His eyes clenched shut. “Camila,” he said in a whisper. His mind uttered what he couldn’t say aloud.I’m so sorry that happened to you. I’m sorry you couldn’t tell me. I’m sorry that you wanted to hide it. I want to stop this car, run down the LA sidewalk, throw my arms around you and never let go.
“James?”
The sound of his name pulled him from his musings. He smeared a hand over his face.
“We’re here,” Stephanie said. “Are you ready?”
And so they were. In fact, Leonard already held the door open for Stephanie to step out.
Every part of him wanted to say no. Hewasn’tready to walk into that club, sink into some lounge chair, and kick back drinks. Hewasn’tready to shove his mind back on work like he had when Winston died. To pretend itdidn’tfeel like his heart was getting ripped into oblivion. He wasn’t ready to let go of the woman he’d fallen so in love with that he barely knew how to breathe without her.
“Mr. Benton?” Leonard urged.
James gulped hard, tucked his phone back into his suit coat pocket, and slid across the leather seat toward Stephanie. “Yeah,” he lied. “I’m ready.”
Chapter 23
Camila slid the final crate into the back of her hatchback car before stepping back to look over her list.
“It’s all there, I promise,” Gypsy said. “Now can we please just talk about this whole thing so I can move on with my life? I’m never going to be able to forgive myself.”
Camila had made it to the center of her checklist, but her friends’ words yanked her attention from the page. She looked up at her, summoned the most pathetic-looking plea she could, and repeated what she’d told her already a hundred times.
“Gypsy, you havenothingto apologize for. Did you submit that application to make my life better?”
“Yeah, but—”
Camila lifted a finger to stop her. “Yes or no.”
Sunlight bounced off Gypsy’s blonde bob as she nodded. Her streaks, now pink instead of blue, did the same. “Yes.”
“And were you also trying to better the lives of the foster kids in my program?”
“You’re making it sound like I’m a saint and we both know I’m far from it.”
Camila reached out, tossed her arms around her sweet friend, and gave in to a laugh. It was better than giving in to the tears she’d let loose more times than she could count. “I wish I hadn’t told you the part about the Lion’s Den. If I could’ve solved this thing without telling you, I would have. But I just needed to know.”
Gypsy rubbed Camila’s back before giving it a few pats. “Well, I still think he’s stupid for losing you over it. Mark my words, James Benton will see you as the one who got away until the day he dies.” She squished her tighter before pulling away. “Unless he comes to his senses and gets you back somehow.”
Camila hated the desperate part of her that rejoiced in the idea. “That won’t happen, but that’s okay. I’m not sure I evenwantthat to happen.”Lie.“This whole experience has given me a glimpse into the mistrusting mind of a billionaire. The truth is, he has good reason to mistrust people. Over a billion good reasons, actually.”
Gypsy nodded and peeked into the back of the car. “Well, at least he helped you get back in business. You’re cooking for Shane freaking Faretti. That’s, like, amazing.”
Yes, it was. And Camila was grateful for it. “You’re right. Speaking of which,” she said with a quick glance at the time.
“Yeah, yeah. You’ve got to go. I know. I still wish you’d let me make it right with the billionaire,” Gypsy hollered as Camila climbed behind the wheel.
Camila turned the engine over, but she was quick to roll down the window as she did. “That’s off limits, Gypsy. Please tell me you understand how much I would never evereverbe able to forgive you if I found out you tried to tell him about it.”
Camila kept her foot on the brake, a sick knot of panic twisting in her gut as she waited for Gypsy’s response.
“I understand,” she said with a nod.
Camila gave her a nod in return, but it would take a whole lot of deep breaths to soften the tension in her arms, shoulders, and chest. There was a very good reason she didn’t want to make excuses for her application on the Lion’s Den. Camila feared it would come across all wrong. James might not see it as an explanation for why the application had come through. Rather a devious attempt to deny what she’d essentially been accused of—wanting his money over him.
There was a second reason too. One that went all the way back to the small child who doubted her mother’s love for her. What if James didn’t really love her the way she’d thought he had? What if he was simply using the incident as an excuse to be done with her now that their time at the resort was through? She couldn’t fathom the idea of clearing up the misunderstanding only to have James shrug it off and move onto a life without her in it.
With her phone propped into place and navigating the course, Camila made her way to the home of world-famous tennis player, Shane Faretti. She was mentally running over the things she’d need to do once she arrived when Cyree called.
