They hugged, like sisters should. For some reason, that warmed Adam more than anything else had all day. Seeing both of them get something that they clearly so desperately needed. It was wonderful. Then the doorbell rang. The cocktail party was about to officially begin.
Even by the most stringent standards, the cocktail party was a success. It was a comfortable evening. The food was plentiful, flavorful, and the right temperature. The cold food was cold. The hot food was hot. Cammie was the picture of experience and professionalism. Adam watched her work the room with pride. She managed to make it look like she was the hostess without breaking a sweat as the caterer. She was simply amazing. He felt a warm rush of emotion every time he looked at her. As it stood now, he could look forward to seeing her at least two more times. It wasn’t enough, but he had high hopes that she would then have a difficult time staying away. All he had to do was create a bond. Normally, the sex would have done that, but she had yet to succumb to his charms. There had to be something he was missing, something else he could try.
Then it came to him. He had to make things right with her sister. It was because he had hurt her sister that she hesitated when he wanted nothing more than to be close to her. Fix things with the mystery sister and then maybe, just maybe Cammie would come around. The only problem with that was he couldn’t ask her. He couldn’t question who this sister was. It would only plant some horrible seed. There had to be another way.
He was still lost in thought sitting by the fire when she came over and sat across from him. He glanced over at her, flushed with excitement, and completely luminous. “Thank you. The party was better than I could have hoped. How did you make out?” He asked with a smile.
“Well…I booked three parties and an intimate dinner. I would call that a success.” She smiled happily.
“An intimate dinner?” Adam questioned. “You mean, like a date.” He could feel his face growing hotter at the thought of her having a date with someone else.
“Yup,” she beamed.
His fist clenched and unclenched, which was strange, since he was not the fighting kind. No, he had always joked that he was too pretty to risk marring his face for anyone. Only, now he was reconsidering that stance. “Who?” He sputtered.
She grabbed her phone and started looking through it. “Ah, his name is Joel Markham. Do you know him well?” She was looking at him, waiting for a response.
“I know Joel. He’s the worst kind of guy. He will use you and abuse you and spit you out. You should stay away from him.” He scowled.
Cammie frowned. “But he wants to offer me an obscene amount of money to make dinner at his place so he can pop the question!” She looked bothered.
Of course, her explanation calmed him down immediately. “Proposing? Good for him.” He said enthusiastically. “I always knew that he just needed the right woman in his life to give him the guidance he needs.” He rubbed his hands together happily.
“Oh, I forgot to tell you, I’m going to head out first thing in the morning.” She started to get up.
“Wait!” He yelped. “How am I getting home?”
She laughed. “Your brother is here. I have to get ready. The question popping dinner is tomorrow night. I have to prepare for it.” She shrugged and headed out of the room.
Adam was left to stare at the fire once more alone. Sure, Sam and Haley could bring him back to the city, but he wanted to go with her. He wanted an hour and a half of forced togetherness. He wanted to talk. He wanted to know when he was going to see her again.
He felt so…weak. Somehow, no matter what he did, she was running this relationship. It felt like Adam the player was constantly getting played.
Walking briskly down the hall, determined to speak to her once more, they nearly collided when she rushed from her room, too. Her phone dropped to the floor and bounced in its protective case. Without thinking, the both squatted to picked it up, fumbling hands, and while laughing at the ridiculousness of it all, bumped heads.
“Ow, you brute,” she joked while laying her hand on her forehead. “That hurt! If I get