Ruining Mr. Perfect (The McCauley Brothers) (13 page)

“Hell.”

Maddie squealed. “Oh my gosh. You and Cam did the nasty
in
our
house
! You have sex head.”

Abby nodded.

“What’s sex head?” Vanessa asked, even though she knew better.

“When you have that just-gripped look.” Abby nodded to a section of Vanessa’s hair sticking out.

“Yeah.” Maddie nodded. “Oh man. Vanessa did Cam in our house. In her room! So are you two getting married or what?”

Vanessa scowled. “So we had sex. You two do it all the time.”

“I wouldn’t say all the time…” Abby flushed.

“Please.” Maddie rolled her eyes. “You’re worse than me and Flynn.” She turned back to Vanessa. “Vanessa, let’s be honest. You never date a guy this long. I mean, you and Cam went to Beth’s
as
a
couple
. You spend your time exercising and eating disgustingly nutritious food…
together
.”

Abby smiled. “I think it’s great.”

“Yeah. Okay.” Vanessa headed to the kitchen, in need of some peppermint tea. Unfortunately, the chatty twins followed.

They watched her put the kettle on for tea.

“Vanessa?” Abby asked. “Why don’t you seem glad about being with Cam?”

She felt tense and deliberately relaxed before turning to face them. “Our relationship is great, but we’re no big deal. Cameron and I are new. So of course it’s all fluttery feelings and fun. I give it another few weeks before we cool down.”

Abby shook her head. “Brody told me he’s never seen Cam so happy before. I mean, really happy. That’s even while living with his father underfoot.”

Maddie nodded. “Flynn said the same thing. So are you going to let this relationship happen, or will you sabotage it like all the others?”

Vanessa frowned. “That was your MO before Flynn. Not mine.”

“You’re more subtle, but you’re flawed, just like me. You find fault with everyone you date. I’m shocked Cam’s lasted this long. But then, with a guy like him, it’s got to be hard to find things you don’t like. He’s nice but not too nice. Sexy, handsome, smart. Your kind of smart. And he’s rich.”

“He doesn’t have to be rich to be interesting.”

“No, but that doesn’t hurt. The man is just like you.” Maddie glanced at Abby. “Am I right?”

“So I hit a bunch of duds before,” Vanessa cut in. “Not my fault they couldn’t keep up.” She recalled John “Small Dick” Willington. She hadn’t seen him since that dinner and actually liked dealing with Henry on business.

“Well, this thing you have going with Cam.” Maddie pointed a finger at her. “Don’t screw it up.”

“What the hell does that mean?” Vanessa took the kettle off the burner when it whistled and turned off the stove. After pouring herself and her roommates some hot water, she girded herself for a verbal battle. “Why do you automatically assume
I’ll
be the one to screw up?”

“Because that’s what you do. Your parents did a number on you as a kid, and you always get weird when you find a guy you might like. I think you really like Cam. Don’t search for problems where there are none. That’s all I’m saying.”

It grated that Maddie might have a point. Hadn’t Vanessa been trying not to ruin her evening by suppressing thoughts of the future with Cameron? “You know, just because you happen to be getting lucky on a regular basis with Flynn does not make you an expert on relationships.”

“Sure it does.”

Abby cut in. “I think Maddie just means we like seeing you so happy. You seem lighter, not so tense.”

“Why does everyone keep calling me tense?”

“Does controlling, dictatorial, or uptight work better for you?” Maddie asked with overdone innocence.

Vanessa slipped her the finger, to which Maddie chuckled.

“I’m just saying we like this new you.” Maddie took her mug and tossed a tea bag into it. “Don’t let your wacky parents ruin your love life. You’re the fun Campbell, and that’s saying something.”

“Vanessa’s not like them,” Abby defended her.

“Not really,” Maddie hedged. “But she’s got a defense mechanism where she pulls back when she feels threatened.”

“Well, Cameron is the sensitive McCauley,” Abby said. “But he’s still a man. So it’s a given
he’ll
mess up. That’s what people do. The question becomes, will you be able to forgive him? I might not know your family dynamics like Maddie does, but I do know you like to be right.”

“About everything,” Maddie groused, then smiled. “It doesn’t help that you often
are
right. That you’re so self-reliant, and that you rarely mess up.”

Abby nodded. “The problem is that when others around you do, you’re not as forgiving.”

“Hey, I put up with you two.”

Maddie crossed her eyes.

