Page 54 of See You Again
One picture drew his attention.
Cami beamed from behind the glass, her cheek pressed against the smiling face of a woman who must be a close relative. The resemblance between the two women was strong, but where Cami’s eyes shone bright and happy, the older woman’s were dull despite her cheerful expression.
“I'm sorry,” Cami said from behind him. “I meant to be back earlier, but I was later leaving Wheaton than I planned, and then I hit traffic.”
“Not a problem.” James wasn't sure how he was supposed to behave. This wasn’t a real date, but they weren’t strangers, either. “Is this your mom?” He asked to cover the awkwardness.
“Ready for our first date?” she grinned, ignoring his question.
James knew she’d heard him because her eyes flickered to the photo he indicated. “Apparently.”
A burble of laughter escaped her. “This is exactly why we need these practice runs. Why are we so awkward? It’s not like we haven’t had a thousand meals together.”
James’s lips curved. Trust Cami to blurt out the thing no one else would. “It’s been a long time since we’ve been in each other’s company.” And then, because he wanted to see her rosy cheeks again, he added. “The other night wasn’t really about getting to know each other.”
Sure enough, her cheeks reddened adorably, but what he hadn’t expected was for her tongue to slip out, wetting her lips. “Good point.”
James turned to the door to hide his reaction to her breathy words. “Ready?”
He waited until she entered the code to lock her door, and then kept his hand on her back as he walked her to the car. Only because they were keeping up appearances, of course, he told himself. Not because his hand seemed to have a mind of its own and couldn’t resist touching her.
Her eyebrows lifted when he reached around her to open the car door. “Don't your dates normally do that?”
“I don't know. I can't remember.” She shrugged. Satisfaction rolled through his chest, until she added, “I usually meet my dates.”
Silence filled the car as James drove them to a nearby restaurant. “I didn’t ask, but I assumed you still liked Thai food. This restaurant has several vegetarian dishes.”
“You remembered!”
James grunted. He wasn’t about to admit how much time he’d wasted that afternoon researching restaurants near her and going over the reviews. He didn’t want somewhere that could be construed as romantic, but he also wanted to take her some place nice.
He scowled. Already this fake dating thing was tying him into knots. Wasting time, when he should be working.
James handed his car keys to the valet in front of the upscale restaurant, but when he took Cami’s hand as she exited the car, she grimaced.
“What's wrong?”
“Nothing. I slipped earlier and landed on my hands.”
James gently turned her palms over and frowned at the abrasions there. The cuts weren't deep, but the pads of her hands were skinned.
“You should cover those until they heal.”
“Probably.” She pulled her hands from his. “I'm tougher than I look.”
“No doubt,” he murmured, as the hostess seated them.
The silence returned as they both stared at the menus. James took a sip of his water, waiting for Cami to say something. He watched as her short, red nails tapped against the back of the menu.
“You cut your nails.” The words popped out before he thought, and he cursed himself when her surprised gaze met his over the top of her menu. James cleared his throat. “The other night, they were... erm… longer.”
His body tightened as he remembered how she had used her fingernails to tease him. Cami turned bright red as James draped the cloth napkin over his lap.
“I broke a couple nails when I fell.”
“Other than falling down, how was your day?” He winced.
Real smooth.