Page 22 of Echoes in the Storm
“I’ve got the option of two nights at the Atlas later in the week, but I haven’t found anything until then.”
“So your plan would be?” Her hand shifts to her hip.
“Not sure yet.”
Her chest rises and falls on a heavy exhale. Of course I look.
“We got off on the wrong foot, I think.”Here it comes.“If you need somewhere to stay, my place is on the table.”
My fist flexes on the strap of my bag. “Never knew it was to begin with.”
Cammie swallows, her gaze drifting over my shoulder to the car I hear approaching. “All I ask is that you respect my space and don’t ask questions I can’t answer.”
Her gaze flicks back to me as I nod and offer my hand. “Deal. As long as you can do the same.”
She places her palm in mine as her eyes hold mine, and fuck it all if that isn’t the game-changer right there. Pressure like I’ve never known explodes inside my head, ricocheting into my chest before seizing my heart in the devil’s chokehold.
I swallow hard as we shake hands, her grip lax before I’ve even finished the movement. Cammie tucks her hand away as though I’ve literally burned her with my touch, tucking it beneath the opposite arm.
“Well, I’m glad that’s sorted,” she says on a chuckle. “Because I’ve got ice-cream in the back of the car that’s probably started to melt, not to mention the milk getting warm and the deli meats … I mean this weather, huh? It’s so unusually warm for this time of year …”
I follow her back to the BMW with a smile on my face. She’s back to the same chatty girl that got under my skin earlier. Only this time, the irritation doesn’t seem so bad.
Perhaps it’s the kind of pain that I need to jar me back to being the man I used to be.
Cammie
What the ever-loving hell was I thinking? Since I returned from doing the afternoon show, Duke has not only driven me mad by critiquing where I put my groceries, but tidied my bathroom counter, and made himself at home in the living room with his shoes and belongings spread everywhere.
I check the time on the microwave display again and stare back out the kitchen window that overlooks the driveway. Jared’s due at any minute, and even though I’ve told Duke I’ve got a visitor and that I’d appreciate him keeping himself scarce for it, Jared’s not one to let a detail like a houseguest go without interrogation.
The polished black paintwork of Jared’s truck comes into view in the clearing between the trees. I pull a levelling breath as the vehicle approaches the house, and promptly parks in such a way as to block the driveway for anyone else.Typical Jared.
“That your guest?” Duke asks from my right.
I glance over to find him at the window beside the dining table, eyeballing the truck. “Yeah.”
He simply nods and backs away. “I’ll be out in the yard. Come get me when you’re done.”
“Thank you.”
He brushes it off with a flick of his hand as he heads for the hallway. The sound of Jared’s car door slamming shut sends me into a frenzy. I whip about the living room in a blur as I pick up any evidence of Duke I can find, and set his bag, shoes, and jacket in the corner, tucked behind the largest sofa. Hopefully, Jared will be so damn distracted with his own agenda, he won’t notice.
The echo of his knock on the front door jolts me out of my panic. I head into the entry, and suck another, less satisfying, deep breath as I reach for the handle to let him in. “Right on time.”
The arrogant bastard breezes past, a white portfolio tucked under one arm. “There’s something to be said for punctuality, Cam. You should try it.”
Arsehole.
“Make yourself at home,” I quip as he takes a seat on the sofa and spreads his papers out over the coffee table.
Ice-grey eyes meet my own. “I will, thanks, considering it’s still my home, too.”
I press my lips together and retreat into the kitchen to avoid saying something that really isn’t going to help my plight. With a crisp carton of juice in my hands, I return to take a seat opposite Jared, on the floor, and pop the straw into the foil-sealed hole.
“Fuck me, Cam.” He rolls his damn eyes at me. “You still drink those?”
I stare down at the carton in my hands, realising that I grabbed it without a second thought of how it looks. “I’m only one woman. A whole two-litre bottle takes me too long to get through.”