The narrowed eyes and tight mouth was a clear indication she’d set Rosalyn’s hackles up, and as much as she wanted not to be concerned about that, she was. She’d just solidified the beautifully awesome man—who was now on the other side of the large living room talking with Uncle Stevie and Aunt Grace—was going be her accomplice in her mission. Unfortunately, she was found a snag bigger than the “nobody is going to believe we’re together” issue. She tried again and tried to leave the snarky edge out of her tone.
“This isn’t about revenge,” Gemmi explained to Rosalyn. “I thought everyone wanted to meet my new boyfriend, and so I brought him by. Now that I have a boyfriend people should be able to stop thinking they have to keep a guy on reserve in case I need the I-found-this-guy-who’d-be-perfect-for-you calls I used to get all the time.” Gemmi glanced over at Camden and found him looking at her like he was trying to figure out what was going on. She hoped he stayed away from this little discussion, because he seemed to be the accelerant that was agitating Rosalyn from bitterly angry to full-fledged rage. The people in the room had grouped themselves off and were involved in their own conversations. Rosalyn was always ready to explode and demolish as far as Gemmi was concerned, and she never knew what was going to happen. Since poor Rosalyn had lost her parents Gemmi and the rest of the family had repeatedly forgiven for her bad behavior. At least Gemmi had until this last stunt. Rosalyn turned to watch Camden.
“You shouldn’t be so quick to stop those calls, Gemmi. You never know if or when you’ll need them again.” Rosalyn turned back to Gemmi. The self-assured smile was back, and the wattage was at maximum capacity. “Aren’t you afraid he’ll end up in my bed, Gemmi? They all do, you know.”
Gemmi watched Rosalyn turn to admire Camden who was talking to yet another of her uncles and knew bringing Camden into this situation was going to be much, much worse than she originally thought, and seemed to be getting worse by the second.
“This conquest will be the sweetest because I actually want this one,” Rosalyn murmured like she was talking to herself.
“Whatever, Rosy...” That took Rosalyn’s attention off Camden. Her head whipped around, and she looked prepared for battle.
“Don’t call me that. That’s Cam’s pet name for me.” She went from livid to smug in zero point three seconds. This woman’s emotions were all over the map. “Well, you finish up your rounds here, and I’ll say goodbye to Camden.”
“But—”
“You do trust him, don’t you? Your boyfriend?” Then off she flounced to say a few words with Camden. Rosalyn was such a beautiful woman, but her insides were rotten. After Gemmi had returned home from college, Rosalyn had changed and had a special place of anger for Gemmi. Lucky her.
***
“Tonight went well, right? I got a hug and kiss from your mom, and the rest of your family seems great too,” Camden said, probably trying to break the silence that had descended on them since they’d entered the car.
He’d looked surprised she’d let him drive her car without a problem, but her mind was whirling trying to figure out what to do.
“Yes. Tonight went great. Everyone loves you,” she said absently as she stared out the window.
“Is this a problem?”
“Not a problem, but since everyone has seen you and thinks that you’re my boyfriend, I’m not going to be able to foist anyone else on them.”
“Was there someone else you wanted to use?” he said, and it sounded like he was trying to figure out what was going on. Good luck with that. She barely knew what was going on.
“No. I was still looking. There was an escort service I thought I’d try out,” she said knowing she sounded defeated.
“You were going to hire an escort to pose as your boyfriend? You must have a lot of extra cash laying around. Escorts aren’t cheap, and it sounds like you would be needing a good amount of time,” he said and then chuckled. Even though she was irritated that chuckle shimmied down her body and settled between her legs quickly heating up spots she shouldn’t even be thinking about right now
“It was just a thought.”
“You’re so tense. I thought when we had the dinner over with, you’d be more relaxed.”
“Relaxed… relaxed. I have been trying to fly below the radar with Rosalyn. All I wanted to do was come in with a little boyfriend show everyone I’m happy and coupled and not to worry about me and I pick the one man that is going to make Rosalyn try to kill me in my sleep.” She looked over to see what Camden was doing with all this information. The smile was gone, but there wasn’t any guilt on his face.
“I did pick up a few sparks between you two tonight.”
“A few sparks?” She turned and looked at him fascinated with the calm demeanor, but he knew she wondered how well he knew her cousin. “What’s going on with you and Rosalyn?”
“What’s going on between Rosy and myself?” He rolled the words around like they were foreign. “Nothing special. She comes to The Haught Spot every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday orders a few drinks, talks for a while. She’s a great tipper.” He shrugged and looked over at her then seemed to remember something. “Now that I think about it, I’ve heard her talk about you a lot. I just didn’t know you were James. I guess that’s a play-off Gemmi.”
Gemmi was livid. “James? She knows I hate that name. She hasn’t called me that to my face since we were kids.” She wondered what he’d been told and tried not to get upset thinking about it. “She’s got a thing for you. Unbelievable. She’s going to come after you. She’s going to want you even more now that she thinks you’re with me.”
“She’s already come on to me and been turned down. Numerous times. That’s nothing new. I can handle myself. Don’t worry.”
