Cami brought her formal dress for the gala with her to work that morning, so after a quick double-check of her department that afternoon, she took her dress upstairs to Lana’s office to change and fix her makeup in the executive restroom.
“Has Joel had any more luck tracking the payments into Mrs. Grady’s account?” she asked Lana as she touched up her mascara.
“No, he said the payments were made in cash. He has extra guys working tonight to make sure everything goes off without a hitch. I doubt anything’s going to happen, but with our luck lately, you never know.”
“No kidding.” Cami eyed her sister in the mirror. “How are you holding up?”
“Fine. Shouldn’t I be? Everything’s going like clockwork.” She didn’t meet Cami’s gaze.
“I wonder if Rosemary and Delphi would say it’s going like clockwork. They’re the ones in the thick of the last-minute preparations for tonight.”
“Better them than me, for sure.”
Cami pulled out her favorite lipstick and faced the mirror. “So tell me what happened between you and Blake.”
Lana froze as she touched up her mascara. It only lasted a second, but when she started moving and responded, her voice was a little strained. “What do you mean?”
“I mean something’s up between you. It’s obvious. You act like you used to be a couple, but you’re trying to pretend you barely know each other.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. We’re only colleagues.”
Cami considered telling Lana that Blake admitted to loving her, but decided to keep that to herself. If it was told in confidence, she’d respect that. For now, anyway. “You have history of a romantic nature, don’t you?” She pressed her lips together and checked to make sure her lipstick was straight.
Lana stared at the counter as she put all of her cosmetics back into a bag. “I don’t want to talk about Blake and me. It’s over and done with. Maybe we can talk about it another day.”
Though Cami figured Lana was hoping to make ‘another day’ into never, she took the hint for now. The next few hours would be filled with enough stress without forcing Lana to hash out her relationship history.
Blake and Vince waited in the main office when the women emerged. Cami had to bite her lip in appreciation when she saw them—both looked completely fabulous, though of course, she only flashed her gaze over Blake before zeroing in on Vince. “You both look great.”
“Not half as great as you two.” Vince handed her a bouquet of calla lilies. “Thanks, they’re perfect.” Cami gave him a kiss hello.
“I was considering a corsage, but Jonquil said no. Was she right?” Vince slid an arm around her waist and led her toward the stairwell.
“Never doubt Jonquil when it comes to flowers.” She rubbed the silky petals against her cheek and inhaled the weak floral scent.
After depositing the bouquet in her office, the four of them continued into the ballroom for the gala. Cami noticed the way Lana kept her hands to herself, but allowed Blake to guide her with a hand at her back.
Though Cami was busy talking to people and handling details Delphi threw her way, Vince stayed with her, apparently content to just be by her side. The same easy confidence he’d exhibited other times they had attended parties shown through as the evening progressed.
The dinner and ribbon cutting went well and the dancing had just begun when Vince pulled Cami into his arms and maneuvered her onto the floor. “How are you doing?” he asked, his voice low in her ear.
“Great.” She’d spoken to dozens of people, smiled like it was pasted on, and wanted nothing more than to go for a quiet walk in the cool evening air where she and Vince could be alone for a while. She wondered if they could slip out for a while. Her phone started to vibrate and she pulled it out to find the number from the front desk. “Sorry. Just a minute.”
“This is Cami,” she said.
“Hi, this is Kristi. I have a problem with one of the check-ins and neither of us can figure it out. I’m really sorry. I know you’re busy.”
Though she wanted to sigh, Cami just smiled in resignation. “Sure, I’ll be right there.” She ended the call and turned to Vince in apology. “I just have a little check-in problem. It should only take a few minutes. I’m sorry.”
He lifted his hand and brushed his thumb along her jaw. “No problem. How about if I get us some food? You probably haven’t eaten in hours.”
Her stomach was feeling pretty empty and despite the fact that she was in a major social engagement—which usually zapped her appetite—she thought she could eat something. “That sounds great.”
Getting back through the crowd quickly was a test in social grace, but in only a couple of minutes Cami made it out of the ballroom and headed to the foyer. The sound of the band fell behind her and she appreciated the cooler air now she was away from all the people. Her heels clicked on the marble floor tiles and she smiled as though she hadn’t a care in the world, though her feet were already throbbing. A glance at the shoes she’d bought while she and Vince had been in Chicago reminded her that the pain was well worth it. They looked fabulous!
“Hi,” she greeted the older couple when she reached the registration desk. “I’m Cami DiCarlo. Let’s see if we can figure out what’s going on here.” She came around the counter and let Kristi fill her in on the problem.
After a few minutes she corrected the issue and sent the guests on their way, then ran through the problem with both of the service experts so they would know how to fix it next time. She was nearly finished when she glanced up and saw Trent going up the staircase to the second floor.
She finished reviewing procedures with the girls, but kept sneaking peeks at the staircase. There wasn’t anything up there except convention space and the executive offices. Trent would probably follow the windy hall and end up at the other staircase.
Vince walked over to her, a plate of food in his hand, and smiling. “I wondered if you were about done here.”
“All finished.” She said goodnight to the girls and took Vince’s elbow. “Can we take a quick detour on our way back to the ballroom?”
“Sure.” He lifted a stuffed mushroom cap to her mouth and fed it to her.
The flavors burst on her tongue and she sighed with appreciation. “Wow. Remind me to tell Rosemary how amazing she is.”
“There’s more where that came from.” His voice was barely more than a low rumble, but it made her shiver. Or maybe that was due to the light brush of his hand along her spine through the thin fabric of her dress.
“I can’t wait to try them all.”
His gaze practically sizzled in the air as he looked at her. “If there are extras, we might have to take some back to my place to celebrate privately.”
“I think I could get behind that.” She was grateful for his steadying presence as they ascended the stairs.
He turned her around and backed her against the wall once they were out of sight of guests. She melted into him. “I’ve never been so glad to get away from a crowd before.” She lifted her mouth to his and savored the kiss for a long moment.
“Mmmm. I should have brought you up here a while ago. Maybe we could duck into your office for a few minutes.” His mouth glided along her jaw to her ear. “I’ve wanted to get you alone since I saw you in this dress.”
“Now’s not the time.” She shivered as his breath fluttered against her neck and his lips teased the sensitive skin beneath her earlobe. “I have people downstairs I’m supposed to mingle with.”
“Duty never ends.”
“Isn’t that the truth?” Her eyes flashed over the glass doors into the executive offices and she thought she saw movement. She stopped and stared as a shadow crossed in front of the door to Lana’s office. “What’s going on?”
“What?” Vince asked, glancing behind him.
“Hold on.” Cami moved to the glass doors that led into the offices and pushed one open. It wasn’t locked as she thought they had left it earlier.
“It’s probably just Lana, come back to pick up something,” Vince said, but he kept his voice pitched low.
“Yeah.” Still, Cami wasn’t sure she believed it.
Vince slid the plate of hors d’oeuvres onto the office manager’s desk, and led the way to Lana’s door. He twisted the handle and opened it quickly.
Trent stood on the other side, riffling through some papers. He glanced up in surprise at the sound of the door opening.
“What are you doing here?” Cami asked.