Bride & Seek Page 5

  “So…what are you looking for here?” he asked casually, noticing there wasn’t a lot going on.

  “For starters, the tents are getting ready to be assembled along with the arbor the bride and groom requested. The weather is supposed to be mild tonight, with no rain in the forecast, so we’re good to get these things done today. The chairs will come out tomorrow. But I need to inspect that everything has been cleaned since the last use and there are no obvious issues or marks on them.”

  “The crew does a great job of cleaning everything before it goes back into the storage building,” Cade commented.

  “It still needs to be checked. You never know if anything shifted while it was in storage or if it got damaged in transit,” she said, making her way around the equipment that was scattered in the sand. “There are so many pieces…”

  Figuring two sets of eyes were better than one, he made his way around inspecting things too. Within minutes, Cammie seemed satisfied that everything was coming along and looked fine. “Will you come out again later and check it once everything’s together?”

  She nodded. “And I’ll be doing it all weekend long. It’s another full schedule.”

  There went his plans for asking her out over the weekend. Maybe. “So you’ll be here all day Friday, Saturday, and Sunday?”

  She nodded again. “Eventually we’ll get to a point where the schedule will lighten up and we could possibly be on a rotation so we’re both not giving up our weekends. Although really, it’s one of the reasons I was hired–so Dixie and Anna May can have some weekends off. It may be awhile before I actually get into that rotation. And if things continue to grow like we’re hoping, Dixie’s going to have to hire more people.”

  “Does that mean you’ll have off Monday and Tuesday again?”

  She looked at him–slightly perplexed–until he realized he basically just admitted he’d noticed her work schedule.

  And hoped she didn’t find it creepy.

  “Um…yes. That’s the plan right now.”

  “It’s just…you know…I noticed you weren’t here earlier in the week. I was actually looking for you. To talk to you. To uh…to make sure we were okay and all. And…”

  “Cade?”

  “Yeah?”

  “It’s okay,” she said softly, smiling.

  Her smile did it for him every time. “So, I was thinking…”

  They were interrupted when someone called Cammie’s name and said there was a problem with the arbor. With a quick apology, she was gone.

  And so was his chance to ask her out.

  5

  “Is this normal? I mean…seriously…is this something that normally happens?” Cammie was in a meeting with the girls and almost cringed at the pitch of her own voice. “Because…I have to tell you…I’m beginning to feel like there is some sort of black cloud over my head here!”

  Anna May went to comment, but Cammie jumped to her feet and began to pace in the confined space.

  “I know I am new to the company and the low man on the totem pole. I get it. I’m fine with it. But this situation is getting a little crazy for me, and I guess I’d rather you see me crazy now and fire me than drag this out any longer!”

  She stopped and caught her breath and noticed how quiet and still it was in the room. Anna May and Dixie were all silently watching her. There wasn’t any horror or disdain on their faces–in fact, they were all smiling serenely.

  With a steadying breath, Cammie positioned herself so she could face them both. “The last thing I want is to be a hindrance to the company and to the important jobs you have. I’ve been here for almost two months, and for the life of me, I have not seen this situation with any of our other clients. So clearly, it’s just me. Maybe I’m seeing something that’s not there or…”

  “Or someone’s deliberately trying to poke at you?” Dixie asked. “Because that’s sort of the vibe I’m getting.

  Relief swamped her as she slowly sank back into her seat. “Really? So…I’m not crazy?”

  Dixie laughed softly. “Well…that still remains to be seen. But, honestly, this is the first time a client has been this…present. And persistent.”

  “Especially when the wedding is still months away,” Anna May chimed in. “Either they’re that picky or…”

  “Or they’re trying to poke at you,” Dixie said again. “Would anyone you know tell them you’re working here?”

  Cammie shrugged. “It’s not really a big secret. I’m proud of my job and position here at Emerald Grove. We do have a lot of the same friends, so it’s possible someone may have mentioned it.” She paused. “In all the years Preston and I were together, the only time we ever came to the area was to visit my parents, and he was never overly impressed. But…”

  “But maybe Whitney’s just sort of doing this to get your goat a bit more,” Anna May said. “I mean, some women just never outgrow their mean-girl status from high school.” She sighed. “There was a girl in my class–Betsy Declan–and you would not believe how awful she was! We all thought she’d outgrow it, but…sure enough…at our ten-year reunion, she was just as hateful! Why, she even made a point of going up to the girl her husband used to date just so she could brag about how they were still together!”

  It did sound a lot like Whitney–even from the little Cammie knew about her. “So…what do I do? Do I keep ducking into closets and dodging out doors or hiding in Cade’s shed…?”

  “Ooo…was that the day you came in with dirty handprints on your butt and had to borrow a dress?” Anna May asked.

  “You had dirty handprints on your butt?” Dixie repeated, her grin spreading. “When was this?”

  Knowing there was no way to avoid the story, she quickly recapped how she had initially ended up in Cade’s shed and how he bailed her out a couple of times since. Including the kiss.

  “Wow…” Anna May murmured. “Talk about a knight in shining armor!”

