by Noelle Adams
“Safety isn’t something to take lightly, Lily.”
“Of course it isn’t,” she agreed. “I mean, driving twenty miles under the speed limit and once handed? What was I thinking?”
“It’s a little early for all of this sarcasm,” he said dryly. “So other than hand holding, what am I supposed to do?”
Was he kidding? At this rate she could probably convince him act out every one of her fantasies that she’d ever had about him. But that would be wrong.
Wouldn’t it?
Yes, yes, yes. Bad, Lily! What were you thinking?
“Kissing,” she said before she could stop herself. “We’ll probably have to kiss in front of people from time to time. And none of that buddy-buddy, on the cheek stuff. Like…real kissing.”
Bad, bad Lily!
Cameron considered her suggestions and without reacting in any way, shape or form decided that this wasn’t going to be such a bad thing after all. He’d finally have the opportunity to touch Lily, kiss Lily and it was all her idea. He really was brilliant. “That’s fine,” he said, seemingly bored with the idea.
“That’s the spirit,” she said and was relieved to see them turning on to the exit ramp for the airport. If all went well, within a matter of hours she would be walking around Manhattan with Cam and presenting the image of a happy couple.
Project Girlfriend had begun!
***
Snow was falling when they landed at Kennedy Airport and Lily was practically bouncing in her seat to get out and walk in it.
“It’s just snow, Lil,” Cam said teasingly. “This isn’t something new.”
She punched him in the arm playfully as they walked off of the plane. “Yes, but this is my very first New York snow! I’m so excited!” Taking a chance and more than ready to jump into character, Lily took Cam by the hand and headed toward baggage claim. It felt wonderful and more than natural to be walking like this. Why had they never done this before? “I’m not crazy about the crowds but I’m sure I’ll get used to it.” Truth was she was actually loving the crowds because they were forcing her to stay super-close to Cam who, interestingly enough, wasn’t looking all that uncomfortable with it either.
“Hopefully we’ll get our bags quickly and grab a taxi. I’d really like to have a little time at the hotel before my first meeting.”
“What time do you have to be there again?”
“Two o’clock. We’ll check in at the hotel, have lunch and then I’ll have to go.” It was all said very matter-of-factly, much like everything Cam said but what he didn’t say was that he had a surprise waiting for her at the hotel.
“Oh, okay,” she said, her mind racing with how she was going to spend her first afternoon in the city. “And there’s a welcome dinner tonight, right?” Cam nodded. “What time is that?”
“That starts at seven-thirty.”
“Did you still want me to go with you?” She hoped that she sounded casual about it but deep down, Lily was terrified that she would do something to embarrass Cam and let him down.
He was just about to reach for her suitcase on the carousel when Lily asked the question. “Why would you even ask me that?” The opportunity to grab the luggage was gone and now he was frustrated not only at her question but at having to wait for it to come around again. Luckily he spotted his own suitcase coming around and grabbed it before Lily spoke.
“You know, it’s your first night and maybe you’d rather just have the time with your colleagues without me tagging along,” she said lightly before muttering “and ruining it.”
Cam put the suitcase down at his feet before taking Lily by the shoulders to face him. “Listen to me,” he said sternly but at the same time in a loving way. “There is nothing that you are going to do to ruin anything for me. I asked you to come with me and I want you there with me tonight and all of the nights that we’re here.” When she still didn’t look convinced he added, “Besides, you’re my girlfriend. What would people say if I left you alone in the room while I went out on the town?”
That made Lily laugh. “You are so not going out on the town. You’re a group of scientists with big brains; you’ll sit around and debate the universe before you even realize that the night is over.” She, too, said it lightly but there was more than a hint of truth to it. Without thinking about it, she leaned in and hugged him. “Thanks, Cam; I needed that.” For the first time in the history of their friendship, it was Lily who broke their embrace first. She was just about to comment on it when Cam motioned that her luggage was coming around again.
Maybe it was for the best. If Lily started analyzing every touch and every look, she’d make herself crazy. Cam was pretending to be in love with her. That was it; end of story. She may have to remind herself of that fact several times a day because they had only been playing the part for a few hours and already she was blurring the lines.
***
Their hotel was right in the middle of Times Square and Lily couldn’t help but gape at the flurry of activity going on around her as they arrived. “Oh my gosh,” she gasped when the taxi came to a stop. “You didn’t tell me we were staying right in the heart of everything!”
Cam simply shrugged as they got out of the cab and paid the driver. They were assisted with their bags and Lily stood silently by as Cameron checked them in. As he was signing the paperwork he spoke. “I booked us a suite so that you can have some privacy and I’ll have a little more space to work.”
“So there are two bedrooms?” she asked as she looked around in awe of her surroundings.
“No, just the one but the living area has a sleeper sofa. I’ll take that and you take the bedroom.”
Lily didn’t like the sound of that at all and felt badly that she was putting him out. “Cam, you need your rest more than I do. You take the bedroom and I’ll take the sleeper.”
