A headache pounded behind Cami’s left eye as she looked at her overflowing inbox. She hadn’t checked her email in almost twenty-four hours, but hadn’t expected such an influx. She scanned the messages for anything pressing and her eyes caught one from Liesel Gentry from the transplant database.
Her stomach cramped up when she saw the subject: “Good news!”
She could only imagine it referred to them finding a match for Robert Grady. Yeah, that was good news, but Cami wasn’t in a place emotionally to feel good about anything that would make Matilda Grady happy. She pinched the bridge of her nose and closed her eyes for a long moment, trying to center herself. After a moment, she lifted her gaze back to the monitor and clicked the email.
Camellia, great news, I know you were anxious to hear about Robert Grady’s results, and we’re in luck! We’ve found a match in Albuquerque. They had enough tests done previously that we can fast-track the transplant. I’m contacting you because you offered to help with travel expenses for the transplant, something I know the Gradys need with the other bills piling up. If you’re still able to help us out with this, please let me know and we can discuss the financial aspects of the situation.
Cami felt her throat clog with hot tears as she thought about her commitment to assist with fundraising or even paying for some of the expenses herself. She had been more than happy to make the offer at the time, but her feelings were completely different now. How was she supposed to help the Gradys after everything that had happened?
Blake walked into Cami’s office while she stared at a small print of Vincent van Gogh’s Starry Night that hung near the door. Cami focused on Blake and tried to put her mind back into work mode.
“Hey,” he said, taking the chair across from her. “These pages came to my fax.” He handed some papers to her. “And . . .” His brow furrowed. “You’re really pale. Are you feeling all right?”
Cami cupped the back of her neck with her hand and looked at him. She didn’t really want to talk about it, but he was there and had a look of understanding and compassion. “It’s about Robert Grady.”
He sat forward, anxious. “What about him? You haven’t heard from Matilda, have you?”
“No. I . . .” She let out a breath. “Several weeks ago I managed to track down a new transplant database that holds lists of people who are willing to do organ donations. I got a form for Robert to have his records sent there. Today I opened an email from the director saying they found a match.”
His brows pulled together and he frowned. “Why did they contact you? I mean, it was nice and all, but with HIPAA regulations and everything, isn’t that odd?”
Cami pursed her lips. “It would be, but when I contacted them, I said that I would help with transportation costs for the donor and arrange lodgings while they were in the area. So Liesel contacted me, but now I’m not feeling nearly so generous.”
“That’s understandable. Matilda’s betrayal is hard on all of you girls—especially you if you were helping her out like that.” Blake sat back in the chair and gave her a steady look. “Okay, I don’t want to get your back up, but I’m going to play devil’s advocate for a moment. Do you think Robert knew about his wife’s spying?”
She allowed herself a moment to consider, but based on how Mrs. Grady had talked when she was arrested, she didn’t think so. “No.”
“Did you think he needed your help before?” “Yes, but—”
“Do you think he deserves the transplant less than before?”
Cami’s jaw tightened as the emotions roiled inside her. It took her several seconds to answer. “No.”
“So are you going to punish him because his wife was so desperate to dig their way out of debt that she betrayed you?”
“I thought you were just playing devil’s advocate. This sounds like more.” She shot him a hard look, but felt tears rising in her eyes.
His gaze held hers for a long moment. “You have every reason to be upset with Matilda, to be angry and feel betrayed. But I want you to think about why you helped out in the first place and decide if you still believe you were right.”
There was a long moment of silence as Cami struggled with his question. “I know in my head what happened shouldn’t affect things for Robert. Feeling that way is another matter.”
“We could always find someone else to head up fundraising efforts, but try to let your head do some of the talking,” he suggested. “It’s really easy to listen to hurt feelings and not consider all of the details.” A sad, faraway look came into his eye and his mouth turned down in frustration.
Cami couldn’t help but comment on his reaction, which obviously had nothing to do with their current discussion. “Are you talking about what happened between you and Lana?”
His brows lifted. “What did she tell you about us?”
“Nothing. But I see the way you two bump off of each other. I know you used to be friends, at least, and now she’s royally pissed about something.”
His lips twitched, as though he were trying to smile, but failed. Sadness filled his eyes. “I can’t talk about it if she doesn’t want to tell you, but you’re on the right track.” He turned the picture of Cami and Lana that sat on the edge of her desk and stared at it.
“You love her.” Cami was surprised, then wondered why she hadn’t seen it from the beginning. She’d wondered if they’d had a relationship, but she hadn’t thought it ever got this far.
His gaze flashed to hers. “Yeah, I do.”
She desperately wanted to ask if Lana loved him and what had happened, but he’d already said he wouldn’t discuss it, so she didn’t push. Him. Lana was another issue. “Well, whatever happened, I hope you can work things out with her.”
“I will. Eventually.” But his expression wasn’t nearly as certain as his words.
