff’?” She asks, using air quotes.
“Personal,” Shoshana mumbles.
“You mean he’s Mossad?”
“I don’t know, maybe. He hasn’t said it explicitly.” Shoshana shifts from one foot to the other. “But I suspect he is. I mean, Eitan has this incredible body . . . .” She stops momentarily, getting a faraway look in her eye.
“Please do not picture fucking him while we’re having a conversation.”
Shoshana snaps back to reality. “Right, anyway, it’s not like he discusses work, which tips me off right there.”
“You’re introducing him as soon as we get back to New York,” Camila insists.
“Fat chance. Three months, then you meet him.”
“Three months is such an arbitrary amount of time.”
“Hardly,” her cousin rebuts. “Consider your thing with Marshall.”
“We don’t have a ‘thing’.”
“It’s been three months since you guys met. A lot has happened in that time, wouldn’t you say?”
Camila shakes her head and lies down on the sofa. “Thinking about it makes me sleepy.”
“Three months is such a growth period. Think about it. You just had brunch with his mom. Have you ever met any guy’s mom before?”
Camila shakes her head.
“You see?” Shoshana walks to her room and starts to change. “At least his mom made an effort and talked to you for a few minutes.”
“Weather is hardly topical.”
“It’s a start,” her cousin tells her. “Dahlia is hilarious. She obviously gets that from her mom. I never saw that side to Poppy. Whenever she came over, she seemed so put-together and serious.”
“Maybe it’s the Miami weather like she suggested.” Camila shrugs.
“Speaking of which, there’s still about four hours of sun left. Let’s go down to the pool.” She throws a cover-up over her wine-colored bikini as she comes out of her room.
“I’m so sleepy. Maybe I’ll nap first.”
“Nap by the pool.” Shoshana flings a green bikini at Camila. “I’ll go down and get some chairs. Don’t take too long. Oh, I ordered more towels so they should be delivered soon.”
“Shit,” Camila complains, fumbling with the bikini string at the middle of her back. A knock at the door interrupts her litany of Spanish curses. “Be right there,” she calls. She tosses the top onto her bed and throws on a t-shirt. “Go ahead and leave . . . .” Camila’s words disappear when she sees Marshall at the door.
“But I just got here,” he says.
“Yeah, sorry. I thought you were the person from housekeeping delivering some extra towels,” Camila replies awkwardly.
“You seem disappointed I’m not.”
Camila shakes her head. “No, I’m just surprised.” Her foot starts to roll from side-to-side. “I wasn’t expecting you.” A sudden weight lands over her chest. She hasn’t been alone with Marshall since the night he told Camila he was in love with her. The restaurant doesn’t count in her mind because it was easy. Easy being relative, of course. Then, only so much could be said in a short amount of time, and they were in public. Regardless of what was spoken then, neither one had the inclination to think about what any of it meant. Brunch was spent discussing school, New York versus Miami, the latest books read, the most recent movies watched. Everything was polite but hardly personal.
Now they’re together, and Camila is finding it hard to remember what transpired only minutes before.
Marshall clears his throat. “May I come in?”
Camila nods and steps to the side. She stands by the door and waits as he circles the living room.
“Am I interrupting something?”
“I was going to meet Shosh at the pool,” she replies. Her nervousness is giving way to anxiety. When she’d admitted to her feelings outside the restaurant, it seemed like enough. Camila figured that when they returned to New York, they would carry on as they had been, professor and student. Lovers didn’t seem to be part of the equation. Nor did it the other night. Even though she felt drawn to him, she wondered if they would ever cross that arbitrary line again. At brunch, it certainly didn’t seem to be a possibility. They kept a p
olite distance in front of his mother although Camila hadn’t really entertained the thought. Somehow, once all the feelings were laid out on the table, his and hers, a random hook-up in Miami seemed cheap to her.
“Where’s your mom?”
“She said she was tired of me and wanted to spend the evening with Poppy. Best guess is they’re sipping Pellegrino and talking. It’s all they ever do.”
