He shook his head. “Julian can be a little too perceptive. He’s going to pick up on this…thing between us, and then he’ll tell my sister, who’ll tell my father and then they’ll all be snooping in my business.”

  “Isn’t that what families are for?” I replied, relieved he wasn’t angry. He merely wanted to avoid scrutiny, which I understood. It was the whole reason I’d originally wanted to pretend nothing happened between us at the Christmas party.

  We entered the café and were seated at a booth, Julian and Ellen on one side and me and Cameron on the other. A waiter came to take our order, and I studied Ellen, noting she looked a lot more like Nick than Cameron. They had the same curly hair and open faces. However, where Nick was chatty and gregarious, Ellen was reserved and shy. In fact, her husband seemed to do most of the talking.

  “So, what’s it like to work as a PI?” Julian asked with a twinkle in his eye. “I’ve always wanted to know. Do you catch lots of people cheating on their spouses?”

  “Actually, we just—”

  Cameron cut me off. “We can’t disclose details of cases.”

  “Right,” I said apologetically. “Cameron’s right. We can’t discuss cases.”

  “If I had your job, I’d be blabbing all the time. I’d get fired within a week,” Julian said with a chuckle.

  “He’s not lying,” Ellen added, squeezing his arm affectionately. “My husband is a gigantic gossip.”

  “Well, I’m actually in training at the moment to become an investigator, so I definitely need to start learning how to keep my mouth shut,” I said.

  “That sounds exciting. Is Cameron training you?” Ellen questioned, her keen gaze moving from me to her brother.

  “Yes, so far he’s been a great teacher,” I replied.

  Ellen appeared intrigued by this, her attention going to Cameron. “I never thought you’d have the patience to teach.”

  “It’s a learning curve.”

  “You’ve never trained anyone before?” Julian asked.

  Cameron shook his head. “Lilah, another investigator at the firm, normally trains the new hires.”

  “You must be special,” Julian went on, winking at me.

  I shook my head. “Oh, no, Lilah’s my best friend, you see. I asked Cameron to train me since I know he wouldn’t go easy on me like Lilah would.”

  “I’m sure he wouldn’t,” Julian said, grinning as he lifted his glass to take a sip of water.

  Was it just me or did that sound like an innuendo?

  “So, what brings you both to Torquay?” I asked, changing the subject.

  Cameron was right. Julian was a little too perceptive. I could tell by the way his attention kept flicking between Cameron and me, a knowing look in his eye. And since Damien, someone who didn’t know anything about my and Cameron’s relationship (or lack thereof) got a sense that there was something between us, I couldn’t handle another virtual stranger guessing it on the very same day.

  “We’re here to spend a few days with my dad,” Ellen answered. “It’s also our brother Nick’s birthday this week. Cameron’s taking us all out on his boat this Saturday to celebrate.”

  “Oh yes, Nick invited me, too,” I said. “I hope you don’t mind.”

  “Nick invited you?” Ellen asked curiously.

  “Nick and Maisie are friends,” Cameron explained. He didn’t sound very happy about it.

  “He makes my coffee in the mornings,” I interjected. “I’m not sure if I’d call us friends, more like friendly acquaintances. He is lovely though.”

  Cameron glanced at me. “Lovely?”

  Oh man, was that the wrong choice of word?

  “Surely you’re aware that your brother is a delight,” Julian put in.

  “Nick’s always been the likeable one,” Ellen said with a soft laugh. “Even when we were kids, people were surprised to discover he was my and Cameron’s sibling. He’s such a ray of sunshine, a real free spirit.”

  “Being a free spirit can have its downsides,” Cameron said, lifting his glass of water for a sip.

  Ellen rolled her eyes before looking at me. “Nick dropped out of college and spent most of his twenties travelling, which my brother here doesn’t exactly approve of.” Now she brought her attention to Cameron. “Not everyone wants a big career and a hefty salary. Nick enjoys the freedom of knowing he can go wherever he wants in the world at the drop of a hat.”

  “He can’t go anywhere if he has no money,” Cameron countered.

