Ache For Me_Romantic Suspense

by Hayden Braeburn

  The boy nodded, this time appreciating the bounce in Camryn's breasts instead of her ass, and Carter ground his teeth. The boy was seventeen and couldn't help it if Cam was the sexiest woman in the world, dressed in a pair of black leggings and a long-sleeved top that wrapped around her middle with a bow. She was dressed to dance, and while his mother hadn't pushed him to learn, he'd picked up a lot hanging around Jamieson Studio and watching Camryn as he had for years. He shook his head. There was nothing he could do about a teenage boy appreciating the view.

  Once rehearsal was over, Cam made her way to him. “What was that earlier?”

  “What?” he asked, feigning ignorance. He was directing this musical at the insistence of his parents, on their dime because the school system had cut back on the arts and the Jamiesons wouldn't allow it, but he hadn't planned on spending every evening with the object of his obsession.

  “Holden was getting it.”

  “I wasn't worried about that.”

  She propped a hand on her hip. “Then what were you worried about?”

  “He was ogling you.”

  Her eyes widened. “He was watching my—”

  “Ass,” he finished for her. “And then your breasts when you turned around. Can't say I blame him, but he's underage.”

  “You and age,” she muttered.

  “He's seventeen.”

  “I wasn't going to seduce him,” she said, then winced. He didn't need his fancy degrees to figure out she was thinking about the time she'd tried to seduce him.

  The look on her face twisted something in his chest. “I was interested, Cam,” he said quietly.

  “No, you weren't,” she disagreed with a shake of her head. “You were very clear.”

  If he took the two steps it would take to reach her, he'd be in trouble. “You were barely legal.”

  “I didn't care about that.” She closed the distance between them. “I thought you hated me.”

  He took a step back, found himself against the wall. “I could never hate you.”

  “But you don't want me.” She barely brushed her fingers over his chest. His heart was beating a mile a minute, and he couldn't pretend she didn't affect him.

  With a deep breath, he managed to slide from beneath her touch. “What I want doesn't matter.” He forced himself to leave, not allowing himself to turn around to look at her as he walked from the rehearsal space. “I'll see you tomorrow.”

  ~*~

  Cam watched him go, his words swirling around her head. What I want doesn't matter. She was in no shape for a relationship, but those words gave her hope. Carter Jamieson didn't hate her.

  Spending this time with the kids in the production, she realized that while she wasn't ready to go back to New York, she was desperate to return to the stage. Theo Richardson had asked that she come sing at Club Bleu in Tyler and she needed to take him up on his offer. While the name was French, the place wasn't the least bit classy, but it was a stage, and she was singing for people, and that was where she belonged. She laughed. She was putting herself back together one piece at a time, and she'd return to Broadway stronger than she ever was, and a lot less naïve.

  Weeks later, she was again working with Holden and the other young man playing a gangster, Andy, and actually noticed the ogling. She worked hard for the shape she was in, and she almost, almost took it as a compliment, but knowing these boys were sixteen and seventeen set her back. She opened her mouth to say something when Carter's voice rang through the room.

  “Holden! Andy! Here. Now.”

  The boys hurried off at the loud directive, the other kids' attention drawn as well. Thankfully, he took her two gangsters out in the hallway instead of dressing them down in front of the whole company

  “Mr. Jamieson has it bad for you, Miss Everett,” Addison Caylor whisper-shouted, and the rest of the group of girls burst into giggles.

  “He's hot in, like, a nerdy kind of way,” Becca McMillan added.

  “Super-hot, and super-rich,” Tabitha Fontaine put in.

  “Girls,” Camryn admonished. “Mr. Jamieson is the director, and it's inappropriate to talk about him like that.”

  “Like the boys don't do it about you,” Becca rebutted. “I mean, Andy would totally bang you if you'd let him.”

  She held up a hand. “Never gonna happen. For so, so many reasons.”

  “Mr. Jamieson is the biggest reason. You totally love him.” Addison let out a long sigh. “You guys should just hook up and get it over with.”

