4. Tabitha
Cam stays just outside the doorway, out of sight of the other book club members. He really does look like a quarterback, with his broad shoulders and muscles filling out his ”Warning. May spontaneously start talking about literature” T-shirt. It’s no wonder everyone always assumed he’d follow in his father’s footsteps. Instead, he crushed our high school coach’s dreams and spent his free time in the library, working on the school paper and yearbook with me instead of being pummeled by even bigger guys on the football field.
I may have had a bit of a crush on Cam back then—okay, I was absolutely infatuated with him—but that was ages ago. He never saw me that way, and my crush slowly morphed into the best friendship I could ever hope for.
I cross the room, trying to ignore the way my red, floor-length gown squeezes the life out of my ribs. “What are you doing here?”
His eyes keep drifting down my body as he says, “I literally have no idea. Ruthanne told me to be here at seven, so here I am.”
“Ruthanne?” I’m more than a little surprised. “Are you sure she wanted you to come to tonight’s meeting?”
Cam nods and rubs the back of his neck. “You look…” he trails off as he tries, and fails, to find the right word.
“Way over the top?” I grin. “You know I always dress up for book club.”
Cam nods. “But never…” He gestures at my dress again.
“We’re reading a historical romance tonight.”
“Oh,” Cam says, as if it all finally makes sense. He peeks inside the room and takes in all the women in fancy dress, who are finally done arranging themselves for the group photo.
“Tabitha, we’re ready,” Millie calls from her seat in the front row.
I take Cam’s hand. “Come. For posterity!”
“I’ll sit this out,” he says, breaking free from my grip. “I left my waistcoat and breeches at home.”
“You have a waistcoat and breeches?” I ask.
“Doesn’t everyone?” Cam teases.
My cheeks turn scarlet at the thought of him dressed like the Duke of Shaughnessy. I quickly shove the image from my mind and shoulder bump him. Well, my shoulder bumps his lower rib cage, while my own aches. “Okay, everyone, in position.”
“Cam, you have to join us,” Ruthanne calls out. “The photo wouldn’t feel complete without you.”
The other ladies agree—aside from Sylvie, who scowls—and I nudge Cam toward the group. To my surprise, he joins begrudgingly, in the back row, since he’s so tall. I’m in the center middle, as always.
“Say cheese,” I call. My phone’s in position on the tripod, and I have a Bluetooth remote that activates the camera.
The entire group says cheese, I push the button a bunch of times, and the camera app snaps some shots.
The ladies shuffle to the table, moving a lot more quickly than I can manage.
While the rest of the ladies find their seats, Sylvie marches over to Cam, her attitude and expression capturing an outraged Duke’s perfectly. She pokes Cam right into the middle of his chest with her walking stick. ”I don”t think this is the sort of book club you”d be interested in, son,” she says.
”Cam is my guest tonight,” Ruthanne calls from her seat at the table. “Why don”t you come sit by me, darlin?” She pats the empty chair next to her with a wink. Cam doesn’t move a muscle.
Millie looks up from her copy of The Duke’s Treasure. ”You know, my husband likes to read my romances sometimes.”
Cam seems to take an interest. ”He does?”
I barely contain a laugh, since I know the direction Millie”s stories usually take, and she definitely delivers.
”He says they work better than Viagra.”
Cam chokes on a loud inhale.
”What?” Millie tsks at him. ”We’re old, not dead.”
”I meant no disrespect, Mrs. Baker.” He looks at me with desperation in his eyes.
I’m already standing at my spot at the head of the table, so I have to speak loudly for him to hear me. ”Don’t you have to work tonight?”
He crosses the room and stands beside me before answering.
”I have some… reports I need to work on, but Ruthanne insisted that if I met her at the library, she wouldn’t ask me for help with her computer for a full month. I figured it was a good deal. Permission to ignore Ruthanne’s calls for thirty whole days.” Cam glares at her playfully.
Ruthanne laughs. “You know you love wrangling my computer into submission. You came because you wanted to spend time with Tabitha.”
My cheeks flush even though I know Ruthanne is just being her shit disturbing self. ”Cam, as much as I’d love to have you join the book club and as much as I love spending time with you?—”
“Oh, I’m sure you do, dear.” Millie fans herself with her paperback.
I scowl at her and turn back to Cam. “I’m not sure this is your scene.”
He frowns, and I worry I’ve offended him. Then again, why would he be interested in discussing a historical romance?
”I insist he stay and that he sits by me,” Ruthanne says, patting a chair she’s clearly holding for him.
Cam sighs and obeys Ruthanne’s command.
”This is a book club.” Sylvie raises the novel and waves it at him. ”If you haven”t read the book, you can’t participate. Those are the rules.”
“That’s not quite true.” I start to sit and grunt as the stupid corset digs into my ribs. I lean on the table and take a few deep breaths.
”Tabby?” Cam rushes to my side. ”Are you okay?”
”Corset. Too tight,” I manage to say.
Cam takes me in, and for a second his eyes darken with concern.
I fully expect him to comment on how ridiculous it is to waste money on a wear-it-once dress, but he frowns and says, ”You”re not wearing blue.”
I look down at my red dress. ”No. Why would I be?”
“Because,” Ruthanne says with authority, “that’s the color of Gabriella’s dress when she kisses Ian.”
Cam glowers at Ruthanne. ”No, because blue is Tabs’s favorite color.”
”He knows your favorite color,” Mille says. ”He”s a keeper.”
A few of the ladies ooh and ahh.
”He”s my friend,” I tell the twittering ladies. “And he always notices little details, right, Cam?”
He shrugs.
Ruthanne wiggles her eyebrows. ”I think he should stay and read aloud. Especially the part on the cliff?—”
“Ruthanne!” Cam throws an “If looks could kill” glare at the woman.
“Fine. Leave if you want.” Ruthanne’s smile widens. “But be aware that I tried to install the new Microsoft family today, and now nothing is working. I expect you’ll need at least two hours to fix what I broke, trying to get all the bickering sibling softwares to play nice with each other.”
I wonder if she actually managed to botch up the software installation, or if she’s making the whole thing up, but Cam—who’s probably seen it all before, since he works in IT—seems convinced.
”Fine,” he growls. “But if you’re doing a reading, I suggest we go with the conversation at the trestle table. There are enough of us here to do the dialogue.”
A few of the ladies gasp.
I gape at Cam like I”m seeing my best friend for the first time. ”You read the book?”
Cam’s cheeks redden as he heads back toward the chair Ruthanne is loudly patting. ”I have.”
She looks like she’s won the lottery.
But Cam picks up the chair she’s saved for him and carries it over to squeeze in right by me. His leg grazes mine under the table, and I feel the heat from his arm on mine. I glance over at him and his eyes twinkle. His smile really is stunning, and his perfectly sculpted jaw looks even more handsome with the three-day beard.
He’s a man who women have no problem staring at, which I take enormous pleasure in pointing out to him since it makes him blush. But I rarely sit this close to him. He smells good. Like, really good, not like Old Spice or Axe, more earthy. Like a man should smell.
I lean a little closer and inhale to try to identify the scent.
I lower my voice and lean even closer so only he can hear me. “If you get uncomfortable, say the word and I’ll distract Ruthanne so you can sneak out.”
Cam grunts. ”So how does this work?”
”Great question. I chose some scenes to read and discuss…” I trail off, because they’re all focused on the sexual tension between the main characters, which doesn”t really seem like a good idea with Cam here.
Unfortunately, Ruthanne jumps in. ”First, we read a steamy scene between Gabriella and the Duke, and then we’ll talk about their incredible chemistry that threatens to burn the library down.”