Page 9 of See You Again

Cami let out a tiny sigh of relief when Kip beamed. Kevin took the woman’s phone as Kip positioned himself between them, one arm draped over each. He flashed a peace sign as Kevin took several pictures.

Shannon glanced at James and Cami, her smile brightening. “James Bloom, right?”

“Yes.” His voice didn’t offer any encouragement.

“Told you!” Alanna poked her friend in the ribs, and then turned an apologetic look on James. “I’m sorry. We’re on the Ladies who Lead benefit committee…” Her tone implied he should know who she was.

“That’s nice.” James’s face took on a wary expression.

“We do the bachelor auction? At the Children’s Hospital Gala?” Alanna let out a nervous titter at his continued silence. “You’re in our auction in a couple of weeks.”

Kip let out a bark of laughter.

“I think you’ve gotten me confused with my twin, Luke. I’m not participating in any bachelor auction.”

Shannon exchanged a look with her friend. “Luke can’t be in it this year. Unless he and Lia Everton have broken up.” Her eyes lit up with the chance of potential celebrity gossip. “Did they break up?”

“No,” James snapped.

“Oh,” Alanna looked confused. “I don’t understand.” She looked to her friend for help.

“It’s not complicated.” James sounded bored. “I’m not participating in a bachelor auction. The concept is ludicrous.”

Shannon blinked at him several times. “But you have to. Atlanta Insider’s last issue named you number one on their Atlanta’s Top Bachelors list. The top ten always take part. It’s for charity.” She said the last bit slowly, as if James didn’t grasp the magnitude of what he was saying.

“I’ll write a check.”

“Well, of course… but…” Alanna shook her head, clearly baffled by James’s attitude.

“He can’t be in it anymore.” Kip’s eyes slid slyly to Cami. “He’s not a bachelor anymore. Right?”

Oh no!

With a mischievous light in his eyes, Kip continued. “Didn’t you say you guys were getting serious, Cami?”

Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit!

“Um, I didn’t say that… I… um…” Her stomach swirled. The two women’s gazes bounced between her and James, disbelief clear on their faces.

“Really? Last month, Atlanta Insider said you were single.” Shannon put her hand on her hip her eyes narrowed.

Say something, Cami. Think!

There had to be a way to politely extricate her and James without completely humiliating herself—because if these two women caught her in the lie and figured out who she was, it would be all over social media… Not to mention Kip and Kevin’s reaction.

“I… uh… I mean…”

James’s hand slid from her side to her stomach and pressed, the heat searing her through the material of her dress. Her mouth snapped shut as electric sparks surged through her.

I’m about to be outed as a giant liar, and instead of thinking about a way out of this, I’m turning into a puddle. What is wrong with me?

“We don’t like labels, but yes, we are together.” James sounded bored.

Cami twisted in his embrace and angled her head to stare up at him, but James wasn’t looking at her. He raised an eyebrow at the two women. “I never asked to be featured in a magazine or to be put on some asinine list. But, as he said,” James continued, inclining his head towards Kip, not bothering to name him, “I can’t possibly participate because I’m not a bachelor.”

She was close enough that she could see the hard lines at the corners of his mouth twitch. She had the sudden overwhelming and completely inappropriate urge to press her lips to those lines to see if they’d soften.

“It’s an honor to be featured.” Alanna gasped.

---