Page 591 of Manhattan Bossholes

“We are,” I agreed. “Those dreams for the future we used to talk about? We’re still holding on to one of them.”

“Oh yeah? What’s that?” Cameron asked.

“We plan to open an independent bookstore together.”

I was a little nervous telling Cameron, not only because he was my boss and hearing about my plans for the shop could make him doubt my commitment to my current job, but also because he was a businessman and might laugh at our plans. Retail shopping was a dicey venture, both Nina and I knew that, but there was something inside of both of us that kept pushing forward, like we had to go for it. Our business plan was finished; all we needed to do was gather the finances to make it happen.

Hence the job with Cameron, which these days was paying better than ever. I was reminded that as lovely as our dinner was turning out, I was still officially on the clock with Veritique.

“Enough about me,” I said as Cameron poured us second glasses of wine. “Tell me about you and Tyler. How did you become friends?”

His lips tilted up. “I answered an ad.”

“Oh, so you’re a mail order bride,” I said with a knowing nod. “That tracks.”

He laughed at me. “Please. Tyler was forming a band. I was a newbie drummer, and I thought I was better than I actually was.”

“Well, that’s cool. Cameron O’Connor, rock star,” I swept my hand through the air like I was envisioning his name in lights. “What did you call your band?”

He gave me a half-smile. “The Torture, which, in the beginning, was pretty accurate. God help the neighbors who had to listen to us practice. Obviously, Ty was always gifted, but the bassist Brett and I were desperation hires.” He shook his head, smiling. “Our first gig was at a school dance at a neighboring middle school, which was bad enough. But I got nervous, because it was my first time playing for anyone other than my parents.”

“What happened?” I asked, taking a sip of wine.

He rolled his eyes at the memory. “I forgot everything! Every bit of every song. Tyler picked up on it pretty quickly, so he kept turning around and mouthing what I was supposed to be playing. It’s a testament to what a great musician he was, even at that age. I limped through the set feeling humiliated, but once it was over those kids acted like they’d just seen a Rolling Stones show. They asked us for autographs!”

“Maybe you missed your calling?” I teased. “It’s not too late to hang up the Veritique stuff and join up with Tyler, you know.”

Cameron grabbed his wine glass and took a long draw. “Oh, no way. I could never live that lifestyle.” His eyes went haunted for a moment. “Plus, even though I definitely became a better musician, I was nowhere near as good as Ty. The best I could have done as a professional musician would have been a job as part of an ensemble on a low-budget harbor cruise.”

“Well, that’s oddly specific.”

“Let’s just say I know my limitations.”

The waiter appeared at our table with our next course. “May I present scallop carpaccio with purple radishes directly from Provence, layered with a lemon confit, and topped with nasturtium.”

He gave us a little bow and walked away.

I stared at the plate in front of me with my eyes wide. “I don’t know what any of this is, but the orange flowers are pretty.”

“That’s the nasturtium. Try it,” Cameron urged.

“The flower?” I scowled at him. “Are you trying to make me look bad? I can just hear them in the kitchen laughing at me, ‘Oh, look at the dummy eating the decoration!’”

Cameron locked his eyes on mine, picked up the flower, and ripped it in half with his teeth, then chewed it without breaking eye contact. “Edible. And delicious.”

I threw my head back, laughing at his serious face. “Okay, okay, maybe you’re not making fun of me after all.”

His expression softened. “You need to start trusting me, Felicity. I’m not trying to sabotage you. We’re a team, remember?”

My stomach went tingly at the sincerity in his voice. “We are.”

Cameron took a bite of the scallops. “Oh, you’re going to love this. If you don’t, hand me that plate immediately.”

“Wow,” I sighed after I tasted it. “This is beyond.”

Since it was an ultra-fancy restaurant, the entire dish was just a few bites I polished off way too quickly. It was delicious, but I was starting to doubt my initial assumption that I’d be too full at the end of the meal.

“Well, that was lovely,” I sighed, sitting back in my chair. “So, there’s one more course before dessert?”