by AJ Matthews
It still hurt, her loss.
But the shame, her humiliation, that was gone.
Marcus had been conflicted; foolish, but noble, too.
He’d been a hero, just not to Cami.
But he hadn’t used her, not the way she’d thought he had.
Therese had needed Marcus more than Cami did, Cami understood that now.
And when she hadn’t needed him anymore, she’d let him go, graciously.
Cami was grateful for that, anyway.
Marcus had cared for them both, for her and for Therese, deeply.
She could respect him for that.
And herself. She could respect herself again.
She hadn’t been fooled.
She hadn’t been his fool.
That was important.
“I’m glad we had this conversation, but I need to go,” Cami told him, stepping off her stool.
“May I walk you to your car?” Marcus asked, tugging her hand, his eyes beseeching, searching, asking for more.
“I can find my way, Marcus,” she whispered, grateful that he let her slip away.
She couldn’t take any more, not now.
Wherewithal Wednesday
“no more kale and beets”
Next morning when Cami walked into the barn, B was at the open refrigerator door in the feed room, taking packages from a fancy shopping bag with handles.
“What’s that?” Cami asked, brow furrowed.
“Lunch! From Sauvignon!” B said excitedly, stacking containers on the cool plastic shelf. “Can you believe I got a call this morning, from one of the kitchen staff, asking me to swing by the restaurant to pick us up lunch? Marcus’s food is amazing, Cami! We have to have Dad take us there for our next business meeting! I thought when he and Therese divorced, Marcus forgot all about me, but I guess not!”
“Huh,” Cami said non-commitally, warmed by B’s delight at Marcus feeding them lunch, frightened by all the possible implications.
And showing up at Sauvignon, for a weekly business meeting with B, Anton, and possibly Therese?
Hell no!
The lunches continued, day after day, Marcus sweetening B’s pickups with breakfast, too; coffee to go, a bag of muffins, ranchos huevos in homemade flour tortillas, ham, asparagus and gruyere fritatta, and fresh squeezed fruit juices; orange, grapefruit, mango.
Yep, Cami and B were certainly eating well.
And Cami had to admit, really good food was one way to recover from all that pain.
Ironically, Cami’s best friend seemed to have absolutely nothing to say on the topic. Liah was sleeping in mornings, which meant no more juiced kale and beets.
In fact, come to think of it, since Cami’s appearance at Sauvignon, Aliah hadn’t mentioned Marcus at all.
Wine Hits the Fan: Sparkling Saturday
“I think it’s about what you bring to the party, not when you show up.”
It was Saturday. B was off with Jeremy, supposedly studying for SAT’s, and Cami had the barn to herself. She heard a car pull in, and her forehead wrinkled in surprise as she watched her brother’s tall figure stride into the barn.
“Hey, sis,” Sam called. “Everything okay?”
Cami laughed aloud as she led a horse into a grooming stall and picked up a currycomb. “Sure, Sam, everything’s fine. Now.”
“But it wasn’t? Mom said. . well, she called last month, worried about you, said I better check in.”
“You wasted no time,” Cami snickered, shaking her head.
“Sorry, I had a business conference in Spain, then a Ted talk at Google.”
“You gave a Ted talk?” Cami asked, eyes wide.
“I did. On entreprenuership in Africa. My company’s doing some interesting things there, I’d like to think.”
“That’s great, bro.” Cami moved the currycomb in quick circles against the hair growth on the little mare she was tuning up for one of her new clients, a friend of Therese’s. “I was in a jam, but it working it’s way out. Nice to know that my brother cares, though, in case there’s a next time.”
“Yeah, I’ve been pretty distant these past years, I know, building the company, but I’m here for you Cam, I want you to know that.”
“Hmm,” Cami eyes narrowed in a tease as she gave him the once over.
Still tall, still skinny, his brilliant red hair had faded to brown with coppery highlights. There was more set to Sam’s jaw, now, which was currently grizzled by a distinct shadow.
At least, it looked like he needed to shave these days, anyway.
“How’s Aliah?” Sam asked.
So that’s why he’s here!
