by Ellie Hall
Beckett needed to set the record straight. But by setting the record straight, wasn’t that sort of like having a define the relationship talk? Whoa, a DTR was serious. Like let’s be exclusive and see where this goes serious. But, yeah, that’s kind of what Beckett wanted to do. It didn’t mean he was ready to buy her a ring but he also didn’t want her dating anyone else.
Wow, what the heck was happening here? He’d known Camdyn for a long time and had always liked her. She was fun to be around and made him laugh. But in a matter of hours, she’d gone from his little sister’s best friend to the girl Beckett could actually see having a future with.
Shoot. Here he’d thought keeping rule number two was going to be difficult. Now he was more worried about the first rule.
Running a hand through his hair, Beckett was tempted to tell Hunter he’d changed his mind about the rum. But one look into Camdyn’s blue eyes and Beckett knew he needed to keep his head clear so he could figure what was happening between them.
With the straw between her lips, she sipped on her drink, watching him with a combination of curiosity, concern and a hint of amusement. Beckett wanted to find out what was going on in that pretty head of hers but he was too busy fighting the fire in his belly that hadn’t been completely doused.
“One virgin Miami vice,” Hunter said as he turned around and handed Beckett his drink.
“Thanks, man,” Beckett said, lifting the glass up.
“Any time,” Hunter said, sounding like he was cool with everything.
Beckett hoped the smile on the bartender’s face was because Heidi and Krissy were walking up to the bar and not because he’d spiked Beckett’s drink with his spit. He probably should’ve paid more attention instead of flirting with his date.
“Hello again, ladies,” Beckett said when the two women veered away from the bar to talk to Camdyn and him.
“Ah, y’all got matching drinks,” Krissy said.
“Next, you’ll be buying matching tees,” Heidi said, her Southern sass not nearly as charming as Camdyn’s.
“Oh, we’re way ahead of you,” Camdyn said. “We already have them.”
Beckett hid a smile behind his glass as he took a sip of the delicious tasting drink. Heidi eyed Camdyn skeptically, and he could tell she was trying to decide if Camdyn was telling the truth.
She wasn’t, but Beckett had his girlfriend’s back. First thing in the morning, he was buying them matching shirts. Then he was making Camdyn wear hers to the bride and groom’s pool party scheduled for early tomorrow afternoon.
Stephanie and Kirk had opted out of the traditional separate bachelor and bachelorette parties the night before and decided to have a pool party together. They didn’t want to stress out and wanted to enjoy the day in the pool and then the wedding ceremony was scheduled on the south lawn just before sunset.
“That is so cute,” Krissy said. She leaned in close, giving Beckett a whiff of her breath that let him know some of her lack of intelligence could be from drinking too much. “But don’t be all matchy-matchy around Paisley,” she said in a stage whisper that anyone within six feet could hear. “She was so mad when y’all started making out.”
A wicked gleam sparkled in Camdyn’s blue eyes, and Beckett knew she had the same idea as he did. Looks like they were going T-shirt shopping together. “Thanks for the advice,” Camdyn said. “I’ll be sure to keep that in mind.”
“I’m serious, y’all,” Krissy said with a hiccup, “I haven’t seen Paisley this mad since her daddy put a limit on her credit card.”
“Krissy,” Heidi said, nudging her in the side. “Stop talking. Paisley’s coming this way.”
Krissy’s eyes widened. “Shhh,” she said, trying to shush them by putting her fingers to her lips. She missed her mouth and ended up pressing her finger against her nose, making her voice come out slightly nasally. “She’s coming.”
Even from this distance, Beckett could feel Paisley’s glare. The girl wasn’t very pleasant on most days. Drinking only made it worse. He needed to get Camdyn out of the line of fire.
“Y’all have a good night,” Beckett said, placing his palm against Camdyn’s lower back. “We need to go say hello to the bride and groom.”
“I was actually thinking about hiding in my room,” Camdyn said after they’d successfully dodged a run-in with Paisley. “I’ve already done my time with mean girls in high school so I don’t think I should have to do it again now that I’m an adult.”
