“No, I wasn’t changing my mind,” she said with a gasp as she reached toward him over the table as he leaned back away from her in his seat. “But you just gave me the other part of the puzzle.”
“What are you talking about now?” He didn’t have time to sit here and listen to True relive her Encyclopedia Brown days. Well, he did have the time, but he didn’t want to.
“I just realized you go out with all those girls and do all those favors because you don’t think you’re good enough.” She looked at him like she’d won a prize, but no way was he getting into this with her or anyone else. His burden was his alone. “You run yourself ragged trying to make up for the fact you think you killed your parents.”
“What the—” he said as he stood up so fast the chair crashed down behind him. He had to get out of there. He grabbed his keys and walked to the door only to bump into his brother Alec coming in.
“Where are you going in such a rush? Did the hospital already call you?” Alec was talking to him, and he tried to calm down enough to listen to what his oldest brother was talking about. Camden was shaken, but he’d always been skilled at keeping himself together. His brother’s face was ashen and the long scar that started above his hairline and dissected the left corner of his eye and ending at his jaw and the other that started above his lip and cut through on the way to his chin. No one talked about the day he got it, or the reason Camden was the cause of that too.
“Why would the hospital call—what’s going on?” Camden thought his tough brother was going to lose it, but he watched him pull himself together before his eyes and he knew why.
“Is it Beau?” True rushed up to Alec and grabbed his hand.
“He’s alright. He was hit by a teen driver. He broke his arm, but he’s going to be fine.” He turned to Camden. “I was going to come pick you up so we could go to the hospital together and then head off to the bar.”
“Sure. Let me lock up,” Camden told them both as Alec and True walked out hand in hand. That was odd. Those two fought like two old cats with one play toy, but it looked like they could play nice when necessary. They should just get together and stop all that tension.
Camden met them at True’s car, murmuring about something. They both turned to look at him, and the sinking feeling was back. Had True told Alec about what they discussed? It didn’t matter if she did. He wasn’t going to talk about it with anyone, anyway.
“What?” he’d said when he got tired of waiting.
“Can you drive my car over to the hospital? I’ll be able to drive myself home, and then you two can go to work,” she said looking like she’d break if something unfortunate happened to her life-long best friend.
“Sure, True. Anything for you,” he said with a smile.
“I’m going to hold you to that,” she walked with Alec to the car and got in faster than he’d ever seen her move.
Chapter 5
This day couldn’t get any worse, Gemmi thought when she walked up to her mother’s house. This bi-monthly family dinner was one she’d tried to get out of like all the others since last year’s family reunion spectacular. She worked the morning with True and was so distracted she took the rest of the day off. She took the time to get a manicure, pedicure, and a nap, but she was fighting the headache from hell.
Gemmi walked into her mother’s home, and the conversation stopped. True’s car wasn’t in the driveway, but she knew she’d honor her word. She said she’d have support and Gemmi knew she’d get it, she’d promised.
“Hello, everyone. I brought my famous strawberry cheesecake. I’ll put it in the kitchen,” she said, walking quickly before any of her uncles, aunts, or cousins could question her about her boyfriend, but she could tell something was wrong. She spotted Rosalyn and the butterflies she’d had all day turned into the large moths Godzilla had to fight in that movie she’d watched as a kid. Rosalyn didn’t look like she wanted to apologize, she looked like she wanted to kill her. Where was her mother? This was awkward.
She took her time finding room in the refrigerator for a place for her cheesecake. Her stomach turned with thoughts of how awful this dinner was going to be. Thank goodness she had an out. She’d thought about Camden all day, and maybe she was wrong about him. He could help her with this situation, she’d just have to trust – that word was so hard to do she could barely think about it.
Her mother had to be around here somewhere. She was typically the first and last person she saw when she walked in the house. Always ready with her kisses, hugs and good cheer.
She searched the house and heard her mother’s voice in her bedroom, but before she turned into the room, she heard a familiar voice reply to her mother. A sexy…spicy…deep voice. It couldn’t be… how did this happen? What was she going to…?
“Well, look who’s here.” Her mother walked over and gave the kiss and hug that was her usual greeting. “I’m sorry I didn’t meet you at the door sweetheart, but your gentleman friend showed up before you did, and I was showing him around the house.”
“Yes, I can see that. Thanks for making him welcome, Mom. Can I talk to him alone for a second?”
“Of course, you can. I remember how it was. I’m not that old. I’ll tell everyone you’ll be up in a few minutes. Don’t lose track of time —people want to meet your boyfriend, so make it a quick talk.”
“Okay, Mom,” she said as her mother left the room and closed the door behind her.
She could hear the click clacking of flip-flops as her mother walked away. Gemmi tried to calm herself down before she responded to this latest addition to her problems. It had been a horrible day, and her head had been throbbing since she woke up, but now it felt like her head was going to explode.
He walked over, sat her down in a chair and moved behind her. She turned her head to look at him.
“Shh. Give me one minute.” That sexy rumble sounded even better in hushed tones. “You were squinting slightly when you came into the room, but it seemed to get worse the more we spoke. It looks like you have a headache. Sometimes putting pressure on certain areas of the body can release the stress when you can’t let it go.”
