CHAPTER 30
Lacey
“I’m going on a date with Cameron Levine,” Lacey said to herself as she looked in the mirror. “I am going on an actual date with Cameron Levine. What the hell do I wear?”
It was at this point that Lacey realized that she needed more friends.
She’d been so focused on building her business and her client base that she hadn’t been all that focused on keeping the friends she had or finding new ones.
Then, she’d been in a relationship, and that had taken up most of her non-working time.
Now, she stood in front of her bathroom mirror, staring at her body and wondering what she had that she could cover it with because she couldn’t go out with Cameron in only her bra and underwear.
They were her nicest bra and panty set, which she should not have put on in the first place because they weren’t going to be seen by anyone other than her tonight, but she needed help deciding what to put over them.
She reached for her phone, which was playing music as it rested on the counter next to her curling iron, and thought about it before she dialed.
“Hey,” River said.
“Hey. You can totally hang up on me. It would be okay. I won’t be mad at all.”
“Lace, what’s going on?”
“Um… I don’t know what to wear, and I have a date.”
“Oh,” River said. “Got it.”
“Yeah… Feel free to hang up on me now. I’m a bad person for calling my ex-girlfriend about this. I just didn’t know who else to call.”
“Hey, it’s okay. I can help. I know your wardrobe better than anyone.”
“Really? Are you sure you don’t mind?”
“I told you I wanted you to move on, right?”
“Yes. But saying that and helping me pick out clothes for a date with someone else is different.”
“I’m assuming this someone else is Cameron.”
“Yes.”
Lacey smiled.
“Well, good. I’m glad.”
“Are you, really?”
“I am weirdly calm about it. That’s all I’ve got,” River replied. “I’m making an order that someone is going to pick up tomorrow, so can we make this short?”
“Yeah. Hey, are you okay? Did you-know-who call you?”
“Kennedy?”
“Yes, River. You know I meant Kennedy.”
“No, she didn’t. But I waited a few days and called her myself to make sure she was okay.”
“And?”
“And what?”
“River, did you ask her? Did she ask you?”
River breathed hard into the phone and said, “I asked. She said no.”
“What? She did?”
“She told me she needed time because everything’s about to get hectic for her. I imagine that’s true for Cameron, too, but she must be able to handle it better.”
“She seems a little more flexible than Kennedy.”
River chuckled and said, “Yeah, I can see that. I didn’t get the impression that she didn’t want to go out, just that she couldn’t right now, but she’d be coming by the shop. We’re going to hang out. Who knows, maybe we’ll turn into friends or something.”
“Maybe. Just… Take care of yourself, River.”
“I will. Oh, where are you going?”
“Dinner. I don’t know where. She said nothing fancy.”
“Wear that green sweater you have. It brings out those brown eyes of yours and goes well with that red hair. Skinny jeans and those black boots. The flats, not the heels.”
“Are you sure? Jeans?”
“If it’s not fancy, it should be fine.”
“Okay. I’ll give it a try.”
“Good luck, Lace. I hope you have a good time. If she tries anything you don’t want and you need me to kick her ass for you, let me know.”
“You’re going to beat her up for me?” Lacey laughed.
“I don’t know what else to say. You’re my ex.”
“Right. Well, I should go. I still have to do my hair.”
“Side braid.”
“Really? Why?”
“Cameron looked at you a lot when you had that side braid thing rocking. I got the impression she really liked it.”
“Thank you, River.”
“No problem.”
“Well, I’ll let you get back to work. Have a good night.”
“You too, Lace.”
Lacey hung up and walked out of the bathroom over to her closet.
She put on a white tank top first, added her dark-green twist-knit sweater, and her jeans went on last before she went back to the bathroom and put on a little makeup.
Light mascara, a bit of lipstick, and a covered-up red spot that was a pimple-in-the-making later, she brushed her hair and pulled it over to the side before she braided it loosely and wrapped it with a black tie.
Done with that, she took a few steps back to do a quick once-over and stepped out of the bathroom to get her shoes just as there was a knock at the door.
“What the hell? She’s at least fifteen minutes early,” she muttered as she hurried to her closet to slip on her shoes and rushed out to the living room to open the door as if Cameron would only knock once, not get an answer, and leave. “Hi,” she greeted, nearly out of breath.
“Um… Hi,” Cameron replied with a smirk on her face. “Are you okay?”
