CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SIX
I didn’t confront him because I didn’t know if it was the right thing to do. Sadie hadn’t said one way or another if she was okay with me telling him what she had shared with me. It was my job at weddings to avoid scenes, not create them.
Instead I stayed quiet and he seemed to take this as some sort of permission to forge ahead and ask those questions I knew he had rattling around inside his brain.
“Okay then ... how old are you?” he asked, and I didn’t know if it was because it was the first question that occurred to him or if it was part of the background check he was trying to conduct on me.
Sadie was a couple of years younger than me, which made our “we’re friends from camp” story a little more unbelievable.
I’d learned early on in my job that one of the best ways to deflect questions you didn’t want to answer was to ask a question in return. “How old do I look?”
“Oh no, Dan’s dad taught me that when a woman asks you that, it’s always a trap.”
Dan’s dad? I wondered why not his own father. Would he tell me what that meant if I asked? I got the feeling he wouldn’t. Maybe I could skirt around the subject and get him to reveal more. “You said your dad ran track?”
If he noticed my change of subject, he didn’t acknowledge it. “Yes, he did. That’s why I used to run.”
Camden certainly had an athlete’s build. “Used to?”
“Long story short, I was training for the Olympics and stopped when I hurt my knee.”
He tugged the hem of his shorts up slightly, and he had multiple scars across the surface. It looked like he’d taken shrapnel in a war zone or something. I found myself wanting to ask about it. He had been training for the Olympics? That took some serious talent and dedication. How had he hurt himself?
I couldn’t stop my curiosity, the desire I had to know more about him. I wondered whether under different circumstances his feigned interest in me might have been real.
Irene exited the bathroom and for a moment my heart lifted, like she was going to come back and save me from Camden.
But not in the “I need to get away from this guy because he’s annoying me” kind of way. More of a “I’m liking him more than I should and want to know things about him and this obviously spells eternal doom so please, Irene, save me from the madness before I do something really stupid” way.
Camden followed my gaze and announced, “Irene likes you. I can tell.”
I tried not to preen under the approval in his voice. “Still watching me, Mr.Stalker?”
His lazy grin told me he could hear how my question lacked conviction. “It was sweet. The way you wanted to help her stand up.”
“How would you even know that?”
“From the way you were sitting, perched on the edge of your seat, leaning toward her, your hands folded tightly in your lap.” Now he was the one leaning in, and every single cell in my body tingled in response to his closeness. “I happen to be fluent in body language.”
“I just bet you are.” I sighed, the words escaping before I could stop them. There was a fiery intensity that looked like desire in his eyes, as if he wanted something more. Something real.
It died out quickly and he angled himself away, trying not to be obvious about it. Which was a good thing. Because he was trying to trick me.
A pang of regret did hit me hard, though.
Which was probably what prompted me to blurt out, “You told Irene I’m beautiful.”
Even if I hadn’t meant to say it, I did want to see his reaction. Would he deny it? Brush it off? Try to use it to his advantage?
“It’s the truth. I’m not one for lying.”
I should have won an award for not laughing. Wasn’t he technically lying to me right now? Smoldering and smiling at me in turns, trying to melt all my defenses so that he could look into my soul?
“Seriously?” was all I could ask.
He seemed a bit miffed. “Yes, seriously. The last time somebody lied to me it cost me my future.” His hand drifted to his hurt knee and I wondered if he meant the corporate spies. But they hadn’t really lied to him. Just near him. They were lie adjacent.
Or maybe he was talking about something else.
I would not ask him about it. I would not.
“So,” he said, in a sexy, low voice, “how about we get together after this and go over those duties of ours?”
What duties? I was the one with all the responsibility. His job was to wear a tux, arrange the bachelor party, and bring the ring to the wedding. Even though I thought his suggestion was stupid, I still wanted to say yes. Instead I settled on, “After this? That’s much too soon for something that’s never going to happen.”
A lock of my hair sprang forward, escaping the clip keeping my knot in place, like it was trying to disagree with the rest of my body’s decision to blow off Camden.
And he took it as an invitation. He reached out with his long fingers and softly brushed the hair behind my ear, lingering. The sensation sent heated tingles coursing through my veins and I drew in a sharp breath.
He smiled at me seductively and it irritated me that he knew exactly the effect he was having on me.
“I know what you’re trying to do,” I told him.
Camden lowered his hand and I found myself aching to have him touch me again.
“Well, I’m not being subtle,” he said.
At that I backed myself against the sofa, like a cornered animal. I couldn’t let him touch me. He set me on fire with just a glance or that smile of his, and when his skin connected with mine? It threatened to overwhelm me.
Camden retreated to his corner, further proving his ability to properly read my signals. Which was good that somebody knew what was going on, because everything happening inside me was completely confusing.
