CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
One of Hank’s assistants was throwing feathers at us as everyone started swinging their pillows in earnest. The men seemed much more into it, but the women quickly caught up. Camden stayed in position near my elbow, fending off potential attacks.
Despite me feeling stupid initially, and the blizzard of white feathers blinding us, I found myself squealing and laughing with everyone else. The men were enthusiastically raining blows down on each other, until Camden’s phone rang.
He gave me that “sorry” expression of his and abandoned the battle, heading off into the night to take his call.
It surprised me that he left. He seemed to be having a good time.
Not to mention—selfishly—that it was not good for me that he’d taken off. Without him there as my wingman, I was getting pummeled by the other members of the bridal party. Mary-Ellen in particular seemed to take a huge amount of delight in whacking me.
Hank yelled, “Cut!” and Mary-Ellen got in one last lick before she set her pillow off to the side. “Bring in the chairs, and let’s get the s’mores going.”
Finally. Something I’d be good at.
The assistants brought in a bunch of white Adirondack chairs, seating them around the fire. Somehow I got downwind of the fire and it kept blowing smoke at me. I tried to scoot my chair over, but was blocked by the empty one. I dragged the empty one farther toward where Dan and Sadie sat.
“Trying to move my chair away from you?” Camden asked when he returned.
“No, just trying to get clear of the smoke. I like having eyeballs, thanks.”
He smiled and pulled my chair closer to his, out of the smoke. I wondered why they hadn’t set up the chairs so we were all seated together, but it was like Camden and I were in our own tiny little bubble.
He took his phone out of his pocket and started responding to a text.
“Was it really that important?” I asked him, not able to keep my opinions to myself like I should have.
“What?”
“The phone call. I know you’re busy and have a lot going on, but Dan’s only getting married once. He’s counting on you. You should be here for it.”
Camden put his phone back. “I am here.”
“No, here, here. Not on your phone every ten minutes. You’re going to miss everything.”
For a second I thought he might tell me it was none of my business, and truthfully it wasn’t. I just didn’t want him to look back on this and regret that he hadn’t been more present for his best friend.
“Maybe you’re right.”
“Those are words I do not hear often enough.”
One of Hank’s assistants handed us all the things we’d need for s’mores—the giant marshmallows, Hershey chocolate bars, graham crackers, and long skewers.
I got to work, preparing the chocolate and the crackers. Then I got my marshmallow on the skewer and put it over the fire.
“How do you take yours?” Camden asked. “Golden brown or flaming black?”
“It’s sugar. I will take it however it wants to present itself. Burnt or otherwise. Plus, when it is burned, it means it’s really melty inside.” Kind of like how I felt every time I was around him.
My marshmallow did indeed catch fire, and I blew it out. I pressed it into the other components and let out a moan after I took a bite. So yummy. The marshmallow was oozing out everywhere, and it was getting all over my fingers. I started licking them off.
I noticed Camden watching me with that hungry look in his eyes that turned my spine to Jell-O. “Do you want a s’more?” I asked.
“I think I prefer a s’less,” he said, then waved his hands. “Sorry, bad joke. I don’t like s’mores.”
“Don’t like ...” My voice trailed off. Who could say no to all these amazing ingredients combined together into a melted deliciousness? It boggled the mind.
“But I do enjoy watching you eat them.”
His words echoed inside my chest, making it hard to breathe. Desire flared up inside me, like the flame surrounding the logs in front of us. “Why are you flirting with me?”
“Maybe I just enjoy flirting with you?”
“But why?” The jig was up. He didn’t need to keep doing this.
He leaned across his armchair, so that he was in my space. “I like how your cheeks flush, how you grab your lower lip with your teeth, the way that you pretend you don’t like it, but I can see in your eyes that you do.”
“That’s ...”—entirely correct—“entirely untrue. And back to my point earlier: if I was a corporate spy, I would have willingly fallen into your honey trap.”
“Unless that was your plan all along. Act as if you didn’t like me so that I’d be even more interested.”
I shook my head at him. “That is one messed-up dynamic that human beings enjoy.”
“Agreed.”
I focused on my s’mores, making a few more. Okay, five more. Ignoring Camden’s intense gaze and eating my dinner.
Or, more accurately, trying to ignore his gaze and how it made me want to throw this chocolate-and-marshmallow concoction to the ground and leap into his lap.
That’s how much my body liked Camden. It was willing to forsake chocolate and gooey goodness.
“I’m going to get a bottle of water,” he said. “Do you want one?”
“No thanks.” I needed one, but I didn’t want to feel any more indebted to him. He got up and I realized that my right shoulder was aching. I rolled it a few times and it made a crunching sound. I had probably tweaked it during the pillow fight.
“Is that bothering you?” Camden asked. I wondered where the water bottles were located; he hadn’t even been gone for ten seconds.
“Just an old acrobatic injury,” I told him. When his eyes widened, I laughed and added, “I’m kidding. It’s just a little sore. I’m fine.”
“Do you want me to massage it for you?”
No.What I meant to say was no. No, thank you. No, your hands on me is a very bad idea and no, you can sit over there and just not touch me.
What I actually said was, “Yes, please.”
He stood behind me and I was already shaky with anticipation before his hands made contact with my shoulders. I let my eyes drift shut slowly as his strong fingers kneaded my muscles. My head lolled forward and I had to struggle to not slide off the chair completely. It felt so, so good.
“You carry a lot of tension in your shoulders,” he commented.
“I promise you it’s everywhere.” I meant of the stress variety, but I had no idea how my statement came across because I was too busy wondering what else I could claim was sore. I wanted more of his touch.
