Page 13 of Caught in the Middle

Cam had been there early this spring, he realized, but what were the chances?

“Not at the same time,” Emma replied for him. “I went afterward.”

Henry gave them a questioning look.

“I was checking the location tag online and saw a post he made when he went with his friends. I told Chloe, the girl I was going with, that it could be fun to see what recommendations others might have. It was only her second time there and we were going to have some down days after we were done backpacking.”

Emma slowly pulled her hand from Cam’s and grabbed her water for a quick drink before continuing. “That’s when I decided who better to reach out to than the handsome man who’d already been there.”

Cam knew she was playing a part, but damn if the compliment didn’t still hit and make a man want to sit up tall. He gave them a broad grin. “One of my buddies loves to hike, and he convinced several of us to get together for the trip. It was an amazing experience.” Emma noticed he left out who he went with, which was interesting considering one of them was a celebrity. She’d realized on her quick social media escapade that Cam was far more interesting than even she had thought, and not just because of his friends.

“I bet,” Lauren said. “But how were neither of you scared of camping among wild animals? I could handle a campground, but I don’t think I could backpack.”

Lulu laughed. “You wouldn’t last at a campground either. You hate bugs.”

Lauren smiled. “True.” Then shrugged it off, unfazed.

“I bet if you really wanted to, then you’d do it and love it,” Emma said.

“Well now I know who to call if I ever do decide to,” she beamed at them. “We could take a group trip.”

“We could,” Emma said, her smile less enthusiastic now. “Anyhow, Cam hit me back with recommendations and slowly it turned into texting until he asked if I’d be interested in meeting.” She wanted to finish off this lie so they could move on to other topics. “And here we are,” she supplied, giving him a smile that was partly real.

“That must be some connection if you’re willing to do long distance with him in Missouri and you in North Carolina,” Lulu interjected, her eyes twinkling mischievously.

Shit, that was right, Emma acknowledged. He mentioned going back to St. Louis after work.

Cam wrapped his arm around her shoulder and grinned. “Thankfully, life seems to be helping us out and pushing us together. It was a happy coincidence for us to both be needing to come to Dallas.” He still wasn’t sure how she was able to forge the story about them meeting, and he should probably be worried at the red flag it proposed, but then again, he was in this far so he might as well put both feet in the water.

Besides, if he was going to turn away at any signs of red flags, then he would’ve never knocked on her door last night.

Emma nodded, wondering why she’d been the one having to spin all the quick responses if he was so savvy on the spot. Then again, she did drag them into this, so maybe it was her responsibility.

Ready to take the spotlight off of them, she proposed her own question. “So what’s new with all of you? Enough about me. I want to hear everything.” And she did, especially if it meant getting through the rest of this dinner smoothly and then apologizing to Cam profusely before saying goodbye for good.

Lulu began to dive in with a story about a terrible date she’d had last weekend when the waitress came with their food. Their dinner rolled on with a lot more ease as Emma was able to relax and enjoy the company. She was surprised at how well Cam fit into the conversations and his easy nature of getting along with everyone. Even Asher, who wasn’t overly welcoming to anyone. It wasn’t anything personal, it was just his nature. Something she hated whenever they went out for plans or tried meeting new people.

All in all, the night looked like it was going to be okay. Cam leaned back in his chair after his plate was empty and casually laid an arm across the back of Emma’s chair. He could tell she’d loosened back up, her true confidence radiating from her again.

Whenever the waitress came with the bill, he beat Henry to it, insisting it was the least he could do for them after allowing him to intrude on their meal. Henry finally gave in and everyone offered their thanks.

Cam was ready to call it a night when that stern voice said, “It’s been a great dinner. I’m looking forward to vacation.”

The group nodded in agreement, Lulu piping in. “I’m ready to lay out with a drink in my hand, do some shopping, and explore the museums.”

“Here, here,” Emma joked.

“It’s too bad you aren’t joining us,” Lauren said from across the table, ever the caring and considerate one.

Up until this point, Cam had never thought that a good person could cause so much damage because as Emma patted his arm and offered, “It’s okay, he already knew I would be gone for vacation. We’ll make plans to get together when I get back.” Henry then said, “Nonsense. Cam, how about you join us this week. St. Croix is going to be wonderful, and there’s no sense in you two taking off time apart when you could have a vacation together.” It wasn’t posed as a question.

Emma’s hand paused from its patting on his arm, his heart freezing in his chest. There was no way his ears heard what he thought they did.

“But work,” Emma said, trying to function around the shock.

Henry just waved a hand. “Taken care of. What’s the point in having my position if I can’t do a thing or two for my employees? I’ll square it all away for you.”

Think, think, think. But Cam couldn’t think of anything. “Sir,” he started. “I don’t want to intrude any further or take advantage–”

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