Cammie began licking her lips. She was leaning forward, looking down at the floor. He knew that the carpet couldn’t possibly hold that much interest. Instead it was obvious that this was her thinking posture. She rubbed her face, as if the thinking had really been painful. After what seemed like forever, she finally spoke. “I think your idea has merit.” She sat up and stared at him.
Those eyes. So blue. So rich. So enthralling.
“Oh, Adam, can I ask questions now?” She smiled shyly. It was a completely new look to her. Maybe there was a sweet side that he had never noticed previously.
Two hours later, she had exhausted all her questions…and Adam. “Seriously, I’m getting practically nothing out of this. My only benefit is getting rid of Kiki! You get a career, a campaign, and clients!” He growled. “Frankly, I don’t see a down side!”
“I’m stuck with you! You don’t see the down side? We can’t be in the same room for more than a few minutes before we are fighting, pushing each other’s buttons. And you want me to subject myself to that for an entire week! Honestly, from the sound of it, it would be longer, too! My entire holiday season could be ruined while I get stuck hanging out with you!” She stood up and paced around the room.
“Oh, like you have any better options! And you! You have the temperament of a spoiled child. You were an only child, right?” He smirked and casually crossed his legs.
“Not long enough.” She sighed. In that moment, he knew that she was coming to the conclusion that this was in fact the best option for her. What else could be frustrating her so intensely?
Then he realized how she had responded. “What does that mean? Not long enough?”
“There are fourteen months between me and my sister. What else could I mean?” She turned to face him. “You don’t know me at all. Have you not figured that out yet? You know nothing about the kind of person I am. You know nothing about the kind of life I’ve led. Yet here you are trying to bend me to your will.”
He leaned in. This was less enjoyable. She really was struggling over some aspect of his deal. It was beginning to pain him, watching her. He stood and walked over to her. She was staring out the window over the back gardens. His mother had always kept these immaculate gardens, grew vegetables and every herb known to man. He stood behind her for a moment. Then just because it seemed right, he reached out and held her upper arms. “What’s wrong sweet?”
She leaned her head back, lightly rested it on his chest as she looked up at him. “Sweet?”
He sighed. “You keep making these claims. I’d like to believe if I start calling you by that name, you will be inspired to act that way.” He bent his head closer to hers and tried to behave. It was all he could do to not plant another kiss on her nose. She was adorable. And there was a soft side to her when she was troubled.
“I don’t know. I don’t know what my true objection is. There’s just this nagging feeling within me that I shouldn’t do this.” She was exasperated. She sighed. Her head snapped forward once more.
Adam spun her to face him, but her head was looking down at the floor. So instead, he did what he had thought about doing since the night before. It wasn’t unusual for him to give in to temptation. What was unusual was for him to have waited as long as he had. He crushed her to him. And while he fully expected her to fight him, instead she relaxed against his chest. And he heard her sniff. “Are you crying?” He asked incredulously as he pushed her back so that he could study her face. But her face was clear and dry and curious.
“No,” she admitted, as her cheeks turned a deeper shade of pink. “I was trying to decide what cologne you were wearing.” She pushed back until he completely released her from his arms. Then she walked back over to the chair, collected her bag, and headed out of the room.
“Where are you going?” He asked, alarmed.
“Looks like I’m going to need to get the big bag,” she said. “You know…since I’m going to be here a while.” With that, she bowed her head and walked