  Been there, tried that. Instead of offering their history, she cut the girls off. “Look, whether or not I love Mr. Jamieson isn't the issue. I know you think you're adults, and you're getting there, but you're not there yet, so you need to dial it back. I can't make you stop you crushing on him or whatever, but it's inappropriate.”

  Addison sighed again. “What if we don't crush on him, and you date him instead? You know you want to.”

  She couldn't believe she was having this conversation. “That's not happening, either.” She blew out a breath disturbingly like a sigh. “Just leave it.”

  “But he's hot, and you're gorge! You guys are perfect,” Tabi insisted. “We want to be at the wedding.”

  “What wedding?” Carter asked as he and the boys made their way back into the rehearsal space.

  “You know girls,” she deflected, “planning their weddings since they were six.”

  He shuddered. “Let's get back to work.”

  ~*~

  Carter couldn't help but think about the conversation he'd had with Holden and Andy earlier in the evening. Both boys were apologetic for eyeing Camryn, but not for the reasons he wanted—they'd thought he was angry because he and Cam were an item. He took his glasses off, cleaned them with the microfiber interior of his tie and replaced them. He'd given Cam a wide berth, had barely touched her, only spoke to her when necessary, yet the boys still knew he wanted her? He had to reexamine how he was handling himself.

  He'd just gathered up his things to leave when Camryn brushed past him on the way out the door. “In a hurry?”

  “My set's in forty minutes.”

  “Your set?”

  She nodded. “At Club Bleu.”

  This was news to him, and he didn't like it. “That's not the best part of Tyler.”

  “It's not terrible.” She shrugged. “I'll see you tomorrow.”

  As he watched her leave, he made the decision to follow. Club Bleu was a nightclub from another time, and now Camryn Everett, an honest to God Broadway actress, was playing their ten-foot stage? The drive was quick, and although it was Thursday night, the parking lot was mostly full. He waited a few minutes to go in, so he wouldn't spook his quarry, taking a table in the dark, back corner. He was recognizable, and while he didn't mind talking to people if spotted out somewhere, he wasn't in the mood for chitchat with anyone. Cam could take care of herself, but if her set was starting this late at night, when would it end? He sipped at the whiskey and cola that appeared at his elbow soon after sitting down and settled in. He might not allow himself to have Camryn Everett, but he could make sure she was safe.

  The woman was gifted, that much had been clear since she could hold a microphone, but after years of training and on Broadway, she was amazing. The act was very old school nightclub, her in a slinky black dress leaning into the curve of the piano and making him equal parts horny and angry. He wanted to collect her from the stage and tuck her into his bed and never let her go, and he also wanted to know what had happened to make her come home and hide. It had to be something devastating, and he was afraid what he'd find if he started looking.

  He slipped out during the thunderous applause after her second set and kept an eye on her car until she left a half hour later. It was after midnight, and he had a full day at the firm before several hours of rehearsal. He hoped Cam wasn't playing every night, but he also knew he'd be right here with her if she were. He let out a laugh at his thought. He was too old to be going to bed this late, but
it was perfect for Cam.

  ~*~

  “My mom said you were fab last night,” Tabitha squealed as she walked on stage. “She said you got your start playing Lilli.”

  “I was a sophomore when I landed that role. Made a couple seniors mad.”

  The teenager giggled. “I'm gonna major in musical theatre, too.”

  She grinned. “It's not all sunshine and lollipops, but it's pretty damn awesome.” She launched into some stretches, Tabi following her closely.

  “I want to do summer stock. Will you help me?” Tabi asked as she moved from one position to another flawlessly. The girl was talented, beautiful, and determined, all important if she wanted to make it through a musical theatre major and end up on The Great White Way. She was going to help get her there.

  “After we wrap, we'll make it happen,” she promised before turning away from Tabitha, and addressing the whole room, “Everyone stretch before we dance. We're working on Another Openin' Another Show first since everyone had issues last time. Please tell me you've been practicing.”

