5. Camille

“And then she said to me, ‘that was my parking spot.’”

I forced a vague smile, hoping it would pass as a laugh while the man talking to me chortled uproariously over his own story.

“That’s…” Oh my God, someone please kill me now. This Dan guy was the most cluelessly arrogant scumbag I’d ever met. He was so busy being entertained by his own laugh that he didn’t even notice when my smile dropped prematurely and I mumbled, “That’s actually what I would’ve said to you too.”

But gah, what a jerk.

I mean, who bragged about stealing parking spots from eighty-year-old women just because you’d gotten a new car and wanted to show it off to your date?

Dude, who even talked about taking out one woman when you were trying to pick up another? Wow.

Besides, his story could’ve been about Gran for all I knew. And her hip wasn’t in the best condition these days. So thinking about her having to walk even farther because this prick wanted to impress a woman he was no longer even with…

It was enough to make me want to kick him in the nuts.

But I refrained.

Because I was nice.

Or, at least, I tried to be.

“Camy?” A familiar voice from behind me made me whirl around. It sounded like Isobel, but it honestly could’ve been the grim reaper and I would’ve straight-up hugged the immortal being of death for interrupting my conversation.

When I found Isobel indeed, holding a flute of wine and sending me a hesitant smile, I happily screeched, “Izzy!” And then I might’ve flung myself at her with a bit too much enthusiasm as I went in for a hug, hissing, “Save me,” into her ear before I pulled away to add more loudly, “I’m so happy to see you. Did you just get here?”

“Yeah.” She lifted her glass to show me how full it was before sending a quick uncertain glance toward Dan. “We had a customer keep us late at the store, but we finally made it.”

“Oh, so Shaw’s here too?” I asked, though I’m not sure why I bothered.

As if she wouldn’t bring her fiancé with her. They did everything together, even ran a flower-slash-furniture shop together. But I was clinging to any reason to keep the conversation going so I wouldn’t have to talk to Dan again.

“Yeah. But we ran into my brother at the bar, so he’s busy gossiping with Ezra right now.”

Behind me, Dan cleared his throat, jockeying for attention. I widened my eyes at Isobel, letting her know I wasn’t his biggest fan, and her gaze twinkled back with amusement as I reluctantly turned toward him to let him into our circle, Isobel coming around with me.

“Dan, this is my very close friend, Iso—”

“Holy fuck! What the hell happened to you?” he demanded bluntly, gaping with horror-stricken disgust. “It looks like a Mack truck did a burnout on your face.”

Isobel froze mid-welcoming smile. And my mouth dropped open in outrage.

I mean, I knew seeing Isobel for the first time could be a shock if you weren’t expecting the burn marks that covered half of her face. But, geez. Way to keep your surprise classy, Dan.

Douchebag.

Glowering at him, I hooked my arm protectively through Isobel’s and said, “Funny story. She stole a parking spot from the wrong person, and this is what happened.”

So let that be a warning to you.

As my friend blurted out a confused laugh over my rejoinder, Dan blinked at me, totally not comprehending the insult.

Rolling my eyes, I spun away and dragged Isobel with me as I stormed off, muttering, “I can’t believe I was just courteous to that shit stain for, like, twenty minutes straight before you showed up. I need some kind of award for such overwhelming patience and kindness. Damn.”

Isobel laughed some more at my joke, yet I couldn’t help but notice how she tilted her face down and to the side to hide it just a bit more than she had before he’d spoken to her. It broke my heart. She’d been a shut-in at her own home for years, afraid of how others would react to her scars before Shaw had come along and enticed her to join the world again.

I hated that she actually still had to face the thing she feared most after mustering all that courage in the first place to come out of hiding.

“I’m so sorry, Iz,” I started.

Except she immediately waved a hand. “Oh, no. Don’t. You did nothing wrong.”

“But I hate how he—”

“I know. I do too. It is what it is, though, and I can deal with it these days. So I’m ready to move past it.”

I still wanted to go back and throat-punch the ass, except Isobel didn’t seem to want to dwell, so I moved on too.

Bumping into her side where our arms were still hooked together, I grinned up at her. “Thanks for saving me, anyway. I was drowning over there, unable to think up a single polite excuse to give him so I could escape.”

She laughed. “Yeah. I could tell. That’s why I came over to rescue you.”

