19. Elias
Chapter Nineteen
ELIAS
“Looking good,” Nora said at my shoulder, her tone teasing. I glanced sideways.
“What do you mean?”
If I’d wondered if she was giving me a little hell, I knew for sure with the sly gleam in her eyes. “You’re totally rocking that suit. And Cammi looks great with you. You’re treating her like a real date.”
I shifted my shoulders in said suit jacket. “She is a real date.”
We were at the fundraiser Daphne had planned and cajoled all of us into attending. Based on the crowd alone, it was a smashing success. We were giving away some pricey flights for tourists. Everyone who wasn’t a business person donating something had paid a hefty fee for dinner. With Daphne in charge of the food, it was worth every penny.
“Daphne outdid herself with the food,” I commented to Nora. “Also, you look great yourself.”
My compliment was entirely platonic, but she did look great. Nora’s dark hair fell down her back, straight and glossy. She usually wore it in a braid, or ponytail, or a messy bun. Her big brown eyes were set off with a hint of smoky shadow. She wore a pretty dress, and I doubted any of us missed the way Gabriel could hardly keep his eyes off of her.
Case in point: as I glanced around, I saw him standing a few feet away, talking with Grant and Flynn. Every few seconds, his eyes darted to Nora. He looked like he was a combination of angry and turned on.
“You’re giving Gabriel fits, by the way,” I added.
Nora’s eyes narrowed to daggers. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Okay,” I said easily. It was no sweat off my back if they wanted to keep denying the sparking chemistry between them.
I felt before I saw Cammi returning to my side. She had departed for a restroom break. Turning, that now familiar jolt of electricity sizzled down my spine when I saw her. She looked stunning tonight. Her hair swung in a clean line right along her shoulders as she turned and smiled at someone who said her name. When she reached me, my breath seized in my lungs for a moment. She didn’t need makeup, but fuck me, she’d added smoky eyeshadow and a dash of lip gloss, and all I could think was I needed to kiss it off. The blue in her eyes was even brighter, if possible.
She’d worn a navy silk dress that hugged her curves like a lover. I was jealous of the fabric itself, an entirely new experience for me. I was torn between wanting to run my hands over that silk, or tearing it off of her. The only thing holding me back was I did have some manners.
When she stopped beside me, I didn’t even try to play it cool and let my palm slide down her back, savoring the warmth of her skin in the V opening before it crossed over the silk and came to rest just above her bottom. I had to forcibly check myself to keep from giving her sweet bottom a squeeze.
“Need more champagne?” I asked as I saw a waiter weaving through the crowd with a tray of champagne flutes.
“In a minute,” she said. “I’m sure one of the waiters will pass by us soon. Daphne’s done a great job.”
“She always does,” Nora chimed in.
Cammi smiled. “She has. It’s nice you all have her out at the resort.”
“Tell me about it,” I replied. “We’re all grateful she and Flynn are together. Otherwise, I’m sure she could find better places to be a chef.”
“We are lucky,” Nora chimed in. “She seems to genuinely love it though. I don’t know if she would leave. There’s something to be said for just being where you want to be.”
I knew that deeply. Because I was where I wanted to be in Alaska. Cammi was starting to make me wonder if maybe this didn’t need just to be a place to find peace. Maybe I could have a little bit more than that. That was unsettling. Because letting anyone matter too much was hard for me and something I’d fought against.
The fundraiser moved along, and I was relieved to have Cammi with me. She was fun and easy and knew everyone I did and then some. About halfway through the night, we were sitting at a table with Flynn, Daphne, Diego, Nora, and Tucker. My arm was resting across her shoulders because I didn’t care that all my friends knew I wanted her.
Cammi nearly jumped in her seat, her shoulder stiffening under my arm. When I glanced down, she had a look of horror on her face. No one else had noticed yet because they were busy talking, so I leaned over, speaking low in her ear. “Everything okay?”
“Uh, well, that guy? The one I didn’t know was married?” At my nod, she continued, “He’s here with another woman. I don’t care about it for me, but oh my God. He’s probably doing the same thing all over again.”
I followed her line of sight, my eyes landing on the man I’d seen her encounter at the lodge restaurant. Sure enough, the woman he was with was definitely not the woman I’d seen him with that night. They also appeared very together. He had his arm around her, and she was laughing at something he said.
“So, he’s a total asshole, but then you knew that.”
Cammi let out a huff of breath. “God. I’m such an idiot.”
I caught her chin in my hand, turning her to look at me. “Don’t blame yourself. He lied, plain and simple. And, don’t change who you are either. Trust me, it’s no good going through life doubting people. Would you blame her if you knew he’d lied to her about who he was too?”
Two bright red spots appeared on her cheeks and her eyes looked anguished as she shook her head. “No, but?—”
I shook my head quickly. “No buts. He lied, and you believed him. That’s it.”
Cammi’s swallow was audible as she nodded slowly. The color in her cheeks faded, and she gave me a small smile. “Thank you. I’m totally over him, but it just makes me sick.”
“Should I go punch him for you?” I was dead serious. I wouldn’t ruin Daphne’s fundraiser, but I’d take him outside.
Her eyes widened. “No! You’re not serious, are you?”
“Completely. You didn’t deserve his lies, and neither does the woman he’s with. Even though I don’t know her, I’m not a fan of liars.”
My own history in this regard was twisted with bitterness. Hell, cheating and the betrayal of my friend clung to me. I missed him too. That was the fucked up thing about betrayal. These were the reasons why I’d never intended to get serious again. There was one catch. I hadn’t thought I was capable of feeling enough for someone again.
Cammi was blowing my perceptions about my ability to control my emotions to smithereens.
“No, don’t do that,” she said, slowly shaking her head. “I’m horrified, but it’s strangely a relief to see he’s still up to his old tricks. It wasn’t just me.”
“Maybe you should let his wife know.”
She chewed on her bottom lip, distracting me instantly. This time, I didn’t hold back, leaning down and catching her lips in a kiss. I dove into her sweet mouth. She didn’t hesitate when I swept in, just for a second, and her sassy tongue glided against mine.
When I drew back, she let out a wondering laugh. “You do make me forget everything, including where we are.”
I heard Diego’s chuckle from across the table and cast him a quick look, giving an unrepentant shrug.
“Told you it was a real date,” Nora called from where she sat between Diego and Tucker.
“We all knew that,” Daphne said. “Now leave them alone.”
Daphne might be petite, but she was fierce, and we all generally did whatever she said.
What happened with Cammi should have given me pause. And yet, it was so obvious she’d unknowingly walked into an affair. I hated that my friend’s death and betrayal were tangled up, but I knew her actions weren’t like his. He’d known exactly what he was doing when he screwed around with my then-girlfriend.
Much as I wanted to go out of my way and rough up the man who betrayed Cammi, I didn’t. I didn’t know what to think about how I’d tapped into a vein of protectiveness I didn’t even know I had.
I remembered Greg dying. I remembered my ex sobbing uncontrollably over the phone, at which point I realized she’d been having an affair with my best friend. I remembered her trying to fix it, but that was it for me. I remembered my physical pain and tumbling into the oblivion of opiates. Those pharmaceutical companies spun a poison type of a scab. Between my physical and emotional pain, it had all been too tempting to lose myself in numbness.
I was thinking about that later when I saw that man look over at Cammi and his eyes lingered for a moment. My hand was resting on her back and I slid it around to curl over her hip possessively. Because she was mine. Even if I wasn’t quite ready to plumb the depths of what mine meant.
I rode the edge of a fierce need all night. By the time Daphne announced the winners of various high-end giveaways, I just needed to get out of there. Because I needed Cammi.