Chapter 18
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Fletcher
I text Al again. It’s the end of week two of the competition. Our pie got us to the finale round, but barely. If the other team hadn’t overbaked their pie by a few minutes, we’d be done for.
Me: Any updates on the saltshaker?
Al: Not yet. I have Troy and Drew scouring the apartment. Roxy and Carly have had Phyllis checking in the café. Kasen even recommended looking around to make sure Licorice didn’t hide it somewhere.
I frown. Who the hell is Licorice? I’ve heard some of the other names from Al and Camryn, but not that one.
Me: Who?
Al: Kasen lives in the building.
Me: No. Licorice?
Al: Oh, that’s Roxy and Gray’s cat. She likes to hide things.
Me: Got it.
Another message comes in from my sibling chat.
Spencer: Any progress on figuring her branding out so we can update ours?
Dalton: Ticktock. (clock emoji)
I groan. I’ve barely had time to think let alone consider my next business move.
Me: Not yet.
With each day that passes, I’m finding it harder to think of Camryn as my rival. I’ll be the first to admit that it’s been shocking to see how well we work together. Hell, I don’t even mind that she’s bossing me around in our little kitchen.
We’ve formed a rhythm and spend each evening planning. A small and growing part of me wishes we weren’t rivals. I’m not even sure if I’d consider her the enemy any longer. And that bothers me. I should hate her or at the very least not like her. It’s easier to hate your rivals.
I look down at the flowers Hutch sent over today. I had them arranged in our shared living space in the suite. I don’t scare easily but that guy unnerves me. Camryn tells me he’s a gentle giant, but I’m not sure I believe her.
Camryn walks in and grins as she steps up next to me. “How?” she asks, gently running a finger along a flower petal.
“Hutch sent them over,” I explain, motioning to a note.
She picks it up and her smile widens.
“You really love your neighbors, huh?” I ask, frowning because I barely know mine.
I admit I’m jealous of the relationships she has with them all.
I can’t even say I have friends any longer.
And the ones I do have, I often question if they stay friends with me for the perks and nothing else.
I love my brothers and they are my friends, but I secretly long for the type of bond she has with all of these people.
“I do,” she says as she sets the note down and looks up at me. “It’s Thursday.”
“And?” I ask.
“Didn’t you say you needed to check on your store when we had a free day? Today is a free day,” she points out.
We have a quick briefing this morning to confirm some things for next week but then we have the rest of the day.
I pull out my phone and call our family’s driver to come get us.
“He’ll pick us up in an hour,” I say after I hang up.
“Who?” she asks.
“My driver,” I state. She eyes me suspiciously and I return the look.
“You just call a driver and someone appears an hour outside the city to get us?” she asks incredulously.
“Yep. Just like that,” I say. It’s been so long since I thought about it. I remember one friend in college commenting once, but I run in circles where having a driver is a norm.
She rolls her eyes and I fight a smirk. Damn, she’s adorable when she’s annoyed.
“Come on,” I add as I place a hand on the small of her back, guiding her down to our meeting.
I wait for her to fight me, but she complies without any more attitude.
What the hell is happening between us? First me, now her.
We’re both bowing to the other and it’s a strange feeling as if the dynamic between us has shifted.
We’re sympatico and it feels natural yet foreign.
* * *
Three hours later, I’m waiting for her outside her store. She walks out and looks disheveled.
“Everything OK?” I ask, reaching out to tuck a stray curl behind her ear.
She lets out a long breath. “Phyllis forgot I changed the ordering system and under-ordered some ingredients and over-ordered others. She was trying to help, but now I have to fix it all. I think I got it mostly squared away.” She pauses as if she’s unsure if she should have even said all that to me.
I raise my hands. “We’re still on a truce. We’re on the same team for now. No judgments.”
She eyes me suspiciously and then sighs. “Fine. Anyhow, uh…” She trails off and looks down at her phone.
“Want a drink?” she asks.
“Oh, uh, yeah, sure,” I stammer as I look around. There’s a local pub about a block away and I assume that’s where we’re going, so I start in that direction.
She laughs. “No. Not Joe’s. Follow me.” She motions across the street and I follow her into Al’s building. We walk up a ridiculous amount of steps and then out onto the rooftop.
I stop as I take it in. I’ve been up here but it’s been years. And it wasn’t like this. I look at the covered bar and seating area, a lounge area with a few chairs, a fire pit, a hot tub, and a greenhouse.
“Wow,” I manage, my voice breathy from walking up all the steps.
“Yeah. It’s impressive, right?”
I nod.
She pats my back. “You need to work out more.”
I glare at her and she grins. Al sees me and waves me over. I recognize Hutch immediately. He eyes me like he can’t decide if I’m a foe or a friend.
