Chapter 16

 

Camden walked beside Kenzie, his toes digging into the sand. His clothes were mostly dry now. Vita had left and they were almost done collecting shells for Kenzie’s jewelry inspiration. Kenzie carried what looked like a tie-dye t-shirt converted into a shoulder bag. It bulged with the treasures she’d collected.

His hand brushed against hers, and he almost took hold of her, but pulled back. She’d made it clear she didn’t want a relationship with him. Her words made his chest squeeze. I hope I haven’t given you the wrong impression.

No, she hadn’t. It was he who had wanted there to be something more between them. He’d been the one to imagine the chemistry. He’d been the one to sit a little closer. He’d read something into the kisses they’d shared. She’d been honest all along.

She leaned down and picked up a small blue object. “This is perfect. Look how smooth this sea glass is. This will make a nice piece.” She slipped it into her bag.

He nodded. “You’ll make something beautiful out of it.”

She looked up at him and stopped walking. “Thanks for coming here with me. I mean, for volunteering to play the part of the crazy lady’s boyfriend. You helped me out.”

He looked into her eyes. He wanted to tell her the past few days had meant something to him. That maybe he could see something between them. But instead he nodded. “Sure.”

She pulled the strap of her bag over her shoulder. “I think I have what I need. Are you ready to check out?”

“Yes.”

They walked back to the hotel and he helped her with her suitcase. After everything was loaded in her car, he closed the trunk and got into the passenger seat. She closed her door and started the engine. “Ready for the long drive?” She flashed him a smile.

He didn’t mind the drive. In fact, getting to spend more time with Kenzie was a plus. “Sure am.”

She backed out of the parking space and put the car into gear. “So, now that I know you’re not a murderer, what should we talk about?”

“I thought maybe you could do your Sherlock Holmes thing again.”

She shook her head. “Oh no. I’ve given that up. I’m no good at it, and I’ve accepted it. Lesson learned.”

He smiled at her. “Okay, maybe not exactly that. I was thinking I could correct your wrong assumptions.”

She chewed her bottom lip and gave him a glace out of the corner of her eye. “I did jump to a lot of conclusions about you before I got to know you.”

“And I didn’t correct those wrong conclusions.” He was definitely to blame on that one.

She turned onto the highway and sped up. “All right. You aren’t a construction worker. You own a construction company. Correct?”

“Yes. I started out working on sites. I was young and energetic. I saw ways to improve how things were done, but upper management didn’t want to listen to me. So I found a way to start my own company.”

“Your family didn’t have any money. How did you start up a company?”

“Doing the grunt work, I heard a lot of things. There was a small construction company going out of business and laying off workers. I wrote up a proposal and sought investment money to buy the business. It worked. I was able to buy the company at pennies on the dollar. I was the proud owner of my own company at the age of eighteen.”

“Wow.” Kenzie shot him a wide-eyed look. “That’s amazing. And you didn’t go to college because you had your own company to run.”

“Exactly. Those first few years of owning my own business were my education. I had to quickly figure out how to be a manager, how to hire good workers, and how to get contracts.”

Kenzie tossed a bag of trail mix on his lap. “Can you open that for me?”

“Sure.” He set it in her cupholder after he got the package open.

“What’s your day typically like? You were obviously out working somewhere in the mud on Friday.”

“I was on a site on Friday. I don’t usually get to do that, though. I mainly sit behind a desk and work on the computer.”

She picked up her water bottle and took a swig. Then she gave him a sidelong glance. “You miss working on site.”

“Ah, you are perceptive. I knew you weren’t as bad at it as you thought.”

Her smile lit up the car.

“Yes, I miss it.” He shifted in his seat, adjusting the seatbelt. “I like working with my hands. But I also like the thrill of buying out another company or landing a multi-million-dollar contract.”

“You’re passionate about what you do. That’s good.”

“And so are you.”

She checked her side mirror. “But we’re talking about you right now. Let’s go on to another assumption. You didn’t get your muscles from the job site. How come you’re so buff?”

Her cheeks grew pink, and he laughed. “I have a gym in my complex.”

“Ah, yes, the billionaire who lives in an apartment.”

“Well . . . penthouse actually.”

“That makes more sense.” She studied the road ahead. “Do you really have a cat?”

“Yes. Thor is real.”

She laughed. “Good. Because if I had gotten the cat wrong, and you made up the whole story about the sad little skinny cat eating tuna from a can, I would have been mad at you. I’m already in love with Thor.”

“Then you must come up and meet him.” Wait, what? Had he invited her up to his penthouse? He hadn’t meant to say it, and he glanced at her in apprehension. Would she take it the wrong way?

“I’d love to.”

He blew out a breath in relief. “He’ll be happy for any company. I bet he’s mad I left him for a few days.”

“Did you have anyone go feed him?” Her eyes grew wide.

“I have an assistant who feeds him and makes sure his water fountain is clean.”

