New Venture
NEW VENTURE
RACHEL
My eyelids slowly peeled apart. The morning light poured in through the window, and I groggily stretched out across my bed. As I reached for the pillow next to me, my heart skipped a beat. Panic rushing through me, I sat up and threw on my robe and glasses before hurrying out of the bedroom.
Did he leave or did I imagine last night?
My shoulders relaxed when I saw it was neither. The smell of fresh coffee wafted around me and … breakfast. There was breakfast everywhere.
“Good morning, beautiful,” Cam sang, pulling plates out of the cupboard.
“Good morning,” I said, cinching my robe tighter around my waist. I glanced at my oven’s digital clock. Only 7:08 a.m. “How long have you been up?”
“Long enough to fully explore your kitchen.” Cam paused when he saw me. He was dressed, with fresh hair, and his contacts were obviously back in. “I’m sorry …” He set the plates down slowly. “Is that … is that a robe with pigs eating cotton candy on it?”
I laughed, moving past him to get to the coffee. “Yes, and in an effort to totally turn you on, I must reveal that I have a matching silk sleep mask that goes with it.”
“I’ll never be the same,” he said, leaning down to kiss me. He then took me by the arms and gently guided me to one of the bar chairs. “You sit. Relax. I’ll get your coffee, and I had to order breakfast in. There were mysteries in your refrigerator that I just couldn’t solve.”
I took the coffee he handed me and giggled into my cup. “Like what?”
He dried his hands on a kitchen towel slung over his shoulder and opened the fridge. He ducked his head in and pulled out a bottle of ketchup. “This expired last year.”
I shrugged.
He tossed it in the trash and continued to dig through. “You also have a jar of olives, orange marmalade, and ewww, vegan butter made from coconut and cashew milk?”
“Oh yeah, throw that out.”
Cam pitched it instantly. “The rest of the fridge is just filled with Pellegrino.”
“Hey, it’s my favorite non alcoholic drink.”
Cam stared at the inside of the fridge with his hands on his hips. “We’ve got to work on this.”
“OMG!” I almost spilled coffee all over myself as the sudden list of things I had been dying to tell Cam flooded through my mind. I knew what was on the top of the list.
“What?” he asked, fixing our plates with breakfast sandwiches and tons of hash browns.
He was truly a man after my own heart.
“I have been dying to tell you,” I said.
“Yes?”
“I’m going to wait until you’re sitting down.”
He cocked his head and took a seat beside me. “Spill it.”
I recounted the night of the bachelorette party, building up lots of tension in the story until I finally released the last details about Andrew and Britt. Cam dropped his fork on his plate and stared, wide-eyed, off into the kitchen. He then put both hands up in the air before bringing them to his chest. “I … I think my heart stopped for a second there.”
I touched his shoulder. “I know this must be difficult to hear. I’m sure the thought of Britt and Andrew makes you insanely jealous.”
He burst out laughing. “If there were ever two people who deserved each other, it’s those two, although the city might pay for it. It’s like if Godzilla and Kong fell in love, but also still wanted to kill each other.”
“Right?”
Cam started to clear our plates. “This is the best news but, excuse me. Kind of pissed that you sat on this information. I mean, how dare you.”
“The rules were in place! I couldn’t break them.”
“If there was ever a time to break rules, sharing that information would have been it.”
Cam motioned for me to stay put while he finished cleaning up. “What else happened while we were in radio silence?”
“I found my father.” The words flew out of my mouth, and even I was surprised by how casual they sounded. When I saw the expression on Cam’s face, I knew I should’ve maybe eased into that statement.
He dried his hands again and rushed to me, folding his arms around me. “Whoa, honey. That’s huge.” He kissed me and pushed my hair out of my face. “Where is he?”
“You won’t believe it,” I said, hopping out of my chair to retrieve my phone. “He’s a medical director in Aurora, about twenty minutes from where we stayed.”
“No way.”
I showed him my phone, and he scrolled through Robert’s Facebook page. “Totally looks like you and, wait …” He glanced back at me. “This woman, could this be your half sister?”
