A Perfect Fit (23 page)

The second deputy stayed out talking to Joel for at least
ten more minutes before taking off with a written statement. Joel toward the
house, his mouth in a firm line.

“Here he comes.” Cami twitched the curtains back in place and
moved to open the door before he reached the front porch.

“You’re so impatient,” he said as he passed her on his way
through the door.

“That’s my middle name. So who was it? I couldn’t tell when
they hauled her off.” She crossed her arms over her chest and stared him down.

He was, predictably, unfazed. He waited until everyone stood
around, watching him, before he answered. “It was Mrs. Grady.”

Cami felt like the breath had been knocked out of her. “No
way. She would never do that to us.”

Everyone else had similar reactions, filling the air with
cries of disbelief and anger. 

“Why would she do that to us?” Sage asked after the initial burst
of questions.

“Money, of course,” Delphi said, her arms crossed over her
chest.

“But how could she? Does she know what she’s done?” Jonquil
asked. “I trusted her.”

“I shared my cannoli recipe with her.” Rosemary said,
incredulous. “I don’t share that with anyone.”

Everything Cami thought she knew about the woman fell apart.
Why had she hurt them even after Cami had gone out of her way to help find Mr.
Grady a kidney donor?

When everyone watched him, the hubbub quiet, Joel spoke
again. “Someone offered her a whole lot of money to send the records off of the
security system. She claims she doesn’t know who it is, but she needed the
money, the medical bills were getting out of control. She apologized, for what
it’s worth.” The disgust on his face said the apology wasn’t worth much to him.

“You ought to be able to trace the money, right?” Cami asked
Joel.

“I’m sure going to try.” The determination in his eyes said
failure was not an option.

Cami hoped with the information leak out of the way, this
nightmare would come to an end.

Though they’d seen each other again before their trip to
Chicago, Vince didn’t bring up the issue of marriage. Cami’s thoughts seemed to
zip between Mrs. Grady’s betrayal and his suggestion—which had been offered as
casually as if he had been proposing they take a day-trip into Denver.

If Jonquil had heard Vince’s comment—Cami refused to think
of it as a proposal—she hadn’t said anything about it, which suited Cami fine.
It was bad enough the words kept popping back up into her mind; having it turn
into a discussion topic among the sisters would be way too much.

The journey was uneventful but Cami found she enjoyed having
Vince with her during the flight. It was nice to have interesting conversation
and laughter handy, and despite not pulling out her laptop to work as she
usually did on flights, she didn’t get antsy for something to do. Maybe, she
thought, that was part of Vince’s charm.

After they settled into Cami’s condo, she checked her
closet, but wasn’t happy with anything in it.

“Problems?” Vince asked, coming into the bedroom fifteen
minutes after she’d disappeared into the closet.

“I know I have plenty of clothes, but nothing feels quite
right for the party tonight.” She bit her lip, considered a demure peach dress
with a flirty mid-calf skirt. “Would you mind terribly if I made a run to find
something new?”

He turned her, pulling her into his arms. “Are you talking a
four-hour shopping spree?”

“No way, I’ll leave that for Lana. A run to Ralph Lauren for
a new dress, maybe pop into Nordstrom for shoes, and home again, an hour or so
max. Well, plus travel time.”

He met her eyes and his lips quirked. “Will I have a chance
to see you try on sexy dresses?”

She laughed. “Quite likely.”

He nuzzled her neck, raising goose bumps along her side. “Perhaps
I should go along to give my opinion.”

“You want to go dress shopping with me?” No way was that
reality. A guy like Vince didn’t sit quietly by while the woman shopped. She
didn’t think the Y chromosome worked that way.

“Not for a full afternoon, no, but for an hour or so. And
maybe while we’re out, we could get some of that famous Chicago pizza I’ve
heard about.”

She grinned. “I see, it’s all about the pizza.”

“And seeing you in a sexy dress or three.” He wiggled his
eyebrows.

“How can I argue?” She pulled from his embrace and grabbed
her purse. “Let’s go.”

Because her car was in Colorado now, they’d opted to walk,
take the commuter train, or use taxis for the two-day visit. Since the station
was close, they headed for the commuter train.

