Page 26 of Cameron

The older woman pulled them into the house. “Emily,” she called.

The young woman came to the door. “Thank goodness you found them.”

“Can you fix them something special for breakfast? I know they must be starving.”

“Right on it,” the woman said and hurried back to the kitchen.

Right now, Cameron wanted to escape, take a shower, and speak to his cousin. But that would have to wait.

“Sit down,” the woman commanded. “Tell me what happened.”

For the next five minutes, Sam gave her mother a rundown on how they ended up at the line shack. Cameron didn’t say a word for fear that somehow she’d figure out what really happened between the two of them.

When glancing at Sam, he felt like he was gazing at her with his feelings in his eyes. One look and he feared her mother would realize that he cared for this woman deeply. And even that surprised him.

Now was not the time, and she was going to hate him before this was all over.

“Cameron, tell me about your ranch and your family,” her mother said just as Emily placed in front of them eggs Benedict.

His favorite.

For the next ten minutes, he told her mother all about the Burnett Dude Ranch, leaving out the part about how his share of the ranch had made him a billionaire and how he’d started his own business. And his matchmaking great-great-great-great-grandmother ghost.

Could Samantha be the woman she was referring to at Justin’s wedding?

That was mind-boggling at the least.

Finally, the woman seemed to relax and even gazed at him with approval in her eyes. If only she knew the truth, she would hate him as well.

And right now, he was beginning to hate Edward for putting him in this awkward situation.

Finally, after he’d eaten every crumb on his plate and drank all his coffee, he gazed at the two women.

“I’m sorry, ladies, but I think I’m going to go to my room, take a shower, and make some phone calls.”

He needed to get everything he could ready so he could decide if he wanted to make Edward an offer or just escape. Then he wanted to pack his bags and be ready for the Burnett plane to take him back to Texas.

The idea of never seeing Samantha again left him feeling sad, but she was going to hate him when she learned the truth.

“Of course,” Sam said. “In fact, that sounds like a lovely idea.”

Just then he heard screaming and knew immediately that once again Bridezilla was on the warpath and she was yelling Samantha’s name at the top of her lungs.

“Samantha, where are you? This has got to be changed,” she said, barging into the dining room.

He watched as Samantha tensed and then she smiled. “Francesca, how can I help you?”

He had to get out of here now or he would lose his temper if the woman mistreated Sam. Just seeing the stress reappear on her face had him tensing.

“Sam, I’ll see you later,” he said and she nodded. It was then that he caught her mother gazing at him, and she smiled a knowing grin.

The older woman was a smart cookie.

“Cameron, come dine with us tonight. I’d like to get to know you better.”

“Mama, we have the rehearsal dinner tonight. We’re going to be busy,” she said.

Oh no. He didn’t know if he could do that and yet, how could he refuse her mother?

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