  “Well, it’s a good thing he has a sister who’s a successful author and can afford to give him the money, now isn’t it?” she answered back.

  “You’re an author?” I asked with interest.

  Ellen sat back now, looking shy. “Um, yes, I write romantic suspense.”

  Julian threw his arm around her. “She’s being modest. Ever hear of the Sasha Orlando series?”

  My eyes widened as I stared at Ellen. “Oh my goodness, you’re E.S. Grant!” I turned to look at Cameron. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me your sister was E.S. Grant.”

  He shrugged. “Ellen doesn’t like me telling people about her books. She’s an introvert.”

  “He’s right,” Ellen agreed. “You don’t even want to see how anxious I get when I have to do signings. Meeting lots of people is not my natural habitat.”

  “It’s a good thing I’m extroverted enough for the both of us,” Julian said with affection.

  A moment later, the waiter arrived with our food and I took a hungry bite out of my sandwich. I made a mental note to go out and buy all of Ellen’s books the next chance I got. The series was always on the best-sellers shelf whenever I went to the book shop, so it had to be amazing.

  “By the way,” Julian said when we were almost done eating. “I really love your office space. It’s so sleek and modern. Some days I wonder what it would be like to work in a place like that. I bet there are lots of scandals and secret office romances going on.” He had that knowing look in his eye again.

  I did my best not to choke on my sandwich, while Cameron showed zero signs of discomfort. He was so much better at hiding his reactions than I was.

  “I’m not sure about romance, though Cameron does have his fair share of admirers,” I said. Why was I talking? “He’s always getting asked out by co-workers.” Oh my God, shut up, shut up.

  “I think you’re mistaking me for someone else,” Cameron said gruffly.

  “What about Jenny inviting you to go for a drink?” Okay, so I was still a touch grumpy about that.

  “She was inviting everyone.” His steely look said, drop it.

  “Only after you said no.” My look said, I’ve started, so I’ll finish.

  “My brother has always had a knack for breaking hearts,” Ellen put in. “Remember when we were teenagers and Ruby from down the street had a crush on you? When she finally summoned up the courage to tell you, you shot her down right away. She was devastated for weeks.”

  “Would you prefer me to lie?” Cameron questioned.

  “You could’ve at least let her down gently,” Ellen teased.

  “We all know tact has never been my strong suit.”

  Ellen made a show of looking shocked. “Are my ears deceiving me or did you just admit to a fault?”

  That nearly got a grin out of him, and my stomach somersaulted to see a glimpse into Cameron’s relationship with his sister. He might not have been openly affectionate, but I sensed he cared for her quite a bit. It was different from how he acted around Nick, whom he seemed a little colder towards. Although that was probably due to them being so opposite in temperament. Ellen seemed more on Cameron’s wavelength, minus the grumpiness.

  I lifted my water to take a sip.

  “What a pretty bracelet,” Julian commented.

  I glanced down, flushing when I saw the bracelet Cameron gave me had fallen free. There was something comforting about wearing it, though I normally kept it tucked safely inside my sleeve. I chanced a quick look at Cameron, his attention zeroed in on the bracelet.

  “Thank you,” I said shyly. “It was a gift.”

  “It’s beautiful,” Ellen said.

  “Speaking of gifts,” Cameron interjected, a frog in his throat before he cleared it. “I still haven’t gotten anything for Nick.”

  Ellen shook her head playfully and looked to her husband. “In other words, he wants me to find something.”

  “You know I’m terrible at picking out presents.”

  “Admitting to two faults in one day. This must be a record,” Ellen teased.

  “Will you help me or not?”

  “I’ll help you,” she allowed. “So long as you buy the cake and take care of the food for the party.”

  “Okay, you have a deal,” Cameron replied, seeming happy with the arrangement.

  It soon came time for us to return to the office, and we said our goodbyes to Ellen and Julian. It was only a short walk back, but it seemed to take forever. I was overly aware that Cameron knew I was wearing the bracelet he gave me, which somehow made me feel like I had a giant neon sign above my head that flashed, I’m obsessed with you!

