Page 71 of Building Romance
I pass it to him, and he opens it, reading the copy of the deed and my business plan. Then he passes it back to me.
“How do I know that’s true and not some made-up shit?” he asks.
I pull up my email and hold up my phone, showing him email chains with a realtor and the building’s owner. Then I show him call logs and play two voicemails. By the time I play the second one, he holds up his hand.
“She had Kasen try to get her intel on your company while you were attempting to do the same to hers. He got it, but after you all shacked up for two weeks. He sent it anyhow and I guess she didn’t know what to believe. She thought you might still want to put her out of business. She’s had douchebags do stupid shit to her before, so she doesn’t give trust easily. I think she felt like an idiot that was getting taken advantage of. You really fucked up by not telling her what you were doing sooner. Anyhow, you both suck at communicating and need to work on that shit,” Drew says.
I shrug. He’s not wrong. “So, how do I fix it? Where is she?” I ask, looking around.
“Elsewhere. You won’t be able to talk to her tonight. You need a real plan.” He pauses and looks at his watch and then grins. “I’m late for a meeting. And you’re coming with me.”
“Classic mistake right there,” Hutch says with a laugh. He snaps his fingers. “It’s like that one enemies to lovers we read three months ago. What was the name of it? Anyhow, you all fell in love but also secretly were still suspect of each other because it all happened too fast. The enemies part was blurring with the lovers part. And you suck at communication.”
I groan. “Yeah, sort of already heard that tonight. How do I fix it, then?”
“Grand gesture,” Kasen says as he leans back. “You fucked up, bro. Your girl is as headstrong as they come. Also, next time you text shit, just remember, anyone can get that. I don’t care that you were on your company’s super secure chat app. You all didn’t even encrypt it, novice fucking mistake.”
I glare at him. He’s the reason my woman is mad at me, and I sort of want to beat the shit out of him.
He smirks. “Cam is going to need the biggest grand gesture ever. She’s stubborn as fuck.”
Sighing, I nod. “I know. Trust me, I know.”
“Well, what’s your plan?” Drew asks.
I stand and walk in a circle as ideas roll around my brain. “I’m going to need two weeks and a lot of help,” I finally say as the perfect plan starts to form in my mind.
Drew looks to Bray, Gray, Hutch, and Kasen. “We’re in.”
I smile. “Time to do some epic shit. If I can’t win her back with this, then…well, I guess I don’t deserve her.”
Drew gives me a stern look. “No one deserves her. She’s too good for any of us. But I think you both are in love with each other and I’m all for an old-fashioned love story. So, let’s go help you win back your lady.” He pauses. “Prepare for a lot of groveling. She’s a…well, she’s Cam.”
They chuckle and give me looks of sympathy. But that only invigorates me. My lady is as headstrong as they come and that’s going to make this even more worthwhile when I prove to her how much I love her. Holy fuck, I love Camryn Tanner!
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Cam
“What the hell is this?” I ask as I look at Drew’s phone. He just asked me to grab it for him and I see a text message notification from Vito, his ex.
“What’s what?” he asks, wiping his hands on his apron as he makes us BLTs on fresh bread. Drew’s grandfather loved to cook, and where I’m the baker, Drew is an all-around chef. We make a good pair. Maybe I’m destined to be single forever and I get Drew instead of a boyfriend. I suppose there are far worse fates than getting to live with your best friend, even if that means no sex.
I hold up the phone and his eyes widen. He sets down a pair of tongs on the counter and turns to me.
“Don’t be mad, but I started messaging with Vito a few weeks ago,” he starts.
“You what? And you didn’t think to tell me this?” I ask. Not only am I shocked, I’m also hurt that he didn’t mention it.
“I’m sorry. I had a moment of weakness when you were with He Who Shall Not Be Named and I was lonely and I had one too many martinis at happy hour and I sort of messaged him. I was a little surprised when he messaged back and then we just started talking again. I wanted to tell you but then you broke it off with Fletcher and I felt bad being like, oh, hey, me and my ex might get back together, when you are freshly single again. I was going to tell you in a few more weeks,” he explains.
“So, are you two back together?” I ask.
He shrugs. “I might fly over there for a visit and just see how things go. We’re going to take it slow this time. He’s working for a big corporation that has an office in Rome.”
I step forward and wrap my arms around him, pulling him in for a hug. “I’m happy for you. Vito is a really good guy. I hope you guys can work it out.”
And even though I’m jealous as fuck, I truly am happy for Drew. He deserves the world.