  “I know. He was sweet enough to point out some key hiding places, but…maybe that’s not the way to go. Maybe I should just let myself be seen and deal with the taunting. Who knows, maybe if they see I don’t care, they’ll move on.”

  “And if they don’t?” Dixie asked. “I mean, what if they continue to come around and make nuisances of themselves?”

  It was on the tip of Cammie’s tongue to say it would be nice if she–her boss–would refuse to have them as clients, but she didn’t think that was a smart move. “Then I’d say I’d have to quit. At some point, it’s going to interfere with my job. It is already, and I hate how this is the first impression you have of me.”

  Everyone grew quiet, and Cammie’s heart was beating madly in her chest. Had she seriously just said she’d quit? Dammit! It really sucked that Preston was going to screw up her life again! How was that fair?

  Dixie cleared her throat. “Let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves. The bottom line is they’ve checked themselves into the resort through Sunday and want to see how some of the ceremonies look and get a feel for how we run things. I’ve already explained how they are not allowed to be part of any of the events.”

  “But they’ll be able to witness them?” Cammie asked. “Doesn’t that mean they’ll just be able to blend in with the guests?”

  “Normally, yes,” Anna May said. “But now that we see how they’re possibly here with ulterior motives, we can be a little more alert to their presence.”

  Cammie shook her head. “It’s not fair–not to the couples who are getting married here this weekend and not to any of you. This is my problem and I’ll just have to handle it.”

  “Cammie,” Dixie began, “we could all be jumping to conclusions here. Let’s see how the next few days go. It’s only Wednesday and the first wedding is Friday night. If we see that they’re disruptive, we’ll have them escorted away from the ceremony.”

  A small nod was her only response. And as she looked down to study her hands that were demurely folded in her lap, she missed the shared glances betwee
n the two women in the room.

  “I think that’s it for now,” Anna May finally said. “I’ve got some calls to make, so…um…we’ll all talk later!”

  If Cammie were a suspicious person, she’d swear everyone was running from the room–and from her. This damn situation with Preston was getting to her more than she wanted to admit and it was mentally exhausting.

  So he and his new fiancée were staying at Emerald Grove. So what?

  So there was a good chance she was going to run into them. So what?

  And so there was an even better chance they were here to flaunt their happiness in her face.

  That last one stopped her cold. Sure it was annoying–no one wanted a blatant reminder that they’d been played for a fool–but was she jealous of them? No. Did she want to reconcile with Preston? Hell no. So then…

  Ego. It was just ego, pure and simple. And no matter how much Cammie rationalized it, it came down to her just not wanting to deal with this right now. Or ever. She thought by moving away that she was being the mature one.

  She wished the rest of the players in this stupid game were acting the same way.

  Although…a small smile crossed her face as she made her way back to her desk. All of this sort of justified her grown-up version of hide-and-seek.

  Game on.

  In all the years Cade had worked at the Emerald Grove Resort and dealt with the events team, this was the first time they were being so…specific about what they needed for the areas of this weekend’s events.

  Comb the beach–which they always did.

  Trim the greenery around the area they used for outdoor ceremonies. Again, that was a given and something they did, whether there were weddings planned for the weekend or not.

  He looked at the list Anna May emailed over to him and realized how she was specific about what was done and how she wanted him–specifically–doing it.

  Maybe they had some notable clients this weekend and were being overly cautious about preparations, but if memory served, they’d had celebrities here that never caused him to be so personally hands-on. So what gives? According to this list, he would pretty much be on event detail as if he were part of their staff. He was just about to argue the point when it hit him.

  He was going to be on event detail as if he were part of their staff.

  And that meant more time with Cammie.

  Smiling, he called a meeting with his own crew to go over their schedule through the weekend so he was clear to spend the bulk of his time helping out Dixie and her team.

  Including Cammie.

  When everyone had their assignments and went back to work, Cade leaned back in his desk chair and grinned. The weekend had been long and then Monday and Tuesday were business as usual around the resort. Now that he knew Cammie’s schedule–and now that he’d have a couple of days where he’d possibly be working closely with her–he’d have more of an opportunity to see if she’d like to go out with him after work one night. Or lunch. Hell, he’d settle for a mid-morning coffee with her if she were agreeable.

  Grabbing his phone and keys, Cade walked out of the office–locking the door behind him–and headed toward the lake. It wasn’t quite lunchtime yet–and there was a small smattering of guests wandering around. With his sunglasses on, he made his way along the path. The weather was cooler than usual today, but the sun was shining in a blue, cloudless sky.

  Perfect.

  When he approached the sand, he saw it looked as pristine as usual. And all the greenery had just been trimmed, but he supposed he could put down some fresh mulch to spruce things up. Turning, he looked around and…

  Click, click, click, click.

  He knew that sound.

  There she went, storming along the path in those heels again–today they were black and looked sexy as hell with the pencil skirt she was wearing and her sleeveless white blouse. Very prim, proper, and…damn. Cade watched her walking back toward the storage buildings and decided to follow.

  You have a problem, a little voice whispered in his head.

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah,” he murmured. “I know.”