“I’m sorry,” Beckett said, his shoulder brushing against her arm as they walked close together. “You’ll like Stephanie,” he said, cupping her elbow to guide her in the right direction. “She’s chill and nothing like her little sister.”
“Hmm, I’m not sure I can trust you.” Camdyn cut him a sidewise glance, her mischievous smile indicating she wasn’t entirely serious. “You made Miss Paisley sound like a harmless little gnat when she’s really a vicious Georgia fire ant.”
Ouch. Beckett felt worse because she was right. “And here I promised you romance,” he said, feeling bad about subjecting her to all this hostility. Truthfully, Paisley usually was an annoying gnat. He wasn’t sure what was with her attitude and why she thought she had any right to come off as the jilted girlfriend. But then he was acting like the possessive boyfriend with Camdyn.
“I should apologize for my cave-man behavior back there with Hunter,” he said, glancing over at her. “I’ll behave the rest of the night and keep my lips to myself.”
“Promises, promises,” Camdyn said, her voice light and teasing. He liked that about her. Most women would have stormed off to pout or to flirt with another guy. “Just so you know, you and I are going shopping for matching shirts tomorrow.”
He laughed. “I knew you were thinking the same thing I was,” Beckett said, wishing he hadn’t just promised to keep his lips to himself. He really wanted to kiss her again. “And I do keep my promises.” He nodded his chin at one of the many buffet tables loaded with all kinds of good Southern food. “We’ll get something to eat after I introduce you to Stephanie and her fiancé as well as Mr. and Mrs. Jessup since they’re standing close by.”
“Sounds good,” Camdyn said, covering the tip of the straw with her pink, glossy lips to take another sip of her drink. Dang, it was sexy. Beckett had to look away before he dragged her off to a secluded place and tasted her fruity drink by osmosis.
Needing something else to occupy his mind while they waited behind the long line of people greeting the bride and groom, Beckett scanned the crowd, trying to see any other co-workers who had been invited to the wedding. He knew he was among the elite since not everyone received an invitation. It was another reason he’d skipped going to South Carolina. He wanted to prove to Mr. Porter and Mr. Jessup that he was committed to the marketing firm.
So far, the only person Beckett recognized was Elise, a woman from the marketing team over the account with Ground Zero, a supplement company out of North Carolina that had almost doubled in sales this past year. Beckett had really wanted to land that account when the company had opened a warehouse in Mitchel Creek, Georgia, but Elise had won the bid with a brilliant idea.
Squinting against the fading sunlight, he saw Mr. Porter talking with a prominent businessman out of Atlanta. Beckett should be using this time to network. Instead, he turned his attention on a beautiful wooden dock that stretched out about forty yards to overlook the Wilmington River. The sun was making its descent, promising a spectacular sunset as the wispy clouds along the horizon were already turning gold and pink. The dock was the perfect place to view the setting sun when the colors peaked.
“Hey,” Beckett said, turning toward Camdyn, only to find her frozen in place, her eyes wide and unblinking like she’d just encountered a ghost from one of Savanah’s many haunted houses. “Are you okay?” he asked, wondering if she was hypoglycemic and he’d waited too long to feed her.
“I…yes,” she said, setting her drink down with a shaky hand on a nearby small tabl
e.
Beckett glanced at her drink, hoping the bartender hadn’t slipped some kind of drug in it. “What can I do for you?” he asked, setting his glass next to hers and wrapping an arm around her waist in case she passed out.
He was relieved when she looked up at him, a slight smile curving her lips. “Well, pumpkin,” Camdyn said as she slid her hands over his chest and wound her arms around his neck. “I need you to kiss me. And you need to make it very believable.”
7
“Is this some kind of test?” Beckett asked, looking as confused as Krissy.
No, this was not a test! It was a full-on emergency with lights and sirens because Camdyn had just spotted her ex-boyfriend across the courtyard. Yes, that’s right. David-you-live-in-a-fantasy-world was here at the wedding. Camdyn had hoped he didn’t notice her, but then their eyes locked, and now he was coming this way.
