Cameron had the strangest urge to ditch Crystal in his kitchen and catch a ride with Jane. He’d go wherever she was going. He just didn’t want to be where he was.
“So, I brought all your favorites—but you have to guess the theme,” Crystal said.
Cameron watched her pull out plastic containers from the large sack she carried.
“Sausage omelets, sourdough baguettes, soft cheese, spicy hot chocolate... do you get it?”
Cameron said nothing.
“It’s an Italian breakfast!” Crystal crossed to him and looped her arms about his neck. “Let’s kiss and make up. I talked to Lacey. She said that we could do a six-day honeymoon, and she’ll book us into hotels that have modern things like Wi-Fi.” She raised up on her toes so that she was eye to eye with Cameron. “Then you can work your little hiney off on our honeymoon while I’m gazing at the David statue.”
Cameron wrapped his hands around Crystal’s wrists and moved her arms down. She drew away, her brows furrowing as she went into full pout mode.
“Six days means eight days because of travel,” he said. “It also means I’ll be working when you’re sleeping.”
Crystal shrugged. “I’m sure it will all work out. Let’s just get there and play it by ear.”
He exhaled. “I don’t play my career by ear. I wouldn’t be living in this type of place if I did.”
“Just think of the food,” Crystal pressed. “I mean, it would be ten times better than this.”
She pointed to the food on the counter that was, frankly, churning Cameron’s stomach. Maybe he was coming down with something, but coffee was all that he could manage this morning.
Crystal was watching him closely, as if trying to determine how much she could push him. It frustrated him that she’d ignored his wishes and then gone behind his back to meet with a travel agent.
“Look, honey,” she said, moving close again. “Worst case, if you have to get back, we’ll change our flights and come home early.” She pressed herself against him and whispered in his ear, “We can always have a second honeymoon later.”
Cameron was tired. His headache was back. He needed more sleep. And maybe he should eat something. He also couldn’t believe he was about to give in to Crystal on this. “All right,” he said. “Tell the travel agent five days, four nights, and not a minute longer.”
Crystal squealed and threw her arms about him. She kissed him on the mouth, and Cameron wondered why, when he should have been feeling joy at planning a honeymoon in one of the most romantic places in the world, all he felt was frustration.
Crystal didn’t leave for another hour, and when she did, Cameron sat at the kitchen counter with his laptop while he worked through replying to about fifty emails. Not quite the hundreds he’d told Jane about. He smiled to himself when he thought about their conversation. If there was ever a woman more different than Crystal, it was Jane.
Life was interesting, he decided. One person’s life experiences could change a person. He thought of Jane being a pawn between her divorced parents. He supposed a lot of kids went through that sort of thing. He knew Crystal’s parents were divorced too, but she had never really brought up the topic. Whenever they were together, Crystal was focused on herself and Cameron. It was like she was building her own little kingdom. Cameron just didn’t know who the king was.
When Crystal called a few hours later, he listened with half an ear as she rattled off the itinerary the travel agent had put together.
“So, I have a bunch of brochures for all the places I want to visit. I’ll be there around 5:00 to show you,” she said. “Should I bring Chinese?”
Cameron realized he hadn’t been paying attention the last few moments. “Wait. What?”
“It’s our date night, silly, but I know that you’re buried with work, so I’m bringing dinner to you.”
“I don’t think—”
“You need to eat, and I am your fiancée,” Crystal said. “I’ll even let you decide how long or how short our date is, but you might want to see what I’m wearing first.”
He glanced at the clock over the kitchen stove. He knew once she came over, it would be hard to get rid of her. “7:00 would work better.”
Crystal laughed—what did that mean? “All right, sweetie. See you soon. And just so you know, the maid will be coming in the morning to wash all the new bedding in the cabin.”
“Do you mean Jane?”
“Yes, that’s her,” she said. “New bedding should be cleaned before it’s used.”
She hung up before Cameron could ask her to clarify. He didn’t know why he was so edgy. He’d agreed to Italy, but it was the whole decision-making process that bothered him. He closed his eyes and exhaled. Then he found himself thinking through his entire relationship with Crystal.
They’d met at a charity event, and Crystal had been sweet and flirtatious, not to mention gorgeous. They’d both bid on the same golf package and gotten into a small bidding war. Cameron had finally conceded and let her win the package. After the auction was over, Crystal had come up to him and invited him to meet her on the golf course so they could share the package.
Cameron had found that brilliant, and their flirting had continued throughout the night. Less than a week later, they had their golf date, and things had escalated from there. Crystal had quickly inserted herself into every aspect of his life, while Cameron was swamped with the cabin renovations and work with the manufacturing plants. She’d attended a company dinner with him, and suddenly, they were a couple.
And now, they were getting married in less than a month.
Cameron shook his head. He was thirty and had never really pursued marriage, since he was so focused on building his career and showing his dad that he was up to the task of running the plants.
His phone rang. It was his mom, but just then someone knocked on the door. Cameron left the phone on the counter while he went to answer the door. He’d call her back later. Cameron opened the front door to see a man in a delivery service uniform standing there, with an embroidered name badge saying Robert. Had Crystal ordered the food already? But the man wasn’t carrying any food.
