Love in Isolation: Six Book Complete Set

Chapter 3

DAY 2

DAY 2I wake up to the sun streaming through the window and quickly remember I’m at the cabin with Eli.

There’s no way I’m spending weeks, possibly months, with him. Since we were teenagers, he’s lived to torment me. Only God knows why my brother is friends with him, but if I had to guess, it’s to piss me off.

monthsI considered Elijah Ross a friend once. When his hormones turned him into the asshole of the century, he became my number-one enemy instead.

The only thing that lifts my spirits is knowing Zane arrives today. I’m not worried about being around him every minute of our isolation because of how we feel about each other. After graduation, he’ll propose, and our engagement and wedding will be the event of the decade. The St. James and Vandenberg marriage will make the front page of every paper and magazine.

We’re already the perfect power couple, and the media loves sharing photographs of us together.

Zane and I ended up in all the same business classes together and inevitably formed a relationship. When we started dating my second year of college, our parents were over the moon and have hinted about us getting married for years.

Deciding to get out of bed, I head to the bathroom and clean myself up before making my way downstairs. Before going down the second staircase, I stop and listen closely. When I don’t hear anything, I tiptoe into the kitchen. Hopefully, that means Eli’s still sleeping or is staying in his room away from me.

“C’mon, Chanel. Breakfast time,” I say quietly as she follows me. She rubs against my leg as she prances along the hardwood floor.

“Why are we whispering?”

Spinning around, I smack right into Eli’s broad chest. When I stumble against him, he grabs my arms and steadies me. Once it’s obvious I won’t fall on my ass, he releases me with a smirk.

“Jesus! Don’t sneak up on people!” I scold and playfully slap him. Putting space between us, I then realize he’s shirtless. His shaggy, dark hair is pulled back and sweat drips down his neck. Stupidly, I lower my gaze and notice his ripped abs and that sexy V that leads below his workout shorts.

The clearing of his throat brings my eyes back to his. “You always this uptight in the morning?”

“Only when creeps refuse to leave my house,” I retort, pissed he caught me staring. I don’t want him thinking I was drooling, but it’s hard not to when he’s half-naked and looks more muscular than I remember.

Eli pops a brow with an amused grin on his face. “You get that a lot?”

Groaning, I walk to the fridge and grab what I need. I twist the cap off Chanel’s water, then pour it into her dish.

“Did you seriously just use a ten-dollar bottle of water for a cat?”

catTechnically speaking, it’s more like thirteen dollars, but I don’t give him more ammunition to taunt me. He already has enough in his arsenal.

“Cat has expensive taste just like her owner.” He cackles.

“Why are you still here?” I ask, then get up to grab her cat food. “You need a shower.”

“Thanks for noticing. I was about to before I saw you trying to Tom Cruise your way into the kitchen.”

Rolling my eyes, I proceed to feed Chanel. If he thinks her water is high maintenance, he’d probably burst a blood vessel at her custom-made organic cat food. She purrs and immediately rushes over.

“Why are you sweating anyway?” It’s in the thirties outside, so running shirtless outside isn’t an option.

“Wanted to work out before starting this beautiful first day of quarantine with you.” He beams, fueling my irritation.

“You’re taking the whole make yourself at home thing to the next level.” I’m annoyed that he used the home gym that my mother insisted on building in the basement. Not sure why she bothered, considering she visits once a year, and it’s never to work out.

make yourself at homnever“And for my next trick, I’m going to cook breakfast.” He flicks his fingers in the air, mimicking a magician. Then he grabs a pan and sets it on the stovetop. “Or is that off-limits, too?”

“At this rate, I’d expect nothing less.” I force a smile, push off the counter, and grab a mug from the cabinet.

“I’m making an omelet. Would you like one?” he asks, digging into the fridge as I mess with the espresso machine.

I raise an eyebrow. “Depends. Will it be poisoned?”

“If by poisoned, you mean it won’t be some fake meat bullshit, then yes. But it’ll taste heavenly.” He whips eggs in a bowl, and considering my options are cereal or a granola bar, I contemplate it. Then on cue, my stomach roars and grumbles loudly.

“Fine, but at least use the low-fat cheese in mine.”

He snorts. f*****g snorts, then laughs. “Whatever you need to make yourself feel better.”

snorts, “What the hell does that mean? Do you have to make a comment about everything I say?” I shake my head.

