BLACK CRIMSON (Fairy Tale Quartet #4)

5. Camille-1

5

Camille

“And then she said to me, ‘that was my parking spot.’”

I forced a vague smile, hoping it would pass as a laugh while the man talking to me chortled uproariously over his own story.

“That’s…” Oh my God, someone please kill me now. This Dan guy was the most cluelessly arrogant scumbag I’d ever met. He was so busy being entertained by his own laugh that he didn’t even notice when my smile dropped prematurely and I mumbled, “That’s actually what I would’ve said to you too.”

But gah, what a jerk.

I mean, who bragged about stealing parking spots from eighty-year-old women just because you’d gotten a new car and wanted to show it off to your date?

Dude, who even talked about taking out one woman when you were trying to pick up another? Wow.

Besides, his story could’ve been about Gran for all I knew. And her hip wasn’t in the best condition these days. So thinking about her having to walk even farther because this prick wanted to impress a woman he was no longer even with…

It was enough to make me want to kick him in the nuts.

But I refrained.

Because I was nice.

Or, at least, I tried to be.

“Camy?” A familiar voice from behind me made me whirl around. It sounded like Isobel, but it honestly could’ve been the grim reaper and I would’ve straight-up hugged the immortal being of death for interrupting my conversation.

When I found Isobel indeed, holding a flute of wine and sending me a hesitant smile, I happily screeched, “Izzy!” And then I might’ve flung myself at her with a bit too much enthusiasm as I went in for a hug, hissing, “Save me,” into her ear before I pulled away to add more loudly, “I’m so happy to see you. Did you just get here?”

“Yeah.” She lifted her glass to show me how full it was before sending a quick uncertain glance toward Dan. “We had a customer keep us late at the store, but we finally made it.”

“Oh, so Shaw’s here too?” I asked, though I’m not sure why I bothered.

As if she wouldn’t bring her fiancé with her. They did everything together, even ran a flower-s***h-furniture shop together. But I was clinging to any reason to keep the conversation going so I wouldn’t have to talk to Dan again.

“Yeah. But we ran into my brother at the bar, so he’s busy gossiping with Ezra right now.”

Behind me, Dan cleared his throat, jockeying for attention. I widened my eyes at Isobel, letting her know I wasn’t his biggest fan, and her gaze twinkled back with amusement as I reluctantly turned toward him to let him into our circle, Isobel coming around with me.

“Dan, this is my very close friend, Iso—”

“Holy f**k! What the hell happened to you?” he demanded bluntly, gaping with horror-stricken disgust. “It looks like a Mack truck did a burnout on your face.”

Isobel froze mid-welcoming smile. And my mouth dropped open in outrage.

I mean, I knew seeing Isobel for the first time could be a shock if you weren’t expecting the burn marks that covered half of her face. But, geez. Way to keep your surprise classy, Dan.

Douchebag.

Glowering at him, I hooked my arm protectively through Isobel’s and said, “Funny story. She stole a parking spot from the wrong person, and this is what happened.”

So let that be a warning to you.

As my friend blurted out a confused laugh over my rejoinder, Dan blinked at me, totally not comprehending the insult.

Rolling my eyes, I spun away and dragged Isobel with me as I stormed off, muttering, “I can’t believe I was just courteous to that s**t stain for, like, twenty minutes straight before you showed up. I need some kind of award for such overwhelming patience and kindness. Damn.”

Isobel laughed some more at my joke, yet I couldn’t help but notice how she tilted her face down and to the side to hide it just a bit more than she had before he’d spoken to her. It broke my heart. She’d been a shut-in at her own home for years, afraid of how others would react to her scars before Shaw had come along and enticed her to join the world again.

I hated that she actually still had to face the thing she feared most after mustering all that courage in the first place to come out of hiding.

“I’m so sorry, Iz,” I started.

Except she immediately waved a hand. “Oh, no. Don’t. You did nothing wrong.”

“But I hate how he—”

“I know. I do too. It is what it is, though, and I can deal with it these days. So I’m ready to move past it.”

I still wanted to go back and throat-punch the ass, except Isobel didn’t seem to want to dwell, so I moved on too.

Bumping into her side where our arms were still hooked together, I grinned up at her. “Thanks for saving me, anyway. I was drowning over there, unable to think up a single polite excuse to give him so I could escape.”

She laughed. “Yeah. I could tell. That’s why I came over to rescue you.”

“My hero,” I cooed, leaning my face to the side so I could rest it on her shoulder. “I knew there was a reason I loved you.”

“Isobel!” a new voice called, making us both glance over as Kaitlynn hurried forward to embrace my companion. “I saw Shaw talking with Ezra and knew you had to be here, too. Thank God you made it.”

As the two hugged, I scowled at the newcomer. “Where the hell were you two minutes ago, sunshine?” I demanded. “I was stuck talking to Dan, who apparently works for your company.”

“Oh, I know,” Kaitlynn answered brightly, turning from Isobel to beam at me. “I saw you two chatting.”

My frown deepened. “So…what? You assumed I’d actually be interested in that big-headed jerk?”

“Nah, I knew you wouldn’t.” Laughing, she waved a hand, letting me realize she’d been fully aware of my distress the entire time.