“So you thought you’d come here?”
“Couldn’t think of anywhere else I wanted to be. You don’t seem too happy to see me though,” he observes.
Camila crosses her arms. “I just don’t know what to do when I’m around you. Despite whatever you’ve told your mom, you and I aren’t dating.”
“But I thought we both want that. What will it take?”
Camila responds with a look.
“You graduate in six months. We can keep it under wraps til then.”
Camila shakes her head. “I’m not into hiding.”
“Would you prefer I speak to the Dean? I can’t say that’s my preference, but I’ll consider whatever you have in mind.”
“We both know that none of the options are ideal. The fact that you teach at the same school where I’m a student will follow us. People will always assume that that’s how we met and that we had some cheap professor/student affair. No matter what we accomplish as individuals, that’s what we’ll be known for. Is that what you want.”
“I want to be with you, C.C. I don’t care about what others think.”
Camila raises an eyebrow. “You didn’t tell your mom that I’m in law school. I caught all of her jibes and innuendos about my job. I get it. She thinks I’m blue collar. I’d rather be judged for that than for seducing my Law Review advisor.”
“We both know . . . .”
“We do, and some of our friends. It means nothing in the court of public opinion.”
“But last night . . . are you willing to let this go after that?”
Camila shifts her weight under his gaze. She distinctly recalls the way his fingers felt on her skin and how much she wanted him when his lips touched her ear. If she gives herself permission, she can easily let those feelings flood her like they did last night. Giving in is the easy part. Waiting and wanting, less so.
“I don’t want to be the person you regret. You should go,” Camila tells Marshall.
The expression on Marshall’s face is a mix of shock and hurt. He wants to believe they can make it work, yet he only saw it from his perspective and the damage to his reputation. He didn’t stop to consider how it would feel to be his secret lover. And as much as he declares he wants to be with her, she remembers what Felicity had told her. Men often show you who they are in the beginning.
He’d left her once. Again those three words come back to haunt him. We’re cool, right. Marshall runs a hand over his face. “I won’t promise that I’ll find it challenging at times, but I’m clear about this,” he waves a hand back and forth between them. “I know that I’ll regret giving up on us.”
Camila leans against the wall, her arms still folded in front of her. She’s on the defense. No matter what Marshall says, they both understand there are no guarantees. What he’s asking is for her to take that leap of faith, again. She’d done it once and landed on her face. “What makes you think you won’t run again?”
Marshall takes a few steps toward her and stops. “Because I hated how it felt to be away from you.”
“And yet it changes nothing.” Camila opens the door.
Chapter 54
“You’re home early,” Norah says to Marshall as he walks into the living room.
“Where’s Poppy?”
“She was tired.” His mother shakes her head. “You can’t imagine what it’s like to know someone for almost forty years and see them start to disintegrate before your eyes. I swear, of all my friends to get the big C, I never thought it would be Poppy.”
The distant look in his mother’s eyes makes Marshall forget his own problems at the moment. “How is she, really?”
Norah shrugs. “Poppy won’t say. But I can see her spirit is different. She’s still fighting, but it’s taking so much from her.”
Marshall thinks he sees a tear in his mother’s eye, but can’t be sure. He can’t remember ever seeing his mother cry.
She takes a deep breath and waves him over to sit next to her on the gray suede sofa. “So, tell me, how was the rest of your day?” Norah pats his knee.
“I’ve had better.” Marshall leans back and stares out the tall windows that face the water.
“I thought you went to see that girlfriend of yours.” Norah nearly chokes when she says “girlfriend.”
“I did.”
The expression on her son’s face makes Norah want to smile, but she compels herself to show concern.
“Tell me, son. Is everything okay?”
“You don’t have to pretend you care, Mother. I know you don’t like Camila.”
“I hardly know her,” she replies, feigning offense. “We’ve had plenty of lunches and dinners since you moved back to New York and not once did you mention you were still dating her.”
“Maybe it’s because you failed to make a good first impression.”
