The more time Cameron spent with Jane, the more he forgot Crystal. And the more he wondered how he could have ever spent more than a few minutes with his ex-fiancée. Jane was everything Crystal wasn’t, and other people at the benefit were taking notice. Sweet, genuine, charming, intelligent, witty... that was Jane. If Cameron had come alone, he knew he wouldn’t have been greeted by so many of the guests—they were simply curious about Jane.
And once they met her, a few nodded their approval.
It was a heady feeling.
Except, Jane wasn’t his girlfriend. The date was just an arrangement, and she didn’t seem to treat him with any special interest above anyone else. Perhaps that was her charm. She became instant best friends with whomever she met, within two minutes of meeting them. And Cameron had been drawn in as well.
He must be on the rebound something fierce since all he wanted to do was keep Jane to himself and dance with her. No interruptions from anyone else. But the dancing was still a way off. Dinner was winding down, and Cameron had truly enjoyed watching Jane enjoy her food. She was definitely a foodie, which he found inordinate pleasure in.
The auction started out with gusto, and Cameron bid on a few things but didn’t get too aggressive until one of the baskets of gourmet food that included flavored honey came up for bid. He raised his number as the auctioneer requested a bid for one hundred dollars.
Jane turned to him. “You really don’t have to.”
He leaned toward her, catching the summer-blossom scent that had been plaguing him all night. “I like flavored honey too.”
She rolled her eyes but was smiling as she settled back in her chair.
He kept raising his number as the auctioneer drove the price. After $300, it was down to Cameron and his friend Dawson Harris bidding. Cameron caught Dawson’s smirk, and that only made Cameron bid higher. When it reached $625, Dawson finally caved.
“Sold!”
Cameron had won the basket, and he looked over at Jane in triumph. She was covering her mouth in disbelief. “It had better be good,” he said as the auctioneer rattled off the next item.
“Six twenty-five is crazy for a basket of honey,” she said, her eyes gleaming with amusement.
“I couldn’t let Dawson outbid me.”
“Who’s Dawson?” Jane asked.
“A business associate who’s also a lawyer,” he said. “He’s helped my dad with a few things.”
Cameron hadn’t missed Dawson eying Jane from across the room, and that had only added more fuel to Cameron’s incentive to win the bid.
And... here came Jeff Finch, the realtor. The man was one of those guys who seemed to attract women wherever he went. And Cameron really shouldn’t be surprised he was curious about Jane. The last item had been auctioned off, and people had started to rise from the tables. Some would leave now; others would stay for the dancing.
“Cameron, I’m on my way out, but I wanted to say hi first,” Jeff said, arriving at their table and reaching out to shake Cameron’s hand.
“Nice to see you,” Cameron said. “This is Jane. You might remember her from the engagement party the other night.”
Jeff shook her hand as well.
“Jeff’s a local realtor,” Cameron supplied.
“I’ve seen your advertising,” Jane said with a smile. “I think the entire population of Pine Valley knows who you are.”
Jeff chuckled. “Well, thank you. Nice meeting you, and we’ll catch up later, Cameron.”
Cameron ignored the significant look Jeff threw at him. As Jeff walked away from the gala, Jane released an audible sigh. Cameron looked over at her. “Are you all right?”
“It’s just that your female friends glare at me, and your male friends are all smiles,” she said. “What’s up with that?”
“Do I need to explain the birds and the bees to you?” He felt guilty when she blushed, but only a little. He propped his elbows on the table and leaned close. “It’s all part of the singles game, you know.”
Her mouth quirked. “You mean if I didn’t spend my Saturday nights playing cards with eighty-year-old men, I’d be a little more aware of the jungle out there?”
“I wouldn’t exactly call it a jungle, more like a wilderness. With no water.”
When Jane’s brows arched in question, he clarified. “You, in that red dress, are like an oasis in a vast desert.”
“Hmm.” She linked her fingers together on the table top. “I think I’m more of a mirage. I could never afford a dress like this, not to mention the tickets to the gala, or the $625 gourmet basket.”
“Good thing I didn’t bring you for your money, then,” Cameron said, grinning at her.
This produced another blush.
“How about that dance, and then we can get out of here?” He stood and held out his hand. She put her hand in his and rose to her feet. As they walked to the dance floor, he could feel people watching them. They were still holding hands, which might make people think they were involved. But he suddenly didn’t care what the other guests thought, or if they were talking about his canceled engagement.
He had a beautiful woman to dance with; then he’d take her home, and the night would be over. He might as well enjoy this moment, because tomorrow he had to start cleaning up all the messes he’d made of his life. He wasn’t looking forward to canceling the bookings Crystal had set up for the wedding. She’d told him that since he was the one who wanted to break up, he could do the work of canceling everything. Who knew how many other nonrefundable deposits were out there?
The band was playing a slow melody by the time they reached the floor, and Cameron turned to Jane, putting one hand on her waist and keeping her other hand in his. She rested her free hand on his shoulder. The lights dimmed, and a machine on the bandstand threw images of stars and tiny moons all over the ceiling and floor.
“I feel like everyone is staring,” Jane said, “but when I look at their faces, no one is actually looking. Maybe it’s a trick of the light?”