Abby laughed. “But we’re family. Can you be so forgiving with the man in your life? A guy you might come to love?”

Vanessa pondered that as they drank their tea and turned the conversation to Beth and James. She told her roommates what she’d said to Beth, and they gave her kudos for being bold enough to speak the truth. But all the while, she wondered about Abby’s questions. Could she forgive Cameron when he eventually made a monumental mistake? His Y chromosome practically confirmed that at some point in their “relationship” he’d step on his own dick.

And then what?

Beth McCauley stared at her reflection in awe.

“Beth, I’m so happy you decided to go for a change. I mean, don’t get me wrong. I’ve loved doing your hair the past five years. But man, I was dying to experiment with you. You look gorgeous.”

“I look ten years younger.” Beth gaped at herself in the mirror. Wearing the clothes Maddie had picked out with her a few days ago, she felt practically indecent in the form-fitting jeans and soft blue sweater. But Maddie had insisted she stop hiding herself in “old lady clothes.” As if prints in paisley and stripes to hide her saggy breasts and tummy made her automatically old.

“I’d say fifteen years younger, not ten,” Maureen, her hairdresser, said with a large smile. “That cut really frames your face and highlights your cheekbones. The last cut was nice, but not as interesting. And I love this color.” Maureen ran a brush over the sleek layered cut that showed off the new black and silver strands mixed with a hint of dark mahogany. “It’s beautiful.”

A few other stylists came over to
ooh
and
ah
, and Beth felt like a million bucks. On her walk home, she gave in to impulse and stopped in a cosmetics salon. An hour later and several dollars poorer, she took her makeup and freshly done nails back home.

Feeling amazing and wanting to share her recent success, she called Abby, who had mentioned the other night at dinner that she’d planned to take Friday off. Abby answered on the first ring.

Beth walked a few blocks to the house she rented to Abby and the girls.

When Abby opened the door, she stared with wide eyes. “Oh my gosh. You look amazing.” She laughed and hugged Beth with such enthusiasm that Beth laughed as well. “I’m so glad you called. I actually have to take my car in to get looked at and was going to see if Brody would follow me over. Would you mind, and then we could go to lunch after?”

“Sounds perfect.”

Abby grabbed her keys and purse and continued to pester Beth about details of her salon visit. They drove to Beth’s house to pick up her car, and Beth followed Abby to a small garage on the other side of town. She parked and followed Abby inside.

To her bemusement, they had to walk through a rough-looking establishment. Inside the garage, Beth noted several men who looked more like prison escapees than mechanics, and one particularly large older man who straightened and stared at her with an odd look that made her hurry her step to join Abby.

They entered the small office, where a young man, sporting tattoos and multiple piercings, greeted them as he typed at his computer.

“Hey. You here for an appointment or just need us to check out your car?”

Abby smiled. “I’m here to see Del and to drop off my car. Tell her it’s Abby.”

He nodded. “Sure thing.” He dialed a number, asked for Del, then cringed at whatever she said back to him. He managed to get Abby’s name into the conversation then hung up quickly. “Ah, go on into her office. She’ll be right in.”

Beth realized where they were and wanted to meet this Del person. Her grandson had taken a real liking to the woman who sounded like Beth’s worst personal nightmare.

“So I get to meet the infamous Del, hmm?” she asked Abby as they sat in a surprisingly clean, organized office.

They took the seats across from a large scarred desk covered in stacks of papers. A computer sat along the wall, and on the table behind the desk, bunches of tools, some covered in grease, some not, stacked like mini sacrifices to the gods of the garage.

The door to the right opened, one that led presumably to the work area. Instead of a woman, the large man who’d given her the shivers entered.

“Well,
hello
.” He barely glanced at Abby and smiled widely at Beth. Good-looking in a rough, scary kind of way. “What can I do for you ladies?”

Beth blushed. She hadn’t been looked at like she was an attractive, available woman in ages. To her astonishment, it felt…good.

“We’re here to see Del,” Abby said with a touch of amusement.

Beth glanced at the girl and tried to maintain her dignity. “Yes.” She turned back to the giant. He wore stained coveralls, his silver hair in a military-short buzz cut. But my, what a body. Beth might be older. She sure the hell wasn’t dead. This man could give James a run for his money in the build department.

“Ah, my lovely daughter.” The man wiped his hand with a rag and stepped closer to Beth. Then he held out a hand. “Name’s Liam Webster. Welcome to my garage.”

