“Really?” I bat my eyelashes before pulling my hand away. “Then let me ask again. Do you come here often?”
He snorts before leaning back and crossing his arms. “Yes, whenever I’m in town.”
I raise my brows. “I wouldn’t have pegged this as your type of place.”
He cocks his head. “Why’s that?”
I shrug. “Seems a little too rustic. I’m surprised you’re not worried about getting dirt on your clothes.” I glance meaningfully at his pristine polo shirt.
Some of his unaffected veneer slips as he shakes his head. “You always paint me as a snob, but I’m really not.”
I snort. “Seriously? You’re the biggest snob I know.”
He furrows his brow. “I find that hard to believe. Yes, I have money, but I don’t let that affect the way I see things. Or people.”
“Are you kidding?” My eyes go wide in disbelief. “Of course your wealth affects the way you see things. You don’t know what it’s like to struggle, so you don’t even see it. You don’t understand it. And then you judge others when they’re only doing the best that they can.”
“You’re making a lot of assumptions.” Cameron’s nostrils flare as he shakes his head. “How do I judge other people?”
I lean forward. “For a start, you judge them by how they look, by what they wear. How many times have you made fun of me for my clothes? You bought me a whole new wardrobe just for this weekend so I wouldn’t embarrass you.” I lean back, point made.
“Are you kidding?” He leans forward. “I don’t care what you wear, Monica. I never have. You don’t embarrass me. I bought the clothes to protect you.”
“Protect me?” My brows wing up.
“Yes. Believe it or not, I do realize my parents are snobs.”
I huff out a breath. “Please, it’s not just your parents. Just this morning, your sister all but accused me of mooching off you and being a gold-digger. And why? Because I’m not the same social class as you.”
“Wait. What? What did my sister say?”
I shake my head. “It doesn’t matter. It’s not the point.”
He puts his hands on the table and leans forward. “It is the point.”
“No, it’s not. She said nothing I didn’t expect. And it’s not like you haven’t said essentially the same thing.”
He rears back. “What are you talking about?”
“About me and Hayley?”
“What?”
“Do you remember when we first met?”
He furrows his brow. “Yeah. At Blue Iris to celebrate Hayley getting the job working for Thomas.”
“Right. And at first, I thought you were cool. Hard to believe now, but I remember enjoying talking to you.”
“I enjoyed talking to you too.”
I frown. “But it was all bullshit, right? It was a front.”
He shakes his head. “No, it wasn’t. Why do you say that?”
“Because when Hayley moved into my apartment only a few weeks later, you made the same assumption your sister did. You thought I was taking advantage of her. You thought I was mooching off her.”
“How did you come up with that?”