  Today the kids were picking up the moves better than they had before, and she could tell who were her actual dancers and who could only do choreography. Some people didn't understand the difference, but it was a huge distinction. She had the company for the opener, but afterward, Carter was working with the core cast on some blocking changes while she worked with the ensemble on the big, company numbers. He was here at his parent's behest, but to hear his brothers tell it, he'd been a drama nerd in school, and while he was an attorney like his father, his undergrad was in English. She wondered what he might have chosen to do if he'd really been given a choice. His brothers and sister all took their own paths, but Carter was the one to follow in their father's footsteps into the firm. Thankfully he was great at what he did since he had been the one to prove Mason's wife, Katerina, was being framed a couple years ago, but she wanted him to be happy.

  Maybe he was enjoying himself as much as she was with these teenagers, even with the strange mood swings, inappropriate ogling, and the snark. Oh, the snark. She didn't remember being nearly that quick on her feet with insults when she was seventeen, but these kids should be writing for SNL with the level of wit she heard on a daily basis. She held in a laugh at the thought of these kids behind the Weekend Update desk. When it was time to pack it in, she had to quickly get herself across town and shimmy into a satin dress for her sets at Club Bleu. It was Friday so she wouldn't be home and in bed until after two, and while she was excited to be on the stage again, —and the applause, if she were being honest—she also wasn't looking forward to tomorrow after such a late night. There weren't very many rehearsal days until opening weekend, and there was so much work to do.

  Chapter Three

  Carter woke up covered in a fine sheen of sweat, his cock at full mast and guilt bitter on his tongue. Part memory, part wish, the dream had been recurring for weeks now that he saw Camryn on a daily basis. Her lush breasts exposed and heaving, sitting in the middle of his bed, begging for him to make love to her, to make a woman out of her. In his dream, he had obliged, repeatedly filling her sweet body with his, her hazel eyes staring into his when she came. He rubbed a hand along his dick. He hated to be reduced to jerking off every morning, but he had no real choices, and it wouldn't be fair to whatever woman he found to warm his bed if his head was filled with Cam.

  He finished quickly, the dream helping him relieve his ache with speed. Today was a full one, with eight hours of set building and rehearsal. Opening night was fast approaching, and while he had faith in the kids and the program his parents had built with the school, he wasn't sure if he was ready for his directorial debut. His parents should be heading this project, and while she denied it emphatically, he knew both his mother and Carolyn Everett had pulled his and Camryn's strings to force the two of them together. What he couldn't figure was why.

  Seeing Camryn dressed in dance attire shouldn't take his breath away, but it did as always. He shook his head at himself. Seeing Cam took his breath no matter what she was wearing. He was going to have a rough day if his mind traveled down that path. Steeling himself, he called the kids to order, parsing out assignments for some and extra rehearsal for others. The main cast would be working with him on a few scenes that needed work, the company with Cam on some songs, all while the stage crew worked on the set pieces. He might not have been in a production since his university days, but he knew how to delegate. Directing, well, they'd see soon enough if he had a clue, although he figured he couldn't have made too many huge mistakes, or Cam would have called him on them.

  When they were finishing up lunch, a cell phone with an old-fashioned ringtone cut through the chatter. Not two minutes later, Camryn popped up from her seat. “I've got to go. Cass is having the baby!”

  She gathered her things quickly and ran out the door. He knew the Everetts would all be assembled at the hospital waiting for the newest member of their family, but he really wished Cam hadn't left. He didn't begrudge her the family time, but he had so many more hours, and now it was just him and a bunch of teenagers. Great.

  ~*~

  “I would never have guessed Nugget would be the first to have a baby,” Caleb said when he walked into the waiting room in his scrubs.

  Camryn looked up at her big brother. “That's not entirely the case, Cale. You provided the first granddaughter.”

  His face transformed into the grin of a doting father. “I love Georgie with all my heart, but baby Emily is officially the first Everett baby.”

  “Nope. Georgie has your name, so she's the oldest grandchild, and always will be. You can't let Cass win.”

