Chapter 18

 

Camden shook soy sauce into the stir fry and it sizzled. “The silverware is in the far drawer. Do you mind getting a couple of forks?”

Kenzie pulled open the drawer and grabbed the utensils. “Napkins?”

He pointed his chin to the napkin holder on the table. “You can pull a couple from there.”

She put the forks and napkins on the plates while he shut the burner off. He grabbed a trivet, put a lid on his wok, and took it off the stove. “Follow me.”

He led her around the corner to the door to the roof. He opened it and motioned for her to climb the concrete stairs. He followed her up to the roof of the building. An amazing view of the city stretched out before them. His patio wasn’t spectacular—there were two patio chairs, a table, and a few pots with plants that he’d scattered around the space. But he knew she’d be impressed by the view.

“This is amazing,” she said, pulling out a chair. “A little dizzying being so high up, though.”

“You afraid of heights?”

“A little. It’s not so bad if I stay away from the edge.”

He placed the trivet on the glass table and put the wok on it. “I’m glad it’s a nice evening.”

She set the table. A light breeze blew, and he watched her lean over to place the silverware. She looked up at him. “It’s gorgeous.”

His chair scraped as he sat. He dished up their plates and motioned for her to eat. She picked up her fork. “You have this whole roof to yourself?”

“Yes.”

“What a great space. You should do more with it.”

He’d always planned to. Maybe that would be his summer project. “You’re right.”

She speared a piece of meat and put it in her mouth; her face showed her surprise. “This is good.”

He smiled, happy he’d gotten a chance to show off his cooking skills a little. “Thanks.”

“A man that cooks, has an amazing apartment, and is kind-hearted. How are you not married?”

He often wondered that himself. Maybe it was because he didn’t take a ton of time off work to date. Or because he seemed to only attract shallow women now that he had money. He stared out at the skyline and shrugged.

Her face blanched. “Sorry, I didn’t mean—”

“I know.” He looked down at his hands. “You didn’t mean anything by it.”

“Hopefully not all your girlfriends have turned out to be like Lexi.” She cringed. “Nothing I’m saying is coming out right.”

“Thankfully, Lexi’s one of a kind.” He forced a smile. He didn’t want to think about Lexi anymore.

“Well, I’m sure you’ll find someone. You’re a great catch.” She gave him a small smile and lifted her fork to her mouth.

Nice. It was obvious that Kenzie was trying to let him know she wasn’t interested. He had to admit that it hurt, and he tried not to let it show on his face. The weekend they’d shared made him feel like they’d gotten to know each other. He wondered what it was about him that repelled the nice girls. He already knew what attracted the ones like Lexi.

Kenzie swallowed and pointed her fork at him. “Do you travel?”

“Not really. I mean, I always go check out a potential business purchase before I buy a company, so I’ve traveled around the US, but I don’t really do any sight-seeing.” There wasn’t a point to going to any tourist traps while traveling alone. Who wanted to go look at the Grand Canyon by themselves?

“No trips out of the country?”

He shook his head. “No. All of my business transactions are in the states.”

She seemed taken aback by this. Her fork clanged as she set it on her plate. “You mean you have all this money, but you don’t ever go on vacation? Travel to see the world?” She waved her arms around.

“Why would I travel by myself?”

Kenzie frowned. “I do it all the time. You get in your car and you go.”

Camden chuckled. Kenzie was totally that type of person. He could see her spending a year going anywhere her heart desired. “It’s that easy for you, isn’t it? Just go anywhere you want. You’d hop on a plane and travel the world, wouldn’t you?”

She shook her head. “Not in a plane. But I’d go in a boat.”

“You’d sail to the other side of the world?”

“Of course! I’d totally go see the world with you.” She blinked. “I mean,” she backpedaled, “not with you. I mean alone. Not that going with you would be a bad thing. We were just talking about going alone is all.”

Her cheeks turned pink and Camden smiled, even though it felt forced. “I know what you meant.” His gut twisted. It was painful watching her backpedal.