  The need to explain myself drove me crazy until I finally blurted, “About the bracelet—”

  “I gave it to you so that you’d wear it, Maisie,” Cameron cut me off. “We don’t need to talk about it.”

  Something about his stiff, abrupt tone made my throat heavy. “Okay,” I whispered.

  Cameron released a gruff breath and came to stand in front of me, stopping me in my tracks. He bent so that we were at eye level. “Have you any fucking idea how hard it is seeing you every day, but not being able to…”

  “Not being able to what?”

  His gaze sharpened. “You know what.”

  I swallowed, but the lump in my throat remained. “Do you not want to see me? Because if this is too much of a problem for you, I can have Lilah complete my training.”

  Cameron swore quietly under his breath. “Christ no, that would be worse.”

  “Not seeing me would be worse than seeing me?”

  “Yes,” he breathed.

  “So…” I began, confused. “You don’t like seeing me, but you also don’t want to not see me either?”

  Cameron exhaled heavily. “The problem is I like seeing you way too much.”

  “Oh.” The air left me for a second as his attention lowered to my mouth. He gripped my elbow and rested his other hand at my hip.

  “I like seeing you, Maisie. Not being able to touch you is the problem.” He spoke low, and I trembled.

  I looked into his dark, sexy, bottomless eyes and for a second forgot that we were standing on a busy street very close to our place of work. Cameron’s mouth hovered a hair’s breadth from mine, and I thought he might kiss me until a shrill voice broke through the fog of lust.

  “Oh my God!”

  We broke apart and Rory stood a few yards away, a scandalised look on his face. Inner panic seized me, because he’d obviously been standing there awhile.

  The biggest gossip in the office had just witnessed Cameron and me almost kiss.

  Ten

  The Birthday Party

  January 15th – 21st

  I was still standing next to Cameron when Rory got a devious look in his eye, turned around and speed-walked his way back to the office.

  Cameron was silent while I panicked.

  “I better go after him,” I said, on the move before he could stop me.

  I was breathless by the time I got inside the building and hurried my way to where Rory’s desk was located outside Georgia’s office. I stopped in my tracks when I saw him escorting two clients inside.

  Wonderful. Now I’d have to wait until the end of the day to speak with him.

  I walked back to my desk, still freaking out, and found a message on my phone.

  Cameron: Why did you run off?

  Me: I wanted to explain to Rory that we were just talking.

  Cameron: Neither of us owes him an explanation.

  I looked up and met Cameron’s gaze where he sat in his office. Maybe he was right. My first instinct in these types of situations was always to apologize, explain myself. But I shouldn’t have to. Whatever Rory thought he saw was absolutely none of his business.

  Let him think whatever he liked. In fact, eff him. Eff him right to hell.

  That felt good.

  I was proud of my decision until the following afternoon. I arrived back at the office after spending the first half of the day training with Cameron. We hadn’t spoken about our almost kiss, nor the text messages we’d exchanged. When Cameron went into teaching mode, he left very little room for any kind of personal chitchat.

  We’d agreed to put things on hold, but more and more my feelings for him seeped out. I needed to do better keeping them at bay.

  I wandered into the break room to grab the bottle of iced tea I’d left in the fridge and was met with a frosty reception. Rory, Miles, Jenny, and Kieran, all sat at the table, looking at me like I’d just murdered their collective pets.

  It appeared Rory had been doing some talking.

  They spoke in hushed tones, probably saying unkind things about me, but I refused to engage them. Engaging them was exactly what Rory wanted. For whatever reason, he’d decided that he didn’t like me, and this whole thing with Jenny fancying Cameron was the perfect opportunity to make everyone else dislike me, too.

  I grabbed my drink and quickly left the room, going in search of Lilah. I found her in the ladies’ bathroom, washing her hands.

  “Please tell me you’ve been keeping up with today’s office gossip,” I said after checking to make sure all the stalls were empty.

  Lilah cast me a sympathetic look in the mirror as she went to grab a paper towel to dry her hands. “Did you tell Jenny she shouldn’t ask Cameron to go out with her?”

  I dragged my teeth across my lower lip. “Not in so many words, but yes.”

