Piper’s food was delivered, saving Cameron from having to respond right away. And dammit, she didn’t want to give him a chance to calculate his answer. She wanted some impulse and passion.
“Where’re you staying?” he finally asked.
Audrey blinked. “The Sunset Inn.”
Cameron made a face. “You can’t stay there; the place is a fleabag.”
She wasn’t going to argue with him on that. “It’s what I can afford.” Actually, she could afford way better, but she tended to be frugal about anything not having to do with fashion. Or her business.
Cameron switched his attention to Piper, who’d emptied half the bottle of ketchup on her plate before digging into the nuggets. “I have a guesthouse,” he blurted out.
Say what?
Cameron gazed at her while turning his drink in slow circles. “You can stay there until we figure something out.”
“What’s there to figure out besides which of your bedrooms she’ll be taking?” Yeah, good argument.
Cameron lifted a brow at her. “You want to work something out, you can stay with me.”
She didn’t want to stay with him, because being in that close proximity to him wasn’t something she was prepared for. At least in the motel room she had a place to retreat and gather her thoughts. Regroup after having all her senses shaken up by the man leaning so casually across from her. Yes, Cameron was definitely dangerous. He’d touched on a weak spot that had been tucked away for years. Audrey wasn’t sure what to do, because it had taken months of self-evaluation to refocus her priorities on something else. She needed to steel herself against him and his compelling stare.
“I’ve already unloaded all our stuff into the room,” she pointed out.
“So come by tomorrow,” he said with a shrug, as though it didn’t matter one way or the other to him.
Audrey glanced at Piper as the child inhaled one nugget after the other. She made a play of feeding a nugget to Jellybean, then put the same nugget into her own mouth. Yeah, the motel was going to take a sizable chunk out of her savings, but it helped her maintain independence. A lot of people wondered why she didn’t go to her father for money. Richard Bennett ran two successful dental practices, so Audrey had never wanted for anything growing up. They’d lived in a large home and taken expensive vacations every year. But Audrey preferred to make it on her own.
On the other hand, staying in Cameron’s guesthouse would give Audrey the opportunity to see what kind of man he was, and Piper would have an easier time developing a relationship with him before Audrey had to return to Boulder. And that was more important than Audrey’s need for independence or fending off her reaction to Cameron.
Before she could answer, he snagged a napkin out of the holder and jotted something down with a pen he’d made appear out of nowhere. “Here’s my address,” he commented as he slid the napkin across the table to her. “You can come by anytime tomorrow. I have practice first thing in the morning, then again after school. I’m usually home by five-thirty or six.”
Audrey took the napkin, unable to squash back the surprise at how neat his handwriting was.
He’s offering you a place to stay and all you can think about is his handwriting?
“I’ll leave it unlocked for you,” Cameron added.
“Okay,” she answered with a nod. “Thank you. But just so you know, I’m not going anywhere anytime soon.”
His mouth curled in a smile meant for dark corners and salacious whispers. “We’ll see about that, Audrey.”
Four
Cameron had expected Audrey to turn down his offer flat. She’d probably enjoy giving him the big, fat no too. Nothing about their encounters so far had indicated she was anything other than bossy and way too opinionated. So when he’d stood in his kitchen window at lunchtime the next day and seen Audrey and Piper open the front door of the guesthouse, Cameron had been amused. Surprised, definitely. But amused because he had a feeling that taking his offer went against everything she stood for. He couldn’t help but feel triumphant at the knowledge that he’d stuck it to her something good.
He watched as Audrey and Piper disappeared inside the house for a moment before walking back outside, Piper dragging that dirty-ass stuffed cat with her. Then Audrey left Piper on the front porch while she returned to the car, turned it around so the trailer backed up to the house. He should probably offer to help her because it looked like she had a lot of stuff. Instead he just stood there and observed the way she moved. She flowed in an economical way that wasn’t typical of a woman. Especially a woman who looked like her. She didn’t stop to adjust her clothing or mess with her hair. She didn’t check her reflection in the rearview mirror or double-check that everything was in the right place. It defied everything he knew about women, which wasn’t surprising because he’d already spent enough time with her to know that Audrey wasn’t like most women.
Audrey rounded to the back of the trailer and opened the door just as Piper jumped down from the porch and began running around the backyard. She pumped her little legs, Jellybean flying behind her, from one side of the yard to the other. Every so often she’d toss a wary glance at his house, as though she was still undecided about being there. Or about him personally.
Yeah, she wasn’t the only one who was wary.
His thoughts were interrupted when his cell rang. He answered just as he saw his mom’s name on the caller ID.
“Hey, Mom.” Piper ran across the
