Page 24 of Harboring Shantae

Oh God, that only made things worse. She couldn't control the sounds coming out of her and her sides hurt so badly from the workout she was getting. She was sure everyone was looking at her by now.

"Stop ..." A snort snuck out as she leaned onto Ray's arm. She meant to push him away, but she was cackling too hard; it turned into her attempting to hold herself up. "There's no way that's your biggest secret."

"You wound me," Ray exclaimed loud enough for everyone to hear. Then he leaned in to help her regain her balance.

"I think it's safe to say I won the bet."

Those words weren't more than a feather-light whisper and were only meant for her. But they did their job. The laughter that consumed her moments ago dried up as she met Camron's intense glare. Only it wasn't focused on her face. Nope, Camron was zeroed in on where Ray's hand still held her elbow in an attempt to keep her upright.

Shantae was pulling herself out of Ray's embrace before she could fully comprehend the reaction her body was having to the anger radiating off Camron.

Could Ray be right? Was Camron jealous because another man was making her laugh? She couldn’t see why he would be. He’d told her repeatedly that a relationship or anything serious was out of the question.

"There was a reason I came looking for you." Ray grew serious. "Actually, I was looking for the both of you. The detective working on your case will be here tomorrow. I tried to hold him off longer, but he insisted."

She looked to Camron for direction. She didn't want to speak with the detective, but she doubted that was an option.

“Have him meet us at the house,” Camron said. “But not too early.”

“The honeymooners want some time alone.” Ray winked. “I get it. I’ll tell him nothing earlier than noon.”

Ray started to walk away, but Shantae's curiosity got the better of her, so she hollered his name.

When he turned back around, there was a devilish glint in his eyes.

"Was that the truth or just something to make me laugh?"

"Guess you’ll never know. Have a great night, Shantae."

That answer was as clear as mud and maybe exactly what she should've expected. Ray used the opportunity to make Camron jealous. She hated to admit it, but she thought it actually worked too. The look of possessiveness in Camron's gaze had her romantic heart going pitter-patter just a bit faster than normal.

"Care to explain what that was all about?"

Oh yeah, there was jealousy in his tone. The why of it confused her.

"An experiment. One I found a little fascinating, to be honest, but that doesn't matter right now. As much as it kills me to sneak out early, I didn't sleep much last night and I'm exhausted, so can we please leave?"

Camron didn't respond at first. He just looked at her. Almost like he was trying to read her. She didn't know what impression she was giving off, but after some time, he finally answered.

"Don't be sorry. It's your wedding. We can leave whenever you want."

"It's not my wedding, it'sours,and these are your friends. I might hate my parents, but it's my grandparents who taught me manners. So my apologies are because it's rude to sneak out of a party, especially one in our honor."

She was going to keep stressing that it was about the two of them because she wasn't going to let him disassociate himself from her. She knew that's what he did with his teammates. She wouldn't allow it to be done with her as well.

"Yeah, that's what I meant. Let's go say goodbye so you don't feel rude and we can get out of here."

It took another thirty minutes to actually leave. It was like an Italian goodbye. Several rounds of farewells before they could get into the vehicle.

A very audible sigh escaped Shantae's lips as she collapsed into the passenger seat. She wanted to be embarrassed that she let the weakness escape, but she didn't have it in her. Who cared if Camron knew that being around so many people took a lot out of her?

"Happy to be gone?" She didn't miss the question in his tone.

"Happy to have some time to settle in. I feel like it's been a whirlwind since you showed up and I haven't had time to just think."

Shantae bit the inside of her cheek as the full situation hit her. This was the beginning of their arranged marriage.

Now, nerves that they would be alone soon were starting to kick in. Maybe leaving the reception early wasn't such a smart plan. At least there she didn't have to worry she would be tempted to say something stupid. Like the three little words that would for sure make him run in the other direction.