  Lilah exhaled heavily. “Well, now she’s going around telling everyone you warned her off him before going and snagging him for yourself.”

  She’s what!? Annoyance bubbled up inside me, but I managed to stay calm. “That’s not true. I haven’t snagged anyone.”

  “I know you wouldn’t do something like that. I told her as much when I overheard her and Rory in a frenzy of gossip this morning, but she wouldn’t listen.” Lilah paused to eye me speculatively. “So, what brought all this on?”

  I slumped back against the wall, feeling dejected. “I went to lunch with Cameron and his sister and brother-in-law yesterday.”

  Her expression was curious. “Oh?”

  “They randomly invited me. But anyway, on the way back, Cameron and I had a bit of a moment on the street, and Rory saw us.”

  “Define moment.”

  “We nearly kissed.”

  Lilah let out a low whistle. “That certainly qualifies as a moment. So, let me guess, Rory ran straight to Jenny to tell her and stir up trouble. I swear to God, that man gets on my last nerve.”

  “He’s been trying his best to turn everyone against me ever since the whole Secret Santa thing. Now he’s finally got the ammo he needs.”

  “Let me go and have a word with him,” Lilah said with a frown, her protective instincts kicking in.

  I caught her arm. “No, don’t. Let them talk. Like you said before, they’ll move onto something else soon enough. Besides, my personal life isn’t their concern.”

  “Hmm, I like this new attitude.” She smiled approvingly. “Is a certain brooding investigator rubbing off on you?”

  “To be honest, I have no idea. I don’t know what to do about him.”

  “You like him?” she asked, voice gentle.

  I met her gaze. “More than like.”

  Her eyebrow lifted. “Is that so?”

  I sighed. “Yes, and it’s entirely inconvenient considering we work together. And to make matters worse, I’ve accepted an invitation to his brother’s birthday party this Saturday. Maybe I should pretend I’m ill and cancel.”

  “Don’t do that. Go and enjoy yourself. You deserve some fun.” A pause as a devilish glint came into her eye. “You also deserve to get laid. Again.”

  I shook my head and chuckled. “Okay, I’m not talking to you about this anymore.”

  “Just be sure to give me all the sexy details on Monday.”

  “No, because there won’t be any.”

  “Sure, sure,” she said, grinning as I headed out of the bathroom.

  ***

  The following day at lunch, Jenny appeared at my desk, arms folded, expression unhappy.

  “Maisie, can we talk?”

  “Sure,” I replied breezily, gesturing for her to go ahead, while on the inside anxiety took hold. Was she going to confront me about Cameron? God, I hoped not.

  “Not here,” she said. “Somewhere private.”

  An uneasy feeling formed as I followed her to the photocopying room. Jenny went to stand by some shelves, folding her arms. She looked pretty upset.

  “Why did you do it?”

  I shot her a perplexed expression, even though I sort of knew where this conversation was headed. “Why did I do what?”

  “Why did you steal Cameron? You knew I liked him.”

  I inhaled deeply and tried to stay calm. “I didn’t steal anyone. Cameron and I aren’t together.”

  “Rory said he saw you two and it looked like you were about to kiss.”

  “Rory didn’t see anything. He’s had it out for me ever since the whole Secret Santa drama, so now he’s making up lies about me.” The conversation had me breaking out in a rash already. I needed to get away from all this interpersonal drama and focus on my work.

  Jenny frowned now. “Oh.”

  “He’s always disliked me. Maybe I just rub him the wrong way.”

  “He has been pretty mean to you lately,” she agreed warily, losing some of her steam.

  I stepped forward, levelling her with a steady look. “I promise you, Jenny, whatever Rory’s been saying, it’s all lies.” Technically, that was true, since what was between Cameron and me was going on long before Jenny ever set her sights on him.

  She sighed, glancing away in what appeared to be embarrassment. When she looked back, she seemed upset. “Okay, I’m sorry, I believe you. I’ve just been driving myself crazy. Rejection hurts. Plus, I've been going through a crazy time personally. I recently connected with my birth father, then Fluffy died, and it's all just making me extra emotional, you know?"