“Only when you say things like low-fat cheese. Sounds gross and would ruin my masterpiece.” He grabs more ingredients from the fridge. “If you’re going to survive being in a house with me for God knows how long, you’re gonna have to loosen up.”

low-fat“Or you could just be a decent human and stop antagonizing me every second?” I push buttons on the espresso maker, and it starts grinding the beans. Thank goodness. I can’t deal with him much longer without caffeine.

Thank goodness.“But bothering you is the only thing on my to-do list today.” He flashes a devilish smirk.

I open the silverware drawer, grab a spoon, then slam it closed.

“C’mon, Cami. You can’t be this wound up all the time. Let your hair down and relax a little.”

“Easy for you to say. You don’t have paparazzi following you everywhere. If I’m bloated one day, pregnancy rumors are blasted the next week. If I yell for them to stop following me, they say I’m on the verge of having a nervous breakdown.”

“Sounds like you can’t win either way, so why bother? Just be you, and they’ll get bored.”

I shoot him a death glare. “Are you inferring that I’m boring?” Turning away, I grab the sugar-free creamer, and when I spin around, Eli’s standing in front of me so I can’t move.

“That’s not what I said,” he softly states. I lower my eyes to avoid his, but he tilts up my chin, and our gazes connect. “I meant, the more you give in to what they expect, the more they’ll demand it.” He drops his arm, and I swallow hard. “They want to sell scandalous tales to magazines by twisting reality. You play into it, and it makes you look bad every time, so if you quit giving a s**t, maybe they’ll stop targeting you.”

I gulp, blinking hard. Eli’s split personalities give me whiplash.

“Well, that’s easier said than done.” I shrug. “The media portrays me in a negative light no matter what I do or say, but I’ve learned that if I’m presentable and look like I have my s**t together, it’s harder for them to make up bullshit headlines.”

Eli looks around, squinting before meeting my eyes. “You don’t have to worry about being judged here. No paps to follow you around, and I swear I won’t take pics of you looking like a hot mess and sell them to the media.”

“Do I need to get that in writing?” My shoulders fall as I release a small laugh. “Actually, the idea of being secluded and away from all that was what drew me to the cabin in the first place.”

He presses a hand to his bare, sweaty chest. “Was I the second?”

“Hardly,” I reply dryly, holding back a smirk, considering I was shocked to see him.

“Well, don’t worry.” He steps back and mixes the meat and cheese into the bowl of eggs. “You won’t even know I’m here. Bruno and I are very chill.”

Furrowing my brows, I shake my head. “Somehow, I doubt that.”

Once my espresso is done, I set it on the table and walk back to my room to grab my phone. Zane hasn’t responded to my last text, so I send him another one.

Cameron

Babe, are you on your way? There’s been a little mix-up. Ryan told his friend he could come here, so he’s staying in the guest room. Just a heads-up. Let me know when you leave the city. I miss you!

I go downstairs and am immediately bombarded by Bruno. He gallops into the house after being outside, and he’s in my face, sniffing me.

The dog has never heard of personal space. Another reason I love cats more.

“Okay, go away.” I shoo, stepping back, hoping he doesn’t follow. Before I can say another word, Chanel charges at him, hissing.

“Chanel, no!” I scold, though she couldn’t hurt Bruno even if she tried. She might piss him off, but that’s about it. “Elijah, get control of your dog!” I squeal, running around the kitchen table. “Stay! Sit! Stop!”

Of course, the asshole laughs.

“Bruno, heel,” Elijah commands. The dog immediately stops, goes to Eli, and sits as though nothing happened.

I’m nearly out of breath from chasing Chanel, who doesn’t listen at all.

at all“Your dog—or horse, rather—is trying to kill my cat and eat her as a snack. Can’t you lock him up or something?”

horse,Bruno licks his chops and pants with his tongue out. I shoot daggers at him as Chanel finally saunters toward me.

“My animal listens. Yours is the prissy b***h,” he states, busying himself in the kitchen.

I gasp, ready to murder them both.

“It’s not his fault,” Eli says, looking over his shoulder at me. “She looks like a meaty, hairless dinner.”

Grabbing Chanel, I hold her tightly to my chest. “She does not. She’s adorable and better for my allergies.” I kiss her head, and she leans against me.

“Do you like ham?” he asks, pouring the egg mixture into a pan.

“What?”

He turns and looks at me. “Ham. Do you like it?”

I shrug. “Yeah, I guess.”

