“You don’t think you will be?”
“Hard to say.” Cameron sensed Juin was holding back. When she’d spoken about her mother not sharing her feelings about her daughter’s death with her friends, he’d wondered if she’d also been speaking of herself. “It’s still early days. However, I enjoyed spending time with her in Paris and catching up yesterday. And I’m looking forward to this evening.”
JR pushed back his chair and stood. “If she sticks around a while, the four of us should get together.”
“Yeah, sounds good.” Cameron walked with his brother to the conference room door. “I’ll do a deep dive into the data you sent me.”
JR clapped his brother on the shoulder. “Forget about it for tonight. Enjoy your date.”
* * *
“What’s with the look?” Juin teased as she pushed her door open. “This should be fun.”
From the overfull lot where he’d parked his Subaru, Cameron spotted banners, flags and balloons. He couldn’t stop the wince.
“If you didn’t want to come to this, you should have told me.” Her tone turned serious. “We could have found another time to get together.”
When she’d mentioned her plans to attend tonight’s festival, he hadn’t been surprised. Despite all the amazing food in Paris, Juin had mentioned more than once having a craving for barbecue.
Cameron remembered the comments because she hadn’t struck him as the type to dig into a plate of ribs with her hands. Clearly, there was more he needed to discover about her. Which was why, once he’d determined she was going alone to the festival, he’d invited himself to join her.
“I’m keeping an open mind.” He kept his tone easy. “One thing I know for certain is that I’ll enjoy the evening because I’m with you.”
“That’s very sweet.” She brushed a kiss across his cheek. “When we were growing up, my parents brought my sister and I here every year.”
“Sounds like you have good memories.”
“I do.” She glanced around. “Did you ever come here as a kid?”
“I didn’t. When I was a child, we lived in Silver Creek—the town, not the building. Our activities back then revolved around local events.” Cameron smiled. While he preferred city life, he had fond memories of those early years. “We moved to Denver just before my freshman year in high school.” A thought struck Cameron. “You grew up in Denver. Went to school here. I’m surprised our paths didn’t cross.”
“I’m not.” She chuckled. “Back then, there were already well over half a million people in Denver alone and something like two and a half million in the metro area. Plus, I’m betting you attended a private school.”
“I did.”
“See? Not so strange.” She cocked her head as if assessing him. A look he couldn’t decipher filled her eyes. “I also didn’t go out a lot. I’m betting you were one of those super-popular kids, always at parties and getting into trouble. Did I nail it?”
Though her tone had remained light, she stared expectantly at him as if thinking he would…what? Bare his soul about his rebellious youth? Speak about a time in his life that had caused his father to throw up his hands in frustration? Nope. Not happening.
“My life back then was pretty tame,” Cameron said, then changed the subject. “Thanks for inviting me to come with you tonight.”
“Technically, you invited yourself,” she reminded him, then smiled. “And I’m glad you did.”
“I can’t imagine anything better than spending a beautiful evening with a gorgeous woman I want to get to know better.”
Her lips curved, and he could see his comment had pleased her. In her summer dress the color of ripe peaches, Juin fit in perfectly with the crowd.
Cameron could have gone a little more casual. Still, he didn’t think he stood out in his dark pants and madras shirt. Juin had certainly looked at him with appreciation when he’d picked her up at her apartment building in Lakewood.
When he’d expressed surprise that she wasn’t living with her mother, she’d said quite simply that her mom liked her privacy. Thinking back to what she’d said about the woman keeping her emotions close, that didn’t surprise him.
“Cameron.” Juin touched his arm. “Do you want to grab something to eat first or explore? The band doesn’t start playing until nine.”
“Whatever you want,” he told her.
“Hmm.” Juin brought a finger to her lips that were the same color as her dress.
The last night they’d been together in Paris, he’d kissed her until he’d been drunk on the taste of her. Cameron remembered the delicious feel of her soft lips against his. That night, she’d tasted like the wine they’d been drinking at a little bistro on Rue Vieille-du-Temple.