Page 29 of When You Are Mine

“No, it’s my domestic doppelgänger.” Kerris tacked a smile onto the quip. “Hi, Sofie. How are you?”

“Doing well.” Sofie fiddled with the belt of her designer dress and looked like she was afraid menial labor was contagious.

“Did you find it?” a pretty brunette, just as well dressed as Sofie, asked from the doorway. “Oh, hi.¿Hablas inglés?”

Kerris gritted her teeth. She should be used to it by now. All her life she’d had people walk up to her speaking Spanish, French, whatever—assuming she was one of them. She wished it were that simple. She was a mutt, that was for sure. And right now both ladies looked at her like she’d just peed on the rug.

“I speak English.” Kerris rose to her feet and gave both ladies a pseudo-sparkly smile.

“Ardis, this is Kerris.” Sofie recovered her manners. “She’s Cam’s girlfriend.”

Ardis looked at Sofie blankly, mouthing “who”? Did she think she was invisible?I can see you, Kerris wanted to yell. Wealth doesn’t give you superpowers.

“Cam.” Sofie raised her “you know” brows. “Walsh’s best friend.”

“He’s adorable.” Ardis looked at Kerris with new eyes. Probably wondering what he saw in a cleaning urchin.

“Yes, I hear he’s pretty serious,” Sofie said in a singsongy voice to Kerris. “Heard he’s popped the question.”

“Where’d you hear that?” Kerris asked, raising her brows into the bandanna covering half her forehead.

And what business is it of yours?

“Jo told me. They’re thrilled that Cam has found someone so…compatible. I think your similar backgrounds make you a perfect match.”

Kerris squeezed a dry sponge with unnecessary force, not bothering to respond.

“I just want you to know how much I admire you,” Sofie continued.

Kerris gathered her bucket of cleaning supplies, careful not to brush against either woman’s finery on her way into the hallway.

“I mean, you’ve worked so hard to pull yourself out of miserable circumstances.” Sofie’s private-school-educated voice followed Kerris onto the landing of the stairs. “And now I hear you’re opening your own business. It’ll be a real rags-to-riches story one day. Don’t be discouraged that right now it’s just, well, rags.”

Kerris’s anger throbbed in her temples. Her teeth gated the spiteful responses she wanted to hurl at Sofie. Her jaw ached with the restraint. Obviously Sofie wanted to put her firmly in her place.

“I’m gonna do one more walk through to make sure we didn’t overlook anything,” Kerris finally said. “It was nice meeting you, Ardis. Nice seeing you again, Sofie.”

Chapter Twelve

Kerris leaned back in the small boat Cam had rowed out to the middle of the river¸ closing her eyes against the brightness of the August sun. After cleaning the mayor’s house all morning and breathing those fumes, Kerris appreciated the clean summer air. She slitted her eyes open, realizing Cam had stopped rowing.

“You okay?” She sat up, searched the somber lines of his face. “You look so serious.”

“For once, I am serious.”

“What’s up?” She trailed her fingers through the cold water.

“Remember what you said on the Fourth of July? That the woman I want to marry should know everything?”

Kerris’s fingers went limp in the water. For the first time in the August heat, she felt sweat break out under her arms and between her breasts. She wasn’t ready for another proposal. There were too many unresolved issues, too many questions she didn’t have the right answers for yet. She was still sorting through what had happened with Walsh. Could she actually marry Cam, knowing she didn’t feel as deeply for him as he felt for her? He said he’d take whatever she had to offer, but what if some day down the road, it wasn’t enough?

“Do you remember that?” Cam’s frown pressed her when she looked at him without responding.

“I remember.”

“I want you to know everything.” He swallowed loud enough for her to hear. A gulp telling the story of his anxiety. “I’ve never shared this shit with anybody except Walsh, but I want you to know.”

“Okay.” She watched her reflection in the water, giving him space to tell her in his own way.

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