The run into Ralph Lauren was fairly quick and successful. She
found something on the second try, a red silk sheath that ended above the knee.
The neckline was more daring than her usual, but it fit her mood. She didn’t
model it for Vince, opting to make it a surprise.

“I can’t believe you didn’t show it to me. That’s the only
reason I came.” Vince complained as they walked into Nordstrom a few minutes
later.

“Hush. It’ll be worth the suspense. I promise.” Cami patted
him on the cheek and continued on to the shoe department. There was something
about shoes and Nordstrom that she could never separate.

In no time she seized a pair of Manolo Blahnik gold metallic
strappy sandals with a two-inch heel to go with her new dress, then indulged
herself with a Phillip Lim multi T-strap pump in black and maroon, and nearly
had contortions trying to prevent herself from buying the cutest pair of Isola
brown suede boots. She lost the fight, but didn’t care anymore when she handed
Vince the bags as they left the shop.

When Vince grumbled that she’d only brought him to be a pack
animal, she smiled and gave him a quick kiss. “I’m carrying the dress.”

“Which you haven’t let me catch so much as a glimpse of,
thank-you-very-much. And what is it with you and shoes?”

“Sorry, I can’t help myself. I have a weakness for great
footwear. I have just the thing for the boots, but I’ll have to find an outfit
to go with the pumps.”

“Hold on.” He stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and gave
her an incredulous look. “You’re going to buy an outfit to match the shoes? Isn’t
that backward?”

She laughed. “You’d think so, wouldn’t you? But no, not in
this case. Lana will completely agree with me when she sees the shoes. It’s a
good thing she has such tiny feet—or she might try to borrow them.”

“I had no idea you were such a slave to fashion. I thought
you were just naturally put together.” Despite his comments, he wore a smile to
match hers, and didn’t appear the least put out about his shoe burden. “Now,
are we going to get pizza? I’m starving.”

“Almost there. You know, sometimes I think you have the
appetite of a thirteen-year-old boy.”

He simply grinned.

Cami grinned back, hardly able to believe she’d found
someone like Vince. Two months earlier she would have sworn guys like him
didn’t exist. She wasn’t going to complain.

~*~

Vince’s eyes popped as Cami stepped into the living room
where he’d been waiting for her. He set down the soda in his hand and turned
off the baseball game, giving her his full attention.

Cami gave a little spin, pleased with his expression and felt
like a sexy model. “Was it worth the wait?”

“Yeah, it was.” Vince walked over, taking her mouth in a
long kiss. “You sure we have to go out?”

She laughed. “That was kind of the point of the trip.”

“Pity.” He took her hands and two stepped her around the
room—it wasn’t a big space, so it didn’t take long. “I’d love to have you to
myself all evening. But I can probably share you long enough to take care of
business.”

She was out of breath when they came to a stop, though very
little of it was from the exertion of the dance. “That’s good of you.”

“I know. I’m a real catch.”

She looked at his cocky grin and had to kiss him again. He
was a catch, the kind of man any woman would be luck to call her own. She
touched his freshly shaved cheek and pressed a chaste kiss to his mouth, a feeling
of warmth building inside her every moment. This was love. Was it strong enough
to last? She didn’t know.

He released her and tugged on his suit coat. “Do I pass
muster?” He looked incredible in a suit, making Cami think she better keep him
close so someone else didn’t try to snatch him up at the party.

“You look pretty wonderful too.” She leaned in, sniffed. “And
you smell terrific.”

He took her hand. “Let’s go wow them.”

~*~

“Would you like something to drink?” Vince asked Cami when
they’d been circulating for nearly an hour.

Cami smiled, already wishing the night would end. “Thanks. I’m
parched. No more alcohol, though, I need to stay alert in this crowd.” She
watched him go, then turned to track the prince of Denmark’s cousin, whom she’d
seen only ten feet away a moment before. Instead, Trent moved to greet her. The
low burn of nerves in her stomach grew worse. This wasn’t going to be pretty.

She couldn’t help but compare her ex to Vince, though she
knew it was bad form. Trent’s unnatural tan, bleached blonde hair, and
artificially whitened teeth seemed false to her now she’d been around a man like
Vince who didn’t worry about making the proper impression every moment of the
day.