“My hero,” I cooed, leaning my face to the side so I could rest it on her shoulder. “I knew there was a reason I loved you.”

“Isobel!” a new voice called, making us both glance over as Kaitlynn hurried forward to embrace my companion. “I saw Shaw talking with Ezra and knew you had to be here, too. Thank God you made it.”

As the two hugged, I scowled at the newcomer. “Where the hell were you two minutes ago, sunshine?” I demanded. “I was stuck talking to Dan, who apparently works for your company.”

“Oh, I know,” Kaitlynn answered brightly, turning from Isobel to beam at me. “I saw you two chatting.”

My frown deepened. “So…what? You assumed I’d actually be interested in that big-headed jerk?”

“Nah, I knew you wouldn’t.” Laughing, she waved a hand, letting me realize she’d been fully aware of my distress the entire time.

“Then why, pray tell, didn’t you save me?” I demanded, growing vexed.

Kaitlynn rolled her eyes. “Because I knew you’d be able to ditch him handily enough on your own without any intervention if you really wanted to. Which you did, so hmm… Guess I was right. You didn’t need me.”

I blinked, not sure if I was emboldened by her faith in me or still outraged because she’d purposely left me hanging to deal with Dan by myself.

And then she kept talking. “Besides, I needed him there as a blockade.”

Brows dipping in confusion, I tipped my face to the side and said, “Huh?” Because that didn’t make a whole lot of sense to me. What could’ve been worse than Dan?

“Trust me.” She patted the side of my arm in confirmation. “I did you a favor.”

Shaking my head, I murmured, “I’m so confused right now.”

“Me too,” Isobel echoed, glancing back and forth between me and her brother’s girlfriend. “How could that guy be a favor?”

“So have you guys tried the food?” Kaitlynn asked, blatantly changing the subject. “I swear, my favorites are the little pinwheel thingies with spinach and artichoke in them. I think I’ve eaten about fifty tonight.”

“No, I haven’t tried them yet,” Isobel answered, her brow still furrowed in question. “I just got here, but that does sound interesting.”

“Then you must try them. Right now.” The perky blonde then stepped between us so she could hook her arm through both mine and Isobel’s, and she rather forcibly urged us along toward the food station.

“But I’ve already eaten,” I protested. I’d even used my empty plate as an excuse to escape Dan earlier after I’d finished all my hors d'oeuvres—and she was spot on, the spinach-artichoke rolls had been my favorite too—but the persistent man had followed me to the trash where I’d tossed the plate.

“Then you can help Isobel decide what to eat,” Kaitlynn told me, tightening her grip fractionally on my arm as if afraid I might bolt.

I tossed her an odd glance, wondering what was up with her. She definitely hadn’t been so intent to steer me in a certain direction earlier when I’d first arrived. We’d talked for about ten minutes straight before she was called away to deal with some hostly duty or another.

I was starting to think she really was trying to block me from something. Or maybe from someone.

But who?

As we made it to the reception table, where Kaitlynn put a little too much attention on assisting Isobel in picking out what to eat, I found myself glancing around the room curiously, wondering what—or who—she thought was too dangerous for me to notice. But then I got carried away with taking it all in.

Hayden certainly had some fine digs here. Which meant Gabby had definitely come up in the world from when she’d been living in the same run-down building as Gran and Kaitlynn. This place was immaculate.

There was a big open floor plan in the front room, leaving plenty of space for everyone at the party to fit. All the furniture had been pushed back against the walls. And the open kitchen with a long island that separated that area from the living room provided a great bar for people to sit at and drink, while the table over on this side provided all the food. Only a single hallway branched off from the main area, which no doubt led off to bedrooms and bathrooms.

I loved how the walls were made of limewashed brick. It gave the whole place a modern, yet old-school feel.

Pausing my scan, I inadvertently met the gaze of some guy sitting on a stool at the bar, drinking from an eight-ball glass.

Or maybe it wasn’t so inadvertent at all, since he didn’t really seem to be scanning the crowd as I was. He was outright staring as if waiting for me to finally notice him.

I blinked, startled by just how steadily he was watching me. At least, I think he was watching me. I glanced toward Isobel and Kaitlynn, wondering if he was studying either of them instead, but when I turned back, his gaze wasn’t directed in the correct angle to be able to focus on them.

