A lot had changed since then – some for the better, and some for the worse.
I held out my hand to Cami. "Now come on."
She studied the hand for a long moment before giving her friend an apologetic smile. "I'll be back in a few minutes, okay?" And with that, Cami placed her hand in mine and let me lead her out onto the packed dance floor.
As we moved toward its center, the crowd parted, and people turned to stare. By now, I was used to it, but that didn't mean I enjoyed it.
I didn't like the spotlight. But I liked poverty even less, so the way I saw it, the extra attention wasn't worth complaining about, especially now, when there was work to be done.
When we reached the middle of the dance floor, I stopped and took Cami in my arms, holding her like a brother, not a lover. Still, when her eyes softened and her warm fingers grazed the back of my neck, something inside me stirred.
Whatever it was, it wasn't brotherly at all.
Shit.I'd had this reaction thefirsttime I'd met her, too. We'd been standing outside on a sidewalk, and I'd been giving Arden – Cami's best friend and my future sister-in-law – a bit of a hard time.
Okay, more than a bit.
At the time, I'd been royally pissed off – and with good reason, too.
Or so I'd thought.
Now, I gave her a look that was all business. "Listen, I'm leaving for California on Tuesday. If you start tomorrow, I'll throw in a signing bonus."
Her eyebrows furrowed. "But I haven't said yes."
With a knowing smile, I replied, "Yeah, but you will."
She didn't smile back. "Well someone's awful sure of himself."
Yeah. I was.Because I knew one thing for damn sure. I wasn't leaving without her. And Iknewshe needed the money.
Before I'd made the initial offer, I'd checked her credit, along with a few other things. She had a flawless history of paying her bills, but she was drowning in student debt. She had a degree in primary education, but had no full-time job. She'd spent the summer tutoring at a local learning center, where she'd earned barely minimum wage, along with rave reviews from her students and their parents.
And speaking of parents, she'd been living with her own parents since May, when she'd graduated with honors from Michigan State.
Was she living in her parent's basement?
Hell ifIknew. But hey, if I wanted to find out, it would be easy enough.
And I wouldn’t hesitate.
When it came to my family, I wasn't above anything, which was why I knew for damned sure that Cami would be taking the job.One way or another, I'd make it happen.
First, I'd try the carrot. And if that didn't work, I wasn't above using a stick – speaking metaphorically, that is. During my thirty years on this Earth, I'd never hit a female, and didn't plan to either.
But Iwouldbe getting what I wanted.
First, the carrot.I looked to Cami and said, "You're taking some classes for your master's degree, right?"
She frowned. "Yeah, how'd you know?"
"Someone in Bayside mentioned it."
Her face relaxed. "Oh, you mean Arden?"
We were still moving in time with the music. The song was slow and sultry, and the local singer was doing a decent job of it. The band wasn't half-bad either.
And then, there was my partner, Camille Josephine O'Neal, soon to be Cami the Nanny, whether she realized it or not.