“These people are a sly bunch. They can avert their eyes really quickly.”
Jane laughed.
And Cameron felt the vibration of her laughter travel through his own body. He was probably enjoying this evening much more than he should. He hadn’t seen Lacey since he’d given her the money, but he had no doubt he’d have a message or a text from Crystal once he turned his phone back on. He couldn’t imagine Crystal staying silent when she found out his date tonight was their cleaning lady.
A cleaning lady who cleaned up very nicely.
“What are you smiling about?” Jane asked, her green eyes connecting with his.
“Just... random thoughts.”
“Hmm,” Jane said, pressing her rosy lips together. She must have reapplied her lip gloss when he wasn’t looking. “What’s the saying? Penny for your thoughts?”
Cameron liked how Jane’s eyelashes were long without being fake. “What?”
“You have selective hearing like my dad.”
“All right, all right,” he said. “I was thinking about how furious Lacey was when she obviously doesn’t know the story behind my canceled credit card. Then I thought how I haven’t seen her since I gave her the cash. And I realized she probably texted Crystal all about it, not knowing that Crystal would also know the truth behind the canceled credit card. Also, Lacey wouldn’t waste any time telling her about you.”
Jane watched him in amusement. “Those are a lot of random thoughts.”
“I’m not finished.”
“Well then, please continue.”
He smirked. “I turned my phone off, but I’m betting myself Crystal has sent several scathing texts calling me out on bringing a date to the gala so soon after our breakup.”
“And,” Jane prompted, “you forgot to add to your random thoughts that Crystal will be really annoyed your date is her cleaning lady.”
“Ex-cleaning lady.” Cameron shrugged. “What does it matter? The real issue is that Crystal can’t complain about what I do anymore. We’re not together.”
“True.” She glanced past him. “The band is actually quite good.”
“Um-hmm,” Cameron said and then realized he’d pulled Jane a little closer during their conversation, and she hadn’t seemed to mind.
The number came to an end, and Jane used her free hand to cover up a yawn. “Sorry, I don’t mean to yawn around you. Besides, I’m sure you’re way more tired than I am.”
“I didn’t have to clean houses today like you did,” Cameron said as the band started playing another slow song. “If you’re tired, we can go. No problem. Or... we could dance one more.”
Jane smiled. “One more is fine, but only if you want to.”
Cameron’s answer was to pull her just a little closer and keep dancing. More couples were on the dance floor now, but the dim lighting gave them some anonymity. The dance was over way too soon, and Cameron felt like he was waking up from a deep dream when Jane drew away from him.
“Let’s say goodbye to my mom. Then we can pick up your basket,” Cameron said.
She lifted a brow. “You mean your basket?”
“Nope. It’s yours.”
Jane bit her lip, and Cameron touched her arm. “It’s for charity, remember? Maybe I’ll take one of the honeys, but you can have the rest. Share it with your dad.”
Finally, she nodded. “All right. He’ll be so impressed.”
It took only a moment to locate his mom, who happened to be dancing with his dad. Cameron said his goodbyes. His dad gave Jane’s hand an enthusiastic shake, and his mom said, “I’m so glad you could come, Jane.”
They made it out of the restaurant with only a few more stops, including picking up the gourmet food basket, and by the time they stepped out into the summer night, Cameron was glad to be free of all the people.
“It’s stopped raining,” Jane said as they waited for the valet to bring the car.
Cameron shifted the basket he held to his other arm; it was heavier than he expected. “I love the smell after it rains.”
“I was just going to say that,” she said, looking over at him with a smile.
Cameron smiled back, but he noticed that her smile seemed less happy now. “Did you enjoy the night?”
“Very much,” she said. “Thank you for taking me. I need to do something for your mom to thank her for loaning me this dress.”
“I don’t think you have to worry about that,” he said. “She was happy to do it.”
The breeze stirred about them, bringing with it the fresh scent of earth and leaves.
“Are you cold?” Cameron asked.
She gave a small shake of her head, which dislodged a lock of hair from her updo. “I’m fine.”
Cameron lifted his hand and tucked her hair back in, feeling Jane’s gaze on him. Just then the valet pulled up with his car, and Cameron dropped his hand.
While the valet hopped out, Cameron opened the passenger door for Jane.
She picked up the wrap from the front seat where she’d left it, then sat down.
Cameron shut her door and put the basket in the back seat. He paid the valet and walked around to the other side.
The drive home was quiet, although they talked about a couple of random things. But the mood had definitely changed and become more somber. Jane checked her phone and reported that her dad had made it home all right and had probably gone to bed by now.
When Cameron pulled up to his mom’s house to drop Jane off, she said, “It was a great evening. Thanks again, Cameron.”
He tried not to focus on the soft way she said his name. “I’m glad you agreed to come.” And here it was, the awkward part of knowing what to say next. Their date was pretty much a convenient arrangement, yet Cameron didn’t want to tell her goodbye and never see her again. But what else could he say—Can I hire you? Do you want to go to dinner sometime?
For whatever reason, he was coming up empty. Probably because he wanted to skip past all the awkwardness, ignore the fact that he was probably on the rebound, and kiss her anyway.