She grinned. “Good, because I was worried you’d come home to a dead cat.”

“Ouch. You think I’d let my cat starve?”

She giggled and brushed a strand of hair from her face. “I’m glad you’re not that thoughtless.”

He sat back in his chair. “What about you. No pets?”

She shook her head. “I’ve been moving around too much to keep a pet.”

“How do you make jewelry when you’re living out of a tent?”

“I don’t need much. My supplies fit in two plastic tubs. The only tricky thing is I need a torch, but I just plug in my converter to my car and it powers it.”

“I see. Are you going to leave Richmond?” He hoped the question wasn’t weird. He didn’t mean it to sound stalkerish, but she sat silent for a moment and he wondered if he was prying too much.

“I don’t know,” she finally said.

He let her drive in silence for a bit before he decided to ask another prying question. “Were you moving around so Mason wouldn’t find you?”

She tapped the steering wheel. “Maybe,” she admitted. She gave him a little smile. “I didn’t want to talk to him, and I knew he was trying to get ahold of me. But I couldn’t face it.”

“Face him?”

“I didn’t want to face the fact that I had married someone I barely knew, for stupid reasons, and then found out he was a liar and a cheat.”

Camden could see the pain of it etched on her face, and knew he should change the subject, but something inside him made him persist. “You didn’t want to face the pain.”

“Yes. I was in love with him. And to find out I didn’t mean anything to him was . . . well, it kind of messed with my head.”

And yet, she was going back to him. At least in a sense. Pretending to be his wife for the family reunion. He folded his arms across his chest. “I hope you realize he’s a self-centered jerk, and it has nothing to do with you.”

Her face softened and she gave Camden a small smile. “It took me about a year, but I finally came to the conclusion that it wasn’t my fault. You’re right; it had nothing to do with me. Still doesn’t. He wants to please his mother so she gives him his inheritance. That’s all it is. I was stupid enough to fall for his fake charm.”

Camden wanted to reach over and brush her cheek with his fingers, and to tell her she wasn’t stupid, but he held his comments in. She didn’t feel that way about him, and he needed to accept it. Anyway, after next week’s reunion, she’d probably move somewhere else and he wouldn’t see her again.

“How did we get to talking about me? We were talking about you and your cat.” She gave him a funny look. “What else does your life consist of, besides taking care of Thor and working?”

He chuckled, not minding that she was turning the conversation back on him. “I visit my mom every Sunday. My sister and her husband usually come over as well, so I get to see my niece. It’s nice, having a family get-together once a week.”

“Do they live in Richmond?”

“My mom lives in Petersburg, and my sister’s in Blackstone, so we have to make the effort to get together. At least we’re not spread out over several states.”

Kenzie nodded. “Yes, my sister’s in Maine, and my parents live in Florida, and I’ve been moving around so much I barely see them.”

“Sounds like they want you to come for the holidays, though. That’s good, right?”

She made a face that he couldn’t quite interpret. “Yeah, I guess.”

“Okay, I agree, your mother made me want to sock her in the face a few times. But your father seemed nice.”

She snorted. “I will totally go spend Thanksgiving with them if you come and promise to sock her if she starts in on me.”

“Are you inviting me to your family’s Thanksgiving dinner?” He gave her a playful grin. Of course, she really wasn’t. He knew it was a joke, but the thought that maybe they would see each other again after next week was appealing nonetheless.

“Totally.” She said it with a straight face. “Did you see how my mother acted after she figured out you were loaded? You could be my saving grace.” She then gave him a teasing grin.

“Well, then, we should announce an engagement during the meal. That would make your mother extremely happy.”

Kenzie burst out with a laugh. “That would be hilarious.”

Her laughing at his suggestion, even though it was a joke, kind of hurt. Would it be so odd for them to get together? He pushed aside the thought. “Too bad Thanksgiving is so far away,” he said, poking her in the ribs.

“There’s always the Fourth of July.”

“Yes, that’s a romantic holiday. The one where we blow things up.”

Kenzie flicked her blinker on and changed lanes to pass a truck. “When I was a kid, my sister and I would put firecrackers in toys, and then try to see who could do the most damage.”

“What? You and sweet little Tessa? I can’t imagine it.”

“Well, I might have been the instigator of that activity.” She laughed. “We blew the arm off her Barbie, then Tessa cried for three days.”

“I can see Tessa playing with Barbie dolls. You? Not so much.”

“You’re right. I detested Barbie dolls. I did have the biggest box of crayons, though, and thought I was awesome.”

“Now that I could see.” Camden chuckled, then leaned over and rummaged through his duffle bag. He pulled out a pack of gum. “Want some?”

“Juicy Fruit? Heck yeah. That’s my favorite.”

Her fingers brushed his as she took the piece. He stared down at his hand, tingling from the contact. She was unlike anyone he’d ever known. And next week, he’d have to watch her pretend to be with another man.