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‘I thought you didn’t want to see anyone from Cable tonight?’ Jules asks as they continue toward one of the few empty booths.
‘Matteo’s the exception. We used to be close before I left for Canberra.’
‘Did something happen between you?’
‘Between us? Nothing.’
‘So with someone else?’
Cameron’s neck prickles but he resists turning around.
‘I think it’s the distance thing,’ he bluffs, pressing his hand to Jules’s back to get them moving again. ‘Me in Canberra, him in Sydney.’
‘I get it. My parents live overseas now and my brother is in Hobart.’
They make it to the booth, Jules sitting on one side while Cameron slides into the seat so they’re perpendicular. Cameron angles his body away from the crowd but the sensation of being stared at remains.
He needs a distraction.
‘Where’re you parents now?’ he asks Jules.
‘Ireland. Mum and Dad have still got lots of family up there. They always spoke about moving back when they retired, so it was a bit of a shock to me and Finn—that’s my brother—when her and Dad went three years ago.’
‘Have you been to visit them?’
‘Twice. Feels like home, being around them, even if it’s a different country.’
‘I get that. Sydney feels like that to me.’
He might not have realised it if Jules hadn’t made that comment about hearing it in his voice at lunch. It’s true though. Driving past the Harbour Bridge was comforting in its familiarity.
Feedback squeaks through the speakers as the MC steps onto a raised platform across the room and introduces the keynote speaker, a publisher from New Zealand. As she speaks about the changing landscape of the publishing industry, Cameron keeps his eyes on the crowd — specifically, Braden.
The last time they saw each other, he’d been boxing up his desk at Cable and she stopped by to offer empty platitudes along the lines of ‘I’ll miss you’ and ‘let’s catch up when you’re back in Sydney’.
He’s glowering. Fuck, he hopes she wasn’t serious. There’s an itchy, dry feeling in his chest that the wine has no effect on.
The speech ends to hearty applause and chatter starts up quickly. Queues form at the bar and Cameron keeps his eyes on the Cable group like they’re a spider in his bedroom he doesn’t want to lose sight of.
Jules bumps her knee against his and he shifts his attention to her.
‘You good?’ she asks, her eyebrows drawn down in concern.
‘Sorry. Yeah.’ He takes another sip of wine. ‘I’m good.’
Jules’s gaze is too shrewd, so he looks out at the room again.
Matteo catches his attention. He gestures between Cameron and Jules, then grins and gives him a thumbs up, which is when the geyser inside him flares again and Cameron is hit with inspiration.
Holy shit. The answer has been staring him in the face this whole time. He feels ridiculous for not seeing it sooner. His libido has been distracting him, but maybe he can make it work in his favour instead.
There’s a way he can uphold his no-dating colleagues rule but offer Jules something else. Something he knows she wants, that will give them both satisfaction without endangering his career.
‘Matteo seems …’ Jules stirs her drink with the straw. She must have caught Matteo’s unsubtle gesturing. ‘Friendly.’
‘He is. And probably open to a conference fling.’ It’s completely unsubtle but he’s not about to bring up his idea without at least a sign he won’t be shot down.
Jules’s skin flushes and she covers her forehead with her palm. ‘You had to bring that up? I thought we were forgetting everything I said in the car.’
