“So where is the red dress?” Piper asked.
Cam had it. He’d taken it because she, supposedly, didn’t need it until their date. The date they were not going on. But she definitely felt a shiver at the memory of how he’d looked at her in that dress.
“I was wondering if I could keep it for a bit?” Whitney asked. “I really like it. I’d love to find a reason to wear it.”
“Of course,” Piper said. “Red is a great color for you.”
“Hey,” Whitney said, stopping and turning to face her new friend. “Where were you last night anyway? You left me in my office trying on that dress alone.”
“I had to run down and get something from the break room,” Piper said. “But I passed Cam on his way up. I figured he could tell you how you looked in it.” She had a sly look in her eye now.
“Oh.”
“And did he?” Piper asked.
“Did he what?”
“Tell you how you looked in it?”
Whitney studied Piper. How much did the other woman know and what was she fishing for?
“I didn’t even see Cam last night,” Whitney said, just to gauge Piper’s reaction.
The other woman laughed. “Liar. I saw him when he came back out. A long time later. Carrying my red dress. That he informed me he was keeping for a while.”
Whitney’s eyes widened and her mouth dropped open. “No he didn’t.”
Piper was grinning. “He totally did. So… I’m cool with that. As long as I get details after you wear that dress.”
“I’m…” Whitney shook her head. “I’m not wearing it for him.”
“Yeah, that is not what his expression or tone of voice said,” Piper told her, still grinning.
“Well, he can think whatever he wants, but…” She took a deep breath. “It’s not a good idea.”
“Be that as it may,” Piper said. “It’s a Cam idea.”
“What’s that mean?” Whitney felt trepidation slip down her spine.
“It means it will happen. One way or another,” Piper said, lifting a shoulder.
“He always gets his way?”
“Pretty much. By the time Cam’s involved with an idea, he’s thought it all through, he’s looked at all the angles, he’s done the research. He knows all the possible outcomes and has a plan B, C, and D. And once he’s in on something, he’s all in. He’ll give it his all. He just…” Piper seemed to be thinking for a moment. “He doesn’t take on fights he isn’t sure he can win,” she finally finished.
Yeah, that shiver of trepidation was a full-on wave now.
Combined with a stupid mix of anticipation. How hard would he try to convince her that giving them another try was a great idea? How hard would he have to try before she gave in?
Hard. No question.
But she wasn’t stupid enough to think that she could resist him forever. He’d have to pull out the big guns but… that could be fun.
She swallowed hard.
Piper read her expression accurately. “Don’t be scared,” she said with a grin. “You know him, right? Nothing to worry about.”
“I do know him,” Whitney said. “Which makes me more worried. He might…”
Could she admit this to Piper? She didn’t know the other woman that well. But who could she admit this to? She didn’t really have girlfriends. She worked a lot and… she sighed. Her family members weren’t great at cultivating relationships that weren’t work related and she’d inherited that, she supposed. She didn’t relax and just sit around and talk about nothing. She felt like things should have a purpose and she was drawn to people who felt the same way. People who worked fourteen hour days, seven days a week.
Plus, she’d never really had nonwork friendships modeled for her. She’d seen her mother host teas with other executives’ wives. She’d seen her dad golf with men he had professional relationships with. She’d seen her parents and grandparents and their “friends” at dinner parties and holiday parties at their homes. But the social events always also functioned as business events.
She had never seen her father or grandfather drink more than a single glass of scotch. That made you lose control and Lancasters never lost control.
She’d never seen her mother in ponytail and sweatpants or her grandmother reclining on the couch watching a movie. That would indicate relaxation, and Lancasters also never relaxed. Not fully. Until recently. Didi had clearly relaxed since the rest of the family had moved to Dallas.
“You’re even more worried because Cam might what?” Piper prompted.
“He might want a little revenge.”
“Revenge?” Piper asked.
“I broke his heart. He might… I don’t know… want to mess with me a little. Make me fall for him and then be the one to walk away?” Whitney suggested.
Piper didn’t respond right away. She was clearly considering all of that. Finally, she nodded. “I see what you mean.”
Whitney felt her heart fall. She didn’t want it to be true. She could admit that to herself, anyway. She wanted him to really want her.
What she would do with that was another question, but she wanted to have that problem.
“But I know Cam too,” Piper said. “And I guess, maybe I’ve known him better over these past few years, right?”
Whitney nodded. That had to be true. Piper saw him every day. And she saw him with the guys. The five guys—Aiden, Dax, Grant, Ollie, and Cam—were so natural together. It was clear that they could fully be themselves when they were a group and they appreciated and loved each other and wanted the others to be who they were. It was so fun to watch them.
And it made her want the same thing. She wanted a group that she could belong to like that. But you couldn’t make things like that happen. They just did. Fate. Kismet. Karma. Magic. Whatever it was, it wasn’t something you could make happen.
“So I can tell you, for sure, that when he comes back to Chicago after being here visiting, and running into you, he’s a mess,” Piper said.
Whitney felt a little bad about it,
