“I love you, too, Rae, and want you happy, as well.”
“Hey, it’s not that way with Cobra and me. We’re just hot for each other. There’s nothing more to it than that.”
“I don’t believe that. I believe there could be more between the two of you, Rae…if you let it.”
“Good sex I could use, but anything beyond that is off the table.”
Rather than get into an argument with her friend, Desiree said, “Listen, don’t worry about me. I’m fine. I want you to concentrate on that handsome hunk that you have loved forever. You’ve always told me that a person is the architect of their own joy, so make yours happen, Cam. And if there are fireworks, that’s even better.”
CHAPTER 15
“I had fun today, Dre.”
Léandre turned from the stove when Camille entered the kitchen. They had spent most of the day outside skiing and now, after getting cleaned up, they were winding down to enjoy the soup he had cooked that morning. She had stayed in her room behind closed doors a good thirty minutes longer than he had, and he figured that instead of a shower, a bubble bath in the huge whirlpool tub had been her preference.
“So did I,” he said, thinking she looked good, even with her hair pulled up atop her head in one of those messy-looking buns. She had changed into a pair of loose-fitting jogging pants and a sweatshirt that advertised his production company. And she had a pair of thick socks on her feet. They were perfect for outdoors, but here, inside, with the furnace putting out a nice degree of heat, as well as the blaze in the fireplace, they seemed out of place.
“Your feet are cold?”
She looked up from where she had been reading one of the magazines on the counter. “Why do you ask?”
Was she blushing? Why? “Because you’re wearing socks when it’s nice and warm in here.”
She shrugged. “I guess after being outside skiing all day, my feet haven’t fully thawed out.”
He nodded, understanding. “I’ve got just the thing for that. I’ll give it to you after dinner. Are you ready to eat?”
“Sure,” she said, closing the magazine and coming to sit down at the table.
Although the cabin had a huge dining room, he had decided after her first day that he preferred that they eat at the smaller table in the kitchen. That way, they weren’t seated so far from each other that he couldn’t inhale her scent. Even when they were in their teens, he’d loved the way she smelled. Especially in the evenings, after a bath.
“Need help with anything?” she asked.
“Nope, I got this. But if you’d like, you can set the table.”
“I don’t like, but I’ll do it anyway.”
He threw his head back and laughed. He’d forgotten that she had attended Mrs. Lenora’s etiquette school like other kids who lived on their block. Nobody liked the lessons, but all of them learned how to deal with them. Only one person rebelled—Camille LeGraff. She’d complain that it didn’t make sense for silverware to be placed a certain way, when nobody cared once they began eating. He had agreed but would never confront Mrs. Lenora about it the way Cam had. And their arguments had made those boring lessons a little easier to take.
To this day, his three older brothers adored Cam, mainly for that reason. Mrs. Lenora often spent most of their class time arguing with Camille. Before you knew it, their thirty-minute etiquette sessions were over, and they could go back outside to play.
“Hey, I’m not Mrs. Lenora. Don’t complain, just do it.”
“Aye, aye, sir,” she said, grinning, then giving him a fake salute.
Léandre realized he had made a mistake when she entered the kitchen to get plates and silverware from the cabinets. The huge kitchen suddenly seemed small and intimate. He stared at her. Her loose-fitting jogging pants suddenly transformed into the sexiest clothing possible when she reached up to open thecabinet door, and the material stretched across her delectable-looking backside.
She turned and caught him staring. “Something’s wrong?”
There was no way he would tell her that he’d been checking out her ass. “No. I was just wondering if you need my help. I’m a lot taller than you.”
She frowned. “Don’t rub it in. How many years have you listened to me complain about not being taller? I’m 5’6, and I always wanted to be 5’8. That was the standard height for models, and you probably remember how badly I wanted to be one.”
“Of course, I remember. After all, I’m your best friend…although for the past three years, I’ve had to compete against Desiree.”
She threw her head back and laughed, and the sound did something to him. It made every cell in his body come alive. “I can’t wait to tell Desiree you said that. You sound jealous.”
“I was for a while, but then I discovered I liked Desiree. Your friendship with her and your friendship with me are different. With her, it’s a girl thing and with me—”