“Now it’s going to be worse.”
“Why would you think that?”
“Because no one turns Rosalyn down, and the fact you turned her down and not me. She’ll have to have you.” The conversation was getting too close to a certain topic that was too humiliating to admit to a man like Camden. Maybe she should just drop it and change the subject. “Is your last name honestly Haught?”
“Yes. I told you I never tell people what my last name is if I can help it. Especially if they just met me, or they don’t know what it is already.”
“It is kind of funny.”
He gave a quick glance at her while they were at a stop light. “How so?”
“Well… your last name is Haught, and you’re really… you get the point.”
“I don’t think I do.” She watched his million dollar smile light up his face and tried to ignore what it did to her insides.
“Then I guess that’s just too bad,” she teased.
“Thanks for the compliment, Gemmi. It means a lot coming from you. I just wish it didn’t also mean that I’m an unsavory person who can’t be trusted.” That soft sincere voice made her nervous. She knew she was playing a role for her family, but she could not get caught up in this. She needed to keep this straight in her mind.
She was just opening her mouth to tell him she wanted to skip the drink and go home.
“Let’s go dancing, get in some practice for your family event.”
“So I guess that means you want to go to the reunion?” She was planning to take the faux boyfriend, but she couldn’t see asking him to take the time off work and go to Florida for a few days. That was asking a lot. She should have thought this through. Maybe she should have told her family, they could meet him later in the summer.
“I thought it was me or the escort, and I’ve already been seen, so I get it by default.”
“I know, but it’s been a long night, and I just want to go to bed.”
“That can be arranged.”
Was it her imagination or had Cam’s voice dropped an octave? It sounded like he was flirting with her, she must really be distraught, or he was drunk.
“How much have you had to drink?” She turned again to look at his profile. “Shou
ld you be driving?”
He pulled into a parking lot and parked in the first available space. Cut the engine and looked over at her. “I haven’t had anything to drink. I wanted to make sure I was prepared for whatever happened at your family dinner. Why did you ask how much I’ve had to drink?”
“No reason.” She felt silly even bringing it up. He was joking of course, she was just letting her thoughts and his good looks cloud her judgment.
“I know you’re tired, but you’re also wound so tight you look like you could pop. How about we go in, get a drink and dance a bit. It will loosen you up, and I can check out some of your moves.” He waggled his brows. “And you can check out some of mine.”
“Okay…umm…about that…I don’t know how to dance,” she admitted
“What do you mean?”
She watched him and loved how intently he listened. Like he really wanted to understand what she said. “What do you mean…what do I mean? I meant what I said.” She tried to make this light because it was sort of a touchy subject with her.
“Everyone can dance. You’re just moving your body to the music.”
“Yes, I know that’s what everyone says, but I’m telling you, I can’t dance.”
“Well, let’s just go see.”
“In front of all those people?” She’d heard about this club and knew it was hard to get in. Half of her thought she shouldn’t worry because it was doubtful they’d make it through the door, but the other half worried they would get in, and she’d have to embarrass herself before of a packed venue.
“You don’t even know how many people are in there. Besides, why are you worrying about what other people think? We’re just going in to have a good time.”
She followed him into The Limelight, shocked at how easily they bypassed the line and got in. She could feel the deep vibration of the bass like they inserted the speaker into her chest cavity. There were flashing lights, happy people and a crowded dance floor, this was so not her thing. Damn it, beautiful men made her stupid. Not that she had anything else to compare this too, but if it were anyone other than this gorgeous man she would have insisted he drive himself home so she could do the same.
“What would you like to drink? Oh wait, let me guess?” He looked her up and down, and she had to giggle because she’d done the same thing trying to guess what he liked at the coffee shop.
“Alright…fine, but if you choose the wrong one we leave.”
“I’ll take that challenge.” He narrowed his eyes and raked his gaze slowly from head to toe taking more time with this perusal. Maybe he was trying to make her extremely aroused with his look and then he could have ordered ice water and won the challenge. “The lady would like a glass of White Zinfandel and I’ll take whatever beer you have on tap?”
Wow. He was good. “How did you guess that?”
A shrug was all he would give away.
“So, is that how it works for you at the bar? A woman walks in, you look her up and down, and give her what you think she wants.” His smile grew from a smirk to a true smile, and he continued to stare at her. “Well?” she said, wondering what he was thinking when he looked at her like that.
“I like it when you’re sassy.” He turned away to get the drinks and pay the bartender. They walked to a small table against the wall. He took his time making sure she was seated. “I don’t usually put in the effort to figure out what kind of drink a woman wants. They usually just tell me, and I get it. I know what you like because, I am paying close attention. I’m trying to impress you, because I feel like you got stuck with me.”
Her mouth was so dry from his speech she almost gulped down the whole glass of wine. This man, who even now, had most of the women and a few of the men salivating, wanted to impress her. Was this a dream? She had to say something in response to such open communication. “You are extremely impressive, and I feel anything but stuck with you.”
