Catastrophe Queen

I joined him, leaning against it the way he was. “It’s so quiet here.”

He nodded. “They got the best plot in town, no doubt about it. You wouldn’t believe there was an entire neighborhood here.”

“Nope. It’s amazing. There’s so much space.”

“Well, it won’t surprise you that what Mom wants, Mom gets.”

I laughed. “Not at all.”

He sighed, twirling the whiskey glass. “You’ve handled this well, you know. Tonight. All these people. Being out of your depth.”

I took a deep breath. “I hope so. Your mom saw what I’d done with Rachel, and she liked it. She doesn’t like her.”

“Never has. Doesn’t stop Rachel trying, though.”

“I almost admire that kind of tenacity.”

“Don’t. I dated her cousin, and she’s still trying to date me.” He shook his head and sighed before standing up straighter. “My mother usually nips those in the bud, but she’s persistent.”

“She’s persistent all right. Your mom actually thanked me for it.”

He laughed, looking over at me. “She likes you. I can’t remember the last time she was so nice to someone who was outside her friendship circle.”

I wasn’t going to tell him what she’d said—or what she’d implied with her comment about my dress.

I loved this dress. I knew it made me look good. And I also knew how he’d looked at me when he’d seen me.

The last thing I wanted was for anything to happen because of this damn dress.

I was going to burn the fucking thing.

“Thank you,” Cameron said. He nudged my arm and smiled. “For making this night more bearable than it would have been otherwise.”

I clutched my glass a little tighter and met his eyes. God, they were fucking dreamy. “You’re welcome. Thank you for making it so that I didn’t really have to talk to anyone.”

“And you didn’t even trip over.”

“Yet,” I said. “Yet. The night is still young.”

He dropped his head and laughed, shaking it gently. “It’s mostly over now if you want to leave. You don’t have to stay here any longer.”

“Sounds like you’re trying to get rid of me.”

Peering over at me, his lips tugged to the side. “No. I was just letting you know that the option was there.”

“Well, thank you,” I said with a hint of sarcasm. “Are you bundling me into a car and sending me home?”

“No.” He chuckled. “I was going to get in the car with you and take you home. My mother would have a fit if I sent you alone. Besides, if I take you home, I don’t have to come back.”

“Ahh, I knew there was an ulterior motive.” I shook my head and tutted. “You’re using me to make your grand escape.”

“Well, I was trying to hide that part, but since you pushed…”

I rolled my eyes and stood up straight. “It’s not enough that I make you coffee and schedule your appointments, is it?”

“You do make good coffee,” he mused, straightening up. “Are you ready?”

“If I don’t take these shoes off soon, I might just rip off my feet,” I admitted. “I rarely wear heels.”

“Why? Because you fall over thin air?”

I glared at him as I finished my wine. “Remember who makes your coffee. Carry on, and I’m going to start making it with salt.”

Cameron shuddered and took the empty glass from me. We made our way back inside, where he handed the glasses to a server with an empty tray and touched my back again. “Can you see my parents? We should say goodbye before we go.”

I scanned the room. “She’s in the middle of a conversation in the living room, but your dad is standing by the fireplace.”

Almost as if I’d summoned him, Cameron’s dad turned and looked at us, nodded once, and started walking toward us.

“Leaving now?” he asked, smiling warmly.

“Yeah. We don’t want to interrupt Mom, so can you tell her we said goodbye?” Cameron asked.

He nodded. “Of course. Mallory, it was lovely to meet you.” He leaned forward and kissed my cheek.

I smiled. “You, too. Thank you for having me here tonight.”

“My pleasure.”

We waved and left, and I took a deep breath as soon as the car engine rumbled to life.

Cameron laughed next to me. “I’m glad I’m not the only one who feels like that whenever I leave their house.”

I looked over at him. “I don’t mean it like that. More like, I can finally sit down without wondering if I’m being stared at, and I don’t have to worry about hiding the fact I’m a klutz.”

“You worry about hiding that?”

“Would you have hired me if you’d known before that I would one, step out in front of your car because I was daydreaming; two, spill coffee all over your desk; and three, send my work flying across the floor because I can’t shut a window?”

He raised his eyebrows. “Well, first, the window wasn’t your fault. Mostly.”

“Mostly.”

“And we all spill coffee.”