She filled her fork with vegetables and then stuffed them into her mouth, probably so she wouldn’t have to talk to him anymore.

He finished his meal and leaned back in his chair, looking out at the clouds. A black bird landed on the ledge and stood there, looking at them. It skittered along the edge for a moment, looking at him warily, before taking flight.

The thought occurred to him that Kenzie was like that bird. She didn’t trust him. Didn’t want to come near him. And soon, she would take off as well. The thought sat in his gut like a cold rock.

After she ate the last of her stir fry, he picked up the plates, suddenly feeling despondent. Maybe taking her to his hanger would make him feel better. “Are you ready to go?”

“It’s not getting too late?”

It wasn’t even six-thirty yet, and he pushed away the feeling that she didn’t want to be with him anymore. “No.”

“Okay, great. Let’s go.” She grabbed the rest of the items off the table and followed him back to the kitchen.

He placed the dishes in the sink and turned on the faucet to wash them.

“You don’t have a maid who does that?” Kenzie gave him a teasing smile.

“No, I don’t have a maid.” He scoffed and rolled his eyes at her.

“Wait, you don’t?”

“No. Not all rich people pay others to do everything for them.”

She glanced around his immaculate penthouse. “You mean you clean all this yourself?”

“My assistant helps out when I’m out of town or working late.”

She cocked her head to the side. “Does your assistant wash dishes too?”

“Not all the time. Only when I’m working too much.”

“Does she do your laundry?”

He hated to admit it. “Sometimes.”

“Yeah. Sorry to break it to you, but you have a maid.” She folded her arms across her chest and smirked at him.

He wanted to protest, but lately he had been working a lot, and Patricia had been doing more around the house for him. Maybe Kenzie had a point. “Fine. But she doesn’t wear a little black and white outfit.”

Kenzie held the smug look in place while shrugging. “Doesn’t matter.”

He rinsed off a clean dish. “Want to dry?”

She laughed and picked up the towel he’d folded and set on the counter. “Sure.”

After the dishes were done, he rinsed the sink. Thor came walking in, his tail high. He rubbed against Camden’s leg and meowed.

“You hungry?” he asked, knowing the answer.

Thor gave him a flat look.

He chuckled. “Let me get it out.” He opened the cupboard and picked up one of the cans of wet cat food.

“Chicken and rice? You’re spoiling that boy.” Kenzie grinned as he scooped out the can into a bowl.

“He deserves it. Don’t you, buddy?”

Thor jumped up on the counter to get at the food. Camden picked him up and put him back down on the floor. “Oh, you’re naughty. You’re making me look bad.” He set the bowl down and Thor attacked it.

“Good thing your assistant wipes down your counters,” Kenzie said, a smile creeping in her voice.

He picked up the towel and snapped it at her.

She let out a squeal and ran from him. Without thinking, he ran after her and caught her in his arms before she made it to the living room. She squirmed, turning around, and he tightened his hold on her. Before he knew it, he was staring into her vibrant green eyes and thinking of how close they were. His heart pounded in response to her almond and coco butter scent.

She stared at him and her lips parted ever so slightly. He was suddenly consumed with the desire to taste her soft lips again. The memory of kissing her by the ocean, the swell of the waves and the smell of the salty sea, hit him hard, and he leaned down.

Thor jumped up on the counter beside him and licked his chops.

Kenzie pulled away and laughed at the cat. She reached out and picked him up. “You bad kitty.” She stroked his fur and walked into the living room. Thor purred and snuggled into her.

Camden wanted to call him a few other names, but decided to let out a breath and rake his hand through his hair instead. “Want to take my car?”

“That’s fine.”

He grabbed his car keys, and Thor jumped down from Kenzie’s arms. She pushed the elevator call button. Together they waited for the doors to open.

“It’s weird that you have an elevator in your living room.”

“It was strange when I first moved in, but I’ve gotten used to it.”

A dinging noise sounded and they entered the elevator. Camden pushed the button to the parking garage. When they stepped out, he clicked his key fob and his Lamborghini unlocked, the lights coming on.