  Although he had to admit, he was curious about what had her running on a Wednesday morning. It wasn’t possible the ex was here again, was it? It would be crazy. It would be a little weird. It would be…

  He saw her stop–freeze almost–right before she began to look around, somewhat panicked. Her ponytail swung from side to side, and without thinking, he picked up the pace. As soon as he was next to her, he pulled her behind a row of tall shrubs near a stone retaining wall and tugged her until she was almost kneeling in the grass.

  “Cade!” she whispered. “You scared me!”

  “I seem to do that a lot,” he said quietly. “What’s going on? I saw you doing your escape walk and then you looked like a deer in the headlights.”

  “My escape walk?”

  “You have a very distinct walk when you’re looking for a place to hide. It’s pretty fast, and your heels make a sound that’s like…” He stopped and realized what he was saying. “You just have a determined stride,” he corrected.

  “Oh,” she said, a blush coloring her cheeks. “So…yeah. It appears Preston and Whitney are staying here at the resort through Sunday.”

  “Ah…so you’ll pretty much be…”

  “Needing a cloak of invisibility if I could get one,” she said with a small laugh. Then she shook her head. “I told Dixie I’d be willing to step down. They need someone who can commit to the work that’s required of them. Although they’ve been patient with me and this ridiculous situation, it’s a distraction. It’s keeping me from doing my job.”

  “Cammie,” Cade began, surprised at how reasonable he sounded, considering she basically just dropped a bombshell on him. “That seems a little extreme, don’t you think? I mean, eventually this wedding will be over with.”

  “Not soon enough. And for some bizarre reason, they just keep showing up,” she argued quietly. “They live three hours from here. Preston works crazy hours–or at least he did while we were together.”

  Cade didn’t want to be the one to point out how good ol’ Preston probably wasn’t working nearly as much as he’d let Cammie believe, so he let her continue.

  “Middle-of-the-week getaways? Never. Extended time away from the office? Never.”

  Again, maybe he was the only one to see this, but Cade was beginning to feel like none of this was a coincidence. Then again, he wasn’t about to open his mouth and throw that out there.

  Cammie immediately stopped talking when they heard people approaching. They were both crouched down, and she was a little unsteady as she tried to balance in the grass in her heels, so Cade wrapped his arm around her and held her close. They were practically cheek to cheek, and she smelled of flowers and sunshine and it was all he could do not to inhale her all in.

  “This is the wrong way,” a woman’s voice snapped from the other side of the bushes. “This leads to who knows where. I think this is all maintenance stuff back here.”

  “I’m not the one who suggested we go this way,” a weary male voice replied. “I still don’t understand why you’re so obsessed with this place. We had a perfectly fine venue back in Chapel Hill. Traveling three hours to the mountains for our wedding is an inconvenience to our friends and family.”

  Cade couldn’t believe their rotten luck–the couple was almost directly in front of them. If either he or Cammie moved or even breathed too loud, they’d be found out. Still, he wasn’t regretting the opportunity to hold her for a bit longer. Glancing over, he saw how her skirt had ridden up and exposed tanned lean thighs, and his mouth went dry. He prayed the couple would move along because this was both pain and pleasure.

  “I told you this resort is up and coming. Everyone will be envious because it was just newly remodeled. And I don’t want to have our wedding at the same place you were going to marry Camilla.”

  Camilla?!

  “It’s Cammie,” the man said patiently
. “Never Camilla. Why do you always do that?”

  “Oh, so now you’re defending her?”

  Preston sighed. “I’m not defending her. I’m simply pointing out–again–how you keep calling her by the wrong name. Her given name is Cammie. Not Camilla. It’s not that difficult to remember.”

  “Fine,” she snapped, and Cade had a feeling she was grinding her teeth. “Then I don’t want to get married at the same place you and Cammie were going to get married. It’s tacky. And you used to say how much you liked Emerald Grove.”

  “I don’t believe I did,” he corrected. “I believe my exact words were ‘we had to spend time in Emerald Grove because it’s where Cammie’s family lived.’ Again, two very different things.”

  Whitney sighed loudly. “Why do you always do that?”

  “Do what?”

  “Correct me. Why are you always correcting me?” Now Whitney’s voice turned shrill, and both Cade and Cammie were fighting not to laugh.

  “Maybe if you weren’t always twisting things around or making them up, I wouldn’t have to,” Preston said with more than a little annoyance.

  “You can be such an ass!” Whitney snapped and stormed away. Cade could see a little through the shrubs that she was heading back toward the main building and how Preston was going after her.

  Slowly.

  Beside him, he felt Cammie trembling and thought maybe she was upset–crying. After all, that had to be awkward. He was prepared to turn and comfort her when all of a sudden, she lost her balance and started laughing. They tumbled together, and he quickly twisted so he was the one to land on the ground. Cammie landed on top of him with a soft thud–her hands on his chest, her legs tangled with his. There was amusement in her eyes, and she was smiling, and he couldn’t help but laugh with her.

  But only for a moment.

  Then his hand came up and rested on her waist right before traveling up her back and sinking into her hair–and yes, he pulled the clip free! Her name was a whispered plea right before he guided her lips to his.