Meeting her brother’s bold green eyes, Cami played dumb. “Aliah?”
She could take him out in a minute with this, and Sam knew it.
Sam cleared his throat, trying for casual. “Aliah Peters? Your best friend and roommate since forever? You’re still co-joined at the hip, right? Has that changed?”
Cami felt a swoop of victory.
She’d spent most of her life waiting for this moment.
Sam, her geeky, red haired, freckled, successful big brother Sam, was right under her thumbs, exactly where she wanted him, after all this time.
Playing casual equally well, Cami shrugged.“Y’know, Sam, she’s Aliah. Amazing hazel eyes, the coolest fashion sense of anyone I know, drop dead gorgeous, still kinda skinny, the way she was when we were kids.”
“Yeah?” Studying her, Sam’s adam’s apple bobbed as he shoved his hands in his back pockets.
“So, really? After ten years, you show up at my barn for the first time ever, asking for Aliah?” Cami baited.
“Well, it’s a natural question, right? I mean, isn’t she your better half?” Sam joked.
Cami sized her brother up; she hadn’t seen much of him, lately.
Sam was lanky, but good looking, in white cords and a sporty stretch collared shirt, which looked expensive. His feet were in track shoes, and really, for a successful geek start up guy, he looked pleasant. And kind.
Sincere, even.
Smart and considerate, too.
At least, his iPad was nowhere in sight.
Maybe her brother even looked like the right guy for Aliah. Biracial couples were cool, and if they married, their kids would be amazing; smart, athletic, gorgeous. Besides, might as well keep all that money in the family. At least this way, she wouldn’t hate the woman her bro married. Cami could think of no better sister in law than Aliah, but she wouldn’t be letting Sam off easily.
“Um, so, Sam, you haven’t seen Aliah since our senior prom, right? When you were recruited as her date in the eleventh hour, because that idiot football captain flaked? You suddenly care about Aliah?”
“I’ll just cut to the chase, Cam. Is she dating anyone?”
Smirking, Cami rolled her eyes. “Tell me you drove up from the Bay hoping to hook up with Aliah?”
“Is that any of your business?” Sam asked, whipping an oversized black phone from his back pocket.
“Exactly. Suddenly very busy with work, are you? Aliah is gorgeous and amazing, as you well know. You are a dork and a computer geek.”
“I’m a fairly wealthy dork and computer geek, though. Has she asked about me?”
“What is there to ask? You’ve had your face pressed to a computer screen as long as she’s known you. Would she say, Gee, Cami, is Sam still spouting binary code, like he did when he was twelve, programming that old PC? Is he still hot over collecting giant mainframes?”
Sam shoved the phone back in his pocket, and the smile that spread across his face made it’s way to his eyes. “Okay, Cam, I know your game. What do you want?”
Sugery for my horse.
Cami managed to play cool, though. “Well, you forgot my present at Christmas, remember? And you brought your iPad as a date to family dinner?”
“I haven’t made good on my promise to make that missing Christmas gift up, have I?”
“That’s a big no,
bro. I can’t have you dating my best friend if you’re going to forget this kind of thing. At some point, I’d have to endorse you as affectionate, considerate, resourceful and conscientious, to important people. Other than your shareholders, I mean.”
Sam’s big hand moved over his jaw. “I guess you will,” he agreed. “I took my company public in March, and I did think to buy you and Mom each some stock, Cam. That’s why the iPad came to Christmas dinner, by the way. It was obnoxious, but necessary. You’re currently worth about six hundred thousand, Mom double that. Does that count?”
Cami smiled.“It helps. Thanks. Did you think to cut Liah in?”
Sam grinned. “Because she’s been your best friend since forever?”
“Of course. And because you still want to marry her,” Cami teased, bringing up their childhood joke.
Every week when they were kids, Sam had bought Aliah and Cami each a pack of gum, grape for Cami, strawberrylicious for Aliah, so they could blow bubbles and stay out of his hair, pun intended. Cami knew the bubblegum was for her because she was his sister. When Cami asked Liah why Sam bought her gum, Liah said, “Because he’s going to marry me.” Cami told Sam, just to embarrass Aliah. He’d glanced away from his screen to look at Liah, who was writhing, and said, “Sure, Liah, I’ll marry you.”