She took his hand and gave it a firm shake just as another person entered the room—a woman with tattoos on her arms, wearing ash-blond hair held back in a ponytail, and sporting a ring on her eyebrow and a stud in her nose.

“Man. What did I do to deserve you?” she said in a husky voice with a grin at Abby.

“Hey, Del. We’ve just met your dad.” Abby looked pointedly at his hand that still held Beth’s.

Beth tugged and he gave it back.

He cleared his throat. “Sorry. But damn. You are just the prettiest thing.”

“Dad.” Del glared. “Sorry. This is my dad, Liam. I’m Del.” She ignored Abby and cocked her head as she studied Beth. “You… You’re Beth McCauley, I bet.”

“I am.” So this was the woman her grandson adored.

“Yeah, your sons look just like you. We went bowling once.” Del shrugged. Then she smiled. “Your grandson sure is a charmer.”

Beth smiled back, liking the woman a bit, if only for that comment. “He is. He’s a handful.”

“No shit. I—er, mean, no kidding.” Del sighed and sat behind her desk. When her father continued to stand there staring at Beth—
how
embarrassing
—she cleared her throat. “Dad?”

“Huh? Oh.” He took a step back. “Just wanted to see who your visitors were. I’ll be in the garage. Nice meeting you Beth, Abby.”

Abby nodded. “You too, Mr. Webster.”

He frowned. “Nah. Just Liam.” He winked at Beth. “You can call me anything you want to.” He glanced at her bare ring finger, smiled wider, then left.

“Sorry for my dad.” Del sounded as if strangling on her tongue. “He’s a handful too. Jesus.” She tugged her ponytail, and Beth noted the woman’s dirty fingers. “I was in the garage working when Dale called.”

“Dale?” Abby asked.

“The kid at the front desk. He’s a new intern. Got skills with paint.”

Beth watched the woman interact with Abby, seeing her confidence, a kind of kiss-my-butt attitude.

“So my car is out back. It’s making a
chug
chug
noise,” Abby was saying.

“What?”

“Well, it’s more like a
chug-clink-chug
. And sometimes it coughs.”

Del stood and held up a hand. “Stop with the sounds. Just tell me what the car is doing.”

As Abby explained, Beth glanced around. The automotive garage was old. But it seemed to have no shortage of work. She’d seen a lot of cars parked in the lot. They weren’t junky cars at all. The doorway behind Del opened again, and through it Beth saw a few classic cars being worked on. Again, by a bunch of thugs who looked like they’d be at home behind bars. But then, she’d thought the same thing of James over thirty years ago.

Yeah, and look at how that turned out. You can’t judge someone by appearances, Beth.

“…outside. Come on,” Del said and walked with Abby into the garage.

Beth followed, more than curious about the manly area where so many mysterious things happened with cars. She’d never been particularly handy with tools and had never wanted to be. Beth knew her strengths. Organization—why she’d been so good at her job—motherhood, cleanliness.

She watched a few of the men leaning into the engines and listened as they swore at each other, rather creatively. In a way, they reminded her of her own sons when they didn’t think she listened.

“So how do you know my girl?” Liam asked from behind her.

He startled her into a shriek, and all action in the garage ceased.

“Shit. Damn it. I’m sorry.” He yelled at the mechanics, “Get back to work!”

Liam gently pulled her back into the office and shut the door behind him. “Sorry. Not safe out there. You’re too pretty to get all dirty.”

Again he’d called her pretty.

“Thank you.” She gave him a shy grin, one he returned.

“Hope I wasn’t out of line. We don’t get many fine women in here. Mostly car guys, motorheads, the occasional collector. We do a lot of work on older cars. Bodywork, paint, remodeling. But Del’s been working on bringing in new blood, people needing a good mechanic.” He shrugged. “I’m told to shut up and mind her. Funny how the young always seem to think they know best.”

She laughed. “I have four sons. Trust me when I say I feel your pain.”

They started up a conversation about their children, and before she knew it, Liam had charmed her into a date for coffee. Coffee. Innocent, in broad daylight around other people. To her surprise, he seemed as tentative about seeing her as she felt about him. That hesitancy made her like him all the better for it.

As she drove Abby back to Queen Anne for lunch, she considered that she felt a bit guilty about seeing another man while still married to that lunkhead James. But coffee was only coffee.

“So Liam seemed to like you,” Abby said.

“Yes. He was very nice.”

