Page 40 of See You Again
“Yes.”
“One month duration to be comprised of one public date a week and four social media posts.” She shook her head in disbelief. “James, it doesn’t have to be this strict. We could just hang out a couple of times.”
He tapped his pen on his desk needing an outlet for the energy pulsing through him. “You need me to accompany you to that jackass’s opening, right?”
“Yeah.”
“You run a successful business. I have days I have to be in court. If you are going to need my presence somewhere, then I’ll need to put you on my schedule.”
“What about spontaneity? Like, if I called and said let’s get dinner.”
James scowled. “That’s the point of a schedule. It’s not as if we are actually dating.”
A stab of guilt hit him in the gut when her expression faltered.
“And you think four dates and four pictures will be enough to keep people off your back? What if they don’t think we’re serious? Anything less than a committed relationship isn’t going to keep you safe.”
The twinkle in her eye gave away that she was messing with him, but she wasn’t completely wrong.
“Unless that’s the kind of boyfriend you still are…”
James’s frown deepened. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
She shrugged. “I don’t remember you as a particularly attentive boyfriend. Half the time, you spent more time with me than with the girls you dated.”
James froze, and by the way Cami’s lips parted, she realized the implication of what she’d said. “But that’s cool. Nobody wants a possessive boyfriend. It’s better for people to be independent, have their interests, their own friends…” Cami was babbling in an attempt to cover the awkward moment. “It’s just as well. I have a busy schedule for the next couple of weeks. I won’t have a lot of free time.”
“You think we need more appearances?” James ignored the torrent of words.
Cami sighed. “I think if you want the four dates to appear at all authentic—like the restaurant opening—we are going to have to spend time together. There will be people watching. We need a certain level of familiarity with each other if we’re going to sell it.”
He held her gaze. “I think we’ve established a certain level of familiarity.”
A light flush appeared on her cheekbones. “Not that kind of familiarity.”
A shot of pure male satisfaction spread through him. He wasn’t the only one affected by their night together. “Fine. What do you suggest?”
Cami’s lips lifted in a relieved smile, and an emotion he couldn’t identify flowed through him, followed swiftly by uneasiness. He’d only seen Cami twice in the last decade, and already she was wearing down his defenses. Why should he care that she looked more relaxed, less worried, than when she’d been in his office on Monday?
“I think if we are pretending to be a serious couple then there has to be a certain…” Her mouth screwed to one side as she searched for the right word. “Intimacy, I guess.”
Heat raced through him. How far did Cami think they needed to go in order to sell this relationship? Sex might be the solution they needed. The other night hadn’t been enough, no matter how much he’d hoped it would be. If anything, it only made him want her more.
After a month, the novelty would have worn off. She wouldn’t exist in his mind as Cami, a fantasy he couldn’t shake. She’d just be a woman he had enjoyed a mutually enjoyable, sexual fling with.
Images flashed in his mind from the other night. Cami panting in his bed, her eyes gleaming as she writhed under him, the gorgeous noises she made when she’d found release… His gaze fell to her mouth. There were still things he wanted to do… James realized her lips were moving.
Damn it, he’d completely missed what she was saying, sitting here fantasizing like a perv.
“I think we’ve already proven ourselves compatible in that area, so I think if we limit it to that, we should be good.”
Limit? Limit what?
Cami stared at him expectantly.
Fuck, what had she said?
James heard himself grunt in agreement, and he found himself oddly happy when she beamed back at him. He’d missed that sunny smile.