Total pages in book: 26
Estimated words: 24691 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 123(@200wpm)___ 99(@250wpm)___ 82(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 24691 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 123(@200wpm)___ 99(@250wpm)___ 82(@300wpm)
She levels me with her gaze, and I’ve never lied to her, so I just shrug my shoulders and then nod.
I’m not sure who’s more surprised at my confession, but Maddie takes it well. She walks over to the entry table and grabs her bag. “All right, well, let’s go. I can’t wait to meet this woman that has completely won you over, big brother.”
I could deny it, but there’s no reason to, and it’s already obvious that Camille has some kind of hold on me. I can’t really explain it, or I haven’t tried to understand it, but I feel a connection to her that I’ve never felt before. I open the front door. “Come on, I’ll give you a lift over to the house.”
Her eyebrows raise even higher, and I ignore her as I walk out to my truck and hold the door open for her.
The short drive to the ranch next door is not enough time to go over everything I want to go over. As soon as I pull into my usual parking spot in front of my house, Maddie is jumping out of the front seat. I meet her at the front of the truck and stop her before she goes in. “Sis, promise me you’ll give her a chance.”
She covers my hand with hers. “Wow!” She gets an excited look on her face. “This girl has you under a spell, Elliott Barnett, and I’m here for it. You know I’m nice to everyone—well, mostly everyone—but no worries. I’m going to train her on everything, and it’s going to be fine. No worries.”
I let her go and then follow behind her into the house. When we walk in, I see Camille sitting at my desk. I had expected her to be in her room, unpacking, but I should have known better because she said she wanted to get straight to work.
Just seeing her in my space does something to me, and I feel out of breath as I introduce her to my sister. “Camille, this is my sister, Maddie. Maddie, this is Camille.”
I finally let out a sigh of relief when my sister walks straight up to Camille and draws her into a big hug. “Camille, we are about to be best friends. I am so happy that you took this job.”
Camille’s eyes are huge on her face, and even though she keeps a guarded look, she smiles back. “Well, I’m excited to be here.”
Maddie starts talking about the day-to-day stuff, and when she spots me still standing, leaning against the wall, she laughs. “Shoo, big brother. Geez, it’s going to be okay. I know you have a thousand and one things to do. Go do them. Since you insisted on driving me over here, you’re going to have to take me back home. I’ll be ready to go around four.”
“But…” I start and don’t even get the whole sentence out.
“But what? I promise it’s going to be okay. I’ll see you later.”
I’m still unsure about leaving. I love my sister, and she really is a great person, so I’m not sure why I’m so uneasy about leaving. Well, I do, but I feel weird putting it out there. I search Camille’s face. “Uh, you okay here?”
She nods with surprise on her face. “Yeah, I’m fine.”
I nod but can’t seem to make myself move. “Uh, and you’ll be here when I get back?”
Fuck, I sound so pathetic. My sister is smiling ear to ear and practically vibrating with excitement. It’s true that she’s never seen me hung up on a woman before, so I don’t blame her for being so surprised by it all, but I keep watching Camille. Finally, she nods her head with a soft smile on her lips. “Yeah, I’ll still be here.”
CHAPTER 4
CAMILLE
A few hours later, after Maddie has shown me all the daily reports, how to get the sales to the packaging plant and where to find all the information, she insists we break for a snack. She’s going to be leaving soon, and I’d rather be working when Elliott comes in, but I don’t feel right denying Maddie after she’s been so nice to me already.
As we sit around the kitchen table with a bowl of cut-up fruit and crackers and cheese between us, I try not to make a pig out of myself.
Her phone dings for what seems like the hundredth time today, and she rolls her eyes. I’ve learned that response is because her brother has texted her again. The other times, she’s smiled at her phone because her husband Rhett has texted her or sent her a picture of their son. “Him again?” I don’t have to say his name because she knows I’m talking about Elliott.
“Yep, it’s my brother… again. Wow.” She sets her phone down on the top of the table.