Page 12 of Just Like This
Palmer pickedme up from the airport the next day and informed me that it was “beach bonfire” night.
“Relax,” he said, holding his hand out. “It’s just Jackson and Nikki and Cami.”
NikkiandCami? That was trouble waiting to happen. “So what’s the deal between you and Cami?” I was clearly fishing for more information because, even though I’d heard Cami turn him down, I wanted him to tell me that there was nothing going on.
“We’ve been best friends since we were little. Our dads own a company together, so we were always around each other.”
“Did you ever date?”
“No. I tried, though. Lord, did I try …” he trailed off as we neared Tacoma.
“So, what? You’re just giving up?”
“How many times can a man hear the word ‘no’ from a woman before he moves on? It’s time to cut my losses with her.”
I shrugged but didn’t add anything because I didn’t want to make him suspicious.Ask for forgiveness later, I told myself.
We arrived at his house after making a few stops along the way. The sun was just beginning to set, and there was a slight chill in the air. It was the perfect night for a beachside bonfire.
“Cami is coming over to help cook,” Palmer told me as we unloaded the bags from the car.
“Oh,” I managed to reply. With that knowledge, I couldn’t stop myself from looking at the clock or at my phone, checking the time every few minutes. Any noise I heard, I looked to see if it was Cami’s car in the driveway or if she was opening the front door. I was acting like a teenager.
After what seemed like hours of pacing the floors of Palmer’s house, the door opened. I rushed to the foyer to greet Cami. Her arms were full of bags, and I hurried forward to take them from her. “Let me get those,” I said, sliding the bags down her arms.
“Oh!” She was surprised by my ambush, and her cheeks turned a gorgeous pink. Our eyes met, and we both froze. Everything around us just stopped. “I wasn’t expecting you.”
“But I was expecting you,” I told her with a quirk of my lips. I resisted the urge to lean in and kiss her because we weren’t that familiar yet.
Cami followed me into the kitchen, and I helped her unpack everything she’d brought.
“Did you leave any food at the grocery store?” I joked.
She laughed, and her entire face lit up. “Of course! But I know Palmer, and when he’s home, he likes to eat and eat and eat. So I’m going to feed him. And you.” She stopped for a moment and seemed to realize the weight of her words before she added, “And Jackson.”
“What about me?” As if on cue, Jackson burst into the kitchen. He immediately started picking through the groceries that had not been put away. Cami swatted his hand away.
“I’m going to cook for you tonight,” Cami said proudly.
Jackson eyed the packages of steak with a hungry look and grinned. “Can’t wait. You know, Garrett is really good at grilling.”
Cami turned and clapped her hands together excitedly. “You are? Then you’re in charge of the steak.” Before she could delegate a task to Jackson, he disappeared from the kitchen.
A heaviness settled in the kitchen as I unwrapped the steaks and prepared them for the grill. I caught Cami watching me with curious eyes once or twice only to have her shy away. Finally, I cleared my throat and said, “I didn’t mean to eavesdrop on your conversation with Palmer.”
“That’s okay. He’s only hurting himself,” she said softly. “I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve told him no. Maybe that will be the last time.”
“Why do you turn him down? He’s a great guy.”
She sighed and stopped the task she had been so focused on completing. She closed her eyes and sighed heavily as if some giant weight was finally lifted from her shoulders. “Palmer is like Gig Harbor, comfortable and safe. I’ve known him my entire life, and it would be so easy to take our friendship to the next level. But I feel absolutely nothing for him beyond what we already have. He can’t give me what I want,” she confessed, her voice growing more confident the longer she spoke.
“What do you want?”
We both looked at each other at the same time, and I understood exactly what she didn’t say.You. She wanted and desired me; it was right there in the depths of her hungry blue eyes. But like me, she didn’t know how to get there. Palmer was an obstacle we’d have to overcome.
