Chapter Sixteen
“Set up the Singapore slings on the entry table.” Diego pushed the box into Lauren’s hands and nearly shoved her out of the kitchen. She never would have selected the gaudy red cocktail, or the Asian theme of tonight’s menu. But she wasn’t in charge tonight, just kitchen help in a little black dress in case someone spotted her.
She didn’t want to leave the kitchen tonight and risk having to explain what happened to someone. But since the guests hadn’t started to arrive yet, she did as Diego asked, surveying the set up for the party as she went.
In the living room was a large Christmas tree, professionally decorated with white ribbons and bows. Her heart panged, wondering if her twinkle light tree still sat in the den.
Red and white was the theme of the night, from the candy canes on the napkins to the red and white poinsettias scattered about to the table linens.
She set about making the pitchers of drinks, arranging everything so guests could easily make their own. The doorbell rang behind her and she jumped. On autopilot Lauren sprinted to the stereo and pushed play, acoustic Christmas carols filling the house as she answered the door. Bob and Sonja Anders. Just freaking perfect.
They greeted her warmly, as if nothing had happened, and there was no way she was making the announcement. Fast on their heels more guests arrived. Lauren didn’t even have time to look for Cameron as she greeted everyone, each guest seemed blissfully ignorant of the personal and professional pall hanging over her head.
The guest count rose to well over the fifty they’d expected. Without having to be told, her team moved furniture around to make more room for the guests. She swelled with pride at the team she’d created, hoping like hell she could do enough damage control tonight to keep them all employed.
The waiters milled about with egg rolls and sate, but few people dared try them. Her heart ached at the sight.
“Smile, baby. It’s your party.” Lauren spun at the sound of her mother’s voice, her eyes bugging out of her head. Her mother looked fetching in her lavender slip dress and long flowing wrap. Her silver hair shined in the light.
“What are you doing here?”
“I was invited. Good thing I didn’t give all my dresses to you.” Lauren had sent out the invitations herself, hoping to tempt her mother out of the house. But that was before everything went wrong, before only a morbid curiosity to learn what Cameron meant on the phone brought her to the party.
Tugging her elbow, Lauren pulled her mother past the foyer and dining room, into the den past the kitchen. What do you know, the twinkle tree was here, and sparkling.
“Mom, I told you, Cameron and I had a falling out. I explained everything to you—the wedding and the other caterer. I didn’t expect you to still come tonight.”
“Why not? You came.”
“I’m working. We’re short staffed.”
“Playing hostess?”
“No. I’m in the kitchen.”
Emma grinned. “In that dress?”
“In case someone sees me.”
“Like when you’re answering the door?”
Lauren groaned in frustration and pursed her lips together. It was one thing to risk abject humiliation by catering Cameron’s party, quite another to have her mother watching.
“Baby, don’t be angry so long life passes you by. You hate that I’ve done it, so don’t make the same mistake.”
“It’s not the same thing. You lost a husband and a child, a whole life. You’re allowed to be sad.”
“They wouldn’t have wanted me to put my life on hold for five years.”
“No, but they would have understood.”
“Do you?” Her mother’s grassy green gaze peered through her.
“I do now. I didn’t before.”
“And you’re willing to walk away from everything I’d give my life to have one more day with?”
“He doesn’t want to be all that to me, Mom. And I can’t settle for less. I need someone who understands why I have to have something besides my family, someone who knows that in my heart he’ll come first even if he doesn’t always on paper. I need to be more than someone’s wife, and he doesn’t want that from me anyway.”
“What do you see when you look in his eyes?”
Lauren’s mind flashed to the time on the piano when she glimpsed behind his walls, to the time under the Christmas tree when he let her in so deep he’d made love to her soul. Her lips trembled with the flood of emotion, and she rolled them in, biting them down to keep from crying.
“Hold that thought.” Emma kissed her cheek, disappearing into the hall.
Thankful for a moment alone to compose herself, Lauren sunk down on the couch and let her heavy head fall into her hands. She didn’t want to lose him, but she didn’t want to lose herself either.
Footsteps tapped down the hall. Expecting her mother, Lauren looked up and gasped in shock. Cameron stepped into the room, his blue eyes made brighter by the French-blue shirt he wore.
His lip curled in a mischievous grin. “You don’t look like you are in the mood for a party.”
“I’ve had a nasty week.” She narrowed her eyes, wondering what he was up to.
“I know. I’ve called everyone at the party and explained.”
“You what! That will make me seem twice as guilty, as if I can’t even take responsibility for my own mistakes.”
“Not really. I talked to the husbands, not the wives. Men are simpler than women. They got it.” He sat next to her on the couch. “We’ll build your reputation back up, one party at a time.”
“It’s not just about the poison party, Cameron.”
“You want me to be sorry for needing you?”
“No, I want you to be sorry for demanding I change my plans, then acting like a petulant child when I wouldn’t.”
“Is it really any more childish than only telling me you love me when you think I’m asleep?”
