the chair closest to the fireplace. How did she do that, act like he didn’t exist, like his presence was inconsequential? He sighed and paced for a moment. There had to be something he could do to pass the time. He had already done as much as he could on her advertising campaign until he reached the office and the design team on Monday. What was left? Then it occurred to him, he could finish the list. For some reason the words from Schindler’s List came to mind. The list means life. While this wasn’t the same life and death situation, it was the difference between an attempt of a future with Cammie and no possibility at all. He rose suddenly and purposefully from the chair and headed to the bedroom. When he arrived he opened the dresser drawer, pulled out the list, and studied it.
At least he had a plan. Finish the list. Find Cammie’s sister. Somehow make it right. Live happily ever after.
That last part was really vague. While he couldn’t be sure that he meant to have a future with Cammie, he was certain that in order to have a future with anyone, he had to do this. Returning to the living room, he settled into his chair and went to work.
It had taken an entire pot of coffee, one cheese Danish, a bowl of the leftover fruit salad, and a section of egg casserole, but as he read over the list one last time, he was reasonably confident he hadn’t forgotten anyone. Sam soon joined him in the great room. Maybe because he had finished what had seemed at the time like a most impossible task, he was feeling rather playful when his brother sat across from him on the loveseat.
“Still working on that list,” his brother said with a superior look. Adam loathed those moments. It was as if his brother had to constantly remind him that he was the disappointment, while Sam was the dutiful one.
“No, actually, I finished.” Adam gave him his best Cheshire cat grin.
“Really. So you know who Cammie’s sister is?” He smirked at his brother.
Frowning, he admitted, “No, I still have no idea who she is. Crap. I’m going to hell.” He glanced around and reconsidered. “Nope, I’m already there, trapped in a house with a woman who loves to hate me and my brother and his future wife who live to torment me.” He sighed.
“Let me see,” Sam urged. “I bet I can find her in two seconds flat.”
“Shall we bet on that?” He arched an eyebrow as he offered the challenge.
Pausing, Sam considered it. “Knowing you, I should never be a betting man.” He reached for the paper Adam held out to him and sat back in the chair.
While he looked at it, Adam asked, “So what brings you out here. Already bored with planning your own wedding?” He chuckled.
“No, not at all. They are just talking wedding cakes and…I decided to leave it to them.” He cleared his throat.
“Aha! You only wanted to be around for the tasting, right. And what’s to taste? You know that you are only going to get the white cake with the traditional buttercream frosting. You are a seriously vanilla guy.” Adam smirked.
Sam bristled. “I am not. I eat lots of kinds of cake.”
“Name one.” Adam leaned in. “Really, just one.”
Leaning on the arm of the sofa, he considered. He opened his mouth and then closed it again. He started to raise his finger as if he had the answer. Then he lowered it. Finally, he sat back in his chair and shrugged. “Never mind.”
Chuckling, Adam commented. “I bet Haley is vanilla, too.” Then he winked. “So, what’d you come up with? Which one is Cammie’s sister?”
“Of course, if you had her name, it would be too simple.” Sam sighed. “Do you ever feel like you open yourself up to this kind of scrutiny because of the choices you have made?”
Frowning, Adam responded calmly, “I never considered the consequences for my actions, Sam. I never once thought…oh, some day I may meet someone who will take offense to my past. I never really thought about settling down or meeting anyone. That wasn’t the kind of lifestyle I lived.” He leaned forward, “And I liked it that way. It was safe. There are no expectations like that. I could tell the women straight out that I wasn’t calling, I wasn’t staying over. Most of them took it as a challenge. I knew that.