They never talked about work but had shared their thoughts about the many charitable organizations they were both involved with. He had also discovered that she was a very compassionate person who gave her time to others generously. When he’d told her about his involvement in Angel Flight, an organization in which CEOs volunteered their private jets to transport needy patients, she promised to propose it at the next Steele board meeting, now that the company was purchasing a private jet.
The ring of his cell phone interrupted his thoughts. He answered it. “Yeah, Kurt, what do you have for me?”
“An arrest has been made, Cameron.”
He nodded, relieved. At first he’d tried not to get the authorities involved, but when there had been a third incident, he’d been left with no choice. For the next ten to fifteen minutes he listened while Kurt detailed how they had discovered the identity of the person responsible for vandalizing the offices of Global Petroleum on three separate occasions.
“Of course he won’t admit McMurray put him up to anything,” Kurt was saying. “But that’s okay since the man was caught in full color on video. I’m going to make sure he does jail time for what he did, which will give him a chance to think about it.”
Cameron nodded. “Good job, Kurt. The charges being brought against him will send a clear message to others that I mean business and I won’t tolerate such behavior from any employee.”
After ending the call with Kurt, Cameron leaned back against the rail and stared across the ocean. For some reason he had a gut feeling that this thing with McMurray was far from over. Bitter, John McMurray would continue to make problems or would hire others to do his dirty work for him.
Not wanting to think about McMurray anymore, Cameron switched his thoughts back to Vanessa. They had gone shopping again yesterday, this time for baby items. She was excited about the new addition to the Steele family, Chance’s son, Alden. Cameron was grateful she hadn’t asked for his opinion on anything since he couldn’t recall the last time he’d been around a baby.
A baby.
He remembered his conversation of a few nights ago with Vanessa when they’d discussed the possibility of her being pregnant. Yesterday, while shopping for Chance and Kylie’s baby, a part of him had wished that he and Vanessa had been shopping for their own child. He had never entertained any thoughts of sharing a child with a woman until now, but the more he thought about it, the more he liked the idea…with Vanessa.
He shook his head. First he needed to secure a strong relationship with the mother before he could even contemplate bringing a baby into the mix.
But he definitely was thinking about it.
“Okay, I’m stumped,” Vanessa said, tossing aside the crossword puzzle she’d been working on for the past half hour. A few hours ago she and Cameron had made love upstairs in his bed and now they were stretched out beside each other by his pool in a double chaise lounge.
“Maybe I can help,” Cameron said, glancing from the book he was reading. “What’s the clue?”
Vanessa picked up the book. “It’s a five-letter word for ‘a fruit-loving bug.’ The second letter is a P.”
Cameron turned on his side and stretched his arm around her. “Aphid.” He proceeded to spell it for her.
She stared at him, amazed. “And you knew the answer…just like that,” she said, snapping her fingers for emphasis.
He shrugged. “No great mystery. I love science, always have.”
Vanessa shook her head. He evidently loved math, as well, if the last two shopping trips were anything to go by. By the time they’d reached the cash register, he had totaled the purchases in his head, almost to the penny. She wondered…
She flipped on her side to face him. “Cameron?”
“Yes?”
Her heart began to race. It happened every time his sexy smile was directed at her. “It’s plain to see that you’re a very smart and intelligent man, and I don’t believe you acquired those traits since reaching adulthood. So why did you drop out of high school?”
She watched what amounted to pain form in his eyes and he shifted on the lounger, seeming uncomfortable with her question. He lowered his arm from her shoulders. For the first time ever, Vanessa could feel him withdrawing from her. Though he seldom discussed his childhood, he had told her about his parents and how they’d died and about the grandparents who’d raised him. Why did this particular question bother him?