I shrugged. “Maybe, if that’s my real father.”
“You should send him a friend request.”
I snatched my phone from his hand. “No. Not ready for that yet.”
“You don’t have anything to lose and if he recognizes the name, he might message you. At least you would know.”
“And then what would I do?”
“We figure it out. You don’t have to do this stuff alone anymore.”
My breath hitched. We’d only spent one official night together, and yet he made it sound like it was the start of forever. I smiled and sent my request, then slammed the phone down, face down.
“See? That wasn’t so hard.” He glanced at his watch. “So, what do you think? Should we go to a wedding today?”
I bobbed my head side to side. “Sigh, I suppose. Who’s getting married again?”
“Some exotic Greek woman and a total nerd.”
“Sounds dreamy,” I said. “Just thinking about our radio silence, though …what about you? How did your time of reflection go?”
“Aside from the total agony of being away from you, it went well. I decided to forgive Roman.”
I went to set my cup in the sink. “Really?”
Cam leaned against the sink and rested his hands on my hips. “The more I thought about it, I realized he’d saved me. He saved me from marrying Britt. If I had gone through with it, there would have been years of pain, and I never would have been allowed to stand in for Zach at the last minute, and if that were the case, I would never have shared that first dance with you. Roman saved me so I could be with you.”
I slipped my arms around his neck and buried my face in his shoulder. “I guess I owe Roman a debt of gratitude too.”
“Yeah, your debt has been paid. In full . You saved him from Britt. He owes you .”
I pulled away just enough to run my fingers through his wild hair and kissed him gently. “Should we get ready?”
“Absolutely, as long as it’s clear you are not just my plus one anymore.”
“I’m not?”
“Nope. You’re my girlfriend, who I’m madly in love with, and that’s the story.”
My smile overtook my face. “I do like the sound of that better.”
Laura almost fainted when Cam and I arrived at one of the smaller Phoenician ballrooms where the bridal party was getting ready. We strolled in, hand in hand and smiling from ear to ear. Laura and Sarah both had mimosas in their hands while Emily sat in a chair, her hair already in rollers.
“Oh my gah, did you?” Laura cried, rushing to us.
Cam and I exchanged knowing looks. “We did,” Cam answered.
Laura grabbed me by the shoulders. “But did you?”
“I did,” I said, squeezing Cam’s hand.
“That’s so great!” Emily shouted from her seat.
“So that means …” Laura insisted.
“It does.”
Laura wailed and smothered me in a hug.
“Thank goodness I didn’t start on her face yet,” the makeup artist said.
Sarah blinked rapidly. “I have no idea what any of you just said.”
Laura gently wiped under her eyes. “After months of speculation and all of us dying for these two to cut the bullshit and get together, they finally had sex last night. Rachel went all the way, which she’s not been able to do, and now they are officially a couple. Best. Wedding. Present. Ever. Full stop.”
Cam chuckled. “I’m going to catch up with the guys and let you get ready.” He kissed me before heading for the room a few doors down where the guys were getting dressed.
Laura’s and Foster’s mothers soon joined us, and we all got dolled up and sipped glasses of bubbly as the photographer floated through taking pictures. I almost cried happy tears so many times seeing all my besties overflowing with joy.
It was a wedding straight out of a dream. An instrumental version of “Wannabe” by the Spice Girls served as the processional music, and instead of stepping slowly, we were instructed to dance down the aisle. Everyone cried as Foster read his vows holding his piece of paper with shaking hands.
The reception was full of amazing Greek food, cheers, and loud toasts with ouzo. Though Laura’s family did their best to prevent it, Uncle Nick still whipped his shirt off during the dancing and swung it over his head in the air. “This Is Heaven” by Nick Jonas came on, and Cam twirled me around on the floor like it was something we had practiced for months. Nothing felt more natural than being in his arms, whether we were dancing or sitting on an outdoor lounge sofa watching the reception wind down. I sat, legs stretched across his lap, leaning my head against his shoulder while he gently rubbed my arm.