~*~
Now Vince knew what he was competing with to keep Cami in Juniper Ridge, he found it nearly impossible to get time alone with her. They had already begun training new employees, and she worked fourteen-, sometimes sixteen-hour days putting the finishing touches on the hotel, and tracking all of the contractors as they installed equipment and making sure it worked. Then there were the linens to unpack, wash and spread on the beds, the alarm clocks to test, add batteries to and set, and the thousands of inventory items that had to be catalogued and organized.
It made his head spin.
The first five days after their return from Chicago, all Vince managed was to reach her for a couple of quick phone calls, and once he caught her on the grounds while he prepped the yard and she ran between her car and the hotel. He stopped her for a kiss and heard her brief apologies for all but ignoring him. He knew this was temporary and wasn’t mad at her for being so busy, but he missed her.
It was late August, and while things were slowing down at the nursery, they were still in the swing of peak season for the landscaping end of things. After taking two days off to run to Chicago with Cami, Vince had to put in plenty of long days to catch up on his own work.
Still, he searched for an elusive hour alone with her.
A week after returning from Chicago, he finished putting his equipment away as the sun dropped out of sight. It would be dark before he caught up with Cami at the hotel, but it was past time she took a breather.
After several queries, he found her making beds on the fourth floor. She looked exhausted in her figure-hugging jeans and a company-logoed, white polo shirt. Cami and Lana worked on opposite sides of the bed, tucking and smoothing as they went, chatting about some snag Lana had dealt with earlier.
“Well, well. You’ve gone from the board room to becoming maids?” he teased as he appreciated the way Cami’s jeans hugged her rear end when she bent over.
Lana flashed a grin at him. “We’ve both made our share of hotel beds. We started out in housekeeping when we were only fourteen.”
He felt his brows lift. “You two are always a bundle of surprises, but you certainly look like you know what you’re doing.”
Cami plumped a pillow and snugged it at the top of the bed. “If practice makes perfect, half my staff is going to be very good at all kinds of jobs around this place. We’ve been cross-training everyone, but decided to take on a couple of rooms to refresh our skills.” She pushed the auburn curls back from her face as she turned to him.
He crossed the room in two steps and pulled her into his arms. “You’re ready to drop. When was the last time you ate?”
When she had to stop and think about it, he knew it had been too long.
“I had lunch.” She checked her watch and groaned. “Eight hours ago. No wonder I’m ready to collapse.”
“You too?” he asked Lana over Cami’s shoulder.
She shook her head. “We all stopped to eat a couple of hours back, but Cami was in the middle of a conference call. I didn’t realize she didn’t break for dinner after she finished.”
Vince rubbed his thumb over Cami’s cheek, noticing the dark circles under her eyes. The worry lines by her mouth were more pronounced too. He was dying to cover her mouth with his. “Unless you object, I’m stealing her, feeding her and putting her to bed early.” He said this to Lana, but didn’t take his eyes off Cami’s face.
“Since she stayed until nearly eleven last night and was back at it by six this morning, I think that’s a great idea,” Lana answered.
“Oh, but I have so many things to do still,” Cami objected.
Vince quieted her with his mouth. When he had her full attention, he pulled back. “I think you just got an order from your boss.”
“It wasn’t an order,” Cami said.
“Oh, yes it was.” Lana adjusted the ponytail of red hair at her nape. “In fact, I’m going to insist everyone go home shortly. We’re all worn out.”
“But there are still stacks of supplies in my office area, and inventory to do—”
Cami kept speaking as Vince scooped her into his arms and headed for the elevator. He called over his shoulder to Lana. “I’ll have her back here around seven.” Eleven hours wasn’t nearly long enough, but he’d take what he could get.
“Sounds fine. See you later.”
Cami continued to object, weakly, until the elevator doors shut between them and he kissed her again. “You ought to let me down. Otherwise people will think I’m sick,” she muttered against his mouth.
“Who cares what they think?”
“Mmm. I have to work with them, Vince.”
Regretfully, he let her slide down until her feet touched the floor. “If you say so.” He lifted his head when the elevator doors opened and he released her before they stepped into the foyer.
Twenty minutes later they were at his house, a bag of takeout on the counter, and Cami was a puddle of exhaustion on his sofa.
Vince brought in a plate with the chicken sandwich and fries he’d ordered for her and set it on the coffee table.
“I shouldn’t eat so much. I’m going to grow into a whale,” she protested as she swirled fries in ketchup.
“If you spent all day running from one end of the hotel to the next, I don’t think gaining weight is going to be a problem. Eat before you fall asleep where you sit.”
She shifted her feet to the floor so he could sit beside her and they talked about the day while they polished off the food.
Having her in his home gave the place an air of comfort. Cami drove away the loneliness and just seeing her shoes kicked off by the front door made it feel more lived in, more real. Vince thought of the ring he had tucked away in a drawer upstairs and considered bringing it down to her, but she was too tired to think right now. While that could work to his advantage, he didn’t want to ask her to marry him while she was like this. It wasn’t fair. And he wasn’t sure yet that she’d say yes.
When Cami had eaten most of the food on her plate and her eyes drooped, Vince cleared everything away and took her hand, leading her upstairs. There wouldn’t be time or energy for anything but sleeping tonight, but holding her in his arms would be good enough.