Kenzie gasped. “You have a Lamborghini?”

He opened her door for her. “It’s just a car.”

“No, this is not just a car. This is an Italian masterpiece.” She ran her hand along the dashboard.

He chuckled. “Has anyone told you you’re way too dramatic?”

“Only all the time,” she said, giving him a wide grin.

He started the engine and pulled out of the parking space. When they got on the street, he pressed the gas and the car shot forward.

“I knew it. You love this car.”

He grinned. “Maybe.”

He may have done a little showing off as he drove them to the warehouse where he kept his model airplanes. Kenzie may have squealed a few times in response.

He parked the car and let Kenzie out before unlocking his space and opening the garage door. He flipped on the light; Kenzie let out a low whistle. “Look at all these.”

The walls were lined with shelves, and model airplanes of all sizes occupied the spaces. The bottom shelves held drones. Kenzie pointed to something on the shelf. “What’s that?”

“It’s a Mavic Pro drone. It’s pretty cool. Wanna see it fly?”

“That’s a drone? It doesn’t even look like one.”

“It’s folded up. I’ll show you.” He picked it up and unfolded the arms from their compact state. Then he pulled the battery from the charging station and put it in place. He picked up the controller and slid his phone in. “You plug your phone in here, and it shows you what the drone sees as it flies.”

“I had no idea they folded up like that. You could take it anywhere.”

“You’re right.” He grew excited to show her what it could do. “Come with me.”

He led her around the garage area to the open field. He set the drone down on the level area in front of them, then turned on his controller. After he set everything up, the image of the field came on his phone screen.

“Woah, that’s cool,” Kenzie said, leaning closer to him to see.

He swiped his phone screen and the drone’s motor came to life. It rose and hovered a few feet above the ground. “This controls the height,” he said as he raised the lever, making the drone rise up into the air. “And this controls the direction.” He pulled the other lever and it dipped to the left.

Kenzie grinned as she watched the drone hover. “How far up can it go?”

Camden raised the lever and it rose high into the sky. “Legally, we can’t fly higher than 500 meters, so it won’t go any higher.”

“That’s amazing.”

He flew the drone around the field, over a copse of trees, and by a stream. It disappeared from their line of view, so Kenzie moved closer to view the screen. He tried to ignore her arm pressed up against his.

He turned the drone around and raced it back over the trees and over their heads. Kenzie laughed. “Looking at that screen makes me dizzy!”

He maneuvered the drone back and let it hover in front of them. Kenzie clapped her hands together. “Awesome!”

“Want to try it?”

Her mouth dropped open and she took a step back from him. “Oh no. I’d crash it.”

“No, you wouldn’t. I’ll show you how to do it.” He landed it and handed her the controller.

She gave him a skeptical look but took it from him anyway. He pointed to the screen. “To make it lift off, touch this up arrow and slide your finger over.”

Kenzie hesitated, but then did as he showed her. The drone lifted into the air; she grinned at him. “That’s not too hard.”

“That was the easy part. Now lift it a bit higher by pushing up on the left lever.”

“Okay.” She moved the lever and the drone climbed. The sun hung low enough in the sky that the clouds were turning pink.

“Perfect. Now move the lever this direction and turn the drone until it’s facing the field.”

“Which direction?”

He maneuvered behind her and put his hands on hers. “Like this.”

The close proximity to her made his chest constrict. He wondered if she could hear his heart pounding or feel the way his fingers trembled.

“Okay, I got it.”

“Now practice making the drone go back and forth with this lever.” He showed her how to fly the drone sideways, then stepped back.

She flew the drone around the field a few times. “I see why you like this. It’s addicting!”

“It is.”

“How do I land it?”

“Lower the drone in front of us, then press the down arrow and swipe it.”

She successfully landed the drone, then turned and threw her arms around him. “Thanks for letting me fly your drone. That was fun!”

Before he could think, his arms were around her. He stared at her, the setting sun casting a warm glow on her face. He couldn’t help himself. He pressed his lips to hers.