“What are you thinking about?” I asked after we had been quiet for a while.
“Several things.” he said, leaning his head back.
“Oh?”
“How beautiful you were tonight.”
“I like it.”
“How for the first time in a long time, I had a blast at a wedding.”
I kissed his cheek. “Same.”
“I was also thinking about what your pet name should be,” he said, touching his forehead to mine.
I sat up. “I can’t wait to hear this.”
He brought his index finger to his lips. “How about Jellyfish?”
“Awful.”
“Llama Mama?”
“Worse.”
“How about if I call you My Treasure?”
“Barf. Seriously, I think you’re still fired from naming things.”
He laughed. “Fair enough. We’ll work on that.”
“I liked it when you called me honey.”
“Done.”
“I’ll think of another one for you, but I’m still stuck on Hot Baker.”
“Yeah, now you’re fired for that one.”
“At least you’re not the Grumpy Groomsman anymore,” I said, trailing little kisses down his neck.
“Nope.” He leaned in and took my mouth in his. “I think it’s almost time to send off the bride and groom and then …” he said in between kisses. “You ready to get out of here?”
I moaned softly. “My house …” My body warmed at the thought. “Or yours?”
He cupped my face in his hand. “Grab an overnight bag from yours, then mine?”
“Deal.”
“Before we go home, I want to show you something.”
I straightened my dress when I stood while Cam grabbed his jacket off the back of the sofa. “What is it?”
“You’ll see.”
We gathered at the entrance of The Phoenician as Laura and Foster hugged and kissed their way through the crowd before they hopped in a decorated golf cart that took them to their honeymoon suite across the property. Cam and I said our goodbyes, headed to my house so I could grab some things, and then we started on a route that I had done many times before.
For the life of me, I couldn’t think of what might be at the end of this rainbow. “Where are we going?”
“To the site of our newest venture.”
As we arrived at the deserted parking lot, I couldn’t help but stare in amazement. A few weeks ago, I had parked my car in this same spot on my third visit to view this building; a space that I had determined was out of my price range. This cluster of shops was tucked away among a row of others in a bustling commercial area off North Scottsdale Road.
“Cam,” I said, shutting the car door. “I was just here the other day.”
“Were you?”
“I looked at this space over here.” I pointed to the doorway to the left of where we parked. “During our time apart, I scoped out places where I could open my own store, but I couldn’t afford anything.”
He slipped his arm around me as we admired the storefronts. “Well, now you can.”
My heart jumped. “What do you mean?”
He grabbed my hand, and we ran to the end of the row. “I bought the complex.”
“You what?”
“This first one is going to be a women’s boutique. Already have that leased.” We ran by the next set of doors. “This will be a men’s boutique, this will be a coffee shop, and this larger section I thought would work for Llama Mama’s Gifts and Stuff.”
I doubled over with laughter holding my stomach. “Please never name anything again.”
“I’m serious,” he said, squeezing my hand. “This could be a great spot for your new store.”
I bit my lip to stop laughing and had to press my hand to my chest to get my heart to stop racing. “Cam.”
“Could be whatever you want, but it’s big enough for a starter furniture or design business.”
“I don’t know?—”
“I’m only your landlord. I have nothing to do with your business.”
“I’m not sure I can afford this though. I’ve got enough to maybe get started with fixtures and merchandise, but the lease payment … I don’t know.”
“If you can’t pay, you’re going to have to sleep with me,” he said with a sly smile.
“Sexual bribery. I think I can handle that.” I glanced back at the building, overwhelmed by the fact that so many of my dreams had come true in one day. “Seriously, though. This would be amazing. Thank you.”
“I love you,” I said, kissing him.
“I love you more.”
After a long, warm embrace, I released him and pointed to the storefront at the end. “What about this one? What’s going here?”
“My newest bakery concept.”
“Really? And what does it sell?”
A slow smile spread across his handsome face. “Wedding cakes.”