Hers to Keep (Irresistibly Bound 3)

Camilla led her over to a group of women lounging nearby. Vanessa was there, perched on the arm of a chair. Below her sat a woman with a serious face who looked around Lindsey’s age. She had to be Vanessa’s fiancée.

“Camilla,” the woman said. “Vanessa told me about your gift. Thanks, that’s so thoughtful of you.”

“It’s my pleasure, Mel,” Camilla replied.

She and Lindsey sat down, and Camilla introduced Lindsey to Mel, as well as the others who were sitting across from them. There was a slender woman with short blonde hair and a fitted suit, who had her arm slung casually around the shoulders of a tiny brunette. Everyone seemed to know each other well.

“So, who’s going to be your maid of honor, Vanessa?” The blonde woman asked. Vicki was her name. “I can throw you an amazing bachelorette party.”

Camilla scoffed. “Sure, if you want strippers and booze, go with Vicki. If you decide you want something more sophisticated, I’ll be right here.”

Vicki shot Camilla a look. “There are sophisticated strippers. I can put you in touch with some if you like, Camilla. Maybe it’ll help with that stick up your-”

“Ladies, please,” Vanessa said. “We haven’t thought that far ahead yet. Besides, we might not even have bridesmaids. We’re thinking of doing something small.”

“Vanessa, passing up a chance to make an ostentatious display of love?” Camilla said. “I’ll believe it when I see it. Which reminds me, what was the proposal like?”

“If you must know, I took Melanie to a cozy little cabin and proposed to her there.” Vanessa’s hand fell to Mel’s shoulder. “It was all very low key.”

“Low key?” Mel said. “The ‘cozy little cabin’ was two stories high and at the top of a mountain. We had to take a helicopter to get there. And there were fireworks, and-”

“Like I said, low key.” Vanessa squeezed Mel’s shoulder. “She won’t let me spoil her anywhere near as much as I want to.”

“That’s because you always go overboard.” Mel looked at the others. “She wants to have the wedding on a private island. Can you believe it?”

“I’m open to other ideas,” Vanessa said. “I recently purchased a lovely villa in the French countryside. It would make the perfect wedding venue.”

“What’s wrong with having the wedding here in the city?”

“I suppose that would make things easier. And that way, we could invite even more people, and make the whole thing bigger.”

Mel twisted the ring around her finger, her face frozen in alarm. Vanessa seemed completely oblivious. Mel looked like she was about to protest when Vanessa spotted someone by the door.

“More guests,” she said. “Let’s go say hello.”

The two women wandered off, leaving Camilla and Lindsey with Vicki and the brunette, April. Camilla had told Lindsey that April and Vicki were a couple, but Lindsey could sense a heavy tension hanging between them.

April nudged Vicki with her elbow. “What was that you were saying about putting Camilla in touch with some strippers?”

“I was kidding,” Vicki said. “I don’t know any strippers. At least, not anymore.”

“Anymore? What does that mean?”

Vicki shrugged. “It’s no secret the kind of life I lived before we met. But it’s all behind me now.” She crossed her legs. “Do you have something against strippers? How narrow-minded of you. Stripping is a legitimate profession like any other.”

April folded her arms across her chest. “That’s not what I meant, and you know it.”

“Honestly, I had no idea you were so judgmental.”

“Stop trying to turn this around on me, Victoria.”

Camilla tapped Lindsey’s arm and spoke into her ear. “Let’s leave those two alone.”

Camilla and Lindsey wandered off toward a table of canapes. Lindsey was just relieved to get away from the quarreling couple.

“Don’t let those two fool you,” Camilla said. “They’re always arguing about something or other. I think they enjoy it. Give it five minutes, and they’ll be making out in a dark closet somewhere.”

An hour passed, and another, and Lindsey began to loosen up. The drinks helped. So did talking to the other guests. Although half of them seemed as accustomed to the glitz and glamour around them as Camilla did, the other half seemed just as dazzled by their surroundings as Lindsey was.