Page 27 of Things We Fake
Cam’s face registered shock at seeing me. He blinked, his gaze turning smoky with appreciation as it moved over my body.
“Wow. You look... amazing. Not that you didn’t before, but… This is a side of you that I haven’t seen yet. I wish I’d asked you out sooner.”
“It’s never too late.” Was that throaty, flirty voice really mine? Hell, these clothes were power! The sexy undies, elegant dress, and fancy jewelry had wrapped me in confidence I didn’t know I owned. “You clean up nicely too. Want to come in for a drink before we go?”
He nodded and stepped inside. I took a moment to admire him properly. He wore a tailored midnight-blue suit, paired with a shirt a shade darker. The absence of a tie and the top button open showed a glimpse of his strong neck. The colors turned his deep brown eyes into dark, mysterious pools. As he ran his hand through his hair, I saw the glint of a Patek Phillipe on his wrist. He’d walked straight out of the pages of GQ.
And he came bearing gifts.
“These are for you.” He held out a sleek blue paper bag and a bouquet of fresh-cut tulips. “I didn’t know what flowers you liked, so I picked a classic.”
I blinked at the chocolates, then grinned as I recognized the gold script on the dark box. “La Maison du Chocolat? You don’t mess around.”
“Well, you did have stolen chocolate stashed in your smock the other day. Figured it was a safe bet.”
“It wasn’t stolen, it was borrowed. Thank you so much for these.” I took a moment to admire the flowers, then placed them on the kitchen counter in my one and only vase. “Tulips are my second favorite flowers.”
“And the favorites are…?”
“Sunflowers. But they’re out of season now, obviously.”
He smiled slowly, as though procuring sunflowers in April was the new challenge of his life. It was the smile of a man who knew he was attractive and used it to his advantage. While I wasn’t at all immune to his charm, I decided right then and there that I was going to be a challenge for him. I might end up as a notch on his bed post and he on mine, but not tonight.
I went to the fridge, took out a bottle of white wine, and poured some into two glasses. I handed him one.
“Thank you. Here’s to us.” He raised his glass to mine in a toast. “It took us a while to get here, and I’m excited to see what fate sends our way.”
“To us.” I clinked my glass gently against his, wondering what he’d meant by saying it had taken us a while to get here. We’d only met a week ago, and that was certainly not a long time.
I sipped my wine, while silence filled the room. Damn! I sucked at small talk. This was going to be a long evening.
“So, how’s your sister-in-law doing?” I asked in the end. It was either that or the weather.
“She’s doing great. She’s mastered the crutches, and also uses the furniture for support. My nephew’s quite impressed with her creativity, although Craig thinks she needs to slow down.” He chuckled. “My brother is always the overly cautious one. I tend to dive into the deep end without looking.”
There was something about the way his gaze was fixed on mine as he said the words that had me thinking he was implying a whole lot more. Was I the deep end? If he wanted to dive in so quickly, he had another thing coming—and that wouldn’t be me, not tonight anyway.
I swallowed, moistened my lips, and sipped my wine once again, keeping my tone flirty but light. “I suppose I’m a little like your brother. I usually take time to weigh my options, but every now and then, I’ll do something impulsive.”
He smiled. “Like jumping into the middle of a food fight?”
“Yeah, like that.”
“Any other exciting stuff happen this week?”
“No, thankfully. The week was pretty uneventful at school. How was yours?”
“Busy. I did have a funny incident while moving into a new office, as my name was initially spelled Cameroon Jones.”
I laughed, narrowly missing spraying beer all over him. “Mister Cameroon has an exotic ring to it.”
“I’m sure it will be my nickname from now on.”
“You should stick with Cam, although I suppose that could be turned into Came.”
He emptied his glass. “He came; he saw; he conqueredcould be my new motto,” he quoted Julius Caesar with dramatic flair.
I finished my wine. “I can see that working, assuming you have something to see and conquer.”