A few other men are sitting near him. One with a little girl on his lap. Four women sit talking at a table with two older women and a couple my parents’ age.
“Everyone, this is Fletcher. He’s helping me with the competition, so be nice,” Camryn says.
I get a lot of interesting looks. Some of them clearly hate me already and others can’t seem to make up their mind.
“What’ll it be?” Al asks.
“Do you have whiskey?” I ask.
He nods and pours me two fingers. I accept the glass with a nod.
“Who are you?” the little girl asks.
“He’s what we call a wanker, Ava,” Drew says from the door. I turn to see him coming out from the stairs.
“Unca Bray, what’s a wanker?” she asks the man whose lap she sits on. He tries not to laugh.
“A naughty word, Ava,” he says.
“I think it’s spot-on,” a larger man next to him mutters into his beer as Drew walks over to us.
Camryn whacks both Drew and the man on the back of the heads.
“Hey,” Drew says. “Watch the hair.”
The other man just glares at her. She sticks her tongue out and accepts a martini from Al.
“This is Kasen,” she says, swatting the man’s head again. He looks like someone who kills people, so I decide to be extra nice.
“Nice to meet you,” I say.
He looks me up and down. “Yeah,” he mutters.
Charming.
Hutch turns to me. “No offense, but you are in enemy territory here. This whole crowd is on Team Cam.”
I chuckle and hold up my hand in defense. “I’d expect nothing less from her friends. However, I too am now on Team Cam.” I pause. “I mean…literally. I’m her assistant for the competition.”
Everyone freezes and I feel heads turning to look at Camryn and me.
“Amber’s mom needed surgery,” she explains with a shrug. “So for now, Fletcher and I are…well, having a truce of sorts.”
“Of sorts?” Kasen mumbles.
“Yes. So be nice. We have the day off, so we came by to check on our businesses. I needed a drink and this is the best happy hour in town,” she says.
“Unca Bray?” Ava asks loudly to the man she’s sitting on.
“Yes, little nugget?”
“Uh, why do we all not like this guy again?” she whisper-yells and points to me.
“Because he’s Miss Camryn’s rival. Remember, we were all talking about it the other day?” She frowns, clearly not understanding the words. “He’s the one who wants to open a café on our street.”
Now she’s really frowning. “Right. But…we have one.” She points to Camryn.
He smiles. “Yes, we do.” He turns to me. “See, even children know that your store isn’t needed. Best of luck with that.”
Ava looks up at me as if trying to figure something out. “Mr. Drew. I don’t think he’s Satan. He doesn’t have horns and he’s not scaring me.”
I spit out my drink and Drew laughs. “Well, Ava, I think Satan here doesn’t want to scare people, so he puts on this nice Fletcher suit.”
I glare at him.
Ava slinks back against the man who I presume is named Bray.
“He’s joking, nugget,” Bray says.
“Don’t worry, I’m not Satan. I promise,” I tell her.
She eyes me suspiciously. “Are you sure?”
Camryn leans in. “Yeah, are you sure?”
“For the love of…yes, I’m sure,” I mutter and everyone starts laughing.
“Come on over, Satan. Let’s hear all about how you’re helping our Camryn win this competition,” Hutch says as he pats an empty chair next to him.
And just like that, I learn that Camryn’s neighbors are quite nice.
I get why she likes them so much. And as the evening turns to night and I introduce myself and chat with all of them, I realize just how jealous I am of her life. It’s everything that mine isn’t.
I find myself watching Camryn with her friends.
They all seem more like family. The fire pit is going, keeping the cold air at bay.
Everyone has blankets and hats. Camryn throws her head back and laughs at something Margie says.
The firelight brings out the red in her hair.
She looks like a painting, too perfect to be real.
“Tread lightly there,” Kasen says quietly and I realize he’s watching me as I watch Camryn.
“Huh?” I ask, feigning ignorance.
“You hurt our girl and I’ll kill you and no one will find your body,” he says and grins. The smile should be reassuring like he’s joking, but I also think he might not be.
“I promise, I won’t hurt her. We’ll figure something out,” I say.
He leans in. “I don’t mean the store thing,” he adds.
Fuck.
“Yeah, I see you watching her. I’ll repeat. Do. Not. Hurt. Her,” he says again and claps me on the back. “Well, I’m off. Come on, Piper. I need to feed the babies.”
I frown. They left babies downstairs.
Everyone sees my face and starts laughing.
Camryn leans in. “Don’t worry. His babies live in a fish tank.”
It takes me a moment to understand. “Oh, fish. Right.”
She pats my leg. “You need another drink.” She holds up her other hand and Al makes me a drink.
I could get used to this. I wait for her hand to leave my leg but she leaves it there for a second and I start to want it there.
In fact, I need it there, and when she pulls it away, I miss her touch. Shit. I’m falling for Camryn Tanner.