He thanked the front desk clerk as he took their room cards and paperwork and then turned to Lily. “Let’s just get to the room and we can argue logistics later, okay?” They declined assistance with their bags up to the room and Cam took his luggage in one hand and Lily’s hand in the other and led them toward the elevators. He was really starting to get used to this.
Once they were up in their suite, Lily went right to the windows to check out the view. “Cam, this is amazing! Between the lights and the buildings and the crowds and the snow,” she stopped and took a breath, “I just can’t believe that we’re here.” She turned and saw him standing on the other side of the room simply watching her. “Thank you.”
His gaze was intense as Cam watched Lily but then again his gaze normally was. He watched as she fluttered about the room and seemingly touched everything and chatted about it all. More than anything, Cam wished that he knew what it felt like to just let himself go and relax like that. His entire life he’d been so serious and studious and that was what was expected of him; what would it feel like to, just for a little while, break free from this mold that he had created for himself and to simply just feel?
“Do you want to go downstairs and eat or order room service or walk the square and see what we can find?” Lily asked as she collapsed down on the living room sofa.
“I have a lot of notes to go over before two so if it’s all right with you, I’d rather just order lunch up here.”
“That’s fine,” she said and kicked off her shoes and scooted closer to him on the couch and placed her head on his shoulder. Looking up into his dark blue eyes, Lily beamed. “I promise to keep quiet so that you can study.”
With her being so close, Cam took off his glasses and closed his eyes before resting his head against hers. “You don’t need to keep quiet on my account. And if you want to go exploring, please don’t let me stop you.” He could feel all of the travel tension leaving his body as they relaxed against one another and when he heard Lily sigh, he turned slightly and breathed in the scent of strawberries.
A favorite scent of hers.
They were both silent for a long while be
fore Lily finally spoke. “Um, Cam?”
“Mmm…”
“I think that if we’re going to eat and you’re going to study that we’re going to need to get up from the sofa.” She hated even suggesting it because it was something that they didn’t do often enough; just sit quietly and enjoy being near one another. They sat and watched more than their share of movies together at either his place or hers but to just sit in the silence was something new and Lily found that she liked it.
“Are you sure?” Cam asked lightly. “Maybe if we both think really hard, lunch will appear at the door.”
“That is the dream,” Lily said with a quiet chuckle as she reluctantly moved away from the warmth of his body and stretched. “I’ll get the menu and order while you get your paperwork out and organized. How does that sound?”
She knew him so well, Cam thought to himself, and always did what she could to make things easier for him. “Perfect; thanks.” And together they went about their business until the knock at the door signified that lunch had arrived.
Lily had everything set up on the coffee table and was looking at Cam expectantly when he finally looked up from the paper he had been reading. “What?”
“In case you hadn’t noticed,” she said, motioning to the coffee table, “lunch is served.”
Honestly, he had been so engrossed in what he was reading that he had tuned out what was going on in the room. When he put his papers down he saw that Lily had ordered him his standard turkey club while she had a bacon cheeseburger with fries. One dark brow arched at her as he looked from her entrée and then to her.
“No lectures, remember?”
Cam nodded and reached for his sandwich. “That only applied to food vendors on the street; I made no such promises concerning anyplace else that we dine.” He was teasing her and she knew it and they ate their meals while they talked about what was on the schedule for Cam’s first meeting this afternoon.
Though she always listened and tried not to let her eyes glaze over, Lily was glad for the distraction of food. She knew the appropriate places to nod and over the years she had gleaned enough information on what he did that she could make elementary comments on his work; something that Cam seemed to appreciate.
“So are you ready for your presentation?” she asked as she dipped the last of her fries in ketchup.
“I believe so; I always feel like I need to prepare more but once I’m up there, I don’t really use the notes that I’ve prepared.”
“That’s because you know this stuff like the back of your hand. You’re going to be great.”
Between her words of encouragement, the smile on her face and the way her big green eyes brightened as she spoke, Cam felt like he could conquer the world. In all of his years in school and all through college and even now as an adult working in the field of science and doing lectures around the world, his family never encouraged him the way that Lily did. He found that he liked having her near as he was preparing to face a room full of his peers and mentors. “Thank you,” he said for what felt like the tenth time today alone.
“What time will you be back to get ready for dinner?”
Cam looked at his watch. “We should be done by five and so I’ll be back here by five-fifteen to five-thirty and then we’ll get ready to go.” He finished the last of his sandwich and turned back to Lily. “What do you think you’re going to do with yourself this afternoon?”
Reclining back on the sofa with her hand on her full belly, Lily thought about her options. “I had thought that I’d go and just walk around but the snow is really coming down out there and it’s nice and toasty in here and I’m pretty full so…”
“You’re just going to hang here and nap, aren’t you?”
She made a face at him. “Maybe,” she said defiantly.
The phone in the room rang and Cam barely glance up. “Can you get that please?” Hopping up, Lily crossed the room and went to the phone. Cam pretended to be scanning his papers as he listened to Lily’s end of the conversation and did his best not to smile.