“Don’t worry,” he said. “I’ll grow on you. Like mildew.”
That broke the tension and made me smile, and I could see from his expression that it had been his intent.
The comfortable silence that settled between us was interrupted by a new couple arriving at the party.
“Hey,” Camden said, “that’s Sadie’s stepdad and his fiancée.”
Geoff looked like he was in his fifties but was the kind of man who hadn’t heard that frosted tips didn’t look good on anybody and did not, in fact, make him look younger.
And the woman with him? “That’s her? That’s Maybelle?” I asked in shock. She looked like she was sixteen. “She’s a fetus.”
“She is younger than Sadie,” he offered and I nearly gasped again. She was obviously legal, but they looked like a dad and his daughter out for a day of fun. Sadie had never shown me a picture and I was kind of regretting that now. Mostly because Camden seemed to be enjoying my reaction far too much.
“I just ... There’s nothing I can ... wow,” I said. “She’s so young.”
He nodded. “Geoff couldn’t date much younger without having to notify the proper authorities. Maybe she has something other women don’t.”
“A curfew?” I asked, and that made Camden laugh.
And oh, that sound. It was glorious. I grinned in response.
“I’m sure what he lacks in youth and appearance she more than makes up for by not having a personality,” he teased and now it was my turn to giggle.
His eyes lit up, like he enjoyed making me laugh just as much as I had.
As if on cue, Sadie arrived with her mother in tow. Now that I knew how important it was to Sadie to have her mom show up, I’d offered to walk Brandy down to the party. Sadie had insisted on doing it herself. Maybe she was trying to show her mom some support, knowing that Geoff and Maybelle were here.
I noted that Brandy looked bright eyed and rested, which made me feel relieved. Now it was my job to keep her that way. Geoff and Maybelle moved to the opposite end of the party and I hoped they were smart enough to keep doing that for the rest of the events.
Sadie and her mother came over to us.
“Our maid of honor and best man together! So cute!” Sadie exclaimed and I brushed it off. Whatever she hoped for was not going to happen. “Mom, have you met Rachel yet?”
I was about to say that we’d already met when Brandy interjected, “I haven’t. Pleasure to meet you.” I didn’t know if it was intentional, or if she’d just been so drunk she didn’t remember.
“You too,” I said.
Then Brandy asked, “Rachel, was it? You’re the friend Sadie’s never mentioned before.”
Camden straightened up next to me and my heart froze. Brandy could easily upset everything. She knew that Sadie had never gone to summer camp.
I was at a loss here. Mothers of the bride weren’t usually this hostile. I mean, sometimes they were but never toward me, because I devoted my time to keeping their daughters happy.
When I didn’t answer, Brandy pressed on. “Are you enjoying your free vacation?”
Her words were angry, menacing. And a bit hypocritical. As if she herself were not enjoying the same free vacation while simultaneously drinking all of the alcohol contained in the state of Hawaii.
But it was not my place to say anything critical. “I’m having a wonderful time, thank you.”
She compressed her lips into a flat line, as if she’d been itching for a fight and I’d just denied her.
“Rachel is sacrificing to be here with me,” Sadie said and it was easy to see that she wasn’t very good at lying.
“How is she doing that?” Camden asked and I wanted to tell him to be quiet and mind his own business, but right now Brandy and Sadie were pouring all of our business into his lap.
Sadie floundered for a second and I was no help. I had no idea what to say. The cameras were pointed at us and I ducked my head down slightly, willing them to not zero in on my face. Hopefully they remembered that Sadie was the main attraction here.
While I was worrying over how this might show up on video, Sadie’s eyes flashed brightly, like the proverbial light bulb had gone off over her head. “Because it’s her birthday tomorrow. And she came out here to be my maid of honor.”
“Birthday, huh?” Camden asked. “We should celebrate.”
“Yes!” Sadie glommed on to his suggestion. “We should! We don’t have anything scheduled tonight and we can just invite the entire wedding party and celebrate a day early. I’ll find you later, Rachel, and we can go over the details. Come on, Mom. We’ve got lots of people to talk to.”
When they walked away Camden immediately said, “Now I know why you couldn’t tell me how old you are. Because it’s changing tomorrow.”
“Yep.” I wanted to add, That must be the reason why. You figured it all out with your brilliant sleuthing, but I refrained.
“Is there anything you want for your birthday?”
You.
My pulse was frantic, my head buzzing, all staticky, because I did not know if I’d said that word out loud or in my head. When his expression didn’t change, I sighed, relieved that I’d managed to at least hold on to my dignity. “How about a break from your interrogations?”
“I’m not interrogating you.”
I let out a smothered sound of disbelief. “Yes, you are. There’s been a couple of times where I felt like I should be asking you to adhere to the Geneva Conventions.”
