Everyone was mostly college age. Some of them I’d seen around campus and at a few parties, and some I’d never seen before in my life. A strawberry blonde walking toward me caught my attention and caused my heart to drop to my toes. I wanted to duck behind the counter and hide at the sight of her.
“Aww, how cute,” Genevieve muttered. “I didn’t know you worked here. Does Craig know?”
The sound of her voice was like nails on a chalkboard. I’d never been embarrassed about any of the places I’d worked at before, but Genevieve held the power to make me feel that emotion times ten.
“Of course he does.” I grabbed more napkins from under the resister and added them to the pile beside it, just to have a reason to break eye contact with her.
She placed a hand on her hip as one of her perfectly plucked eyebrows raised. “And he’s okay with that?”
“Why wouldn’t he be?” I was proud of my unfazed tone.
“Because it’s definitely not something to be proud of.” Her face scrunched up. “And to think, your family is loaded. Did they cut you off or something?” A wicked gleam entered her eyes. I’d seen that look before; it was the one people gave you when they were praying you’d answer their question with something that would satisfy their need for juicy gossip.
“Nope. It’s just a job,” I muttered. “What can I get you?” All I wanted was for her to move the hell on.
She flicked her sapphire eyes to the board hung above me, and pursed her lips together in thought. I noticed her outfit was better suited for her complexion and hair color this time. Maybe someone had told her white was not flattering on her since the last time I’d seen her.
“I’ll take a nonfat iced vanilla latté.”
Of course, she’d choose the most boring flavor known to man.
“All right.” I punched in her order and wished I could make it, just so I’d be able to spit in it and give it more flavor for her. “That’s four eighty-nine.”
Genevieve handed me exact change. I hated people who took their sweet time counting out eighty-nine cents instead of breaking a damn dollar. The more I hung around her, the more I disliked her. Thankfully, after she received her coffee and flashed me another plastic smile, she left. Unfortunately, I saw her pause outside the shop door to talk with someone I couldn’t see.
“Please just go away,” I whispered, eyeing her still.
“Who are we wishing away?” Holly said from behind me. She was the daughter of the owner. She had passed me my application the other day, and was my training partner for the time being.
“The girl standing outside the door. I can’t stand her.”
Holly scrunched up her face. “She looks like a bitch, so I’ll take your word for it.”
My jaw slacked. Until that moment, I hadn’t heard Holly cuss. I’d heard her say sugar and fudge all night whenever something didn’t go her way, but never an actual cuss word.
Holly bumped me with her elbow. “Oh, look who she’s talking to!”
I snapped my head back to Genevieve. Cameron stood with his hand on the door, looking at her as if she were a dog humping his leg he was trying to shake off. My stomach flipped when he pulled on the door and stepped inside. He sauntered through the crowd toward me, and my heart picked up speed. I swallowed hard. What the hell was wrong with me?
“Hey, so you got the job, I see.” He smiled.
“I did.”
“Good call, sweetheart,” Cameron said to Holly, glancing around me. Holly giggled all schoolgirl-like and flushed through ten shades of red.
“So, what can I get you?” I asked. I gripped the sides of the resister as if it was a life preserver.
He bit his bottom lip and shifted his gaze above me to the board. The sight made my insides tingle, and I wondered what it would be like to do that to him—bite at his bottom lip, taste his mouth. “I’ll just take a regular coffee with some half-and-half, and a few packets of sugar.”
“Okay.” I pressed the buttons on the register, glad he’d ordered something easy to ring up so I wouldn’t make a complete idiot of myself. “Two seventy-four.”
He handed me a five. “I’m sorry about the other night. I hope Craig isn’t still giving you shit about it.” He chuckled.
A swift pang of panic stabbed through me at the mention of the other night. Craig wasn’t giving me any more crap about it, but this did remind me of what he’d said more than once that night—he didn’t want me talking to Cameron anymore.
“No, he’s fine. Don’t worry about it.” I waved my hand in the air as I spoke.