In her periphery, Beth saw Abby’s eyes narrow.

“So. Liam. You.”

Beth swallowed. “He asked me to coffee next week.”

“And?”

“I said yes.”

Abby was silent a moment, then she started clapping. “Bravo. So you have a date with a hot guy. Nicely done.”

“Oh, well. I don’t know that I’d call it a date.”

“Really? Because Liam sure liked you. He had a lot of muscle and a twinkle in his eye when he was checking out your butt.”

“Abby.” Beth blushed.

Abby laughed. “Good for you. Call it a date or not. I’m just wondering what James will think when he finds out.”

“I’m not planning to tell him.” Beth didn’t want to resort to those kinds of tactics with her husband. Hell. She hadn’t seen the man in a week. For all she knew, he’d been dating his little barista all this time. The knowledge shouldn’t have hurt. They’d agreed to go their separate ways, after all. But it did.

“Well, I have no problem spreading rumors about your date with a sexy man.” Abby paused. “Beth, do you want to get back with James?”

“He’s the father of my children.”

“So? Do you love him?”

Beth had thought about that question for a very long time. “I love the man he used to be. If I could have that James back, I’d never let him go.”

Abby nodded. “Then let me know when and where your coffee is next week. Because if James is as over you as he acts like he is, then he won’t care what you do, will he?”

“I guess not. No harm in telling him, I suppose.” Beth’s belly fluttered. Would he care? Would he put in an appearance? Who knew? The old James wouldn’t have stood by while another man flirted with his wife. Then again, the old James would never have tolerated months without sex. Or years without really talking, holding hands, or being together in the ways that mattered.

Would he be there next week? Or would he be as absent as he’d been through the last years of their marriage?

***

Cam waited until his last client of the day left and let out a happy sigh.

Hope leaned into his office with a thumbs-up. “I heard her mention her plans to share your name with her friends. Nice work, Cam.”

He grinned. “Yeah. Noelle has contacts in some pretty impressive places. See? I told you you wouldn’t starve working for me.”

She entered and sat across from him. “That’s what Alex said.” His associate, who’d been diligently working in the back room before Cam had told him to go home. He’d more than earned his time off. “Well, this income is helping me pursue my dream job, for sure.”

“I’m hurt. I’m not your dream job?”

“You’re too easy.” She snorted. “But then, that’s what they all say about you.”

“Ha ha. Remember, Hope. You’re the
nice
Donnigan. Don’t turn into your brothers.”

“God help me.” She gagged, and he laughed. “Don’t get me wrong, Cam. I love this. But I really want to make a go of my other job.”

“The one where you cater to personal fantasies? Sounds kinky.”

“Shut up.” Her cheeks grew pink. “It’s not like that. More like we give our clients a fantasy—that’s not
sexual
, you perv—but like a dream date or dream vacation. It’s more a logistical job than anything. It’s so fun putting the pieces together.”

“The idea sounds exciting. I wonder what Vanessa would consider her dream date?” he mused.

“Anything with you, I’m sure.” Hope sighed. “Ah, to be young and in love.”

“Shut up.”

“She looks at you with stars in her eyes. Really.”

Vanessa had stopped by his office a few times and talked to Hope while waiting on him. He liked that she’d taken the time to see where he worked.

“Vanessa? Stars? Are you sure you aren’t seeing daggers or knives?”

She laughed. “I like your girlfriend. She’s no-nonsense. She doesn’t let you get away with stuff. You need that.”

Cam liked the idea he needed Vanessa as much as she needed him. With him, she let herself have fun and laugh. With her, he didn’t have to pretend to be more like his brothers or tone down his intelligence. She understood his caustic wit, even shared in it.

“I see you mooning again. That’s my cue to leave.” She stood and left, just as Brody and Flynn entered.

“Hey, Hope. Still not sure why you’re working for this loser,” Flynn remarked.

“Yeah. We can pay you double what he is. Come to the dark side,” Brody added.

Flynn punched him in the arm.

“Ow. What the hell?”

“We don’t know what he’s paying her. You don’t double a mystery number, dickhead.”

Hope laughed and said something Cam couldn’t hear. Then the outer door closed, signaling her departure.

“So are you two here to talk investment strategies?” Cam paged through his calendar, preferring to have one not linked to his computer or phone. “Because I could have sworn I had you penciled in for next week. I’d have seen you with Mike, but it’s all I can do not to throttle his giant neck after an hour of talking numbers.”