I was definitely the target.

When his lips quirked in amusement as if he could read my mind, a flurry of sizzling heat unfurled in my belly because, wow, a total hottie was checking me out.

Lifting his glass to his mouth, he took a slow, deliberate drink and kept his attention on me, our eyes locked as his throat worked through a swallow. And my lips parted because I suddenly needed more air in my lungs.

He didn’t seem like he was in any hurry to race over and introduce himself, though. From the lazy way he leaned against the countertop of the bar next to him and had his feet planted on the rungs of the stool under him, he wasn’t planning on moving from his spot for the rest of the night. But he certainly had no qualms about watching me while he sat there.

It reminded me of some kind of predator who’d just spotted his dinner, except he’d recently had breakfast, so he didn’t feel rushed to claim his next meal quite yet.

But, oh, he knew exactly what he’d be eating later.

The thought of this guy eating—well, me—however, caused my tummy to clench and the insides of my thighs to tingle.

And then his focus was pulled away from me as another man approached the bar to talk to him. I blinked, exhaling harshly as if I’d just been jarred from a deep sleep, and I transferred my attention to the second guy, only to discover he was Gabby’s new husband, Hayden.

I’d met Hayden earlier when I had first arrived.

And while everything about Hayden was smooth and polished and urbane, screaming corporate money and lavish living, the guy on the stool shouted the very opposite.

Gabby’s husband had sleek, slimmer lines while his friend was pure brawn and rough masculinity. He seemed extremely physical, in fact, like a boxer, who worked with his hands and wasn’t afraid to get them dirty. Or a coal miner.

Although, hmm, I had no idea why coal miner popped into my head; I just knew he’d be in his element if he were hot and sweaty and grimy, shirtless and swinging a pickax while spotlighted by the intimate orange glow of a coal miner’s lantern.

Yet he didn’t seem out of place in such a neat and tidy, white-collar setting either. With the comfortable, nonchalant way he dominated that stool, he also belonged exactly where he was.

It was quite a dichotomy of characteristics I was picking up from him. Which intrigued the heck out of me.

“Who’s that?” I found myself asking, hoping either Kaitlynn or Isobel would know.

Both women turned.

“Oh, no one,” Kaitlynn said distractedly and almost immediately turned back to the table of food as she tried to draw me around with her. “Did you try these little brownie muffins?”

“Yep.” And I had no interest in brownie muffins. I wasn’t done looking my fill at the masterpiece of masculinity across the room. I nudged Isobel’s arm. “Iz?”

She tipped her head thoughtfully. “Isn’t that Brick?” she asked before blinking at Kaitlynn for confirmation.

“Brick?” I wrinkled my nose and shook my head. “No. Sweetie, I know the wall’s made of brick. I asked who the guy was, as in that beefy hunk talking to Gabby’s husband.”

“I know.” Isobel sent me a funny glance. “And his name is Brick. Short for Broderick. Brick Carmichael. He’s Hayden’s brother.” She turned to Kaitlynn again. “Isn’t he?”

“Hayden’s…? Oh!” I blinked in surprise and then tipped my face into a frown when I decided the two men didn’t really look like brothers. They both had dark hair, and then, yeah, that was pretty much it. Broderick had a wider nose and broader facial features, while Hayden—

Wait a second.

I zipped my attention accusingly to Kaitlynn just as Isobel explained, “I met him when Kaitlynn and Ezra had him and Hayden over for dinner one evening at my dad’s place.”

“That’s your stepbrother,” I realized, talking past Isobel and gaping at Kaitlynn. “The one with the sexy name that you told me was a womanizing charmer.”

She winced out a guilty cringe before grudgingly admitting, “Yeah... That’s Brick.”

“Then why…?” Confusion reigned in my head until I started to put the pieces together. Her guilty expression, his rugged good looks. And suddenly, my mouth fell open as I focused on Kaitlynn again. “He’s who you’ve been trying to keep me from, isn’t he?”

Wow. Guess I wasn’t that good of a friend to her after all, since she wanted me nowhere near her brother. That news didn’t sting at all. Nope.

A shamed flush coated Kaitlynn’s face as she bit her lip and confessed, “I’m so sorry, Camille. It’s just that you seem to like all those happily-ever-after, romance-type books, and—and—”

“Yeah,” I said slowly, not comprehending. “I do. So what?”