“Then why, pray tell, didn’t you save me?” I demanded, growing vexed.

Kaitlynn rolled her eyes. “Because I knew you’d be able to ditch him handily enough on your own without any intervention if you really wanted to. Which you did, so hmm… Guess I was right. You didn’t need me.”

I blinked, not sure if I was emboldened by her faith in me or still outraged because she’d purposely left me hanging to deal with Dan by myself.

And then she kept talking. “Besides, I needed him there as a blockade.”

Brows dipping in confusion, I tipped my face to the side and said, “Huh?” Because that didn’t make a whole lot of sense to me. What could’ve been worse than Dan?

“Trust me.” She patted the side of my arm in confirmation. “I did you a favor.”

Shaking my head, I murmured, “I’m so confused right now.”

“Me too,” Isobel echoed, glancing back and forth between me and her brother’s girlfriend. “How could that guy be a favor?”

“So have you guys tried the food?” Kaitlynn asked, blatantly changing the subject. “I swear, my favorites are the little pinwheel thingies with spinach and artichoke in them. I think I’ve eaten about fifty tonight.”

“No, I haven’t tried them yet,” Isobel answered, her brow still furrowed in question. “I just got here, but that does sound interesting.”

“Then you must try them. Right now.” The perky blonde then stepped between us so she could hook her arm through both mine and Isobel’s, and she rather forcibly urged us along toward the food station.

“But I’ve already eaten,” I protested. I’d even used my empty plate as an excuse to escape Dan earlier after I’d finished all my hors d'oeuvres—and she was spot on, the spinach-artichoke rolls had been my favorite too—but the persistent man had followed me to the trash where I’d tossed the plate.

“Then you can help Isobel decide what to eat,” Kaitlynn told me, tightening her grip fractionally on my arm as if afraid I might bolt.

I tossed her an odd glance, wondering what was up with her. She definitely hadn’t been so intent to steer me in a certain direction earlier when I’d first arrived. We’d talked for about ten minutes straight before she was called away to deal with some hostly duty or another.

I was starting to think she really was trying to block me from something. Or maybe from someone.

But who?

As we made it to the reception table, where Kaitlynn put a little too much attention on assisting Isobel in picking out what to eat, I found myself glancing around the room curiously, wondering what—or who—she thought was too dangerous for me to notice. But then I got carried away with taking it all in.

Hayden certainly had some fine digs here. Which meant Gabby had definitely come up in the world from when she’d been living in the same run-down building as Gran and Kaitlynn. This place was immaculate.

There was a big open floor plan in the front room, leaving plenty of space for everyone at the party to fit. All the furniture had been pushed back against the walls. And the open kitchen with a long island that separated that area from the living room provided a great bar for people to sit at and drink, while the table over on this side provided all the food. Only a single hallway branched off from the main area, which no doubt led off to bedrooms and bathrooms.

I loved how the walls were made of limewashed brick. It gave the whole place a modern, yet old-school feel.

Pausing my scan, I inadvertently met the gaze of some guy sitting on a stool at the bar, drinking from an eight-ball glass.

Or maybe it wasn’t so inadvertent at all, since he didn’t really seem to be scanning the crowd as I was. He was outright staring as if waiting for me to finally notice him.

I blinked, startled by just how steadily he was watching me. At least, I think he was watching me. I glanced toward Isobel and Kaitlynn, wondering if he was studying either of them instead, but when I turned back, his gaze wasn’t directed in the correct angle to be able to focus on them.

I was definitely the target.

When his lips quirked in amusement as if he could read my mind, a flurry of sizzling heat unfurled in my belly because, wow, a total hottie was checking me out.

Lifting his glass to his mouth, he took a slow, deliberate drink and kept his attention on me, our eyes locked as his throat worked through a swallow. And my lips parted because I suddenly needed more air in my lungs.

He didn’t seem like he was in any hurry to race over and introduce himself, though. From the lazy way he leaned against the countertop of the bar next to him and had his feet planted on the rungs of the stool under him, he wasn’t planning on moving from his spot for the rest of the night. But he certainly had no qualms about watching me while he sat there.

It reminded me of some kind of predator who’d just spotted his dinner, except he’d recently had breakfast, so he didn’t feel rushed to claim his next meal quite yet.

But, oh, he knew exactly what he’d be eating later.

The thought of this guy eating—well, me—however, caused my tummy to clench and the insides of my thighs to tingle.

And then his focus was pulled away from me as another man approached the bar to talk to him. I blinked, exhaling harshly as if I’d just been jarred from a deep sleep, and I transferred my attention to the second guy, only to discover he was Gabby’s new husband, Hayden.

I’d met Hayden earlier when I had first arrived.

And while everything about Hayden was smooth and polished and urbane, screaming corporate money and lavish living, the guy on the stool shouted the very opposite.

Gabby’s husband had sleek, slimmer lines while his friend was pure brawn and rough masculinity. He seemed extremely physical, in fact, like a boxer, who worked with his hands and wasn’t afraid to get them dirty. Or a coal miner.

Although, hmm, I had no idea why coal miner popped into my head; I just knew he’d be in his element if he were hot and sweaty and grimy, shirtless and swinging a pickax while spotlighted by the intimate orange glow of a coal miner’s lantern.