“Hello? Yes, this is Lily Cavanaugh. Wait…what? Um…no, I wasn’t…oh, uh…are you sure?” She paused and glanced over at Cam who was deeply engrossed in his notes. “Yes, thank you. I’ll see you then. Bye.” Hanging up the phone, Lily turned back and saw that Cam was finally looking at her. “Cameron Greene, what have you done?”
He placed a hand on his chest and did his best to look as if he had no idea what she was talking about. “Me? What? What did I do?”
Lily strode across the room and collapsed back down on the sofa next to him with a bounce. “You booked me an afternoon at the spa!” she cried excitedly. “I can’t believe that you did that!”
“Why? You said that you wanted to do that and so I made sure that I scheduled it.”
Her shoulders sank and she pouted slightly. “You don’t get it, do you?” Cam shook his head. “You didn’t have to do it; I was joking with you when I said it. Well, not exactly joking, per se, but I would have taken care of it myself.” When he made to speak, she held up a hand to stop him. “It was very thoughtful of you and it was a wonderful surprise. Thank you.” She leaned in and kissed him on the cheek and had to remember not to linger even though it was what she wanted to do most. “You are very sweet.”
Just what every guy wants to hear, Cam thought to himself. Before he allowed himself to obsess on that statement, he stood and began gathering his papers. “I’m going to go and get changed and then head downstairs. I’ll meet you back here at five-thirty.” He did his best to not look at her but when he walked toward the closet to grab his suitcase and toiletries, he turned and saw that she was still sitting on the sofa and smiling at him.
Words escaped him. Lily always managed to take his breath away. Others merely saw it as Cam being shy or socially awkward but the truth was that most times that he was around Lily, he simply kept quiet because otherwise he would blurt out how he felt about her and then it would ruin everything.
And the last thing that Cam wanted was to risk losing Lily.
Three
Lily felt completely boneless when she arrived back at the room three hours later. She had been pampered from head to toe and felt as if she could sleep for a week. But duty called and she had to make sure that she did her best to wow Cam’s colleagues tonight.
Going to her luggage, she pulled out her cocktail dress and was thankful that it had traveled so well. Deciding on a quick shower, she went about her business so that by the time Cam got back to the room, he’d be able to shower and do whatever he needed to without Lily being in the way.
The hot water felt heavenly and it was a real task to force herself out of the shower. Soon she had her hair done and her makeup applied and all that was left for her to do was to get dressed. A quick glance at the clock showed that it was just five-fifteen and the thought of sitting around for an hour in her dress was not in the least bit appealing. Indecision was wreaking havoc on her and when she heard Cam’s key in the door, she breathed a little sigh of relief.
Cam wasn’t sure what he was expecting when he got back to the room, but Lily all dolled up and wearing nothing but a silky pink robe that barely came to her knees was totally not it. Her long blonde hair was softly curled and covered her shoulders and she had done something smoky with her eye makeup that had him wondering if taking her to dinner with a room full of scientists was really such a good idea. After all, they could order dinner in the room and just be done with it. Then he wouldn’t have to share her time with anyone.
Then he’d get to find out what exactly she was wearing under that silky pink robe. His mind wandered to the image of nothing but silky skin and maybe, just maybe, a hint of lace.
“How did your presentation go?” Lily asked, thoroughly breaking his train of thought about locking her away in the room for the night for himself.
Forcing himself to look away from the beautiful sight that she made, Cam gave her the basics of the meeting and his presentation as
he walked around the room putting all of his things in a specific place.
“Do you want to take a shower? I made sure that I was done before you got back so that you could have the bathroom to yourself.”
“The suite has two bathrooms, Lily,” he said. “There wasn’t a need for you to rush.”
She smiled at his thoughtfulness. “Yes, but the second one doesn’t have a tub or a shower. Anyway, I cleared out all of my girlie stuff so that it won’t get in your way.”
Cam didn’t want to think about her girlie stuff. He didn’t want to think about lotions and lingerie and god knew what else she had that always made Lily so…Lily. To get his mind from that direction, again, he asked how her afternoon of pampering went.
“Oh, Cam,” she said as she walked across the room and sat on the bed while he took his suit out of his case. “It was amazing; absolutely the best. I almost needed someone to carry me back up to the room because I was like a wet noodle.”
She was sitting in the middle of the bed with her legs crossed and Cam could see from his vantage point that she’d had her toes painted a fiery red and that legs – which looked amazing bared for him – were so smooth that they glowed. “I was so relaxed when I got back here that I almost took a nap.”
“You should have. We have time.”
Lily shook her head. “I never would have been ready in time and as your girlfriend, I am determined to be prompt. I know how important that is to you.”
He shook his head at her as he walked toward the bathroom to put his things in there so that he could get ready. “While I appreciate the effort, I don’t expect you to morph into a complete stranger. I’m used to the Lily who makes me wait and is laid back and relaxed. If you go getting all punctual on me I’m not going to know what to do,” he teased. And with that he closed the door to the bathroom to get himself ready.
Lily sat back and relaxed as the she listened to the water from the shower and did her best to not think about Cam naked in the shower. That would not be a good thing. Well, it would be a good thing but not good for her as she was trying her best to keep to the role of the pretend girlfriend.