Chapter 6
CHAPTER SIX
natalie
“DID YOU WATCH THE video I sent you?”
My childhood best friend asked the question beneath her breath as though someone would automatically know that the video in question was, in fact, like watching a Magic Mike show where they didn’t even start with clothes.
“I did, El,” I huffed as I trudged through the parking lot at work, pushing my legs to go faster than they wanted to move. “And then I didn’t fully close out of it, and it started playing in the middle of my first meeting with my new lawyer.”
She gasped. “Oh my God, Nat.”
“Tell me about it,” I grumbled.
“What did he do?”
“Nothing, actually.” Which I would forever be grateful for. “He acted like it wasn’t a big deal.”
“Oo,” Ellie cooed. “A mature man who is comfortable in his sexuality. We like that.”
“I think that’s a bit of a stretch to be able to confirm, but—”
“I don’t think so,” she cut in. “I’ve decided I like him. Approval granted.”
“I didn’t realize I needed your approval.”
“You always need my approval, didn’t you know?”
I rolled my eyes with a laugh, holding the phone away from my ear as Ellie sneezed three times in a row.
She’d always had terrifying seasonal allergies but also refused to get the medication I told her to take for it.
“Listen,” I said when she seemed to make it through the burst of sneezes.
“I’m headed into work. Is there another reason you called aside from the video? ”
Aka the very thing that had created the most mortifying moment of my life.
“Yes!” Ellie exclaimed, and I could easily envision the way her eyes lit up. “Work is sending me to Boston in a few weeks, so I get to come visit.”
“Really?” My heart leapt into my throat. I could really use some time with my best friend right now. “Oh my God, that’s amazing, El. What are the dates?”
“Um…third weekend in June, I think.”
“That’s—oh.”
Shit.
I could really use a visit from my best friend any other weekend than that one.
“What?”
“Nothing.” I shook my head with a grimace, wishing I’d played it cooler so as not to risk the chance that Ellie wouldn’t come. The timing could definitely be better, but I’d still make it work. “We’ll figure it out. It’ll be great!”
“Natalie,” she said, a warning tone in her voice.
Damn.
“My family will be in town that weekend, too, that’s all,” I admitted.
A slight pause.
“Family, meaning…”
“Yeah.” I cringed. “My parents and Theo and…Sully.”
Ellie was silent on the other end of the phone at the mention of my youngest brother, the one who just happened to be her ex.
And not only were they exes, but they’d also broken it off on terrible, rotten, no-good terms. Mysterious ones, too.
No one in my family really seemed to know what happened, not even me.
Before their split, we’d all assumed they were going to get married; that was how perfect they were together.
Sighing, I went on to explain, “Noah bought Gemma a house, is going to surprise her with it, propose, and then invite everyone over for an engagement party. It’s a whole thing.”
“He bought her a house,” Ellie repeated.
“I guess they’re outgrowing his penthouse,” I said with a laugh, even though I understood why Noah wanted to have a yard, more space for his daughter and dog to play.
“If the penthouse is up for grabs, you should take it.”
“Pretty sure he’s keeping the penthouse, too—oh, shit.” My phone buzzed in my hand as I walked into the hospital, and I glanced down to see Cameron’s name on the screen. I frowned. “My lawyer is calling me, El. I gotta go. We can figure something out for June. I promise. Talk soon?”
“Yeah,” she said, sounding slightly subdued. “Talk soon, Nat.”
I switched over to Cameron’s call and breathlessly answered, “Hey.”
“Hi, Dr. London.” God, I wish his voice didn’t sound quite so good when it said my name. Even if it was overly formal, like he was trying to prove a point.
“Natalie,” I corrected.
“Natalie,” he said, and I immediately regretted what I’d done. Because now he sounded even better. “I’m sorry for bothering you, but there’s a mistake on the paperwork you signed yesterday.”
“A mistake?”
That was absolutely not what I needed to hear right now when I was minutes from starting a shift.
“You, uh, signed the wrong name,” Cameron answered. “I apologize that I didn’t catch it before you left.”
I stopped in my tracks in the lobby of the hospital. “I signed the wrong name.”
“Yeah.” Cameron sounded sympathetic but also uncomfortable. “You signed as Natalie Abrams.”
“Fuck, I’m sorry.” I shook my head, irritated with myself. Clearly, my head was elsewhere after our conversation yesterday, the one that had taken a turn into territory we really shouldn’t explore.