“Hello, Camellia, you’ve met Trina, haven’t you?” Trent
introduced the brunette on his arm.

“Of course, how are you doing, Trina? How’s your mother?”
Cami was relieved Trent had moved on, but wondered if Trina realized what a
jerk he was.

“She’s well. We’ve both been busy getting the hospital
benefit up and running. It sounds as though you’ve had your hands full with the
hotel opening.” Trina Sanders was a sweet girl with impeccable manners and a
friendly attitude. Cami had always liked her. She also came from a very wealthy
family, and would certainly have the cash to settle Trent’s debts. Word through
the grapevine was the couple had been dating since early July. More than one
guest had made sure to inform Cami of that fact since her arrival at the party.

“Yes, it’s been quite an undertaking, but exciting too,
seeing it all come together. I know my father would have been so happy with how
things are going. The party is less than three weeks away.” Cami put on a smile
and pretended she hadn’t a care in the world about media problems.

“I know you’ve had some troubles. It’s a shame about the Denmark
royals canceling. Maybe they’ll rebook after you’ve had time to establish
yourself and prove you’re capable of managing such a huge endeavor. Right now
you’re six untried women,” Trent’s words were cloying and patronizing.

Anger burned in her. “Hardly untried. We’ve each been
working in our various departments for years, and we’ve found excellent
employees to help carry the load. Our head of security is capable of handling
any emergency, and Delphi has every angle of this release planned to the
millisecond. We’re going to succeed not because we’re lucky, but because we’re
very good at what we do.”

“Have you seen their work? Do you know these women will step
up and do what needs to be done?” he asked. “Your father pulled them from who
knows what jobs—”

It was all Cami could do to keep her voice level as the
anger burned through her. “My father may have had ulterior motives for bringing
us all on board with the hotel launch, but he wouldn’t have risked his resort’s
best interest. My sisters are among the best in the business. I’ve seen them in
action, I’ve seen them in difficulty and they’re more than up to the task.”

Miffed, Trent pushed in a different area. “And what about
your lawn boy? I thought I saw him with you earlier.” He smiled maliciously.

The rage cooled to ice as Cami realized he was jealous. “My
lawn
boy
has a master’s degree in landscape architecture from Cornell
University. He’s a successful businessman who employs nearly forty people, and
his business is growing every year.”

Vince walked up behind Cami, slid his arm around her from
the right, and offered her a glass of Perier—she’d decided one glass of
champagne was her limit. “Here you are, honey.”

“Thanks.” She flashed him a smile, grateful for the
interruption. “Vince Talmadge, I’d like you to meet Trina Sanders and Trent
Doyle.”

The expression on Trent’s face turned slightly sour as he
gave Vince the once over, but Trina met him with a pleasant smile and genuine
interest.

“I can see what drew you to him, Cami—intelligent
and
handsome. Always a good combination. It’s good to meet you.” Trina took Vince’s
hand in a warm shake, though not with the overt interest some of the female
guests had shown. She was too classy to do that even if she had been interested.

“You flatter me,” Vince said. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
His expression became speculative as he turned it on Trent, who stared at him
through narrowed eyes. “And you. Have you known Cami long?”

“A while.” Trent’s voice was infused with innuendo, and
there was an edge of mean in his eyes. “So what do you think about the run of
bad publicity she and her sisters have had?”

Vince shrugged, though Cami sensed him stiffen beside her. “Someone’s
got a vindictive streak, but they’re an amazing group of women. I wouldn’t
count them out—they’re going to blow everyone’s socks off. If you don’t have
other plans, perhaps you should come to the grand opening gala. See for
yourself.”

“I’ll make our reservation in the morning. I could use some
mountain air,” Trina said, threading her hand around Trent’s elbow. “Can you
arrange to come with me?” she asked him.

“Of course, sweetheart.” He put his hand over hers and
smiled at her.

The thought of Trent at the hotel made Cami grit her teeth,
but she forced a smile. “I’ll see you there. I have a few more people I need to
speak with, if you don’t mind.”