He had noticed that she’d never offered to cook for them. “You don’t like to cook, or you never learned?”
She pushed her plate back, having devoured what he’d made. He’d make more next time. “Oh, Granna and my mother tried to teach me. I’m just not very good at it, so I avoid doing it.”
Javier smirked knowingly and teased. “You’re a perfectionist, aren’t you? You failed once, and decided it wasn’t for you.”
Cami’s glare as she hopped down from the stool was all the answer he needed.
He threw his hands up with a laugh. “It's okay. I can keep us fed.”
“Javier,” she replied in a tone of warning.
He reached for her and pulled her to him. “Don’t be mad,hermosa. I just like picking at you. I couldn’t care less if you ever cook.”
“I need to get dressed,” she replied, obviously still miffed with him.
No chance he was letting her go while upset with him. “Not ’til we’re okay.”
“We’re fine,” she said as she rolled her eyes.
He leaned in to nuzzle her neck. “Then let’s kiss and make up anyway. Don’t take the fun out of this.”
She tried to hold it back, but he could feel her shaking with laughter. He wrapped his arms around her and picked her up.
“What are you doing?” she shrieked while latching onto him.
He headed for the stairs. “Taking you back to my bed.”
CHAPTER 17
…you’re a bulldog. You get hold of something and you never let it go.
– Charles Henry Ebbets Sr., American sports executive/co-owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers
Camdyn hurried down the hallway of Callahan Law to her grandpa’s office. She didn’t think anyone was in with him, but she still paused to rap on his closed door.
“Come in,” he called.
As she pushed open the door, she was delighted to see she was wrong. Uncle Brett sat in one of the two leather club chairs that sat opposite of Pa. Her uncle grinned at her and waved her in.
She absolutely loved how these two men had never given up on her and had welcomed her into the family office like she’d never betrayed them by choosing to work anywhere else. Betrayed wasn’t the right word, though. She’d neverbetraythem, but she knew she’d hurt them. She felt like the prodigal daughter who’d gone off making stupid decisions only to be welcomed home with open and accepting arms. The fact that she’d ever wanted to work anywhere else made her feel foolish.She’d had everything she’d wanted here at home, yet she’d let greed and influence sway her.
“Good morning, baby girl. You look happy,” Pa said in greeting.
She was excited and unable to contain the grin on her face. “Good morning, Pa. Good morning, Uncle Brett,” she said in a singsong voice.
Pa’s office was a weird mix of English aristocrat and Southwestern hacienda. It contained lots of dark pine and caramel-brown leather furnishings. In the center of the room sat his large custom executive desk, and on the right wall were matching floor-to-ceiling built-in shelving with barrister cabinets on each end. The shelves were packed with legal treatises, law encyclopedias, and other tomes that her grandpa found useful. Most of those references were available electronically, but he preferred the books.
She sat on the edge of one of the nailhead-trim leather chairs. Uncle Brett sat back in a relaxed pose with his legs crossed, but Camdyn was too excited. “We just got notified that Javier will be granted guardianship of Lola. Involving the public worked!”
“Excellent,” her grandpa replied.
Uncle Brett, a younger version of her tall Pa, reached over and patted her arm. “I’m proud of you, Cam. Have you told Javi yet?”
She shook her head. “No, I just got the news and he’s at practice.”
“I’m surprised that this has taken so little time,” commented Pa.
“It’s been months,” she replied. Which meant that she’d now been at Callahan for a little over two.
