you out of all the York sisters,” he says, flashing her a magnetic smile. “Why is that?”
I take a look at Liz, who is watching this interaction with interest as well.
“Oh, I’m still at Oxford. This is my final term, but I’m busy with my studies,” Bella says quietly.
I notice she’s twisting the rings on her fingers over and over again as her hands lie in her lap.
She’s nervous, I think. Nervous and excited that this drop-dead gorgeous footballer is showing an interest in getting to know her.
Oh, Lord, do I understand where she’s at. Just a few days ago, it was me, but instead of twisting jewellery, I was spouting off in paragraphs to Xander, who took it all with that sexy twitch of amusement on his lips.
“What are you studying?” Camden asks.
“History,” Bella says.
“Which period is your favourite?”
“Medieval,” Bella replies. “I love reading and researching medieval manuscripts.”
“That’s a rough period,” Camden says, smiling at her. “Even in the Monty Python version, you have to throw out your dead.”
Liz and I exchange a glance, and even though I don’t know Liz that well, I can read her eyes on this topic. If her thoughts match mine, we are both thinking one thing.
This is getting interesting.
Bella laughs. “Monty Python and the Holy Grail is one of my favourite flims.”
Camden stares at her in surprise. “Really?”
“Oh, God, yes, it’s brilliant. What do you think of it?”
Clementine begins shaking the cocktail shaker, but Camden and Bella don’t miss a beat in their conversation.
Or take their eyes off each other.
“It’s genius. But I also like serious medieval flicks and programmes, too. Like The Last Kingdom on Netflix. Have you seen that series?”
“Oh, yes, I love that one, too,” Bella says, nodding.
“But I bet you can look at a medieval movie and know what is legitimate fact and what is so fictionalised—it must drive you crazy,” he says.
“I’m a nightmare to watch a medieval film with,” Bella confesses. “I’ll sit there and pick it apart when the liberties are crazy.”
“So you could probably come up with a good drinking game for that, calling out all the things that are ridiculous, couldn’t you?”
“I suppose I could, and depending on the film, you could be smashed in record time,” she says, smiling at him.
He laughs. She joins him.
And I wonder if I’m watching something sparking between the two of them.
“If you played a drinking game with Monty Python, you’d be hammered within minutes,” he says.
“Oh, have you ever read the opening credits for the Holy Grail? You would be drinking during those as well, with all the references to Sweden, the moose—”
“Ah! Yes! And the llamas!” Camden adds, grinning at her.
“Yes, isn’t that hysterical?”
I smile. It’s like they are speaking their own language together.
“Do you like history?” Bella asks, her voice once again almost shy sounding as she decides to ask him something about himself.
Before Camden can answer, Victoria opens the back door and returns with two empty plates.
“Clem, your future husband needs a clean serving platter to put the prawns on,” she says, stepping into the kitchen. Then she stops when she sees Camden.
“Oh, hello,” she says, her eyes widening.
The question Bella asked him remains unanswered as Camden immediately rises from his seat. My stomach sinks as I see how his eyes are drinking in Victoria.
Oh, no, I know that look in his eyes. I’ve seen that same desire in Xander’s eyes when he looks at me.
I recognise now Camden was friendly and charming with Bella.
But his attraction is to Victoria.
“Pardon me, Bella,” he says, excusing himself. Then Camden heads straight for Victoria.
“Your Royal Highness,” he says, “I’m Camden Tremblay.”
“Oh, I know who you are,” Victoria replies, a flirtatious smile passing over her face. “I think you’re in the papers as much as we are.”
He flashes her a brilliant smile. “Perhaps I am. Up to no good, of course. But what about you? Are you up to no good when you’re in the tabloids?”
She laughs. “Are you hoping I’m naughty?”
He grins devilishly at her. “Of course, I am.”
Then they both laugh.
Oh, no. Victoria is sparkling now in his magnetic presence. And if Camden says he has a motorcycle out front, she might very well ride off with him.
I glance at Bella. The smile that had been so present on her face from the second Camden sat down next to her dissolves as he shifts all his attention to Victoria. They are now engrossed in flirty banter, moving into the kitchen next to Clementine, and the