“Are you Cameron Vance?” the man named Robert asked, looking down at a clipboard he held.
“Yes, that’s me.”
“I have a delivery for you,” Robert said. “Can you sign the invoice, then I’ll guide the truck up here? I didn’t want to back it into your driveway until I knew this was the right residence.”
Cameron took the clipboard from Robert and looked down at the itemized invoice. It was a list of furniture... couches, tables, lamps, an area rug, bar stools, two armoires... “I’m afraid you have the wrong place. I didn’t order any of this furniture.” He flipped to the second page. More furniture pieces were listed, and then the total of $35,000. His eyes about popped out. Someone was furnishing their entire home. He flipped back to the first page and looked at the top. Sure enough, it was his name and address at the top of the invoice. “Uh, I still didn’t order this.” He looked up at the delivery man. “Who came into your store?”
Robert shrugged. “I’m not a sales person, just the delivery service. Maybe it was your, uh, wife?” He looked past Cameron, as if there might be a wife standing behind him.
“I’m not married,” Cameron said. “Can you call the store to find out? I’d like to know how this invoice has my name and address on it, and how this was all paid for.”
“Sure thing,” Robert said, pulling a phone out of his pocket. As he made the call, a truck that was the size of a moving truck came up the road. It stopped in front of Cameron’s place and started to reverse into the driveway.
“Wait,” Cameron said, moving past the man on his porch and trying to catch the truck driver’s attention. He hurried to the passenger’s side of the truck, where another man was peering out at him. Cameron knocked on the window. “This isn’t my delivery,” he called up.
The driver braked, and both men rolled down their windows. “This isn’t my delivery. The other guy is calling the store to find out what’s going on.”’
“Mr. Vance?” someone said behind him.
Cameron turned to see Robert.
“It appears that there’s been a mix-up.”
Cameron exhaled with relief. “Yes, that’s what I thought. What happened?”
“Your wife, Crystal Vance, ordered the furniture a couple of days ago,” Robert said, giving him a stern look. “We were supposed to deliver it in two weeks, so it’s with my apologies that we’re so early and caught you unawares.”
Cameron’s mouth fell open.
“If it’s not too much of a bother, we’d like to complete this delivery today, since we already have it loaded in the truck,” Robert continued. “We could store it in your garage if your house isn’t ready. Then we could come back later and move it inside. That would be an extra charge though.”
Cameron swallowed. “How was the invoice charged?”
Robert looked down at the invoice. “It says here that there was a $5,000 down payment charged to your American Express, and the rest of the payment will go through upon receipt of the merchandise.”
“She has my credit card?” Cameron felt his pockets. His wallet was in the house. “Hang on.” He sprinted back to the cabin and pounded up the stairs to the second level. In his bedroom, he located his wallet and opened it. His American Express card was gone.
Cameron sank onto his bed as numbness settled over him. Apparently Crystal had taken his credit card and gone shopping to replace all of the furniture in his cabin. The furniture was to be delivered in two weeks... When was she going to tell him?
Heat spread through his face and neck. She’d taken his credit card without asking. She might be his fiancée, but they weren’t married yet. Technically, this was stealing. And even if they had been married, weren’t things like replacing an entire cabin full of furniture something they should discuss in advance?
He closed his eyes and tried to calm his erratic breathing and racing heart. He’d never been so angry in his life. First, he had to get rid of the moving truck. Standing from his bed, he steeled his emotions and walked back down the stairs. Outside, the three men were standing at the rear of the truck. They’d opened the truck’s hatch, and Cameron caught a view of an entire load of furniture.
“There’s been a huge misunderstanding,” Cameron said in a clipped voice. “I will pay the delivery charge, but you need to return the furniture. It’s been ordered by mistake.”
Robert stared at Cameron as if he was speaking a different language. “Sir, we’d be happy to unload everything to your garage. It’s no trouble.”
“Call your manager back, please,” Cameron said. “I’ll explain what’s happened.”
Robert handed over his phone, and when the manager answered, Cameron used all his self-control to explain that the woman who made the purchase was not his wife and, more significantly, her name was not on his credit card.
The manager apologized profusely, but Cameron wasn’t interested in apologies from the wrong person.
“Sorry about all of this,” he said to Robert when he was off the phone. “You went through a lot of trouble, but I’m glad I caught it now.”
Robert instructed his men to close the hatch, and a few minutes later Cameron watched the truck disappear down the road.
He walked slowly back to the cabin. Without going inside, he shut the door and walked around to the backyard. He climbed the steps of the deck, then sat on the top step. The shade from the overhead awning kept the summer heat off Cameron, but he was still burning up inside. He scrubbed his hands through his hair, then propped his elbows on his knees.
This had all been a mistake. Crystal was a mistake. Taking his credit card and buying $35,000 worth of furniture wasn’t even the whole reason that he knew he could no longer marry her. She’d thought she could replace something he loved without even asking him. Did she even care that although the furniture in the cabin might be older, it was sentimental? This cabin had been his grandparents’. He had many fond memories of the original place. He had expanded it, upgraded it, but the furniture stayed. He wasn’t going to budge on that.
It was time to call Crystal.