But now Cami realized, from the look on Sam’s face, he probably had bought her best friend stock.
“How much is Liah worth?”
“Shouldn’t I be sharing that news with Aliah?” Sam asked, straight-faced, the grin still in his eyes.
“I’m your kid sister,” Cami said, switching to a soft brush. “Your only way to Aliah is through me.”
“Not for long.”
“Exactly. And you taught me all about leverage, didn’t you?”
“I taught you both how to play monopoly. What do you want, Cam?”
“Two new saddles, expensive ones, and exploratory surgery for Heavenly. My vet thinks a surgeon she knows can fix Heavenly’s tendon, but pricewise it’s way out of my league.”
“We’re talking, like, ten grand?”
“Uh-huh. Fifteen, with the saddles. And maybe a house, too, or at least, help with the down payment? Real estate around here is spency, and I’m tired of paying rent.” She eyeballed her brother. “Liah would still be my roomate, of course.”
Sam sighed, but he was still grinning. “I’ve neglected you, haven’t I?”
“You could say that,” Cami agreed.
“Done. The real estate is a good idea. I’m in support of a reasonable purchase, and it would be great if Aliah stays your roomate. What does she say about me?”
“She hasn’t said anything since right after high school Prom, goof. Back then, she said you guys had an amazing time. She hoped you’d ask her out again, and you completely ditched her. Wasn’t that ten years ago, though?”
Suddenly very immersed again, Sam tapped on his tablet. “Cam, give me a minute here, one of my programmers needs some code.”
Cami rolled her eyes. “Exactly. Your second date with Aliah was ten years and two months ago, and your face is still pressed to the screen? Aren’t you a tiny bit late to the party, geek-bro?”
Without looking up, Sam gave a tiny smile, the corner of his lips turning up into a smirk. Still staring at the screen, Sam said, “I might be Cam. I might be last to the party, in fact. But I think it’s about what you bring to the party, not when you show up. The last time I was on a date with Aliah, I was a sophomore at Stanford, prepping for my first investor pitch. I liked her a lot, but I didn’t have much to offer. I’ve built and sold two businesses since, the last going public in March. I’m currently worth close to a billion dollars. I’ll likely retire next year. I’m in a good position, I think, as far as dating.” His laughing eyes met Cami’s, as happy as they’d been when Cami was three, and Sam was six, on that trip they’d all taken to Disneyland, right before their father disappeared. “I might be last to the party, but maybe last counts most, since there’s a reason I’m late. I have more than mere charm, good looks, and smarts to offer. So, Mom said Aliah’s a sommelier? At some new restaurant down on the square, right?”
“No. Way. We are not going there.”
There was no way, no way, Cami was letting Sam take her to Sauvignon. “Can’t you just watch me ride, then we can go to my place, watch movies like the old days, and have a pizza for Aliah when she comes home from work?”
“Am I sixteen?” Sam answered. Tapping his phone, he changed tactics. “Sauvignon?”
“No!” Cami said adamantly, switching to a hoof pick.
Grinning broadly now, Sam shoved his phone into his back pocket. “When did you want to go saddle shopping, Cami? Tomorrow? I’ve got the weekend free, might as well have a nice dinner while I’m here, spend some money tomorrow. What did you say that surgeon’s name was? Shall I make a call or two?”
Cami just shook her head. Walking to the open sliding doorway of the barn, she peeked out. “Hey, is that your Ferrari, Sam?”
Sam dug into his pocket and tossed her the keys. “Sure is, squirt. Wanna drive?”
This is not happening. This is not happening. Why didn’t Cami warn me? I’m wearing trousers, for god’s sake!
Almost hyperventilating, Aliah hid in the wine cellar, her forehead pressed to the cool racks, corks poking the side of her face. She knew exactly where the Argentinian Shiraz Sam had ordered was, she just had to gather her wits to get it.
Breathing deeply, she assessed her situation.
Samuel Winston was now worth over a billion dollars. Unbeknownst to Cami, she’d been following his career and business successes, and yes, okay, dating life, since her high school prom.