Holly came up behind me with Cameron’s coffee, and everything else he’d asked for in a little brown paper bag. “Here you go.”
“Thanks, sweetheart,” he said to her. It was sweet the way that he was. It was such a contradiction to the type of person Craig portrayed him as to me. Cameron’s eyes shifted back to mine. “What time do you get off?”
I hesitated to answer, wondering where he was going with the question. I couldn’t hang out with him again, if that was the direction. Craig would flip, and my guilt from it would eat me alive.
“She gets off in about fifteen. We close at ten, and I don’t need her to stay to help me with anything. She’s learned enough tonight already,” Holly answered for me.
A little smile twisted the corners of Cameron’s lips. I turned to Holly and narrowed my eyes at her. “I don’t mind staying and helping you close up.”
She shook her head. “No, it’s fine. I’ve done it like a million times by myself. No biggie.”
Either she didn’t understand what I was trying to get at, or she simply didn’t care and was throwing me under the bus purposely.
“Are you sure?” I pressed.
“Positive.” She smiled.
“Fifteen it is, then.” Cameron grinned. There was a smugness about him, which led me to believe he knew exactly what I’d been trying to do and failed. “I’ll sit over here and wait. I figured we could talk more about your clothing store idea.” He winked and walked away.
I bit my bottom lip as tension squeezed my stomach. While the idea of talking more about my shop with him seemed exciting—due to the fact that he’d had some awesome suggestions the other day—I still didn’t think it was the best idea. I watched him slip into a chair near the window and riffle through the brown bag until he found the sugars. Business, this was what I needed to tell myself this was. It was a business meeting. In fact, Cameron could be viewed as a business advisor of sorts.
He glanced up and caught me staring at him. His lips formed a smile that was too sexy for its own good, and I felt my face flush. Biting the inside of my cheek, I pushed a few stray hairs away from my face and busied myself with organizing the stuff around the register. My heart raced a mile a minute in my chest. Business, that was all this was and nothing more. Craig had nothing to worry about.
The next fifteen minutes were the longest of my life. All because I couldn’t keep my eyes off Cameron. I watched him like a full-fledged stalker as he played around on his iPhone while he waited for me to get off. Right as I was learning how to clock out with Enticing Aroma’s system, my cell vibrated in the back pocket of my jeans. It was a text from Craig.
Hope your first night went well. What time do you get off? I’d like to pick you up.
My heart hammered against my ribcage. If Craig came by to pick me up and saw Cameron here, he’d have a freaking heart attack. But how was I supposed to get Cameron to leave without letting him know it was because Craig was coming to pick me up, and I didn’t want us seen together? My scalp prickled as my mind raced to find a solution. Damn it. The only logical thing to do here was lie to Craig.
Not too bad. I get off in about thirty, but I’m beat. I think I’m just going to head home and call it a night. Can we get together tomorrow night instead? ~ Paige
My gut churned as I hit send. This was not good; this was so not good. I should never let myself get in this position again. Ever.
All right. I’m not going
to lie and say I’m not bummed, but call me in the morning or something.
Closing my eyes, I took in a deep breath as I clutched my phone in my hands. Guilt swelled in my stomach. I reread his words again before typing a reply.
I will. Night. ~ Paige
Night.
My eyes shifted to Cameron. He was still staring at his phone and sipping his coffee. This conversation we were about to have had better have some worthwhile information, because I’d just freaking lied to my boyfriend to have it. I grabbed my stuff from where I’d stowed it at the beginning of my shift, and started toward his table.
“So, why are you drinking coffee at ten at night?” I pulled out the chair across from him and sat.
Cameron brought his eyes up to meet with mine. They were the same shade of green from the other night. The shirt he wore made the color stand out again, causing the brown to take a backseat. “Why not?”
I shrugged. His direct attention made my mouth dry. Rummaging through my purse, I pulled out my Chapstick and applied it. The dryness of my mouth felt as though it had made its way to my lips. “Because you’ll be up all night.”