“You’re early. I… ran.”
Cameron laughed a little and held out a bouquet of red roses.
“These are for you. Sorry, traffic wasn’t bad, so I got here early, and I didn’t want to just wait in the car.”
“You got me roses?” Lacey asked and took them from her. “Wow. Thank you.”
“Do you need a few minutes? I can wait.”
Lacey moved the roses to her face, breathed them in, and smiled. Then, she took Cameron in, and she looked amazing.
“You look beautiful,” Cameron told her before Lacey could say anything, though. “I love your hair like that.” She reached out and touched the end of Lacey’s braid. “You had it like this in the picture Jessie showed us with you and River before the weekend.”
“Oh, right. I submitted that one. You look… dapper. Is dapper the right word to use?”
Cameron was wearing a pair of dark jeans, which could have been mistaken for slacks, black shoes, a light-gray button-down, and a black blazer over it.
“I’ll take dapper. Do you want to put those in water?”
“Yes,” she said and moved to her kitchen. “Shit. Come in, Cam. Sorry, I should’ve invited you in. Do you want something to drink?”
“I’m okay. And I know I’m early, but if we can get out of here soon, it would be good. I don’t want us to be late.”
“Late for what? You haven’t told me where we’re going.”
“And I won’t until we get there. I have a car waiting for us, so the sooner we get going, the faster you get there and find out.” Cameron closed the door behind her and added, “I like your place.”
“You do not,” Lacey stated as she pulled out a pitcher because she didn’t have a vase and filled it halfway with water before she basically shoved the bouquet into it. “It’s small. You’ve seen, like, half of it already.”
“Want to give me the tour?”
“I thought we’d be late.”
“If it’s so small, how long will the tour take?”
“Um… Well, you’re only missing my bedroom, really. The bathroom is in there, so if you need to go, you can, but you were early, and I didn’t get a chance to clean up in there.”
“Got it,” Cameron replied with a small smile. “Are you ready?”
She held out her hand, and Lacey realized that she was about to take it.
“Wait. Should we? We’ll be in public.”
“We can hold hands on the way to the car and in the car, too.” Cameron moved toward her.
“I know things are complicated because of me and Kennedy, but we’re going to talk to Jessie about this.
Kennedy and I have been texting a little about what the plan of attack should be because Jessie may murder us.
” She laughed. “We’re trying to prevent that. ”
Lacey nodded, took Cameron’s hand, and said, “Okay. I wanted to do this so many times that weekend.”
“Me too,” Cameron shared.
They both looked down at their joined hands as if it was something monumental and not just two people at the start of a date holding hands for the first time.
Cameron opened the door. Lacey grabbed her purse and tossed her phone in it before she forgot.
Then, they were off. Cameron held her hand in the elevator, where they were alone, and even as she opened the door as well before she let go to place it on Lacey’s back as she ushered her through the door.
“You didn’t drive?” Lacey asked.
“No. I told you, I had a car waiting. I don’t plan on getting drunk, but I’d like to have a glass of wine or two tonight, and I’m not taking any chances.”
The driver of a black SUV opened the door for them, and Lacey climbed into the middle row of bucket seats.
Cameron climbed in after her, and the door was closed behind them.
Cameron’s arm moved over the back of her seat, and Lacey smiled at that as she looked down at her purse in her lap.
When the driver got behind the wheel and took off, Cameron’s other hand moved to Lacey’s thigh.
Lacey moved her purse over to her other side and put her hand on top of it.
“Too much?” Cameron asked quietly.
“No way,” she said just as quietly and squeezed Cameron’s hand.
“It’s just that once we’re out of the car, I won’t really be able to touch you like this until we’re back in it, so I wanted to take advantage. Not in a bad way. I mean–”
“You’re good, Cam. You should know that River told me that if you try anything with me, she’ll totally kick your ass.”
“Oh, yeah?” Cameron laughed.
“Yeah. So, don’t go getting any ideas.”
“You told her about us?”
“I needed help figuring out what to wear. It was okay. I think we’ll be okay.”
“Ken told me River asked her out.”
“River said Kennedy told her no.”
“She’ll come around. Kennedy likes her. She just needs a little time. Also, no way River could take me in a fight.”
Lacey laughed at that and moved her head to Cameron’s shoulder, feeling that sense of freedom she’d had that weekend come back to her for the first time since.
