by Marie Force
He seemed to be considering what she’d said as he put another slice on each of their plates.
“To you, it’s a routine part of life that you and your nine siblings are working together to run this incredible business. But believe me when I tell you that families like yours don’t come along every day, and people will be fascinated by your story.”
“You really think so?”
“I know so. You talked earlier about selling that which is unique to Vermont. We’d also be selling that which is uniquely Abbott, everything from the family businesses to the family itself. There’s so much opportunity here. I’m sure the price tag was a bit of a shock, but a site like this would require all sorts of customized modules and professional photography and well … It’d be a big job, the biggest job we’ve ever done, if I’m being truthful.”
“Tell me about your company. How’d you end up in the web design business?”
Relieved that he hadn’t honed in on her confession about the job being their biggest project to date, Cameron tucked her hair behind her ear. “If I tell you that, you might think I’m the worst possible person to design your site.”
His brows knitted, adorably, of course. “Why do you say that?”
“I had a lot of challenges with school. I have severe ADD. You know what that is, right?”
Nodding, he said, “Attention deficit disorder. Colton has it, too. My mom swears the meds he started taking in sixth grade are the only reason he graduated from high school.”
“Colton was lucky that someone noticed his problem early on and did something about it.”
“That didn’t happen for you?”
Cameron shook her head. “I think my dad just thought I was dumb. I used to dread report card time because my grades sucked, and we’d have the same conversation every time about how I had to try harder. My teachers suggested I be checked for learning disabilities, but he didn’t want to hear there was anything wrong with me.” She waved a hand dismissively. “Anyhow, I somehow managed to graduate from high school, and the first thing I did was get myself diagnosed and onto meds that helped—a lot.”
All of a sudden, Cameron realized she was sharing something with him that very few people outside her close circle of friends knew about her. “Why am I telling you this? See what I mean about being a lousy businessperson? Just what you need is to hire someone who won’t be able to focus on your job.” Her stomach turned and she pushed the pizza away, no longer interested.
“I have to believe you’ve overcome the challenges if you’ve managed to run your own business all this time.”
It was a daily struggle, not that she’d tell him that when she’d already overshared.
“You still haven’t told me how you got into web design.”
Sighing, Cameron realized that with the genie out of the bottle, she might as well finish the story, even if it cost her any chance of getting the job. “I took a Photoshop class at a community college after high school. It was the first class I took post-meds, and I got an A. I was so damned proud of that A.”
“I bet you were. It was validation.”
“Yes, it was,” she said, pleased that he understood. “After that, I became a bit of a whore for As.”
That made him laugh, as she’d hoped it would.
“Graphic design came next, then illustration and new media and web design and other art classes. I got As in every single class.”
“What did your dad say?”
“I never told him.”
“Why not? I would’ve photocopied my report cards and mailed them to my dad.”
She ventured another glance his way. “Do you know who my dad is?”
“Everyone knows who Patrick Murphy is. He owns half of New York City.”
“He doesn’t exactly read his own mail. Besides, it was easier to let him think I was a loser than to raise his expectations.”
“Is it okay to say that I don’t like him very much hearing all this?”
“You wouldn’t be the first friend of mine to say that. He did the best he could after my mom died and left him to raise a baby he had no idea what to do with. He’s not a bad guy, and despite his many failings, I love him desperately. But he’s no Heathcliff Huxtable. That’s for sure.”
“Help me out …”
Cameron shook her head as she laughed at his perplexed expression. “Bill Cosby’s character on The Cosby Show. One of my favorite families ever. The parents were a doctor and a lawyer, and they both worked from home so they could be there for their kids anytime the kids needed advice or money or a ride or a shoulder to lean on. What that must be like.”
She shook off the melancholy to finish the story. “Anyway, I met Lucy in a photography class, and we discovered we had the ADD in common. We sort of bonded over that, and then we got a big idea about starting our own company, which should have been a disaster with two ADD partners running it. But we’ve made a go of it. Somehow.”
“Your dad must’ve come in handy when you were starting the business.”
“Not so much. I’ve never asked him for anything. I’m very proud of the fact that we started the company all on our own. We’ve gone from me and Luce in a freezing cold loft in Greenwich Village, to an actual office with seven employees—in seven years’ time.”
“That’s amazing. Truly. I can’t imagine how difficult it must’ve been to start a business of your own in that city. I know how difficult it is to run a business I walked right into just by being born.”
Warmed by his praise, Cameron reached for her beer. “Thanks.” She took a sip and tried to focus on anything other than the unwavering golden-eyed gaze he had directed on her. “We’ve had our ups and downs, especially during the recession, but we’ve battled through. For the most part.”
“Do you need this job, Cameron?”
His insight further unsettled her, but she was determined not to show him that. “I will neither confirm nor deny that. The last thing I want is for you to feel obligated to give me the business. Either you want the website for the store or you don’t. How it affects me should be of no concern to you whatsoever. Twenty-four hours ago, you didn’t even know I existed, so you shouldn’t be making six-figure decisions based on anything other than what’s best for your business.”
