“I still think it’s overkill, but I’m not arguing about it.”
She’d quickly learned that there were “hills she was willing to die on” in their partnership, while there were others that it helped if she gave in. They put their foot down on any question concerning her safety. If the issue was a matter of preference in making decisions about how the club was run, they usually left the choices to her after giving their input. In short, they “walked” what they “talked.”
When they were about done, Ethan said, “I had a bit of bad news today. Tom Barton passed away last night.”
Camilla gasped. “What?” Tom was one of her favorite regulars. All he had to do was walk in The Pony and hold up two fingers, his signal for a double bourbon, neat. She’d never be able to chat with him again. She recalled proudly sharing her successes, based on his investment advice, with him the last time they’d talked, just the week before. He’d told her he was very proud of her, and it had meant almost as much as if a father figure had said that to her. “I’ll miss him so much. Was he sick?”
Ethan replied, “Bill Duggan told me that at a regular checkup, his MD became suspicious of some symptoms. He got checked out and they discovered an aortic aneurysm. Bill may have been the only one he talked to about it. I had no idea.”
Camilla frowned in confusion. “But that can be treated if found in time.”
“He refused surgery.”
“Why?”
Ben shrugged and squeezed her shoulder comfortingly. “I’m sure he had his reasons, sugar.”
She might never know.
Ben looked sad as he said, “He was a good man.” He and Ethan shared a long look, and Ethan nodded in agreement.
Quinten asked, “Have they made funeral arrangements yet?”
Ethan shook his head. “Not yet. With the holiday, I imagine it’ll be sometime early next week. I’ll let you know.”
Camilla made a mental note to check the local paper so she could arrange to be there. She’d never met any of his family members, but she could go and pay her respects. She hadn’t really given it much thought until right then, but Tom had been one of the few men whom she’d trusted who had never let her down. His role in her life hadn’t been a huge one, but she’d thought of him as a sort of father figure partly due to his age and also because of the wise advice he’d given her in the last couple of years.
Someone said a holiday. What holiday?
As they prepared to leave, Grace turned to Camilla and said, “I know you and the guys are really busy with preparations for the club. Have you made any plans for this Thursday?”
Thanksgiving! “Oh. Um…” Camilla looked to her men. “I forgot. Shoot.”
Ben smiled and shrugged. “We can do whatever you want, sugar. I don’t have any obligations.”
“What about you, Quinten?”
“Mom and Dad called today and said they’ll be in Colorado at my sister’s house over Thanksgiving and they want to spend the first weekend in December with us, if that’s okay with you.”
That gave her a little over a week to prepare. She’d never met his parents before. She nodded affirmatively at him and then smiled at Grace. “Nope. No plans.”
“Good. Then you’re invited to our house for Thanksgiving.” She accepted the invitation, and they discussed what Camilla could bring to the gathering. Gesturing at the large expanse of dance floor as they walked back through to the main room of the club, Grace said, “And now I really hope you’ll consider offering striptease lessons on that huge floor. Did you ever hear from the belly dancer?”
Camilla regretfully shook her head. “Not a word. I’m disappointed, too.”
With Rose Marie tucked to his side, Ethan and Grace bid them good-bye and went on their way home.
She turned to Ben and Quinten once they were back in her office. She looked around its interior, recalling their earlier tryst, and thought how precious what the three of them had was to her. You never know how much time you have. Grace is right. Seize the day, baby. She licked her lips like a cat that had gotten into the cream as she looked from one wonderful man to the other.
Quinten eyed her hungrily, his inner horndog never far from the surface. “What, baby?”
“Well…I may have adjusted my opinions slightly about having you both underfoot.” Both men groaned at her obvious reference to the earlier events in the office.
Yeah, I could definitely get used to them being underfoot, on top, on the bottom. Just so long as I’m in between.
* * * *
Thanksgiving…
Camilla felt full to bursting as she followed Grace into the living room with Rose Marie in her arms, jabbering a mile a minute. They joined all their men, who were sitting on the couches around the crackling fireplace. A chill had been in the air all day, and Grace had decided a fire was just what they needed now that they were stuffed with turkey, dressing, sweet potatoes, cranberries, and pumpkin pie.