“It’s okay,” Cameron reassured me.
It seemed like he was always reassuring me, and I both hated that and appreciated it all at once. I wished I didn’t need the reassurance.
“Muscle memory,” he added lightly. “It happens.”
“Yeah,” I said, but I was still annoyed. I didn’t want any part of my body to remember any part of my marriage, preferably.
“But listen, I’m going to need to grab another signature from you so I can file our counter-petition,” he said, moving the conversation along like usual. “Any chance you could swing by today?”
I put a hand to my forehead, rubbing it in anticipation of a headache. “Cameron, I’m so sorry, but I just got to work.”
“Maybe I could come down there?” he offered.
But I shook my head. “I have rounds, and then I’m scheduled for a surgery. I really have to go, actually. I can maybe meet you when I’m done, but it will be late. And tomorrow—fuck. I’m chaperoning a field trip to the zoo at Chloe’s school.”
“Just call me when you’re off work. We’ll figure it out.” Cameron’s voice could not have been calmer; I had no idea how he did it. “It’ll be fine, Natalie. Don’t worry about it.”
I was worried about it.
I knew we were getting down to the wire with our time limit to be able to file that counter-petition, and I didn’t want anything to go wrong when it came to this case.
When I was silent, Cameron added, “I promise everything will be okay, Natalie. Call me later, no matter the time. Okay?”
“Okay,” I whispered because it was all I could really do, and then I hung up and switched my brain over.
Rounds, first. I could do this.
It was eleven o’clock when I got off work.
I stared at my phone in the parking lot, knowing that Cameron had told me to call but wondering if that was a good idea.
He probably hadn’t realized when I said it would be late what exactly that meant.
I knew lawyers worked a lot and had extensive hours themselves, but not usually this late. Right?
I settled for shooting him a text instead.
Hey, I’m done with work.
He responded within seconds.
CAMERON: I’ll swing by your house to meet you.
I shook my head, not willing to let him do that for a mistake I made.
I can come to you. It’s okay. Chloe is at Blake’s tonight.
It wasn’t Cameron’s fault that I signed the wrong name on paperwork that was crucial to me maintaining custody of my nine-year-old.
CAMERON: You’ve been on your feet for fourteen hours. You shouldn’t be driving around more than necessary.
This was actually a shorter shift for me.
CAMERON: I’ll be there soon.
Not having the energy to argue anymore, I headed home.
And sure enough, Cameron was there, waiting for me, leaning against the railing on my front stairs just like he had a few nights ago.
He still wore slacks and a dress shirt, sleeves rolled up to expose his forearms, making me wonder if he really had been working this late.
A five o’clock shadow layered his jawline, adding to the effect.
“I’m so sorry about this,” I started before he could say anything.
He waved off my apology. “It’s not a big deal,” he said as though it wasn’t almost midnight and he wasn’t standing outside my house because I fucked something up.
“You make a lot of house calls in your line of work?” I asked with a humorless laugh.
The corners of Cameron’s lips curved, but it wasn’t enough for his dimples to show. “I do whatever needs to be done for my clients.”
I pushed past the immobilizing sensation of guilt and got myself to open the door, walking through it and then holding it open for him to follow me.
It was, unfortunately, a disaster inside.
“Sorry for the mess,” I apologized. “Usually, I take care of all this—” I waved around at the pile of shoes and the dirty laundry basket by the bottom of the stairs just off the entryway. “—on my off days, but yesterday, I was—”
“At the office with me. I understand,” Cameron cut in. “You don’t need to apologize.”
“I can tell you’re very tidy, though,” I said before maneuvering through the living room that was, thankfully, cleaner than the entryway.
I usually did have things clean and organized, but I also had a sort of system for when and how I took care of things, and the last week or so had not gone as usual, what with visits with lawyers and unsuccessful date nights.
“Oh?”
“Like you just said…I’ve been in your office, Cameron.”
“I have the time to be tidy,” he said with a shrug. “I don’t judge people who don’t.”
I narrowed my eyes at him over my shoulder. “Do you have flaws?”
He looked taken aback. “What?”
“Like things wrong with you.” I stepped over Chloe’s skates, which were, for some reason, sitting in the middle of the hallway. “There must be something, right?”
“Trust me,” he laughed. “There are things.”
I turned and walked backward into the kitchen while giving him a once-over, not believing him. Especially not when he showed up at my house looking like that, with his collar unbuttoned and those veiny forearms on display. Jesus.