A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.
“Sorry,” she said. “I don’t mean to be so bossy.”
“Twenty-four hours ago my life was a whole heck of a lot less interesting than it’s been since poor Fred crossed your path.”
Cameron stared at him, trying to get her head around what he meant by that. “Are you making fun of me?”
“Definitely not. You intrigue me, Cameron Murphy. Not just because of your ideas for our business, but for other reasons, too.”
“What other reasons?”
He propped his chin on his upturned hand and did that thing with his eyes, the thing that made her insides go all crazy. “I like the way you rolled with what happened last night, despite how upsetting it had to be for you. I like the way you showed up for the meeting this morning, battered and bruised, when a lot of people—okay, I mean women—would’ve postponed because they’d be worried about how they looked.”
Cameron had been worried about how she looked, and she’d considered postponing, but she didn’t tell him that because she didn’t want to stop him when he was on a roll.
“I like the nice things you say about my family and the way you responded to the store, when you’re certainly used to far more sophisticated retail outfits. I like the way you appreciate what makes Vermont special even though everything about it is foreign to you. And I think you’re really pretty.”
She’d been floating along on a nice wave of compliments until that last one fizzled her brain cells. “You … You do? Even looking like this?”
He got up slowly, yet purposefully, and came around to her side of the counter.
Cameron’s breath got caught in her throat as he came closer, reaching out
to tip up her chin with the gentle brush of his index finger. That single bit of contact started a riot inside her as she fought the overwhelming urge to lean in to get closer to him.
“Even looking like that.” He looked down at her for a long time before he let his hand drop down to his side. One of the dogs was right there to take advantage of the opportunity for a scratch.
The dog let out a low moan of pleasure that Cameron could relate to. Right about now, she’d love a scratch behind the ears from Will Abbott. Christ alive, she’d wanted him to kiss her and was disappointed that he hadn’t. The realization landed with a heavy thud in her belly, reminding her that this was about business—and it could be only about business.
She’d known him for one full day, and she already knew he had the power to rock her world like no guy ever had before. Never in her life had she experienced such a physical response to a man, the kind of response that had her picturing all sorts of naughty scenarios that had no place in a business-only relationship.
The line between personal and professional had already been crossed when she shared her challenges in school as well as her relationship issues with her dad. She shouldn’t have told him all that, especially when she was trying to convince him to hire her company. Lucy was right—she sucked big-time at the hard sell. Heck, she sucked at the soft sell, too.
A pounding knock on the door drew her out of her musings.
“Who is here at this hour?” Will muttered as he strolled past her with the dogs hot on his heels. He threw open the door, and a young man pushed past him into the living room. Tall and lanky, he had blond hair that was wet from the snow.
“I’m so glad you’re home. I didn’t know where else to go.”
“What’s wrong?”
“I can’t say it. If I say it, it’s real.”
“Max, you’re freaking me out. Whatever it is, just tell me, and we’ll figure it out.”
Ahhh, the youngest Abbott, Cameron thought as she watched Max pace the small room, completely oblivious to the fact that his older brother had a guest. She wondered if she should make a sound so he’d know she was there, but she was hesitant to interrupt such an intense exchange. So she kept quiet and hoped Will would tell his brother she was there before this went too much further.
“Chloe is pregnant.”
Oh shit, Cameron thought as Will finally glanced at her.
CHAPTER 6
Every path has its puddles.
—The gospel according to Elmer Stillman
Max followed his brother’s gaze directly to Cameron. “Oh, sorry. I didn’t know you had company.” He combed his fingers through his hair almost frantically. “I’ll go. Sorry.”
“No,” Cameron and Will said in the same instant.
Will reached for his brother to stop him from heading toward the door, relieved him of his wet coat and propelled him toward the sofa. “Stay. Talk to me.”
Max landed heavily and leaned forward, elbows on knees. Will sat next to him, resting a hand on his brother’s back.
“Take a deep breath,” Will said, glancing at Cameron.
Max took a couple of deep breaths. “I just found out tonight.”
“She’s been to a doctor?”
“Yeah. She’s eight weeks along.” He looked up at his brother, his face stained with tears. “What am I supposed to do, Will? I don’t know what to do.”
Will put his arm around Max and held him when he broke down.
Cameron pointed to the other sofa, silently asking Will if he wanted some help.
His desperate nod would’ve made her laugh if the situation hadn’t been so serious.
“This is Cameron,” Will said.
Max raised his head and used the sleeve of his chamois shirt to wipe his face. “You’re the one who hit Fred, right?”
“Yep. I guess that’s going to stick to me for a while.”
“Forever,” Max said with a hint of a smile. He was much younger than Will but every bit as handsome in his own way.
“Good to know.”
“Sorry to barge in on you guys. I didn’t know where else to go.”
That statement told Cameron a lot about how close the brothers were, despite what had to be at least a decade between them.