“Nothing wrong with that. In fact, some guys wish for that exact thing.” He winked and my face heated. Damn it, I’d walked right into that one.
“Right, well Holly is closing up, so do you want to walk the strip and talk?” I needed to get this conversation away from anything sexual and to the topic of my store. Quick-like.
“Yeah, we could do that.” He stood. “Want me to buy you a coffee before we leave?”
I shook my head. “No, I’m good.”
He grinned wider, and I waited for some smart-ass sexual innuendo to fly from his lips again, but nothing came. “After you.” He held open the door for me and I stepped through.
The night air was cooler than I thought it would be. “Hold on. Let me grab a sweater from my car.” I strolled across the parking lot and unlocked my car doors. Leaning into the backseat, I grabbed my gray cardigan I’d tossed in there the other day and slipped it on. Cameron was eyeing me when I turned back to face him. “What?”
He put his coffee to his lips. “Nothing.”
The fine hairs across the back of my neck stood on end. Had he been checking me out? Slight tingles of satisfaction and excitement slid through me at the thought. I locked my car and headed back toward the sidewalk. Folding my arms across my chest, I felt nervous butterflies in my stomach begin to dance around.
“So, you mentioned you had more ideas for the shop?” I asked, ready to get this conversation over with so I could be where I’d told Craig I would be—at home, in bed.
“Yeah, that’s part of the reason I was hoping to run into you here. I was down on Westhills this afternoon and noticed a prime location available for rent as we speak.”
Adrenaline spiked through my system. “The old gem shop? I know! I think it would be a great location too.”
I was glad he’d agreed with what I’d thought about the place. For whatever reason, his opinion on the subject mattered to me more than I would have thought.
“It’s close to the college, plus there’s loads of traffic through that plaza of stores.” Cameron nodded.
A cool breeze blew, sending strands of my hair into my Chapstick. I pulled them free and tucked them back behind my ear. “It’s so crazy you mentioned that place. I already talked with my mom this morning about seeing if she could persuade my father into putting a deposit down to secure it until my five weeks of work at the coffee shop is up.”
Cameron shifted to face me. I glanced at him and noticed a large shit-eating grin plastering itself on his face. “I doubt he’ll be able to.”
“Why?” My stomach rolled and my heart sank.
“Because I’ve already done that for you.”
I stopped mid-step and stared at him. “You did what?”
“I already called and placed a deposit on it for you,” he said slowly, as though he were speaking to a small child.
“Why? Why would you do that?” I blinked, baffled, and shook my head.
He shrugged and started walking again. “I saw it, thought it would be great for your needs, and wanted to snag it for you before anyone else got to it.”
“I can’t believe you did that.” He hardly knew me. Why would he even think to do such a thing? “Are you wanting to be a partner in this or something?”
He sipped his coffee. “Nope.”
“I don’t understand, then.”
“There’s nothing to understand.” He chuckled. “I didn’t do it because I want anything in return. I did it because I saw it as a great opportunity for you, and I didn’t want to see it slip away. There’s no strings attached, and don’t even think about paying me back.”
“Thank you.” The words were thick and heavily coated with emotions as they fell from my lips, making them sound strangled.
I stared at him, unable to figure him out. Who the hell was this guy? Because the Cameron Craig had been telling me to stay away from was supposed to be an addict and a horrible person, but this Cameron—the one I was slowly starting to get to know—was far from either of those things.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CAMERON
I chuckled at the way she looked at me, as though there had to be some ulterior motive for what I’d done. Maybe there was; maybe there wasn’t. Even I didn’t know the answer to that question yet. What I did know, however, was that I truly wanted to snag the place for her before it was taken, because it was a prime spot for her little store. Damn, being home had turned me soft inside. Not that I’d been horrible and a hardheaded ass before, but this…this was something else.
“Your thank you didn’t sound too sincere, Miss…” I paused in my train of thought, and glanced at her. “I don’t know your last name.”
She laughed. It was loud and sweet, causing me to smile and then eventually break out into a fit of laughter along with her.