As if he could read my mind, he put his palm against the left side of my face, leaning me into it. Then with his right hand he began rubbing my neck, his slightly calloused hands causing a flood of warmth across my oversensitized skin.
“How’s that?” he asked, his voice totally normal, like he wasn’t in the least bit affected.
Meanwhile, the ability to speak had left me entirely. The sound I made was along the lines of, “Viningrah.”
“Better?”
I tried to nod, but nothing in my body was cooperating. I was a heady mess of want and need, rendered speechless and immobile by his touch.
He let me go and I slumped against the chair, my skin still tingling where he’d touched it. Like he’d marked me. It was a good thing my entire skeleton had collapsed or else I would have attacked him then and there. Forgotten about my job, about my rule, everything.
I was in so much trouble.
Hank had us singing campfire songs next, and it was all bad and not very musical, but at least it allowed me to focus on something else as I tried to regain control over my body, slow down my breathing, and generally attempt to calm down the wave of lust that threatened to drag me under.
Friends,I reminded myself. We could be friends or I could just stay away from him completely.
At the moment the second option was sounding like the best one. That way I could stop thinking about kissing him and keep all of my body parts to myself.
“We’ve got enough here,” Hank announced. “We’d like some footage of you returning to your tents.”
I briefly wondered why anyone would care about us going to bed for the night, but it wasn’t my job to question any of this.
To my surprise I was able to stand up all on my own. And walk forward. It was a miracle.
Camden waved at me before he walked off with Dan. Sadie came over to hook her arm through mine. “This way, roomie!”
I followed her as she talked about the events so far, and how Hank had wanted to take everybody out on some old rowboats that he’d found. “But Dan shot that idea down right away.”
“What is his deal with the ocean?” I asked, glad I could talk again.
“His parents took him on vacation one year and they went snorkeling. Apparently some massive fish, it was like four feet or something, pushed up against Dan. It freaked him out and he’s never liked the ocean since then.”
“But he crossed an ocean and is having his wedding next to it.”
“Hawaii was always my dream,” she said. “This is how much he loves me.”
I’d seen dozens of in-love couples and I don’t know what it was about her words, whether it was the tone or whatever spell Camden had put over me, but my heart twisted so painfully at her words.
I needed that for myself, what she and Dan had. I felt that wanting fervently, so strongly, that it surprised me. I let out a big breath. “He’s a good guy.”
“The absolute best,” she agreed as she pushed aside the left tent flap. “So are his friends.”
“Dan may disagree with you. He told his groomsmen that they aren’t allowed to date bridesmaids.” Maybe that would put an end to her matchmaking.
“That’s just because he knows about our NDA and he doesn’t want Camden to find out about our arrangement because Dan’s concerned this might blow up in my face and affect my career. But he worries too much.”
I didn’t know quite how to respond to that. I actually liked having the non-disclosure agreements in place. I liked the professional boundaries they created, the way they protected everyone involved. I had once let those boundaries be lax, and they’d caused me an incredible amount of pain.
This way was definitely better.
A couple wearing the official glamping pajamas passed us, and I didn’t recognize them. I remembered how Sadie had told me that people were still showing up and would be up through the wedding. They were carrying champagne flutes and I immediately thought of Sadie’s mother. “Where’s your mom tonight?”
“My aunt Mandy promised to keep an eye on her. They’re sharing a tent.”
I should have asked about Brandy sooner. I kicked myself for not paying closer attention.
We entered the tent and she let the flap drop. Then she stuck her head back out. “Did you get everything? Are we all done?” she asked.
Hank called back, “We got what we needed. Thanks!”
I went over to sit on my cot and eyed Sadie’s cookies. I was torn between curling up and trying to go to sleep and asking if I could eat them. She stayed put, peering out between the two flaps.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“Making sure the coast is clear.” She turned back to grin at me. “I’m sneaking over to Dan’s tent. It’s going to be like a real sleepaway camp!”
She’d told me she’d never been to one growing up, so I could understand her excitement. “That’s not like any camp I went to.”
“Didn’t you ever sneak out to meet up with guys?”
“No, I wasn’t a hot blonde. I had braces and a face full of acne.”
She just shook her head at me like I was adorable.
“Why are you waiting?” I asked her. This was her event. She could put on a crown and have an official parade over to Dan’s tent if she wanted to.
“Troy is being very dramatic over everything. I think he took me a bit too seriously and if I’m not in my own tent, I’m pretty sure he’s going to make a scene. He and his assistants are out there practically patrolling to make sure nobody tries to go back into the hotel.”
“That’s not really possible, considering they confiscated everyone’s keycards.”
“Like I said, he’s taking this whole doing-what-I-said-I-wanted thing a bit too far.”
“Well, that’s what we’re here for.”
But she didn’t seem to be listening to me. “Okay, I’m off. This is so exciting! I’ll see you first thing tomorrow! Unless I get caught!”
With that, she was gone. And she’d left her cookies. I figured that made them fair game.
I grabbed them and lay down on my cot. They were every bit as delicious as I remembered. I looked up at my mosquito netting and wondered if it was necessary or just some kind of accessory.
There was some rustling by the door and I wondered if Troy had discovered Sadie. Or if he was doing some kind of bed check.
“Is it okay if I join you?”
Camden.
I sat straight up in bed, getting my face and hair tangled up in the mosquito netting.
“What are you doing here?” I felt stupid as soon as I asked it. If Sadie had abandoned me to be with her groom, they obviously wanted some privacy.
“Dan kicked me out and there’s no other empty cot but this one. Can I crash here?”