  He laughed at her statement. “Fine, I won't let her win at baby making.”

  “Eww. Don't put it like that ever again,” she made him promise. “As hot as her husband might be, I really don't want to think about Cass making babies.” She shuddered. “Or any of you happily married people, for that matter.”

  “Noted.” He chuckled again. “The stork should be here soon with a little bundle for Cass and Dylan, then.”

  The next few hours were uneventful in the waiting room, and Camryn wondered if she shouldn't have left rehearsal. She smiled inwardly about stranding Carter with all those teens but knew he had a handle on not only the production but the kids. The boys respected him, and the girls admired him, so he should be able to get everything done. If not, there was always tomorrow. She needed to be here for her older sister, so she was here. Her mother and Dylan were in the delivery room, and while she wished she could hear Cass cursing out her amazing husband for knocking her up, she was happy to be waiting with her father and brothers.

  “She's here!” Her mother's voice sang as she emerged from the doors. “Emily Rose Black, eight and a half pounds, twenty-one inches long, with a head of black hair.”

  “Nugget had been complaining about heartburn,” Caleb noted. “Everything's good?”

  “Better than good,” her mother replied with a grin bigger than Cam had ever seen. “Cass is exhausted, but glowing.”

  Her father had come from his seat to embrace his wife. “Two grandbabies to spoil now.”

  “I can't wait. Cassie will be a hard one, though. You know she's read every book there is and won't think we know what we're doing.”

  Charlie Everett chuckled. “Since we did such an awful job with the four of them.”

  “I'm pretty screwed up,” Cam put in with a laugh. “Maybe Cass would have a point.”

  “You are perfectly fine, young lady,” her mother scolded. “And don't you think otherwise for one minute.”

  “I was kidding.” She looked at Caleb and Mason for help. “We're all really well adjusted, especially for rich kids.”

  “Quit digging, sis,” Mason whispered before his million-dollar smile appeared. “Let's say we see this new baby.”

  It was strange to be with her brothers without their wives, but both Kat and Haleigh were working. Haleigh's office was also in the hospit
al, so she'd popped in from time to time, but wouldn't be finished until after six, and Kat was judging a ballroom dance competition out of town. It made Mason out of sorts, but the woman lived and breathed ballroom, and Mase had accepted that long ago. A pang of envy went through her at the thought. Would someone be able to take her just as she was, with her craving for the stage, for the applause? Her mind flashed to Carter, and she dismissed it. Even if he had wanted her all those years ago, he didn't seem to want her now.

  Later, she was cradling her new niece when her mother took the seat next to her. “You're not screwed up, honey, no matter what you think.”

  “I didn't really mean it.”

  “Part of you did.” She stroked the baby's cheek. “We all start out innocent and pure, and along the way, life soils us a little, makes us see that it's not perfect. You can tell us why you're back from New York or not, but I know when you're ready you'll return if you want.” She looked at Camryn then. “If you decide to stay here forever, that's fine. Don't judge your life on the things you do, but the person you are.”

  “Who am I?”

  “That's all you, dear. I'm just your mother.”

  Laughter came from the bed. “What a great line, Mom. I'll have to use that.”

  Carolyn Everett laughed with her oldest daughter. “That won't be the only line of mine you use.”

  “I'm certain of that.” Cassidy sat up. “It's still a little surreal, knowing that's my daughter my baby sister is holding. It's not like I didn't know I was pregnant, but what if I don't know what to do?”

  “Like you haven't studied, Miss Four-Point-Oh,” Cam joked.

  Cassidy fluffed the pillows behind her. “No, really. I'm a little out of my depth with the whole mothering thing. I hadn't really planned this, like, at all. Dylan came out of nowhere, and here we are.”

  “You'll figure it out,” her mother promised. “You always do. Everything worth doing is hard, and maybe a little scary. It's okay to be scared, and it's just as okay to ask for help. Remember you have lots of people who love you and Dylan, and that little baby. You'll be fine.”