“For your omelet,” he reiterates. “Otherwise, I can do sausage.”

“Um…ham is fine. I’m going to put Chanel in my room.” I turn toward the staircase before he can say another word. Between him offering to make breakfast, our pets trying to murder each other, and his sudden subject change, I’m at a loss of what to think about Elijah being here.

When we were kids, Eli would come over to play with Ryan while his mom worked as our housekeeper. Eventually, I started hanging out with them too, and always looked forward to the days he was there. His sister, Ava, would tag along, but we were never close. As time went on, my mother’s constant pressure to be classy, elegant, and sophisticated took a toll on me. She wanted me to hang out with the girls she approved of, who held a specific social class. It was always about money and power to my parents, and I quickly became too snobby to be Elijah’s friend. He wrote me off but remained best friends with my brother, who never cared about that sort of thing.

snobbyEli made snide comments about what I wore, how I spoke or acted, and who was in my circle. Nothing I did was good enough for him. He never knew he was the only person I wanted to impress. Being friends with Elijah already pissed off my dad, so there was no way he would’ve allowed us to date as teenagers.

But that didn’t matter, anyway, because he hated me as much as I hated him. The feud continued through high school, and when he’d hang out with Ryan, I was brought back to those days of him thinking less of me because of my friends.

I wasn’t completely innocent, but he escalated the situations. I’m judged by thousands of people who don’t know me, but to have someone I cared about have such harsh opinions of me hurt even worse.

I place Chanel on the bed and realize I forgot her bowls. “I’ll be back,” I tell her before shutting the door.

Once I’m in the kitchen, I grab her food and water. “I’m gonna put these in my room so we can avoid World War III in the mornings.”

“Between you and me, or the animals?”

“Ha. You’re a comedian now.”

“Well, you are scary before your coffee.” He squints, then continues, “Or is that how you are all the time?”

“Gonna have to drink mine with alcohol just to deal with your ass.”

Elijah releases a deep howl. “Oh, you and me both, princess.”

princessI take the stairs to my room, drop off Chanel’s dishes, then go back to see Elijah dancing in the kitchen as he flips an omelet. It’s amusing to watch a six-foot-something guy who enjoys the great outdoors move around like Channing Tatum. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say he was a mountain man stuck in the city. I know he works in real estate, but I’m not sure exactly what that entails.

“If you ever give up on real estate, you should take up stripping. Bet you’d get lots of singles tucked into your G-string.”

Eli faces me, popping a brow. “You picturing me in my underwear now? I think we’re gonna have to discuss boundaries,” he taunts, and I roll my eyes.

Grabbing my phone, I notice Zane finally messaged me.

Zane

Not gonna make it.

What the f**k? I sit at the table and furiously type a response.

What the f**k? Cameron

What do you mean? Where are you?

Zane

Staying in the city.

Cameron

Why? I thought we were going to be together during this time.

Zane

I don’t think this is working out for me anymore.

My blood pressure rises, and I grow more frustrated with each passing second.

Cameron

What the f**k are you talking about, Zane? We had plans!

Zane

I think we should see other people, Cameron. Indefinitely.

Shifting in my chair, I ball my hand into a fist and see red. How f*****g dare he break up with me over a text message?

dareCameron

GO TO HELL, ASSHOLE!

“Okay, one ham and regular fat cheese omelet is ready.” When Elijah places the plate in front of me, the steam from the food floats toward my face. I wish I could ignore what just happened with Zane, but I’m so fired up that I’m seeing red. “Bon appétit. Do you want orange juice or just your coffee? OJ is full of calcium and vitamin C, which we need at a time like this, so I brought plenty. I’ll even share it with a princess.” He chuckles.

regularfatprincessEli chats as if nothing is wrong, while I can’t think straight because I’m in shock. I’m not heartbroken over the loss of Zane, but his text definitely blindsided me. I should be upset, considering we’ve been together for two years, but I’m more outraged than anything. Why are guys such pricks?

As I push back, the chair scrapes along the floor. I stand and grab my mug off the table. “Don’t bother.”

Instead of giving Eli an explanation, I rush to my bedroom before I have an emotional breakdown.

Zane can kiss my ass.

He made me believe he wanted a future with me, but if he’s staying in the city, that means he’s not alone. The bastard is probably with another chick, and considering how easy it was for him to break up with me, he’s more than likely been cheating the entire time.

Fuck him.