“Put yourself in my place. How could I not assume she was some ho when she was dressed in your shirt and nothing else?”
Marshall gets up and starts pacing on the plush sheepskin rug. “I really like her. We met on this blind date, and I don’t think I’ve ever clicked with anyone like I do with her. It’s just good when we’re together.”
“So what’s the problem?” Norah asks.
Marshall stops pacing when he reaches the French doors to the terrace. “She’s a 3L at the law school,” he mumbles.
Norah feigns shock. “Tell me this whole blind date story is true then. Is she one of your students?”
Her son turns away from the door and shakes his head. “We saw each other twice before the semester started, and it never came up. Then there she is, in my class.” He puts his hands in his pockets and turns back to the view.
“So she is a student?”
Marshall shakes his head. “She dropped the class.”
Norah lets out an audible sigh.
“But . . . .”
His mother buries her face in her hands. “Dear God, don’t tell me she’s pregnant.”
“Of course not,” he replies.
“She’s Editor-in-Chief of Law Review.”
Norah lowers her hands. “The girl isn’t stupid.”
“I’m her advisor,” he mutters.
Norah clucks her tongue and shakes her head. Marshall thinks he can hear her mutter something about his father and men and their dicks. She stands up and walks over to him. “You would swear under oath that you met this girl on a blind date?”
Marshall nods.
“You did not abuse your position of authority over her as her professor or coerce her to do anything?”
Marshall shakes his head.
Norah does the same. “I believed you had more sense than your father.”
“You’ve made that abundantly clear, Mother.”
“So what now? You and Camila will live your happily-ever-after in secret until she graduates? Is that what you have planned?”
“She refuses.”
“So what? She wants to take it public? It will kill your career!”
“She won’t do that either.”
Norah’s eyes go wide. “She won’t date you will she?” She suppresses a smile. “That girl really isn’t stupid,” she repeats under her breath.
“I keep telling you that.”
The look on her son’s face makes Norah’s cold heart melt a little. Only he has the power to do that, and knowing that he’s hurt reaches that small bit of maternal instinct inside of her. She reaches up and pulls Marshall in for a hug. “I’m sorry, baby.”
Marshall doesn’t know what to do. He can’t remember when his mom last hugged him. He can only a
ssume that since Poppy revealed she’s dying, his mom has made more of an effort to reach out and be there for him. He closes his arms around her waist and squeezes gently. “Thanks, Mom.”
Norah lets go and nods. “You know I’d do anything for you, right?”
Chapter 55
“I feel bad for the man,” Shoshana says, sipping her second mojito. “You are tough.”
“It’s never going to work. Short of him quitting, it’s too risky,” Camila explains. “I won’t let him become embroiled in some scandal because we acted irresponsibly.”
“Since when did love become irresponsible? Love is supposed to transcend everything.”
“I never used the word ‘love’, Shosh.”
“Whatever, it’s what you mean. It’s the reason why Marshall is willing to risk his job.”
“You said it. He’ll end up risking his job, which is his livelihood and his reputation.”
“But it’ll be fine because you two are meant to be together. I knew it right away. Besides, you’re only a student for six more months. That’s nothing in the grand scheme of things.”
“Long enough to cause trouble. I l. . . ,” Camila pauses.
“Were you about to say that you love him?” Shoshana teases.
“No,” her cousin replies too quickly. “I was going to say that I respect him too much to put him in that position.”
“It’s his choice though, isn’t it? More so than yours at least. You can only decide your fate, not anyone else’s.”
“What if those fates intertwine?” Camila sits up in her chair. “In that case, every decision you make impacts the other.”
“To a point, yes. However, the individual has to bear the responsibility.”
Camila shakes her head. “I hate that spiritual reasoning. It’s not clear-cut.”
“Love and life never are, C.C.”
Shoshana covers her face with a small towel and smiles. “I have to say though that I think you’re making progress. You’re close to admitting you love him, and you’ve clearly given the possibility of a relationship a lot of thought.”
Uncovering Camila (Wildflowers Book 3) Page 22