Page 16 of Enthrall
I looked up at him.
“Richard told me.” Cameron neared the back of my Mini to examine the damage. “You’ll need a new bumper.” He peered around toward the front. “Is your oil leaking?”
Unable to wipe the tears away fast enough, I started to shake.
“You can’t be in shock,” he said. “It’s a bump. The body shop will knock that out in less than an hour.”
“I could have killed you.”
“I’m sure your insurance would have covered that too.”
That was bad enough, but my mind spiraled and I wailed with the thought it could have been a woman with children.
“Where do you live?” he said.
“Studio City.”
“You can’t drive in this state. Let me take you home.”
“No.” I shot my hand up.
“Well at least let me buy you some tea to calm your nerves.” He pointed to the Coffee Bean across the street.
He hopped inside his Porsche and parked it beside mine. My Mini looked tiny next to his car. Although I insisted this wasn’t necessary, secretly needing to get home and cry in private, Cameron wouldn’t take no for an answer. Within minutes he’d led me across the sidewalk and opened the door to the cafe for me. He ordered two Earl Greys and found us a table by the window.
Mistress Scarlet warned me to stay out of Cameron’s way, or as she’d put it, off his radar, and yet here he was being nice. I wondered why she’d given the warning. I braced myself for when he’d realize what I’d done to his car. Maybe he was in shock too. More than likely a chastisement was brewing as well as the tea. There was no question I deserved it.
“Better?” said Cameron, his face full of concern.
I bit my lip; my way of bringing this punishment on quicker. I hated the tension of waiting for it.
“Please don’t bite your lip.” He let out a long sigh. “It’s distracting.”
Caressing the ache out of my lip with a fingertip, I wondered what he meant. Cameron broke my gaze and shook his head, amused by something.
It was hard to pull my stare away from him. His features were striking, and from the looks the other customers gave us they thought so too. Cameron gave a kind smile as though aware of all this attention and not in the least bit thrown.
The taste and aroma of the Early Grey soothed. I wondered why I’d never tried it before.
“I’m so sorry,” I said.
“You’re very hirable.” He dipped his teabag a final time before resting it on his upturned lid.
“I meant about your car.”
“It’s only a car. What happened with Richard?”
“I spell checked that letter twice,” I said. “I really did.”
“Did Richard fire you over a misspelling?”
“Yes. The letter was for a senior client. Apparently they’re particular about that.” I gave a shrug. “Who knew the British spell differently.”
“Richard made you type a letter to an English client using English spelling?”
“Yes. But he’s British, not English.”
Cameron narrowed his stare. “Same thing, Mia.”
