She must have realized he’d trapped her because she stole a quick glance at Luis, who stood by, prepared to pounce again, then flashed Jordan a stunning smile. “Of course. Shall we get a bite to eat? It’s bad luck to return straight home from a funeral, you know. There’s a charming little bistro on Forty-Sixth. My car is in Lot A.”
“What I have to say isn’t conducive to a meal.” To be honest, depending upon her answers to his questions, he couldn’t guarantee he wouldn’t cause a scene by lunging for her lying throat. “Let’s start by getting away from all these people.”
She cast another glance at Luis, and her smile faltered. “All right.”
He led the way off the field, past the police officers posted around the entrances and exits, and out of earshot of spectators. He didn’t need to make sure she followed; Luis flanked her every step. In fact, he found a bit of humor watching her search beyond him for an exit, then steal a quick glance behind her to see Luis within tackling range.
As Jordan headed for the memorial garden at the side of the stadium, he said nothing, but his insides screamed. When they reached the stone benches in front of the marble effigies of former Vanguard players who’d passed on, a site that would soon include a new member, he gave Luis a curt nod of thanks and sent him back to the memorial service.
“I can handle it from here.” He struggled to keep a lid on his percolating emotions until Luis was gone. Then, he went for the jugular. “Tell me how it’s possible you saw Cam at the hospital after my injury and not only did I not see her, I never knew she was there.”
She took a seat on one of the stone benches and hitched her handbag strap up higher on her shoulder. “Believe me, I was as shocked then as you are now. I mean, it never occurred to me she’d charter a plane and fly halfway across the country to see you—unless she felt the need to gloat.”
What was Paris talking about now? “Gloat?”
“Well, why else would she show up? You left her team and after two seasons in Texas, wound up sustaining an injury that ended your career. Do you think she came to bring you a fruit basket?”
No. But he didn’t, for one second, believe she came to gloat, either. The Cam he knew was a woman of integrity with a heart as deep as the ocean. And like the ocean, she swept away hurt with waves of forgiveness. It took a lot to get her to the stage she reached with her mother the other night. She might have felt betrayed by his sudden departure all those years ago, but it wasn’t in her nature to revel in anyone else’s pain, not even his.
“Did you happen to ask her why she was there?”
A plane flew overhead, engines screeching, and Paris used the distraction to cross her legs, arranging her skirt to best show off her wasp waist and lean calves.
“I barely saw her,” she replied as she opened her handbag and removed a lip balm. “I was racing through the lobby on my way up to see you after your surgery.”
“And yet, in all the hours you spent with me after that morning, you never once mentioned she was there.”
Paris applied the waxy substance to her lips with deliberate care. “She didn’t stick around long enough for me to even think about her. Once she realized she wasn’t authorized to get beyond the lobby, she must have turned around and flown home.” Paris laughed. “There really isn’t more for me to say, except maybe ‘I told you so.’”
“You told me so.”
After replacing the lip balm and zipping up the purse, she tilted her head toward the sky. “Yes. I told you she would try to keep you tied to her, would hold you back from attaining your full potential just so she’d have a good-looking Vanguard man on her arm for social occasions. Look what she did today, making you escort her to the memorial, allowing the press to assume she had gained the upper hand over you again. You’re a nice guy, Jordan, too nice for someone like her. Face it. Like her mother, she eats nice guys as an amuse bouche. You should be thanking me for keeping her at bay as long as I did.”
“You think so? Were there other times she tried to get to me?”
“Oh, God, probably half a dozen or so. She really thought she had her hooks in you for a while there.”
“Like how? When else did you have to run interference for me?”
“Well, let me think. It’s been a while. The hospital really was the last time I saw her. Before that, it was just minor stuff. I intercepted birthday cards, and once, she sent a wedding invitation.”
“A wedding invitation?”
“Yeah. When her mother married that guy...what was his name?” She snapped her fingers, as if trying to light a spark. “Elton, Elliot...”
“Ellison. Andrew Ellison.”
She pointed at him. “That’s him. Can you believe it? What was she thinking? That you’d want to be her date?”
Probably. Not that she couldn’t have her pick of men, if she asked. Escorting her to public events wasn’t about her having a cute guy on her arm, despite what Paris thought. Cam only asked men she trusted implicitly. So few people understood the way Laurel’s constant criticism had destroyed Cam’s self-esteem over the years. Public events always brought out the worst in Laurel, which brought out Cam’s most vulnerable fears. Had he known about the invitation, at the very least, he would’ve called her to make sure she was okay. Given her a pep talk to get through without
