Page 13 of See You Again
And then those two women. The absurd amount of attention he received started as soon as he’d moved to Atlanta last spring. With Luke happily thrown out as bait to the single women of the city, James had been able to mostly stay off their radar. Now that Luke was in a relationship with Dahlia, the Atlanta society pages had turned their eyes to James. He hated it.
Not simply because he despised the intrusive press. What James hated most were the endless comparisons to his brother. He should have just said no and stuck with it.
His palm still tingled at the memory of how soft and warm Cami had felt pressed up against him. His physical reaction to her made him angry. He wasn’t twenty-one anymore, and he’d learned a long time ago that she wasn’t as innocent as she liked to pretend.
But it was like she was a fucking magnet, and he couldn’t pull away.
After what happened on their one and only date, James had vowed to never see her again. Now, here he was, sitting next to her, doing his best not to stare at her impressive cleavage in that red dress, and wondering what she would look like as he peeled it off her.
Would her breath quicken? How rosy would her golden skin become? What would it take to turn those giggles into moans?
It was a fantasy that had kept him and his right hand busy more nights than he’d like to admit all those years ago.
“You’re back to glaring at me.” Cami lifted her glass.
James forced himself to look away and rolled his shoulders. He would be civil. He could control himself and his response to her. James wouldn’t let her suck him in and use him again.
I will never make that mistake with a woman again.
Still, as the last of her drink disappeared between her red lips, he scrambled for something to say. “Well, now that we’ve established we’re old friends, you should reconsider sending me those files.”
Two tiny lines formed between her eyes. “Files?”
Was she going to pretend he hadn’t contacted her? “I think after tonight you owe me a favor.”
“Again… mutual favor.” But her brow remained furrowed. “Truly, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Cami.” He stared at her.
She widened her eyes back at him. “James.”
“Fine. Have it your way.” He bared his teeth in the semblance of a smile, and her lips lifted in a genuine one. “The files on the poisoning case you covered.”
The humor went out of her face, replaced by confusion. “Poisoning case I covered? Do you mean Alicia Alvarez?”
“Yes.”
She cocked her head, her expression sobering, and waved her hand in a circle. “Go back. I think I missed something. Why are you asking about files from one of our cases?”
James darted a look at her glass. Cami hadn’t seemed drunk when she came over, but maybe she hid it well. “I reached out to your office more than a month ago about the research you’d done for the case.”
She shook her head slowly. “No.”
“Yes.”
“James, seriously. I don’t know what you are talking about.” Cami seemed sincere, but then again, she’d fooled him before.
“Are you really going to play it like that?”
Her lips parted. “I’m not playing anything. Who did you talk to? Madison? She would have said something.”
“Your co-host? No, it was your receptionist. A young woman.”
“Our receptionist is a guy, Gerry. But he never… oh!” Cami made a face. “Was it Felicity?”
James frowned. “I don’t remember.”
“It had to have been.” She let out a beleaguered sigh. “Gerry was out for a few weeks after getting his appendix removed, and we had a temp. Complete disaster!” Cami tilted her head. “Why didn’t you ask to speak to me? We don’t normally give out our research, but for you…” She smirked. “It’s not like you haven’t copied my homework before.”