Tanner decided he couldn’t watch, so he left her alone and disappeared into the back half of the town house, where he had more than enough work waiting for him.
“Meow.”
He looked into Annabel’s face. She looked worried. Dammit, now he was really losing it. “She’ll be fine. She has a cell phone.”
She had one last time, too, and look what happened.
He bent for his tool belt, but the ridiculous image of Cami in that Corvette stuck with him. She wasn’t out with another Ted, that was certain. And for all her talent and charm, he knew Cami wasn’t especially…well, worldly. Not naive, exactly, but far too sweet to be on her own with a spoiled rich jerk.
He’d have to hurry or he’d lose them.
He dropped the tool belt and grabbed his keys, cursing himself the entire way to his truck.
“WHY ARE WE HERE?” Cami asked Joshua a few minutes later.
Her date turned off the engine, unhooked his seat belt and turned to her with a smile that made her nervous.
It wasn’t him, she assured herself. He was very handsome, in a boyish sort of way. In fact, he reminded her of a schoolgirl’s dream, the sort of guy who was captain of the football team, who wore a letter jacket and made every guy jealous and every girl swoon.
“Joshua?”
“I thought we’d have a backward date,” he said smoothly, reaching across her to unhook her seat belt, too. He slid closer, his lips curved, his eyes intent.
Oh, boy.
They were at the top of Tahoe Donner, miles above the town of Truckee and miles from civilization. Far below, the lights around Donner Lake twinkled invitingly.
Around her was nothing but darkness, reminding her of last night.
Her heart started pounding, because here it wasn’t Ted and his unreliable car. It was Joshua, who seemed to be famished for something, and since it obviously wasn’t dinner, she leaned against the door and gave him a weak smile. “You know what? I’m not really fond of backward dates.”
His hands closed over hers, squeezing once before traveling slowly up her arms. He licked his lips. “You’re far more beautiful than I imagined you’d be. My mother doesn’t usually have the greatest taste.”
Since Cami made his mother’s clothes and thought Mrs. Brown had excellent taste, she bristled. “Hey-”
“I’ll have to thank her.”
He was leaning close, far too close.
“You know what?” she asked on a shaky laugh. “I might have forgotten to mention-” Her back pressed into the door handle, hard. “I like my own space. You seem to be invading it.”
“Funny, too,” he murmured, his mouth unbearably close to hers. “I like funny.”
“Back off,” she warned, putting her hands to his chest.
“Ooh, and tough. Good. Get rough with me.” When his mouth slid over her jaw, she gritted her teeth and shoved hard.
He didn’t budge.
She’d tried to be nice. Given that, she had no compunction about waiting one more second, just as he pressed his body into hers, before she put all her weight behind it and drove her knee into his groin.
The air left him in a rush, and he collapsed over her so hard she couldn’t breathe. Just as she would have shoved him off, the door supporting her flew open.
She immediately fell to the ground, with Joshua sprawled over top of her. The air whooshed out of her lungs, but she managed to blink her eyes open just in time to see Tanner haul Joshua off her.
Tanner?
She blinked again. Yep, it was him. No tool belt, but he looked intense and fierce and really mad. Madder than when he’d hammered his own thumb.
“Tanner-”
“Hush, Cami,” he said. He pulled back his fist, but Joshua was groaning so loudly and had turned so green that Tanner dropped him to the ground in disgust.
“Well,” he said, brushing off his hands, turning to Cami. “Excuse me. Seems you did your own rescuing this time.”
THEY DIDN’T TALK on the ride home. Or rather, Tanner didn’t. Whenever Cami tried, his hands fisted on the steering wheel and steam came out of his ears.
“That’s really silly, don’t you think?” she asked finally. “Not talking to me? Is it because I didn’t need your help?”
He broke his silence at that. “Are you kidding?
I’m thrilled you didn’t need my help to knee that idiot in the family jewels.”
“Then why are you so mad?”
He shook his head and let out a low laugh that held little humor in it. “Because you frustrate the hell out of me.” He downshifted and glared at her. “And I guess it’s because I want you to do something you’re not capable of.”
“What’s that?”
“I don’t know…how about stop pleasing others and please yourself.”
She stared at him.
“What’s the matter, Cami? I’ve never seen you without something to say before.”
“Well, there’s no reason to be rude.”
“You know, I can’t figure out if it’s because you don’t know your own mind, or if it’s because you know it all too well and are afraid of it, but I can’t stand watching you do this to yourself.”
Stung to the quick, she looked straight ahead. “Never mind,” she whispered. “I liked it better when you were giving me the silent treatment.”
7
CAMI THOUGHT she’d have to be tricky to avoid Tanner, but since he avoided her first, she had no trouble at all.
He used loud tools, a loud crew and even louder rock music, and spent every moment doing just his job.
He even avoided Dimi, unknowingly, of course, when she came in after work the next afternoon to steal a snack.
“Not even a courtesy hello,” Dimi whispered to Cami on her way out the door. “I’m late for a date with my mechanic or I’d stay and mess with him to see he paid for that. Do you realize he didn’t even give me the customary you’re-a-loon look?”
“He’s mad at me.”
“Why?”
“Because…well, it’s complicated.”
“Honey, with you it usually is.”
Cami should have been able to explain the truth to Dimi, but since she’d just come to it, and it wasn’t exactly flattering, she held her tongue.
She understood Tanner’s anger and frustration. She really did. And the worst part of it was, he was more right than he could know. Cami did let others railroad her into their wishes. She did it because she knew those wishes would never lead her heart to true happiness, so in a way, it meant she was always safe.
She had no intention of leading her heart to true happiness ever, because she didn’t believe in it.
There. She’d thought it out loud, now she’d deal with it. And Tanner.
Somehow.
He was still ignoring her. No teasing, no hot looks, no discussions that were deep and uncomfortable and oddly exhilarating.
No nothing.
She missed him. Stupid, since she was the one who’d wanted to do the avoiding, dammit. But though she had come to terms with the fact she wouldn’t go for love, ever, she didn’t plan on giving up other joys.
Such as lust.
This was the age of the woman. She could want a man, physically, and have that be it. And though it made no sense whatsoever, she wanted Tanner.
His crew left a few moments before him. Her client-not Mrs. Brown, who’d dumped her like a bad habit after she’d unmanned her son-had left, as well.
Just music and tools to compete with, but Cami hadn’t been a beauty queen in high school for nothing. She knew how to get a man’s attention.
She just didn’t know how to keep it.
Dressed for the part, she slipped out of the bathroom and pulled the plug on his portable CD player. The rock music died.
She also pulled the plug on the orange extension cord that ran down the hallway and disappeared into her bedroom.
Abruptly all was silent.