He placed his fingertips on both of her temples and lightly massaged. His touch felt good, but it wasn’t going to make her headache go away. She wanted to tell him that wasn’t going to help she’d been rubbing that area all day, and nothing worked, but she didn’t want him to stop. Then he ran his hands down her arms to the fleshy part between her thumb and pointer finger and squeezed. Just like that the pain eased and then disappeared.
“What was that? Magic?”
“If I say yes, will you tell me you’re not upset that I showed up at your mother’s home?”
She stood and turned to him. “Probably not.”
“Alright then, I’m not magic.”
He gave her a smile that sent her pulse racing. She figured he was probably forgiven quite frequently, with a smile like that. That thought made her mad for some reason.
“Why are you here?”
“My brother was in an accident, and he’s fine, but he broke his arm. True is having a fit. You do know about Beau and True, right? They’re the best of friends. When she found out he was in an accident, Alec and I were afraid she was going to hurt herself getting to the hospital, so we took her to the hospital. When everything died down, she remembered she needed to be here with you, but she couldn’t leave Beau alone in the hospital. She was adamant she didn’t want you to have to face this alone,” he said as he lounged against the wall. She watched him in her childhood room and thought he should look more uncomfortable in such a frilly room, but she struggled to pay attention to what he was saying.
“They wanted him to stay overnight because he has a concussion and broken bones. Of course, True refused to leave the hospital. She tried to call you but then realized you left your phone at work when you left early. She didn’t worry about it since she thought she’d see you tonight. She gave it to me to give to you. I have it in my coat
pocket.” He looked over, and she nodded so he would keep going. “She didn’t want to leave you here without support. I told her you wouldn’t like this idea, but I didn’t know what we could do on such short notice.” He stopped in front of her, so close she could see the beginning of his five o’clock shadow darkening his firm jaw. “It was either me or my brother Alec. He can be a bit intimidating if you don’t know him, plus you already met me. So my brother dropped me off so I could catch a ride home with you and here I am.”
She’d wondered why her phone was so quiet after she left True. She figured it was just the universe giving her a break because it knew she was stressed.
“Are you sure your brother’s alright?”
“Nothing could break that hard head.” His sexy grin was back and decided to move on.
“So, what happened when you showed up here?”
“When I got here I asked for you and your mother stepped in and made a brief introduction to your family. Then she got me a beer and showed me around your house.” He stopped and looked around. “Your room is cute. A big Cabbage Patch Kid fan, huh?”
“Hey, my mother left the room the way it was when I moved out for college. I don’t stay here, much.” What was it about this guy? She went from feeling like her head was going to explode to laughing in a few minutes.
“Well my whole family has seen you and they’ve been told you are my boyfriend, so I guess you get your way. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to be my loyal boyfriend. Do you think you can do that?” She shouldn’t have stressed the loyal part that could bring him back to the conversation they had last night on the phone. His eyes narrowed, and she knew he was way too observant.
“We’ll talk about the stress on loyal later, but I do accept this mission. Now let’s get out of here. I know people are speculating on what we’re doing,” Camden said.
Gemmi stopped for a second. “About yesterday…I’m not normally— I don’t typically—”
“Shhh. I’m not judging you. That’s not a norm for me either, but I enjoyed every second of it.”
“I know, but…”
Camden stood there and watched her. He was too close, and he smelled amazing. She shouldn’t have been surprised that he’d try to make her feel better about yesterday.
“Just thinking about it isn’t going to allow me to be presentable to your family.” He quirked up an eyebrow.
She smiled and nodded because just being around him made her want to repeat what happened so talking about it probably wasn’t the best idea.
He put his hand on the small of her back as he walked her out of the room, and the warmth from his fingertips spread throughout her body. She felt goose bumps from that small touch that almost made her feel giddy. She wouldn’t have chosen him, but maybe she should get a little gift for True to thank her for choosing Camden.
“I guess we can talk more about that later.” She hoped her voice sounded stronger to his ears than it did to hers.
“Funny seeing you here,” a husky voice said as they left her room, and just like that Gemmi’s good mood disappeared, and her headache that had been eased previously started a slow escalation. She turned and the red-haired beauty leaning on the wall across from her door stood there taking in the scene and clearly disapproving.
Ambushed. Gemmi watched Rosalyn’s pretty green eyes flashed with interest, and Gemmi’s stomach sank. What was she up to now?
“Hello, Rosy. I didn’t know you and Gemmi were related.” Camden’s deep voice was friendly. Gemmi heard the familiarity in Camden’s voice and she was happy he was behind her. WTF? He knew her?
“Yes, we are,” Rosalyn said as she quickly looked at Gemmi, but it was clear where her interest lay. “I’ve been trying to get you to come out from behind that bar forever. I thought you lived back there.” She laughed that throaty laugh, Gemmi remembered from when they used to go out to clubs together. That was her flirty laugh.
Gemmi was shocked by this whole situation. She’d never seen Rosalyn act so needy. She liked men to approach her. This was a side of her Gemmi hadn’t seen before, and it made her question the history between these two.