“Cam, where are we going?” she asked minutes later when they hopped onto a familiar street.
“Just for dinner,” Cameron replied. “I might have social-media stalked you.”
“You what?” Lacey laughed.
“You had this post from a few years ago where you said that your favorite restaurant is inside the park, and you don’t go often because, even with a season pass, it’s expensive. So, I made a reservation.”
“You really stalked me on social media.”
“I just wanted to take you someplace special. The car will actually drop us off pretty close. There’s a special VIP entrance for–”
“People like you?” Lacey guessed.
“Yes. And I asked for a table outside and in the corner, so we can watch the boats on the ride and still have a little privacy. Plus, it’s nice and dark, so, hopefully, I won’t get recognized. Win-win.”
Lacey’s favorite restaurant was Blue Bayou, which was a restaurant inside Disneyland in New Orleans Square.
People could sit outside and watch the riders on Pirates of the Caribbean go by in their boats at the very beginning of the ride.
Plus, the food was Cajun and really good.
Lacey had only been there a few times in her life, and she couldn’t believe that Cameron had searched for her favorite place to eat in Anaheim and had made a reservation for them to eat there.
Having arrived at the park, they were helped out of the SUV and escorted by an employee who took them through some back passages that Lacey had only heard of before, until they were in New Orleans Square and being walked over to their table outside and in the corner, just like Cameron had promised.
The smell of chlorine, the music, and the sounds of the pirate ride, mixed with the zydeco music and the smell of the delicious food, met Lacey as soon as she sat down and was handed a menu.
“I can’t believe you did this,” she said.
“Is it okay?”
“Cam, it’s perfect. I never get to come here. You have to pay for the park ticket before you pay for the meal itself, and I can’t justify that kind of expense.”
“Well, tonight, it’s all on me, and if you want to do anything else while we’re here, we can. We have our escort. She’ll take us anywhere, and we can cut the lines, if you want.”
“We can cut the lines?” Lacey asked.
Cameron chuckled and replied, “Yes, Lacey. We can cut any line, play any game, eat whatever we want, and if you want something from all the gift shops, I’ll get whatever you want for you. I want you to have the best time tonight.”
“I am having the best time. I don’t need all of that.”
“You deserve to be spoiled,” Cameron replied as their waiter approached. “Wine?”
“Whatever you want is fine with me,” Lacey said.
Cameron ordered them glasses of water and a bottle of wine. Then, she nodded to Lacey.
“Want to order for me? I’ve never been here, so I don’t know what’s good.”
“Are you sure?” Lacey asked.
Cameron smiled at her and nodded.
“Um… Okay. Appetizer?”
“Get two. We can try both.”
“Okay. The gumbo and the…scallops,” she said.
“Excellent choice,” their waiter replied as he wrote down Lacey’s requests. “Would you like more time for your entrées?”
“No,” Lacey said, knowing what she was going with. “Can we get the Creole roasted chicken and the filet?”
“Of course,” he replied.
“Dessert?” Cameron asked, offering Lacey a wink.
“I guess we can get the cheesecake and the assorted macarons.”
“You don’t want that treasure chest thing?” Cameron asked, pointing to the menu.
“Cam, that’s over fifty dollars.”
“I don’t care,” Cameron said. “Do you want it?”
“I’ve never had it.”
Lacey looked at the menu again, read the description of a treasure chest made of dark chocolate and filled with Mignardise and sparkling wine, but she didn’t even know what Mignardise was.
“Lace?”
“I’m good with the cheesecake.”
“Can we get the treasure chest thing, the cheesecake, and have the macarons to-go?” Cameron said, handing the waiter her menu.
“Of course,” he replied.
Then, he held his hand out for Lacey’s menu as well and walked away, leaving them alone.
“Cam, that’s way too much.”
“I promise, I won’t do this for every date, but tonight is our first, and I want you to have the best time. I want to spoil you, as I said, and I want you to always remember this night.”
Lacey smiled and wished she could reach for Cameron’s hand on the table.
“I can’t do this for you.”
“I know the money thing is one more way we’re different, but please just let me have this tonight. If you want to order in on our next date and go with fast food and a movie on the couch, I’m in.”
“Next date? I only agreed to one.”
“But I got you a treasure chest,” Cameron teased.