He laughed and it was just as thrilling the second time. “I think I can do that.”
Out of the corner of my eye I saw that Brandy had ditched Sadie and was headed for the bar. Time to intervene.
“It was great talking to you”—not—“but I have some stuff I need to do.” I stood up.
“Of course.” He stood up, too, and took a step forward so that he was totally encroaching on my personal space, but my body did not care. It was far too delighted at our proximity.
I swayed toward him but then forced myself to turn and walk away. This was getting to be too much. None of my plans where Camden was concerned seemed to be working out. I was getting sucked in even though I knew better.
You have a job to do,I reminded myself.
Brandy was getting angry at the bartender, who was offering her one of their many soft drinks. “That’s not what I want!”
“He’s been told not to serve you,” I said, keeping my voice low and calm.
She sneered at me. “By who?”
“Me. I’m here to make sure you don’t ruin Sadie’s wedding.”
There was a fleeting expression, one that almost looked like guilt or regret, but then the anger returned. “You can’t tell me what to do.”
“Right. But I’m still going to keep an eye on you.” Sadie would have her perfect day.
“I’m not some kind of alcoholic!” she declared before marching off. I probably shouldn’t have been so harsh with her, but she reminded me so much of my mother’s sister, who had repeatedly declared she wasn’t an alcoholic, either, before she died from liver failure. I tried to shake off my own memories, telling myself this wasn’t about me and my family issues. This was about protecting Sadie. I noted that Brandy was keeping clear of her ex-husband, so I was two for two so far.
“You must have drawn the short straw.” A woman had appeared at my side and smiled at me sympathetically. She seemed vaguely familiar.
“Excuse me?”
“I’m Mary-Ellen’s mom, Brandy’s sister. My name is Mandy.”
I introduced myself and then started to ask, “Are you two—”
She cut me off. “No, we’re not twins. My mother was just unimaginative. And my sister’s a handful, so thank you for helping to keep an eye on her.”
I nodded. “It’s too bad she can’t keep from drinking for a few days.”
“It is too bad. We had a rough childhood. Our mom was an alcoholic, too. Brandy is suffering from the delusion that she’s not nearly as bad. That she has her drinking under control. I’ve tried talking to her, Sadie’s tried, Geoff tried, but nothing seems to get through. She doesn’t believe us.”
I wished I could do something more to help. “I’m sorry. That can’t be easy.”
She cleared her throat. “Thanks. We keep trying and hoping.”
“I know Sadie really wants her here and to be sober.”
“That’s part of growing up with an alcoholic parent. You’re angry with them and resent their choices, but at the same time you want their love. You want them to choose you, to be more important than getting drunk.”
That struck me as unbelievably heartbreaking. “I’m here to help. Let me know if I can do anything.”
“Same here. I’ve been dealing with this for a very long time and I’m kind of an expert.” Her voice sounded bleak, at total odds with her peaceful expression. “Let me give you my number. In case you need it.” I put it into my phone and then texted her, so she’d have my number, too. When I was finished, Mandy smiled at me and said, “It was good to meet you.” She walked away.
It made me so sad for Sadie, but I didn’t want to be distracted by my sympathy for her. So instead I found a spot to keep an eye on all the players I had to worry about in this game—Camden was talking to a man with black hair I hadn’t met yet, Mandy was sitting with Brandy, and Geoff and Maybelle stayed as far away as they could.
Everything was calmer than I’d anticipated. From what Sadie had told me and what I’d witnessed, I’d half expected a drunken Real Housewives–type brawl. But they all seemed to be on their best behavior. I was thankful for it.
Troy announced that it was time for Sadie to start opening her gifts. Krista and I had already decided that she would take point on this part so that I could continue to watch Brandy. Krista grabbed a seat next to Sadie, holding a pad of paper and a pen to write down the names and presents.
Sadie somehow managed to look surprised and delighted with each and every prearranged gift. As if she didn’t know exactly what she was getting.
I was so caught up in the fun atmosphere of Sadie enjoying her presents that it surprised me when Camden appeared next to me.
My body knew he was there before he even spoke, as if I’d somehow become attuned to him. His hand brushed gently against my arm and I shivered under his touch.
“I’m headed out,” he said.
Why did it give me a thrill that he was making sure to say goodbye to me? “You’re leaving before Sadie finishes opening the gifts?”
He held up his sad little flip phone. “I have a phone call I have to take.”
“I understand. Tell Abraham Lincoln I said hi.”
He grinned at me and said, “I’ll see you at your birthday.”
As he walked away I realized that he didn’t believe it was my birthday. I mean, it wasn’t, but he was always so paranoid. He was going to give himself a stress-related heart attack.
I might not have been what he suspected, but he obviously knew something was going on.
I just had to keep him from finding out exactly what that was.