“Jacobs, it’s Paige Jacobs,” she said as she struggled to contain her laughter. “I’m sorry. I just…your face. You gave me the cutest look when you realized you didn’t know my last name. It was so—boyish.”
“You trying to tell me something—that I’m too old to look so boyish?” I raised an eyebrow at her.
Her doe eyes widened, and I loved that I’d caused them to do so. “No. Not at all. You’re only what, twenty…” She trailed off, and her eyes roamed over my face as though she were soaking in every detail that could be used to determine a person’s age. “Four?”
I took the last swig of my coffee and tossed it into the trash can beside the building we stood in front of. “Close, I just turned twenty-five actually.”
“I wasn’t far off.” She grinned, obviously pleased with her assessment.
“And how old are you? Twenty-two, same as Craig?”
She nodded, and the smile pulling at her lips dropped away to nothing. “Yeah.”
Note to self: Don’t mention Craig while in her presence. Ever.
“All right, ready to head back?” I asked. I hated the turn our mood had taken.
“Sure.”
A silence built between us that I didn’t like. Normally, I could handle silence—it was comfortable—but not with her, and not in this moment. Right now, I was fourteen again and could feel the silence pressing against me while I filtered through a list of things to say in my mind that would fill it.
Paige made me nervous.
“So what’s your last name?” Her voice was soft, but I still caught the slight sound of hesitation.
“Green.” I crammed my hand into my pocket and fished around for my pack of menthols and lighter. I held the pack up in the air and gave it a sideways shake. “Do you mind?”
She shook her head. “No, not really.”
I put a cigarette to my lips and lit it. The menthol coated my mouth and calmed my crazy nerves. Maybe this was why I’d started smoking, to calm my nerves around girls. It gave my hands and mouth something to do besides what my mi
nd envisioned. Damn, I was a horn ball tonight. I could feel her eyes on me, but I didn’t shift mine to meet them. I needed a moment to calm myself first; she had me flustered in the best kind of way.
“What’s the tattoo on your wrist say?” she asked, pointing.
I took in another drag before holding my wrist out so she could read it. Here it was—the moment when my past would catch up with me and make me seem either unstable or sexy as fuck.
“A man can be destroyed but not defeated. It’s a Hemingway quote.”
Her delicate hand reached out and gripped my wrist. The coldness from her touch seeped through my skin and chilled me to the bone. She pulled my wrist closer to her face so she could see it better in the yellow lights of the strip. I held my breath as her index finger came out to stroke the scar the words covered, sending those chills all the way to my groin. Ah hell, I was excited by her touch.
“It’s a reminder?” she asked in a whisper.
“Yeah, one I need some days more than others,” I admitted. There was no point in lying.
Her brown eyes locked with mine. “Sometimes we all need to be reminded of things worth remembering.”
Her voice was soft and sad. It pulled at the edges of my heart and made every cell in my body want to press my lips to hers. But I didn’t. Instead, I forced myself to behave. I swallowed hard and licked my lips, before taking another drag off my cigarette.
“True,” I muttered.
“Can I see the other one?” She released my wrist and gripped my other arm without waiting for me to answer. “Another Hemingway quote?”
“It is.” I continued to stare at her as she reread the words. A gentle breeze fluffed the fine hairs around her face, causing a few wisps to slide across her cheek. This girl was stunning and the best part was she didn’t even seem to know it. Not entirely.
Paige let my arm drop back to my side. “Wow, those are some deep quotes. I think I’ll have to give Hemingway a try sometime.”
“You should. He’s a freaking genius.”
“Do you have any more tattoos?”
I took the last drag off my cigarette and dropped it in one of those ashtrays made to put them out. Shifting my eyes to meet hers, I decided I couldn’t let this moment slide, and said the first answer that came into my mind when she’d asked. “Yeah, but I’m not sure I can show them to you in public.” I winked. Her cheeks flushed and her eyes widened, but she didn’t look away—just the reaction I’d wanted.
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