Her eyes widened as she turned to stare at him. He did not just call her out when he should be apologizing! In turning to face him she got caught up in his stare, the bright blue gaze reaching inside of her to a place she vowed he would never touch again. But even if she locked that door, he had the key.
“I love you, too. In a way that goes beyond affection, which was what I thought love was. I love you with a depth and a trust I never imagined possible. It tears me up that you think I’d hurt you on purpose, that you don’t realize every hole in your soul is a hole in mine.
“I never wanted to need anyone. I tried to keep my distance to keep from hurting you, because I think I knew you loved me before you said the words. I didn’t want to be responsible for disappointing you when I couldn’t be all that you need.”
“That’s is a cop out. You can be anything you set your mind to.” She tilted her chin to keep it from trembling. He loved her. The part of her that wanted to be the woman behind the man wrestled with the professional, and the mouse was winning.
“I made a mistake out of anger, Lauren. Because I thought I couldn’t trust you, trust anyone, until you showed me I already did. I’ll make more mistakes, and so will you. I don’t think any two people as strong willed as we are will be good at this right off.”
“This?” She didn’t know if she could trust his words, since they were exactly what she needed to hear.
“Us. You were right, we’re terrible at dating. We should stop so that the next time we hit a bump, we both know there is no getting out of the car, unless it’s to push.”
“Maybe we just need regular maintenance so we don’t break down.” She giggled at matching his car analogy.
“You’re right. Next time we have a fight, we keep talking until we see a solution. When we disagree, too many people are affected. Think of all the poor folks who had to find second-rate caterers and won’t have the holiday party they’d planned?”
“Their loss for listening to gossip trolls.” She sat up straighter, actually feeling better. He had a point, clients would come back because Come For Dinner was good, better than their competition. And he had a point about them both lacking the best relationship communication skills.
“I need you, Lauren.”
“Excuse me?” Her heart hiccupped. She had to know exactly what he needed her for.
Cameron knelt in front of her, his eyes glistening. “What I feel for you goes beyond wanting, Lauren. I need a woman who is my equal, who doesn’t depend on me to fill up her life. I like that you know who you are, and you don’t let that go for anyone, including me.
“I love you. And I’ve hated this last week. I hadn’t realized how much I took for granted waking you up in the morning, or climbing into bed after you’d fallen asleep. Hated not having someone to talk to who didn’t want anything more from me than a smile. I don’t ever want to be without that again.”
She felt the same way. Lauren smiled down at him, her thoughts dancing over the possibilities. He loved her, she loved him, and they both wanted to work this through, to make it more than either thought they’d find.
“Let’s try this for real. You and me together.”
“Seattle or New York?” She couldn’t move any time soon, not with all the effort her staff had put into the businesses, and the support her mother had given her ideas. Not for another two years at least.
“Wherever you are. I’d hate having to be away from you so much if we stayed here. But I could make it work. As long as we don’t have kids before Anders steps down. Once I’m in control people will be willing to come to me. I don’t want to miss a baby changing because they grow so fast.”
“You want to have a baby?”
“Two.” Her gaze met his and locked, staring until she felt herself melt into him, into the truth.
“I am only twenty-six.”
“Then waiting is no problem.”
She shook her head. He loved her, wanted to be with her, and wanted to have two babies with her, someday.
“This was the worst idea I have ever had.”
“Excuse me?” She fisted his shirt, pulling him up to face her. She’d kill him. She’d taken self-defense classes. She’d use every move.
“I want nothing more than to spend the night showing you how much I love you, and we have a party going on outside that door. Do you think we can ditch our own party?”
Lauren thought of the tangle of people milling around the house. She didn’t need to get caught up in it to celebrate. “I’m thinking we could have a private party, right here.” She pulled him onto the couch with her.
Lying beside her, he kissed her like her lips belonged to him. Just the way she liked it.
…
Lauren straightened his shirt collar and squeezed his shoulders. “No one will notice.”
“On you, maybe.” Her smile was bright, her skin glowing while he probably looked like, well, like what had just happened.
The doorbell pealed again and he shook his head. He needed to make turning that thing down more of a priority. Though he hadn’t noticed it at all the last few minutes.
“Cam, honestly, what are they going to say? No one is going to ask if we were shagging while they arrived. People that socially stunted don’t survive in the wild.”
He couldn’t help but smile. He’d invited a few people he knew to be just that crass. But they’d never show that side to her. He hoped
“Go get people moving while I beauty up. We need to get this thing done so we can send everyone home.” She stood on tiptoe to kiss his cheek, but he wasn’t interested.
He brought her lips to his, reminding them both of the reward waiting at the end of the night. He’d been nervous as hell about tonight, but now he’d get to enjoy the moment.
She settled back on her heels, her green gaze a little glassy as she looked up at him. “We need to work on our quickies.”
“Right now?”
“Honey, no.” She took a step back. “Quickies are supposed to end. You get yours and get back to what you need to do.”
