Page 94 of See You Again

Knowing James as well as she did—as well as she used to—she knew he didn’t express his feelings well. It might have been for the best that they didn’t have to face each other after such an intense night. It gave them both time to think.

Thankfully, it didn’t appear as though her mother had seen the news yet, giving Cami time to think up a story that stood a chance at calming her mother down.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

The bright blue front door opened, revealing Cami bent at the waist struggling to wiggle her foot into one of her heels. If he were more of a gentleman, James would have looked away. He didn’t.

Instead, he admired her rounded cleavage displayed in front of him.

She straightened with a laugh. “I swear, one of these days, I’ll have my shoes on when you get here.”

The short copper-colored dress set off her golden skin and curves perfectly. It nipped in tight at her waist, exaggerating the curves above and below. It took everything in him not to push her back into the house and pin her against the wall to see if he could elicit the intoxicating sounds she’d made earlier in the week.

“I don’t know why I ever think I’m a heels girl.” She laughed. “My feet are way too wide.”

Cami caught James’s expression, and all levity faded away. He swallowed hard. Cami’s gaze trailed down his dark dress shirt to his charcoal dress pants that did nothing to hide his reaction to her. Her full lips parted, and her eyes dilated.

“Are you ready?”

She took a deep breath, and James’s eyes immediately dropped. “Yup.”

She arched a brow. “What are you staring at, James?”

“Where’s your coat? You are going to freeze.”

“You sound like my mother. It’s not that cold, and it will be hot in the restaurant. Kip loves the open kitchen concept. That way, everyone can see him put on a show.”

He scowled and took her elbow when she wobbled a little in the heels as she navigated the steps. “Why are you wearing those ridiculous shoes?”

“They aren’t ridiculous. They are sexy as hell and short girl required. Keeps me from getting lost in a crowd.”

James’s eyes lingered on her. “No one’s going to miss you in that dress.”

They still hadn’t had the conversation he knew they needed. But he couldn’t point to which of them was more reluctant. They had sent light-hearted texts back and forth over the last few days, skirting around their actual issues.

Cami had put him off with ‘I’m busy texts.’ The episode she put out that morning had blatantly laid out the case for why she thought Matt Crawford was involved. This both terrified him and cemented his resolve to keep her safe.

The press covering the fight, in conjunction with the podcast, meant his entire family had been calling and texting non-stop. He’d appeased his sister and mother. Once they heard he was all right and not facing charges for the public fight, their frantic calls had slowed. But his stomach still roiled as he remembered his phone call with his mother.

“You’ll bring her to lunch.”

“We’re both very busy.”

“Your brother tells me you were friends with her in college, and Dahlia told me about the podcast.”

James forced himself to breathe through the silence that followed. Finally, his mother Anne let out a frustrated snort.

“Let me see if I’ve got this straight. You’ve suddenly reconnected with a girl you liked in college, who then just happens to be the one Dahlia mentioned last summer. Was that a coincidence? But you claim you only made contact with the podcaster last week… Cara told me. And on this podcast, Camellia is insinuating that Matt Crawford murdered a young girl. The press makes it sound like you’ve been together for months. But you never mentioned you were dating anyone, much less someone who is so closely tied to everything going on with what happened to your father.”

“That’s a lot.” James said, to buy himself some time. He’d rather cut off his arm than lie to his mother.

“Don’t play stupid. What happened first? You reconnected or Dahlia heard the podcast?”

“I believe Cami’s podcast on the poisoning case was over a year ago.”

“That doesn’t answer my question.”

James was glad his mother couldn’t see his smile. She had been an excellent attorney and law professor before multiple sclerosis forced her to retire.