Desperate times and all that had never been more true. If Beckett wasn’t going to kiss her, Camdyn was going to kiss him. Rising up on her toes, she pressed her lips to his and kissed him like she’d just won the novel of the year award.
Thankfully, Beckett joined the party. Oh boy, did he join the party as he took her face with his large hands and kissed her thoroughly. She’d asked for believable and, wow, was the man delivering. Camdyn wanted to raise her hands in praise like she was at a church revival and say, I believe!
She hoped David was watching all of this and realizing how wrong he’d been about her not being romantic. She had every intention of ending the kiss to gauge David’s reaction when Beckett turned up the heat, sliding his hands into her hair and tilting her head so he could deepen the kiss. And that was Camdyn’s last coherent thought.
Beckett’s kiss was intoxicating, making her feel tipsy on a cocktail of feel-good chemicals saturating her mind and body. She was lost in a state of total bliss and could hardly think straight, let alone remember what had been so important.
“Camdyn?” a man’s voice questioned from behind her. “Is that you?”
Oh yeah. Her ex, David, was here.
“I think someone wants to say hey,” Beckett whispered against her mouth as he ended the delicious kiss.
It took a second for Camdyn to get her wits about her before she turned to find David standing way too close for an ex-boyfriend. She had no idea why he was at some random wedding but she aimed to find out.
“David,” she said, her voice a little wobbly from all the hormones still zipping through her bloodstream. “What are you doing here?” she asked, grateful Beckett had his arm around her since her legs had turned into spaghetti noodles and were struggling to keep her upright.
“I was going to ask you the same thing,” David said as a pretty brunette arrived by his side.
“David, honey,” the dark-haired beauty queen said with a tight smile, “aren’t you going to introduce me to your friends?”
David looked mildly annoyed his girlfriend had joined him. “Ellery, this is Nikki’s friend Camdyn Taylor.”
Nikki’s friend? Seriously, that was how he was going to play this?
Ellery’s eyes lit up. “Oh, yes, Nikki told me you’re the author of The Hidden Enchantress series. I love your books!”
Well crap. Now Camdyn couldn’t hate this woman. Not that she had any reason to hate her since she definitely didn’t want David back. He was right about one thing. There had been no spark between them. Whenever David had kissed her, it was like a bottle rocket from the dollar store that was a complete dud and barely produced any smoke and no bang. Kissing Beckett was like an explosion of heat and color worthy of the fireworks at the closing ceremonies of the Olympics.
“Thank you so much,” Camdyn said, soaking up the praise like she was a wilted flower that hadn’t been watered in weeks. “That really means a lot to me.”
David rudely interrupted the conversation before Camdyn could ask her new BFF what it was she liked so much about her writing.
“You never said you liked her books,” David said, glaring at Ellery like she’d just confessed she’d served time for armed robbery.
“I teach sixth grade, and I’ve read all of your books to my students,” Ellery said, completely ignoring her boyfriend. “We all just love Katya!” Then she let go of David and clasped her hands in front of her like she was begging her mom for a treat at the store. “Please tell me the rumors are true and that your next book will have Katya old enough to finally get a boyfriend?”
Camdyn was so happy to learn there were rumors about her books that she didn’t inquire about where Ellery had heard the gossip. She knew Nikki wouldn’t say anything but maybe Jeff had inadvertently mentioned it.
“I can’t actually talk about any of that,” Camdyn said, even though she was dying to tell Ellery all about Katya’s romance with the warlord’s sexy son, Maksim.
“Camdyn,” David said before she could give Ellery a hint about her current work in progress. “You haven’t introduced your friend to me.”
Me? What a jerk. Did he forget he was with someone besides himself?
“He’s actually my boyfriend,” Camdyn said, looking up adoringly at Beckett. “I promise I didn’t forget about you. It’s just so much fun to talk to one of my readers.”
“I didn’t mind,” Beckett said with a slow smile that sent a current of heat through her veins. “I love watching you talk about your books.”
