She nodded. “I agree.” Looking down at her clasped hands, she murmured, “I should’ve called you back so I could come here sooner. From the time I first clapped eyes on this place, I sensed it was perfect for our needs. Being inside just confirms it.”
Perfect. Yeah, he’d thought it was perfect for him, too—before Susan had swept the property out of his hands to gift wrap for Cam. Yet, as he watched her stroll around the site, he sensed how much she already loved the building and oddly, how much the building suited her.
Despite the commission he was about to earn, he still couldn’t decide if doing business with her was good for him or the worst thing to happen since that game in Houston. Marcus had his opinion, of course, but Jordan had adopted an attitude of wait and see.
He faked a smile and prayed she didn’t see through him. “Well, I’m glad you finally agreed to work with me. I agree. This place would be ideal for your Manhattan center. You know, despite all the water under the bridge between us, I’ve always believed in the foundation and the work it does.”
Her lips tightened into a thin line. He knew that look. She was biting back something she knew she shouldn’t say. Nice to see he could still get a rise out of her. Especially considering the water under their bridge was pretty toxic. He stifled the tide of bitterness before it could drown him.
Whatever struggle she fought behind those clamped lips, she won the battle to keep to herself. That was a new quality.
Instead, she asked, “How long have you been back in New York?”
“A little over a year.” He stifled his disappointment that she’d learned how to monitor her words. Like her mother. What other of Laurel’s off-putting habits had she acquired since he’d been gone? Besides ditching the man she claimed to love when he no longer served her purposes?
“And what made you go into commercial real estate?”
“My major in college was in construction management with a minor in business administration. With my football career over, it was good to have another occupation to fall back on.” All facts she already knew, if she’d stopped to think about their shared history. But clearly, when she’d turned down his marriage proposal, she’d not only closed the door on their future, she’d also locked up their past in some dark, unvisited cellar. Now, they were virtual strangers to each other.
Still, if she could so callously toss him aside, he’d have to find a way to forget her as easily.
“That’s smart,” she said. “Bertie always tries to convince the younger players when they’re being scouted to take their studies seriously. You’re a prime example why that counsel is so crucial.”
“How is Bertie these days?” He knew the answer, of course, but he and Bertie had both agreed Cam didn’t need to find out about their conversation right away.
“The same.” She shrugged and strolled ahead of him, her gaze flitting around the area as she scrutinized every corner. “How’s Paris?”
He blinked at the non-sequitur. “The agent or the city?” She turned to glare at him over her shoulder, and it was his turn to shrug. “What? It’s not like I’ve seen either one of them lately.”
Cam stopped dead in her tracks and whirled, outrage stamped on her face. “She dumped you?”
“I wouldn’t exactly put it that way. After all, for her, I’m only as good as my next contract. Once I snapped my spine on that field, our relationship became as useless as my legs.”
“I’m sorry.” She walked to the wall of windows. “That sucks.”
“I’m not. It’s business.”
“There was more than business between you two.”
He snorted. “You always hated Paris.”
“Hmmph.” She tossed her head and perched her bottom atop the rack of radiators, those mile-long legs of hers extended out across the floor, the toes of those ridiculous boots pointed up toward the ceiling. “I don’t hate anyone. I didn’t trust Paris. Turns out, I had good reason.”
God, was she still carrying a grudge over his trade to Houston?
“Paris only did what I paid her to do: find me a place where I could use my talents for a team that needed me. Let’s face it. With the Vanguard, I’d have always been second best. And with you, too.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Come off it, Cam. You didn’t need me. You never did.”
She pushed off the radiator and stood in front of him, her complexion pink with undisguised anger. “I may not have needed you, but I loved you. Not that you ever cared about love. If you had, you wouldn’t have left me for the first better-looking, skinnier woman who made you hard.”
“You think I left you for Paris?!” A bitter laugh escaped his mouth. “You are seriously delusional. I hired Paris for her business savvy, not for her looks. And yeah, she’s skinny. So what?” Cam’s sudden icy expression could freeze a bonfire, and he shook his head. “God, your mother’s insecurities have screwed you up so bad. You’ve always been the most beautiful woman I know—inside and out. Any flaw, any bit of extra on you doesn’t make you less loveable or less...anything in my eyes or in anyone else’s, for that matter. But you never see that, do you?” She didn’t answer, and her lips tightened again. “And one other thing, sweetheart. For what it’s worth, before you and after you, plenty of women have made me hard.”
“Ahem!” Antonio’s sudden intrusion doused the fire crackling between them.
Great. Talk about perfect timing! Jordan reared back to regain some space and perspective. Whatever he and Cam once had, if anything, was long gone.
“Sorry to interrupt,” Antonio said, “but I want to talk to Cam alone for a sec.”
No problem. He could use the break
