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“Ah. Giving myself away by enjoying things too much again.”
“I don’t think it’s a bad thing.”
She smiled wider. “Well, if you like it, then I’m happy.”
I got a flutter in my stomach, and I pushed it down. “You didn’t used to? Before you moved to your apartment?”
It was too loaded, too personal, but the apprehension that flared over her eyes faded into a distant smile, turning to the window as she bit into her sandwich. Once she’d chewed slowly and wiped away a bit of mustard from her lip, she said, “I’ve been enjoying this past year.”
I studied her for a while, wondering how far I dared step. I knew where the line was—a client’s personal life and their life as a client were inextricably entangled, but I always knew where the line was. It was all in the job. It was one thing to know that she wanted a luxurious space all to herself after everything with her husband. Caring beyond that? That was over the line.
But… she drew me in. Maybe it was because I’d met her as Amelie first. And this was where I really could not afford to step over the line—all of Queen Pearl and my future on the line—but I couldn’t escape her magnetism.
And I asked the question that had been haunting me ever since LIV, even though I knew I shouldn’t have. “Why was he calling you?”
She sighed, setting her sandwich back down. “You.”
My heart jolted. “Me? I’m not that important.”
“Please.” She gave me a dry smile, wiping her fingers on her napkin before sipping her coffee. “Let’s not talk about it here. A little too… open.”
Cameron going upstairs with me not just for the tour of the space for sale, but to have a conversation this private, this loaded—at LIV, it had been a rush to let go of the reins, to let her lead me. Outside of it? Half of me felt the same way, and half rebelled at the danger of letting someone else decide how I felt.
Curiosity killed the cat. “I’ll ask again once we’re upstairs. If you decide not to, then… well, we never had this conversation, and then I’ll look silly for asking about it, won’t I?”
She smiled lightly. “Are you this considerate with all your clients?”
I took my time eating a tostone—they knew what they were doing at this café—before I caught her eye and smiled, provocative, almost flirtatious. “I thought I was the one who asked for affirmation that way.”
She laughed, eyes sparkling, the shadow from earlier gone. “Expertly played. I walked right into it. Now, are you going to answer the question? Because maybe I am needy about affirmation.”
“Of course, I’m considerate with all my clients,” I said, taking just the second necessary for the disappointment to set in her expression before I finished. “So it’s quite special that I give extra consideration to you. Who knows. I guess it’s that preternatural charm of yours.”
She licked her lips. So much for having control of the conversation. I turned into putty just seeing it. “Really,” she said lightly, stopping to polish off the last of her sandwich. “We’re not even started on our second tour, and you’ve already got me wrapped around your finger.”
She would say that if she was leading me on. Of course—she’d also say that if this spark, this chemistry that had been explosive between us since we met at LIV was real, and she felt the same heart-pounding attraction that I did.
Who could say? Maybe she had me wrapped around her finger too.
We finished our meal and took our coffee upstairs, getting into the elevator and riding up to the top floor. Once again delighted by the penthouse elevator, Cameron was back to that starry-eyed look like a kid at a candy store, and when we came out to the dazzling space of the living room with floor-to-ceiling wraparound windows, she just about danced into the center of the room, turning slowly, taking it all in, laughing, eyes sparkling. I’d come prepared this time—I pulled the remote from my pocket and started up the sound system, a dreamy EDM number kicking in over the speakers, and Cameron gave me a wild-eyed smile.
“London,” she said, her voice a playful you-shouldn’t-have. “You can’t make me fall in love this quickly. This is supposed to take longer. Hurry up and tell me the drawbacks.”
I couldn’t help myself. I put the remote back in my pocket and gave her a sidelong smile. “Well, let’s see. I’m not a very good cook—spend a little too much money eating out—and I come as a set with my cat, who’s convinced he rules the world.”
She laughed, the sound bright and clear—just like at the other property, when she was like this, the veil lifted, and it wasn’t Cameron playing her cards close to her chest anymore, just… radiantly and honestly her. It made my heart beat faster. It was getting harder and harder to dismiss my attraction as just physical. “You’re adorable, London,” she said, turning back to the room. “What’s your cat’s name?”
“Earl of Westlake. Earl for short.”
“I think maybe his perception that he’s ruling-class might originate from somewhere…”
“I plead not guilty.”
She walked on ahead, along the length of windows, looking out over Miami Beach and the ocean spilling out below. “Tell me what we’re looking at here.”
“This one is just a bit under your budget at fifty-six. Another new development, it’s a bit smaller than the first property, and isn’t suited to hiring staff in the same way, but… well. If you like a rooftop party, this is the one.”
She glanced back at me, a smile playing on her lips. “Do we get to start at the rooftop space this time?”