“Yeah,” she repeated, beginning to look desperate and worried. “And well, Brick’s great and all. I love him to pieces. He’s fun and personable and pleasant, and I think you’d really like him. And he’d definitely like you…” As her words trailed off, she cringed. “I’m sure you guys would hit it off. But then he’d crush you when he moved on because he would move on. In all the years I’ve known him, since I was seven, I’ve never seen him focus on just one girl before. He’s always been too busy paying attention to all of them. He’s just a free spirit that way, you know. And I didn’t want you to get hurt because of it. You’ve become way too important of a friend for me to be able to handle him hurting you. I mean, I’d have to get mad at him for just being him, and it’d turn into a big, sloppy mess. And…you know.” She sighed out an exhausted breath before sending me apologetic puppy eyes. “But if you want to meet him...”

She winced, leaving the decision up to me.

And that’s when all my hurt feelings melted into a gooey ball of love for my blond friend. It wasn’t that she thought I wasn’t good enough for her brother, like I had first assumed, it was because she cared about me. And just holy wow. That was incredibly sweet.

“You know what,” I said on a slow nod as I glanced back at Kaitlynn’s stepbrother. She was right. Everything about him did appeal to me. I could already see my entire future in fast-forward. I’d fall way too fast and way too hard, and then he’d think I was clingy and gross. Until finally, bam, I’d be abandoned in no time flat, once again completely alone, but a little more damaged and broken afterward.

So, yeah, I could probably do without that.

“I think I’m good,” I told Kaitlynn, glad I had a friend like her who actually worried about my happiness enough to go out of her way to keep me from harm. “He sounds like he’d make a great book hero,” I added. “But in real life...meh. I don’t need to meet him.”

“Really?” Kaitlynn looked pleased and relieved all-in-one as she nodded slowly and smiled at me. “Okay, then,” she announced as Gabby neared us to join the group. “We’ll just steer clear of him, then.”

“Hey, are you guys having a good time over here without me?” Gabby accused with a frown as she crowded in between me and Isobel, only to steal a spinach-artichoke roll-up from Isobel’s plate and wolf it down. “How dare you? I didn’t want this stupid party in the first place, and now you all are just abandoning me out there with all those people and laughing together without me? What the hell kind of friends are you? And what in God’s name did I just put into my mouth?”

She pressed a hand to her lips as she chewed. Then she closed her eyes and moaned.

“Good, isn’t it?” Kaitlynn bragged.

“Mmph. Give me another,” Gabby muffled out from a full mouth, making Isobel lift her plate in offering. “Yes. That hit the spot. I’ve been too nervous to eat anything all night long. God bless you guys. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“Here, you can take the whole plate,” Isobel told her. “I haven’t eaten anything from it yet.”

“I knew you were my favorite.” Gabby grabbed the plate greedily and began to stuff her face.

“Looks like Miguel and Oscar are having a good time, at least,” Kaitlynn said, tipping her head toward Gabby’s brother and father, who were talking to an older gentleman who looked a lot like Ezra. Oscar leaned heavily on a cane, doing very well with his new prosthetic leg, I thought, while Gabby’s ten-year-old brother laughed at something the older Ezra had just told him.

“Is that your dad?” I asked Isobel, making an educated guess.

She nodded, looking affectionately pleased as she glanced his way. “Yeah. Looks like he’s having a good time too.”

“I was kind of hoping you’d coax Mabel into coming tonight,” Gabby spoke up, nudging my arm, which made me sigh.

“I know. I just can’t seem to get her too far from the apartment these days. She loves getting company, but she likes to stay in most of the time, too. Sorry.”

“Meh, it’s all good.” Gabby shrugged. “I guess that means I’ll just have to go see her.”

I nodded, grinning in encouragement. “Definitely. She’d love that.”

Gran always liked to host guests.

“It’s a date, then,” Gabby announced as my stomach tightened with unease.

I was kind of beginning to worry about Gran’s growing reclusiveness. It made me wonder if something was wrong that she wasn’t telling me. She didn’t act in any way sick or not like herself, but you could never be too sure. She wasn’t exactly young and at the top of her game.

