Underneath the grunts and steely glares was a man with values and honor. Of course, she hadn’t really known him long enough to make such an assessment, but she trusted her instincts, and her instincts said that Cameron wouldn’t turn Piper away.
She also suspected underneath was a body made for Under Armour commercials and loincloths. He probably had ridges in places most men didn’t. Ridges that were perfect for a woman to run her tongue over.
Audrey smiled while simultaneously telling herself to put a halt to her fantasies. Cameron was bad news all around, and if she was going to keep her wits about her, she needed to stop imagining the stuff underneath those sweatshirts he wore.
Audrey tossed a glance at Piper over her shoulder. She was still feeding nuggets to Jellybean, holding the food to the cat’s mouth, then setting it back on the plate. She then dialed her business partner’s number.
She and Stevie had started their home staging business five years ago, contracting out to real estate agents who needed to quickly spruce up a house before putting it on the market. When Audrey had graduated from college, she’d planned on being an interior designer. She’d stumbled on the staging business by default when she’d done a favor for a Realtor friend by redecorating a living room. A few months later, she and her friend Stevie, whom she’d met in college, had poured every bit of blood, sweat, and tears into starting their business. It had been tireless, thankless work, and they hadn’t broken even until two years later. Things had picked up and they’d finally turned a profit this year. Stevie hadn’t been happy when she found out how long Audrey planned on being gone.
Her friend answered on the third ring. “How’s it going?” she asked, knowing the uphill battle Audrey had ahead of her.
“As expected,” she answered with a sigh. “Difficult.”
“How’s the little one?” Stevie asked, referring to Piper.
Audrey smiled because, as capricious as Piper could be, she always warmed Audrey’s heart. She’d lost her mother, but her strength and resilience astounded her, especially since Audrey knew how it felt to lose a mother. “Coping.” Audrey paused. “Actually, she’s doing pretty well considering. I got everything unpacked yesterday and made a call about enrolling her in school this morning.”
“You unpacked all your stuff in the hotel?” Stevie questioned.
Shit. Audrey hadn’t even realized her slip of the tongue. Now her friend would ask all kinds of questions, and Audrey didn’t want to talk about Cameron. “Yeah,” she answered slowly. “Piper’s uncle has a guesthouse.”
Stevie was silent a moment before answering. “This guy offered up his guesthouse after you just met him?”
“You should have seen his reaction when we first got here. He wanted me to take Piper and go back to Boulder.”
“You’re kidding!” Stevie exclaimed. “What an ass. So what made him change his mind?”
“I’m not sure he has,” Audrey admitted.
“You think he’d send his own niece away?”
Audrey watched as a squirrel dragged an acorn across the grass. “I don’t think he would. But he’s not pleased we’re here. He keeps saying he doesn’t know what to do with a kid.”
Stevie snorted. “Most bachelors don’t.” There was a beat of silence. “He is a bachelor, isn’t he?”
Audrey opened her mouth to answer a confident no, but now that she thought about it, she wasn’t sure. She knew there was no wife, and he hadn’t mentioned anything about a girlfriend, but that didn’t mean he didn’t have one. Or a string of women panting after him. The thought of leaving Piper with a man who had a revolving door of women made Audrey uncomfortable. She’d have to clear that up with him later. He had to understand that Piper’s needs and welfare had to come first.
“I think so,” she finally answered.
“You’re not sure?” Stevie asked with a disbelieving laugh. “What do you know about this guy?”
Not much. “Midthirties, coaches high school football.”
“Yeah? Is he hot?” Stevie wanted to know.
An automatic fire leaped into her face, spreading back to her hairline and blooming across her chest. In Cameron’s case, hot was an understatement. The man was in a category that hadn’t even been invented yet. “What does that have to do with anything?”
Stevie was silent a moment, as though trying to read too much into Audrey’s response. “I’d say everything, judging by your tone. Now give me the lowdown on this guy.”
Audrey picked at the splintered wood of the step, unable to control the heat still filling her cheeks. “I already told you about him.”
“You gave me his stats,” Stevie complained. “Now give me the goods. What’s he look like? How tall is he?”
“I don’t know. Six-two maybe.” Tall enough to make her feel all fragile and feminine. Towering over her like some…big man. Good one, Audrey.
“And is he in good shape? Or is he kind of dumpy?”
Audrey’s grin widened. What was she, some teenager crushing on her lab partner? “There isn’t anything dumpy about him.”
“Yeah, baby,” Stevie responded, with a smile lighting up her voice. “Now we’re getting somewhere. So who’s he look like?”
Audrey’s brow furrowed. “What do you mean?”
“Compare him to someone.”
“Like, someone we know?” Stevie would be hard pressed to get a decent answer. Cameron wasn’t like anyone Audrey knew.
“No, like a celebrity. I’m trying to get a picture of this guy in my head.”
Audrey blew out a breath and racked her brain. “I don’t know. He kind of reminds of Taylor Kitsch a little bit. But with less shaggy hair. And maybe not as broody.” Even though Cameron could brood with the best of them.
Stevie whistled. “Damn. No wonder you ran to his guesthouse.”
“That’s not why.” Except it totally was.
“Okay, then,” Stevie answered with a snort.
“So how’re things up there?” Audrey asked, desperately needing to change the subject.
“Crazy busy,” her friend automatically answered. “Do you know how much longer you’ll be? Because I can only handle all this
