His stomach, champion of champions, saved him with a loud rumble. “What I want to do is eat. My lord and master stomach has spoken.”
The worry line stayed long enough to alarm Camden before disappearing as she smiled. Elena laid her hand on his belly, this time giving him the shivers. “What stomach? All I see is a washboard.” And then, God help him, she ran her fingers up his abdomen. “All I feel, too.”
He grabbed her hand out of self-defense. If she kept touching him that way, he’d throw her down right there in the hall, and that would just be rude toward Bette.And it’d be just my luck that the Bennetts would come in right now.
Camden brought Elena’s fingers and their sweet, spicy scent back up to his lips and this time he didn’t hesitate to taste them.Yes. Cinnamon, sugar, cardamom, and a spicy little kick at the end.
Elena shut her eyes. She leaned forward and stretched up to meet his lips with hers. The softest brush, the lightest tease, before Tina’s laughter in the kitchen mere feet away reminded them they were at a party.
Elena bit her luscious lower lip and looked down, grinning. He licked his lips.I was right—her mouth tastes like strawberries. His jeans suddenly became way too tight and thoughts of all the empty bedrooms upstairs and the fun they could have in one of them filled his mind. He shifted his hips, hoping Elena hadn’t noticed.
“It is like being a teenager again, isn’t it?” he asked her. “Only, instead of sneaking around your parents, you gotta dodge a kiddo, am I right?”
Instead of laughing and agreeing, Elena looked away.Ouch. Not the reaction he’d hoped for.
“Fine,” Camden said. “I’ll make sure Tina doesn’t see me kissing her mama.”
Just as quickly, Elena looked back up at him. “It’s not that. I think she’d be overjoyed.”
That flipped his heart right over, but he couldn’t bask in the warm feeling more than a second as long as something still bothered Elena. “Then what is it? What’d I say?”
Her mouth wavered and she gave a little head shake. “Nothing. It’s not you. Dodging parents was never much of a concern for me.” She looked past him. “I’m hungry, too, and I need to pop something in the oven to warm it up.” One last little smile, just enough to assure Camden he wasn’t in trouble, and Elena slipped past him and through the kitchen doorway.
It’s ghosts all the way down for both of us, isn’t it? Camden thought.
* * *
Just as he was about to follow Elena into the kitchen, his phone buzzed. Gina texted that the other guests Camden was waiting for had just arrived. He trotted back to the front door to greet the Bennetts. Talk about your All-American-apple-pie-looking family. Their clothing, while not being identical, coordinated enough to make them look like a team. Camden suspected Cici dressed everyone that morning. Well, Bennett would be marketing himself as the ‘family’s candidate’ so it made sense to project that image hard.
“Good to see you again, Camden,” Roger said. “Where’s Jake? I have to tell him thank you for the invitation.”
Cici held up a gift bag tied with a ribbon. “And I have something for the hostess.” She looked past Camden as if Bette would suddenly materialize in the foyer. “I’m afraid I don’t cook, so I didn’t bring a dish to pass. I hope this will do instead.”
“Ms. C. will love it, I’m sure. I think she’s in the kitchen. I’ll show you on the way to the backyard, where Jake’s probably giving his dad a hard time over the grill.”
Cici’s eyes widened at the word kitchen. “I’m amazed Bette Collins even knows she has a kitchen. I assumed she’d have people for that.”
“You don’t know Ms. C.” Camden motioned for them to follow him. “She had to hire outside staff for today. She likes things small and personal otherwise.” He paused at the kitchen door. “The backyard is straight on through this hall if you want to join us out there after you give her your gift.” Camden didn’t need to break out his crystal ball to guess Cici wouldn’t stay in there long, unless she was truly star-struck.
Roger and the twins followed Camden to the back patio, where Jake was grilling his dad harder than Grant was grilling the meat. Toby, Fleur, and Anubis the dog assigned to Costello, were chasing each other in the yard, a cloud of kids trying to keep up in their wake. The twins watched, obvious longing on their faces.
“Go ahead, kids,” Roger said. “Just don’t get dirty or your mom will kill me.” He gave Camden aknow what I mean?smile as Brittney and Brice practically launched themselves off the patio after the dogs.
Jake turned and greeted Roger. Then he asked, “Have you met my dad?”
“Sir, I haven’t had the pleasure.” He stuck his hand out for Grant Collins to shake. “I love your work.”
Grant laughed. “I’m surprised you’re familiar. Nobody knows stuntmen, and I haven’t been in a movie since 1995. Or was it 1998?”
Roger laughed. “Ah, but I’m familiar. The twins love theDouble-O Troubleseries. I’ve watched it with them a gazillion times. I don’t know how you survived those stunts.”
Grant laughed and waved him off. “I’ve got the scars to prove I almost didn’t. They’re rebooting the series, only now they’re making the secret agent’s kid a girl instead of a boy. They asked if I’d do a walk-on part. I said sure, but I don’t do explosions anymore.”
True to Camden’s prediction, Cici had already joined them, taking Roger’s arm in hers. She smiled at Grant’s story, until she spotted the twins running in the yard, then frowned with concern. “I hope they don’t fall. Grass stains are impossible.”
Camden was suddenly concerned too, but for an entirely different reason than grass stains. Something about one of the servers down there seemed out of place. He didn’t have a tray and he wasn’t heading to or from the kitchen. He was just standing there, watching the kids through thick-framed glasses.
Shit.