As the conversation continued around me, featuring Gabby, who was wondering what other kinds of delectable delights Kaitlynn had catered in, I decided that I should contact my grandmother’s doctor tomorrow and schedule an appointment for a simple check-up.

The location of her clinic was in a section of town I hadn’t searched yet in my Black Crimson hunt. This way, I could pull double duty whenever she was having her appointment and walk the streets while I waited for her to finish.

Because my mysterious hooded figure was being annoyingly elusive lately.

It’d been four days since he’d tagged the pharmacy near my apartment, and I’d gone out every evening since then, creeping on any man who looked as if he might be out for a jog.

I hadn’t found him yet.

After approaching multiple men, and then getting a funny look from all of them for interrupting their run—and nothing similar to the chatty, amiable way Black Crimson had interacted with me—I was beginning to lose hope. Which just made me want to look harder.

I’d actually felt a little antsy about coming to the party tonight because being here meant I couldn’t be out there, looking. But Gabby, and Kaitlynn, and Isobel were all worth the delay, so I forced myself to focus on them and enjoy our time together.

We spent the rest of the night talking. Their significant others even found their way to our group, until only the seven of us remained.

“I can’t believe it,” I told Gabby as I hugged her goodbye at the door. “This is the first party I actually closed down.”

I usually went home early from these kinds of events, way before the last person left.

“Thank God you did,” she congratulated, gripping my elbow as she pulled away. “I probably would’ve hidden in a corner, rocking the whole night, if you guys hadn’t been here for me. You three kept me sane, I swear.”

Aww. Don’t cry, Camy. Don’t cry!

Managing to shrug nonchalantly, I tossed her an affectionate grin. “Well, that’s what friends are for.” And because I was starting to feel a little misty-eyed, I turned to her husband. He was debonair gorgeous, but a very closed-off, hard-to-read person and not at all like someone who’d inspire a lot of happy, emotional tears. Focusing on his polished handsomeness, I nodded. “Hayden. It was so nice to meet you.”

“You too.” He nodded back politely. “I’ve been curious about the book-club organizer Gabby’s always mentioning.”

The book-club organizer, huh? Okay, I’d go with that name. Since it was true.

It was no Mayhem, though.

Sending Gabby an archly questioning glance, I repeated, “Always mentioning me, huh? Wow, Salazar,” I told her, calling her by her maiden name as I fluffed my hair and primped. “I didn’t know you were such a fan.”

“Oh, geez.” She rolled her eyes and nudged my arm. “I tell him about the crazy, insane ideas you have, maybe.”

“You mean, the crazy, awesome ideas you wish you’d come up with first,” I countered with a fluttering of my eyelashes.

She snorted sarcastically. “Yeah, those.”

I laughed. “Well, I need to get my crazy, awesome ass home before I turn into a pumpkin. It’s about three hours past my bedtime.”

“Okay, then. Be safe.”

“Always.” I waved the happy newlyweds off and opened the front door to a wide set of steps.

As I descended them, I realized I wasn’t all that tired; I felt strangely wired, as if I could go another three hours or more.

And you know what? Since I was up and my car was parked about five blocks away, anyway, it probably wouldn’t hurt to walk a little further, maybe get some Black Crimson searching in tonight after all. It might be late, but this was a super-nice neighborhood. I should be fine.

Hell, any thief around here probably had more money on them than I did.

As I hurried off the last step, excited about the prospect of getting in a little hunting time, I plunged my hand into my purse, searching for my keyring that had my pepper spray on it—just to be prepared.

And from behind me, a voice said, “How you can find anything in that monstrosity of a purse is beyond me.”

“It’s a pur—” I started irritably, ready to set the speaker straight, only to realize, hey, someone had actually gotten it right for once and called my basket a purse.

Shocked, I whirled around to find a familiar figure lounging on the short retaining wall which doubled as the railing for the stairs that went up to Gabby and Hayden’s front door.

“Oh! It’s you,” I blurted in surprise.

With his torso propped up by the building, his legs were stretched out before him, one knee bent so he could dangle his wrist over it and hold a tumbler full of ice and amber liquid between his fingers.

Damn, but he looked good sprawled up there like a gargoyle or more aptly the statue of David come to life.

He was as beautiful and perfect as fine art.

I blinked, attraction stirring inside me.

I guess I was going to meet Kaitlynn’s stepbrother tonight, whether I wanted to or not.