“Good.” The smile on his face made the three women at the next table sigh. “Are you ready to dance?” He stood with his hand extended, and she tried to look anywhere but at him.
“I’m not quite ready yet.”
“I’ll dance with you,” said the blonde beauty at the next table. She leaped up from her chair to hang on Camden’s arm.
He looked down at the woman and gave her a smile. Gemmi was starting to recognize he had different smiles in his arsenal. This one she would categorize as a level one placating smile. It didn’t reach his eyes, and it seemed a bit dimmer than his others. “Thanks, sweetheart, but I’m trying to get my girlfriend to dance with me.”
The blonde turned to look at Gemmi with an almost puzzled look on her face then looked back at Camden. “Well, if you can’t work it out with her I’ll be close by.”
“That won’t be necessary but thank you.” He turned back to Gemmi. “Are you ready?”
The people who witnessed the whole situation were watching and she hated being the center of attention. She grabbed his hand just to get away from it all.
“Do you have some sort of magic that makes women throw themselves at you everywhere you go?”
“If I do, you must have the antidote. You don’t seem to be affected.”
“The night is still young. Plus, I don’t think I’m your type.”
“And my type would be?”
She didn’t have an answer for that. She hadn’t known him long enough, but she would think it wouldn’t be her, so she just shrugged.
“Then you don’t know if you’re my type or not. You could always throw yourself at me and see what happens. It seemed to work the other night.” He was good at that. Flirting…teasing…he was just good with people or maybe just women.
“I think we’ll just focus on the dancing that should be enough humiliation for the evening.”
“Humiliated? This coming from the woman who seduced me from the word go?” his smile made her feel like a fraud.
“That was more humiliating that this,” Gemmi said woefully.
“What was bad about yesterday?” He sounded serious. All traces of flirtatious banter had vanished.
“It wasn’t bad, but I wished that didn’t happen.” She looked away from him to the dance floor. He touched her arm to get her attention and she turned back to face him.
“What would make you say that?” he asked gently like he was weighing out each word.
“That wasn’t real. The incident in that bathroom.” She looked at his neck to avoid those piercing gray eyes that looked like he could see into your mind.
He stood close to her and tilted her head up with his finger under her chin. “That felt very real to me.”
“You were doing a favor for a friend. You knew who I was when I walked up to you,” she said looking over his shoulder.
“I said I would take you out and discuss this favor that needed done. I didn’t offer to have a sexy encounter. That was you who made me want that. I tried to tell you who I was before we got started.”
“I know. I didn’t want to ruin the fantasy. I wanted to be carefree and spontaneous.”
“Before True interrupted I’d wanted to take you somewhere more comfortable, so we could have some fun and I could tell you who I was. I wasn’t trying to trick you.”
“Believe me, I know. That would have been awesome if you tried to do that. It probably wouldn’t have worked that well,” she said trying to lighten the mood.
He studied her face and she hoped he found what he was looking for, so they could leave this uncomfortable topic alone. “You were so spooked when you left I was just happy to get you to talk with me. I didn’t think I’d get to see you again if I let you get away after that.” He looked serious and even if she let him be her pretend boyfriend she wasn’t going to do serious with him. Period.
She looked over to the bar area. “Maybe I should get another glass of wine.”
“Come on. You’ll be fine,” he said, pulling her to the dance floor.
She started to move her feet. Left together
…right together. She didn’t know much about dancing, but she could stay on the beat. He danced along with her for a while, but he was much freer with his movements.
“Just relax and move your body.”
“It’s hard for me to let go,” she replied. The song was fast, but he chose to pull her close at that moment and sway with her to the beat. The song changed to a slow ballad. His body was so warm, and he smelled like clean laundry, fresh soap and hot man. She laid her head on his shoulder and breathed in the aroma.
“That’s it,” he said as he moved her around the floor.
She picked up her head, “What?”
“When you stopped thinking about dancing your body loosened up, and you forgot about everything. That’s the way you dance. You ever hear dance like no one’s watching?”
“I’ve heard of it. I just can’t make myself do it.”
“That’s because you think too much. Forget all these people… dance for yourself and for me.” The smile he granted her was a category three, level eight smile it was genuine and sweet with panty-melting abilities. This was one of the smiles she would have to guard herself against. This was only an acting job on his part. Remember that!
She pulled away from his arms and stopped dancing. “Thanks for the lesson. Are you ready to go?”
“What’s the matter?”
“Nothing…we got a drink, we danced, and we let off some steam now we need to go home.” The sharp look she got missed nothing. She may as well let it out. “I don’t want this to be what it’s not. You don’t have to act like you are so into me when no one else is around. I know we need to dance together at the party, but there’s no need for all this.”
“All what…”
“The fun and holding me close and all that stuff. It just confuses everything.”
“I agree we should always be honest with each other, but the touching and comfort will need to be a part of it. How are you supposed to make anyone think we’ve been together, learning each other for six months, and you flinch or jump every time I touch you?”
She walked to the door thinking about what he said. She knew he was behind her from the way the crowd followed her movements.
A Haught Date Page 6