“Quickies we’re good at, it’s the not doing it again where we fall down.” He took a step, but she backed up.
“These people will not leave unless we whirl them about a bit. Plus, there is way too much food. They need to mingle, eat, and get the hell out.” She inched her way closer to the doors. “I’m going to duck into the bathroom, you’re going to head for the crowd. You get them talking, I’ll have my team push the food faster. Ninety minutes, tops.” She slipped out of the door like a secret operative.
He hoped she wouldn’t be too shocked about what he had in store for the rest of the evening, and the rest of their lives.
…
The house hushed to a worrisome quiet. If Cameron had gone out there and told everyone to leave, she’d be stuck calling every shelter in the city trying to unload appetizers.
She left the bathroom to find the hallway lights dimmed, and no one in the darkened kitchen. If it were her birthday, she’d brace herself for people shouting surprise as she entered the room.
The giant Christmas tree lit the space with white light, giving the room a warm glow. Even with the lower light and hushed whispers, she knew the crowd had more than doubled.
No wonder they’d brought so many eggrolls.
“Lauren?” Cameron stepped forward, away from people she didn’t know but recognized. He looked too much like his parents for them to be anyone else, and two men from the only framed photo in his house.
Even her friends were here, Nyla close to Diego and Christa whispering to one of Cam’s friends. Thoughts floated about her mind, but everything focused on Cameron.
Every look.
Every breath.
Every heartbeat.
He took her hand, that lethal smile lighting his face and brightening his too blue eyes. He’d planned all this, orchestrated everything before they’d talked, before their lesson in quickies. He’d been that sure.
“Wow.” A breath more than a word.
“I’ve thought that a lot since I met you.”
“You don’t have to do this.” The gesture was damn sweet, but it wouldn’t help the way he thought.
“What am I doing?” His smile widened as if she’d made a joke.
“Telling everyone the truth.” She kept her voice low, trying to figure a way out of this that would give the least amount of fodder to the gossip trolls.
“Oh, about the caterer.” He turned toward the crowd. “Some of you might have heard about the last dinner party I had. Come for Dinner was catering a wedding, low-carb and vegan if you can imagine, so I hired another caterer who served up a case of food poisoning. Be careful who you hire. It was quite the mess.”
“Damn.” Maybe his explanation would help her business. That and the health department shutting down the poison pushers.
He shot her a grin before speaking again. “This is where I thank everyone for joining us tonight.”
She squeezed his hand, tight. If he tossed everybody out right now she’d have to laugh it off and the party would last twice as long as she assured everyone over and over that he’d been kidding. He tried to pull away, but she wouldn’t let him.
“Baby, I need my hand.” He had the nerve to laugh when she shook her head. “I need what’s in my left pocket.”
She stepped closer, intending to tell him people needed swirl not stand around, only there was something in his pocket. If he had some slideshow about food poisoning he wanted to run to prove his point, she had to save them all. She reached in for the remote and pulled out a box.
A jewelry box.
It startled her so much she fumbled it, popping it into the air.
“Thank you.” Cameron caught the box and released her hand. He knelt down and everything clicked into place.
She swayed in her heels and gave a little scream. She brought her hand to her mouth to hold the rest in. This wasn’t a public apology. This was a declaration. He’d been ready to tell the world he loved her, even before he knew where they stood.
“You’re stunning when you’re surprised.” Cameron’s words brought her attention back to him, and that smile. “Hey.”
“Hey,” she managed, emotions ricocheting through her too fast to name.
“You want to get married?” He opened the box, but it didn’t matter.
“Yeah.” She nodded and pulled her bottom lip between her teeth, trying her best not to cry.
“To me?” Applause and laughter filled the room as he stood and filled his arms with her.
She brushed her lips against his before taking them, kissing him as if they could toss everyone in the room out into the rain. Hell, maybe they should run out on their own engagement party. It would be faster.
He took her face in his hands and broke the kiss, pressing their foreheads together. “We are really bad at quickies.”
“I told you.”
“I blew our ninety-minute plan, didn’t I?” He straightened, letting light into their personal bubble.
“Right out of the water.” She sighed, bringing her mind back into the world.
“Girl!” Christa shouted as she and Nyla bounded up to them. “Let’s see the ring.”
Her friends pulled her left hand, so she held tighter to Cam with her right.
“Where’s the ring?” Nyla looked crestfallen, as if a diamond made a marriage.
She looked up at him. “I should put it on.”
“That is the point of it, I think.” He opened the box to gasps from her friends. “Glad you ladies approve.”
Lauren glanced down as he slid the sparkler on her finger. A princess cut set in platinum. As simple as it was stunning, and absolutely perfect.
“Now that’s the smile I was hoping for.” Cameron pulled her closer. “You like it?”
“I do.” It surprised her just how much.
“You keep saying that, over and over.
She intended to. The first chance where they could both take a week off they’d be headed to an island. She just prayed it would be before Nyla surprised them both with a wedding.
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