Because she’d never had as much fun with anyone.
Sam was so sweet, so kind. . . Who’d ever have thought the boy who’d bought her pink strawberrylicious bubble gum every week of her childhood would turn into the perfect Prom date?
Tonight, she was wearing charcoal silk trousers, rather than any of the pretty dresses she had in her closet, all more flattering.
She’d wanted simple, for no good reason.
But the fuschia scoop neck silk tank she had on was okay. And around her wrist was the tennis bracelet Sam had sent them for graduation from Greystone, full of tiny diamonds. Since he hadn’t been able to make it, he’d sent the identically wrapped bracelets with Barbara Winston, Cami’s mom; one for Cami, one for Aliah.
It was still her favorite piece of jewelry.
In her ears were big, fake diamond studs to match.
He might think they were real, though.
Sam might think a boyfriend had given them to her. As if she’d had any real boyfriends. . . She had plenty of guy friends, but no boyfriends, because for all these years, ten, and two months, she’d had a flaming ridiculous crush on her best friend’s big brother.
Anyway, her hair was okay, pulled back in a vintage silk tie, off her face, as usual, when she worked. She wanted her curls bobbing now, covering part of her face, so it was easier to hide. Everyone agreed Aliah’s hair was pretty. She thought so, too. Which was why it should cover her face.
She’d just done her makeup, so that looked okay.
He’s here for you, Cami had mouthed, when she’d nervously approached the table, after Sam had given her a big hug in the lobby, kissing her cheek.
She was soooo glad she’d remembered to splash on perfume.
She was shy around Samuel Winston, soooo uncomfortable.
Aliah was never uncomfortable around anyone.
The new sommelier, Jake, gay, fresh from Greystone, and as obnoxiously condescending as they came, entered the wine cellar.
Aliah just stared at her cute, flat sandals, glad her french pedicure still looked good. Staring at her, shaking his head, Jake grabbed two bottles of Rothschild 1992, and went away.
Aliah was still trying to breathe.
After they’d ordered apps, Aliah returned with their Shiraz, blushing madly, Cami noticed, as
she’d uncorked and poured for Sam. Aliah was wearing her diamond tennis bracelet, Cami realized. Had worn hers often, unlike Cami, who’d had to dig it out of the back of a drawer tonight, for Sam’s sake.
Oh, my god, has she been hung up on my brother all this time, and I didn’t even know it?
Calmly, taking a breath, Liah asked Sam about work, and then lingered to hear the complete answer, which was way too many details for Cami. As Sam launched into the adventures of going public, Cami said, “Um, will you guys please excuse me?”
She didn’t need to use the ladies room, except as a preventative. Sticking around to watch Sam and Aliah flirt would be a little nauseating. As she left their small dining room, passing across the wide foyer that divided the old mansion, her right wrist was hooked, and she was pulled into a little alcove under the wide staircase that had once held a telephone.
She’d noticed it the last time, wondering if she could hide there from Stan, but now, in dim shadows, she found herself pressed against the fine cotton dress shirt covering Marcus’s chest.
He shut the accordian door; now it really was dark. They were in tight quarters. They’d been in tight quarters before. Smelling Marcus’s cologne, Cami was immediately turned on.
One big hand cupped her butt, the other captured her jaw as he nibbled her neck. Close to her ear, Marcus hissed, “I’m crazy with jealousy. I can’t keep you from dating other guys, Cami, but bringing them here is like begging me to intervene, don’t you think?”
His fingers teased her bottom as he levered her closer, against his pronounced erection. Immediately hot, Cami’s nipples poked Marcus’s chest through her sheer bra and silk t-shirt, and she writhed a little.
“This is so not supposed to be happening,” she moaned. But being in close quarters with Marcus was an undeniable turn on. Always had been. Their eyes met, Marcus glazed with desire.
“Do you have any idea what you do to me?” he asked, voice husky, need laced with annoyance. Not waiting, he took her mouth, running his tongue along the seam, playing against her lips, until she opened a little.
His tongue forced it’s way in, and she was gone.