“You didn’t barge in,” Cameron said, hoping to put Max at ease. “We were talking business, and it’ll certainly keep.”
“That’s nice of you,” Max said. “Thanks.”
Will’s smile conveyed a world of gratitude.
Since Cameron found herself smack in the middle of an Abbott family drama, she figured it couldn’t hurt to offer a woman’s perspective. “I take it Chloe is your girlfriend.”
Max nodded as new tears ran down his face. “I’m kind of a mess right now. I didn’t see this coming, that’s for sure.”
“Have you been together a long time?”
“About six months. Since before Thanksgiving.”
“What does she say about it?” Will asked.
“She can’t stop crying long enough to talk about anything. She keeps saying her parents are going to kill her, and all I can think about is what Mom and Dad are going to say. I don’t even graduate until May, and now this. They’re going to be so mad.”
“You don’t know that,” Will said.
“Are you crazy? Of course they will be. You know how they are about safe sex and birth control and all that stuff.”
“Yes, I do, which makes me wonder how this happened. And please answer that question with the fewest possible details.”
Cameron shared a smile with him.
“All I can think of is that the condom didn’t work, because I wore one, Will. Every time. I swear to God.”
“They’re only nine-eight percent effective,” Cameron said.
Max’s eyes bugged, which is when Cameron noticed they were a lighter shade of brown than Will’s. “No one told me that! No one ever said they don’t work! So two out of a hundred women get pregnant using condoms, and one of them is sleeping with me?”
Cameron covered her face with her hand so she wouldn’t be tempted to laugh at that which was truly not funny. Max was beyond cute, however, and she could easily see why he’d have no shortage of women who wanted to spend time with him.
“Take some more breaths,” Will advised. “What do you want to do?”
“How the hell do I know?”
“Do you love her?” Cameron asked.
“I don’t know,” Max said miserably. “How do you even know that?”
Cameron tried to think about that from the perspective of someone who wasn’t sure she’d ever actually experienced the feeling. “I suppose you know when she’s all you think about, when you can’t wait to spend more time with her, when you can’t seem to keep your hands to yourself when she’s around.”
“That last part is pretty accurate, but the rest … I don’t know. I like her—a lot—but do I want to be with her forever? I don’t know. I just don’t know.”
“You know what’s best about babies?” Cameron asked.
“What’s that?”
“It takes almost ten months for them to be born.”
“I thought it was nine months.”
“Ah,” Cameron said. “A common misconception. We did a website for a free clinic in the city, which is how I know it takes forty weeks, or closer to ten months. The way I see it, you have thirty-two weeks until that baby arrives. That’s a lot of time to figure out what you’re going to do.”
“Cameron’s right, Max. You don’t have to decide anything tonight or even tomorrow. You’ve got time.”
“I want to do the right thing, but I have no idea what that is.”
“You’ll figure it out,” Will assured him. “You and Chloe. You’ll figure it out together.”
Watching him with his brother, Cameron liked Will even more than she had before. The thought was rather unsettling on top of all the other thoughts she’d had about how much she liked him during this eventful day.
&n
bsp; “What’ll I do about Mom and Dad?”
“You tell them ASAP—before you tell anyone else. It’d be far worse for them—and for you—if they hear it through the grapevine, rather than from you.”
“Will you go with me?” Max asked his brother.
Will groaned. “Do I have to?”
“Please? They won’t kill me if you’re there to witness it.”
“All right. If it’ll save your life.” Will let out a laugh. “Unreal.”
“What is?”
“That you, the youngest, are going to provide the first grandchild.”
“You might want to work that angle,” Cameron advised. “Moms tend to be soft on grandkids.”
“That’s a good idea,” Max said, brightening considerably. “Thanks, Cam. Is it okay if I call you Cam?”
“Sure, it is. All my friends call me that.”
“You were a big help. I appreciate it.”
“I know it seems overwhelming right now—and it is—but it’ll be okay,” she said.
“I’ve got to get past my mom before it’ll be okay. Oh God. And Gramps, too. Ugh.”
“Don’t worry about him,” Will said. “He’ll be proud of you. He’ll smack you on the back and tell you ‘Well done, boyo.’”
“Yeah,” Max said with a small laugh. “That’s exactly what he’ll say.”
“Just don’t use the words great-grandfather around him.”
“Good point.”
“I’m going to be an uncle,” Will said with a smile for Cameron. He seemed so pleased that she couldn’t help but smile with him.
“This is going to be a great big Abbott family scandal,” Max said, glum again.
“My best friend Lucy’s sister Emma got pregnant when we were all still in college,” Cameron said. “Emma was totally panicking about telling their dad. Their mom had died of cancer the year before, so the family was still pretty raw. You know what Lucy said to their dad when they told him about the baby and he got upset?”
“What?”
“She said, ‘I’d rather hear that Emma is pregnant than has cancer.’ Her point was that it can always be worse, you know?”