“Well, when you get the right incentive,” he said with a light squeeze on Gemmi’s shoulder as he moved to hug her from behind. “It’s impossible to resist.”
“Wait, you’re here with Gemmi? You’re the boyfriend she’s been telling everyone she has? I missed when her boyfriend got here so I was coming up here to introduce myself.” Rosalyn turned to Gemmi and if looks could kill, there was a nice urn with a fairy tale theme she wished she’d told someone she’d like to be placed in. Rosalyn turned her attention back to Camden. Gemmi watched this interaction and truly knew what it was to be beside herself. She felt like she was watching this from a faraway place.
“It was nice seeing you again, Rosy.” He moved in front of Gemmi and maneuvered them around Rosalyn before he led her down the stairs and into the huge living room that held her family. It seemed like everyone was there, sitting on her mother’s large sectional. There were only ten people present, but it felt like more to her. Maybe because they were all watching her like she and Camden were the feature event of the night.
Camden took her hand, laced his fingers through hers and pressed the same spot he squeezed in the other room. Just like magic her headache was gone. That was a neat trick. Everyone, including Rosalyn looked at them as if they were presenters at the Oscars and she held the list of Nominees for the Best man in a lead role. They were all waiting, and she knew she should make a statement. She did what was expected of her as usual.
“Hello again, everyone,” she said then cleared her throat and tried to prepare it for the big lie she was sure wouldn’t come out. “I wanted you to meet my b-boyfriend Camden.”
“Why didn’t you tell us you were going out with a Haught?” She heard Rosalyn yell out from her position against the back wall.
“Excuse me?”
“Camden Haught, one of the brothers, who owns The Haught Spot. You didn’t know that?” Damn, Rosalyn looked like she didn’t believe any of this. The woman was so full of shit herself she probably would be hard to fool.
“I met Gemmi at a jazz club, so she hasn’t been to the bar yet.” Camden came back with the save.
“Her mom said you two have been together six months, and you haven’t brought her to your job yet? You practically live there. When do you see each other?” Another great question from Rosalyn.
“We’ve both been busy, but we make time to see each other.” He looked at Gemmi and gave her a wink. She had to admit he should’ve been an actor because he looked like he genuinely cared and almost made her believe they’d been spending time together.
“So that means you’ll be coming to our family’s reunion in two weeks?” Didn’t anyone but Rosalyn have anything to say? The rest of the family sat there looking back and forth from Rosalyn to the heralded couple and back. They all knew how explosive this situation could get and her family just wanted everyone to get along.
“I haven’t been officially invited, but I’m sure she’ll get around to asking me to go if she wants me to go.”
“We have a little get together with the family members you see here and a few others that are scattered around the globe. We get together at Loco Beach in South Carolina. It’s a lot of fun. We like to have it the week before the Fourth of July holiday, so everyone can get home and do their own thing. We have dance-offs and picnics and just try to enjoy our time together.” Gemmi’s mom answered as the rest of the family watched the barely concealed animosity Rosalyn was firing her way. They knew the history of both Rosalyn and Gemmi and most just shook their heads and stayed out of it.
“I love to dance.” Camden smiled at her and made her wish this was real, but she pushed that thought away. This was no time to lose focus she was in the middle of the war zone.
“That’s great. You should ask him to come. That way someone could represent your section of the family…for once.�
�� Rosalyn looked at Gemmi as she moved from her spot on the wall to move closer. “She never seems to have a partner when it’s time to dance.”
Kaboom! A direct hit.
“I don’t want Gemmi to be forced into inviting me. I’m sure we’ll talk about it later. Thanks everyone for letting me tag along for your family dinner,” Camden said to her family members.
The mood in the room felt as thick as aged paint. He stroked her back and as much as she wanted to be soothed by what he was doing, she felt like he was waving a red flag at her Rosalyn who was playing the part of the bull.
Amazingly, everything went smoothly after that until it was time to go. As Gemmi went around saying her goodbyes, Rosalyn cornered her.
“Who knew little Gemmi would be so good at revenge?” Rosalyn said. Gemmi wondered how she was able to sneak up on her all the time.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Yeah, right. Like you didn’t know I’ve been going to The Haught Spot for years trying to get Camden for myself.” Her angry face was a testament to how much she’d been trying to hold back this evening. Normally Rosalyn was "the other side of the pillow” cool. Nothing ruffled her feathers. She’d stood in front of their whole family after sleeping with Gemmi’s boyfriend with a smug expression and didn’t care what anyone had to say about it. Come to think of it no one probably said anything about it. “How much did you pay him to act like your boyfriend?”
“I emptied out my savings account. Looks like I’m not going to be taking that cruise all around the world.” She’d grown up with Rosalyn. She missed the time they had been close friends as well as cousins. She didn’t want to fight with her, but she wanted her to stop this “I can do anything better than you” competition. She didn’t know how it started and she hadn’t been given the rules to the game, so she always felt defensive and out of the loop when it came to Rosalyn.
A Haught Date Page 5