In a careful voice, I replied, "It depends."
"On what?"
I gave her a hard look. "Who the guest is." As I said it, I envisioned Cami in her bedroom, looking like she looked now, all tousled and sexy –andwith a guy who wasn't me.
I didn't like it.
Before she could get any ideas, I added, "But if you're looking to have a sleepover, forget it."
She frowned. "A sleepover? You mean like in high school, or…" Her words trailed off, and a slow blush crept up her cheeks. "Wait, you think I was asking to bring adatehome? Like overnight?"
Home.
Fromher, the word sounded nice. But her expression wasn't as she continued, "Just what do you think I'm asking, anyway?"
"You tell me."
Her eyes narrowed. "I wasaskingif I could invite Arden over for coffee."
Something in my shoulders eased, and that, too, pissed me off. "She's a relative," I said. "You don't need to ask."
Cami's chin lifted. "But a few weeks ago, you reminded me that she wasn't a relative yet, somaybeI wanted to make sure."
"And you did. Anything else?"
She was glaring now. "No."
"Good," I said. "Because I leave tomorrow for Columbus. And when I'm gone, remember, no overnight guests."
She made a sound of annoyance. "Just what do you think I'm gonna do, anyway?"
"Don't know, don't care." I gave her a final hard look. "So long as you do it somewhere else."
Chapter 16
Cami
I gave Arden an exasperated look. "I think he hates me."
Arden was petite with long, dark hair and eyes that hid nothing. Those eyes filled with sympathy as she said, "Don't worry. He hates everyone."
I saw what she meant. Still, I had to say, "Notabsolutelyeveryone."
"Okay, he hates everyone but his siblings."
Now this, I believed.
After he'd given me that unexpected warning about having overnight guests, he'd turned and left the kitchen without so much as a goodnight. And now, he was out of state on business – something to do with their newest factory in Ohio.
I hadn't seen him since that unsettling encounter, which was probably a good thing, considering how distracted he made me feel, even now while I was having coffee with my best friend.
We were sitting at the small table in Mason's breakfast nook, and I'd just poured each of us another cup of coffee. With a sigh, I said, "And sometimes, I swear, I hate him right back."
It was just past noon, and I still had nearly three hours until I needed to pick up Willow from school. Until then, I had the whole house to myself.
During the past month, Arden and I had been meeting for coffee at least a couple of times a week whenever she wasn't traveling, but this was the first time I'd actually invited her over to Mason's place.
From the other side of the table, she gave me a long, penetrating look. "Are you sure?"