Camdyn melted like a marshmallow in the microwave into a pile of love-sick stickiness. That was just about the sweetest thing she had ever heard. She wanted to kiss Beckett’s face off because she knew he was sincere. The words I love you were on the tip of her tongue. David made a weird noise in the back of his throat, bringing Camdyn to her senses.
It was a good thing because it was way too soon to tell Beckett she was in love with him. At least not until she told Nikki. Wait? That didn’t seem right either. She couldn’t tell Nikki first. Maybe she should talk to them together?
Ugh! This whole thing was happening so fast but was it really that fast? She’d known Beckett since she was eleven. And she’d been secretly in love with him since she was thirteen after Beckett had carried her inside the house when she had twisted her ankle during one of her many sleepovers with Nikki.
Since Camdyn was still trying to process everything, she was grateful when Beckett held out his hand to Ellery.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ellery,” Beckett said with an easy grin. “My name is Beckett.”
From the corner of her eye, Camdyn saw David’s scowl deepen as his girlfriend returned the greeting. “It’s nice to meet you too.” Ellery let go of Beckett’s hand. “Are y’all here for the bride or the groom or do you know both?”
“The bride. I work for Stephanie’s daddy,” Beckett said. “What about you all?”
As Ellery explained that she and the groom were first cousins, Camdyn was aware of David’s death stare, making it hard to concentrate on Ellery’s words. It was getting kind of annoying.
“Wow, it’s a small world,” Ellery said with a soft giggle. “And here David was complaining about coming because he didn’t think he would know anyone.”
“Yeah.” David’s eyes darted from Beckett to Camdyn and then back to Beckett again. “Wait a minute,” he said. “Are you Beckett, Nikki’s older brother?”
“That’s right,” Beckett said, pressing his left hand more firmly against Camdyn’s hip, so she was snug against his side.
David’s eyes shifted back and forth. He wasn’t normally slow on the uptake, but apparently, this was too much for him to grasp. “I’m confused,” he said, looking at Camdyn. “I heard you weren’t dating anyone.”
Camdyn couldn’t believe he had the nerve to say that out loud. She could feel Beckett’s body stiffen and had a feeling he wasn’t too impressed, either. “You heard wrong,” she said. Well, that wasn’t exactly true. She hadn’t been dating anyone. But since it was none of his business in the first place, she didn’t feel inclined to set the record straight.
> David was like a dog sinking his teeth into a shoe and wouldn’t drop it. “I just talked to Jeff, and he never said anything about you dating Nikki’s brother.”
Ellery was now staring at her boyfriend like he’d lost his mind. “Why do you care if Nikki’s brother is dating her friend?”
Ha! Camdyn couldn’t wait to hear what D-bag David had to say since he’d clearly failed to mention that he’d dated Camdyn for six months. And seriously, why did he care so much?
“Oh, I don’t care,” David said with a light laugh that came off sounding more strained than casual. “I just thought Jeff would’ve said something when I just talked to him this morning, is all.”
Ellery considered her boyfriend with worried eyes. “Are you still upset that we couldn’t go to South Carolina with Jeff and Nikki?”
“No, of course not,” he said, taking hold of Ellery’s hand. He licked his lips and darted another glance at Camdyn. “We better go see your aunt and uncle and let them know your parents are delayed and won’t be here until tomorrow.”
“Oh, right,” Ellery said, still looking slightly confused by the odd conversation. She glanced at Camdyn. “I’d love to talk more about your books sometime. Maybe arrange to get some autographed copies. My students will be so excited that I met you.”
“I’d love to do that,” Camdyn said, barely holding back a laugh at the look on David’s face. The last thing he wanted was his current girlfriend talking to his ex-girlfriend when she obviously didn’t know Camdyn was not just Nikki’s best friend.
“Maybe we can chat tomorrow during the pool party,” Ellery said as David tugged on her hand and started dragging her away.
Camdyn gave her a thumbs up and waited until the couple had crossed back over to the fountain before she glanced at Beckett. “What the heck was that?” she asked, unable to hold back a snarky laugh.