He whirls around as if shielding me from some kind of harm that might be on the other side.
Stepping to the side, because I don’t need his protection, I look up to see Cam standing there in Makayla’s way-too-small yellow raincoat with a flashlight in his hand.
Keen’s eyes flash in amusement. “What the fuck are you wearing?”
I laugh too, but keep it to myself, knowing Makayla must have forced him to wear it to keep him protected from the rain.
Cam steps inside. “A raincoat, fucker, what does it look like?”
Keen scratches his head. “I think you left your rubber ducky at home.”
Cam’s eyes take Keen in. “Excuse me, Mr. GQ, but I think you left your sense of style in New York.”
“Yeah, well at least I have one.”
“Had. I think you frigging lost it along with your mind.” Cam’s eyes flick between Keen and me.
Along with his mind?
What does that mean?
No, I will not get drawn in.
He hurt me.
I have to remember that.
The flurry of guffaws and trading of insults volleys back and forth a few more times, and I use this time to slip out of the kitchen to grab some towels. I return just in time to see Cam flipping Keen a triumphant bird.
“Here,” I say to Keen, handing him a towel without looking at him, and then I tie a towel around myself.
Cam sets the flashlight on the counter. “I see you both got caught in the storm.”
“Yes, I wasn’t expecting it and had to move all the furniture,” I tell him.
“You should have called me. I would have helped this guy over here with my brute strength,” Cam says, lifting his arms to flex his muscles and ripping open the seams of the raincoat at the same time.
Keen rolls his eyes.
“Fuck, Makayla is going to be pissed,” Cam says, slipping it off.
Keen starts laughing again and Cam shrugs fully out of the coat, handing it to me. “Maggie, you should probably cover up a little bit more anyway before you catch cold.”
Smooth.
Real smooth, Cam.
Even Keen snickers under his breath. Or was that a snort?
Asshole.
I narrow my eyes at Cam and set it down, hiking my towel up just to make sure nothing is showing.
He shrugs. “And I guess you don’t need this, either,” he says, pointing to the flashlight.
I continue to glare at him.
“Makayla was worried you didn’t have one, but the power seems to have come back on.”
“Yes, we’re all good,” I say, and start to turn to walk away just as Cam claps his hands together.
“Well, good!” he says. “I’m glad you’re both here.”
Good?
Why good?
Looking at him, at his grin, I see that he is completely oblivious to the tension rippling in waves between Keen and me.
“Let’s sit down,” he says.
I smile at him and try not to grab a knife and cut his balls off. “How about I make coffee?” I ask instead.
“That sounds great.”
Keen is just finishing tucking the end of his towel at his waist, when he looks up at Cam. “Let’s talk later, okay? I’m just headed back to bed.”
Cam clamps his hand on Keen’s shoulder before he can step away. “Oh, no, no, no. We have a lot to do today, bro, and since you’re already up, we’re going to get started early.”
Curiosity tickles my lips, but I remain silent as I scoop coffee into the filter.
Keen and Cam start to argue again in their trading-insults fashion and I tune them out, taking the moment to calm my racing pulse. But then just as I pour the water in the pot, Cam starts yacking about showering, breakfast, getting a new phone, rock climbing, shopping, and work.
Wait! What?
Work?
Why work?
“Maggie, what do you think?” Cam asks.
Switching the coffeemaker on, I turn around. “About what exactly?”
“Showing Keen around.”
Bracing the counter with a towel wrapped around my body, I look into Cam’s gray eyes, hoping beyond hope that this has nothing to do with my job. My fairly new job that I happen to love, by the way. “Don’t you think he’d have more fun if you did that?”
Cam turns his head to the side as if trying to figure me out. “Honestly, no. I think you can do a better job than I can. You know the products better than me. Besides, I’ll be in Chicago for the next two weeks trying to close the deal to purchase Austin Mars.”
I nod, just because I know I should.
The products. Okay, so this is work related. But in what way?
What am I missing?
The wheels in my mind are spinning, and I’m trying to connect the dots. From what I know, Cam is in the process of adding about five smaller retail operations to his corporate portfolio. Once he finishes evaluating them all, he plans to roll the appropriate pieces into Simon Warren operations and sell the rest off. I also know that he wants to move retail headquarters to Irvine. I get that. It is a much shorter distance from Laguna. I’m all for it, but what does any of this have to do with Keen?