Gatlinburg Getaway (Destination: Desire) (19 page)

Landry’s chin dipped in a nod, his gaze scrutinizing his nephew’s face. What he was looking for, Dalton couldn’t guess. His uncle commented, “She seemed like a nice lady when we met her. Kept up with Leigh’s sass without missing a beat.”

Dalton’s smile grew broader. “She’s got plenty of sass herself. Probably comes from having three older sisters.”

“Your aunt liked her.”

A definite step forward there. After Dalton’s divorce, Opal had wanted him to date, but had been very slow on bestowing approval upon any woman he’d let meet the family. As she liked to say, only the best partners were good enough for her kids. He appreciated the sentiment, but wasn’t sure how he felt about her blessing his match with Camille. She was leaving. He needed to keep that reality firmly fixed in his mind, or his feelings might go well beyond mere liking.

Hell, if he were brutally honest, they might already be beyond a point where he could avoid getting his heart stomped on. Too late to back off now, so he might as well enjoy what he could get.

That probing glance seemed to sharpen. Landry stabbed his finger in his nephew’s direction. “You like her too, which is the most important part.”

“As I’ve said before, I don’t date women I don’t like,” he replied mildly. His uncle’s thoughts seemed to have followed in eerily similar directions as Dalton’s, and while he may have accepted a few truths in his own mind, he wasn’t ready to discuss that with anyone else. His family had already watched him get his heart ripped out before—they weren’t going to be excited to realize it had happened again. Despite the shortness of the relationship, he had a bad feeling that losing Camille was going to hurt worse than losing his ex. With his ex, things hadn’t been going well for some time before the breakup. With Camille, it was going to be the pain of losing all that beautiful, shining potential. It hadn’t yet had a chance to ripen or sour.

His uncle shot him a chastising look. “You know what I mean.”

Sighing, Dalton propped a shoulder against the side of the dinghy. “This thing is only for a week, so it doesn’t matter how much I like her or not.”

Landry squinted and lines dug deep grooves around his eyes. “Don’t give her up.”

“What?”

His gaze never wavered. “If you like her as much as I think you do, don’t give her up so easily.”

God, that thought was too tempting. Unrealistic, but very, very tempting. Dalton blew out a breath. “I can’t force a woman to want more than she does. She’s been pretty firm about this ending when she goes back to California.”

Now his uncle’s eyes narrowed and he barked, “Why? Does she have someone waiting for her at home?”

“No. She’s not the type to cheat.” Having no-strings arrangements was more her style and she seemed to take all her commitments very seriously—when she bothered to commit. It was all or nothing for her, and he respected that. He just wished she wanted the all with him, rather than the nothing.

“Good.” Landry’s posture eased a bit. “She struck me as a no-bullshit kind of woman. My favorite kind.”

“Yeah.” His too, if he were honest. That was one of the biggest problems with his ex. Deep down, she hadn’t been honest about a lot things—what she wanted, what she needed, what she was willing to do to get what she needed. Camille had all that sorted out. Maybe it was just her personality or maybe her accident had forced her to be introspective, but she had a fix on what was really important to her.

His uncle grunted. “So…maybe you need to renegotiate the ground rules. Maybe it’s time to stop assuming it has to end so soon. If neither of you want that, then plans can change. Discuss it before you assume what she thought when she went into this is what she still thinks. Development happens.”

Dalton raised his hands and shrugged. It wasn’t as if he hadn’t considered this, and dismissed it as impossible. “How would that work? Do you really think long-term long-distance is viable?”

“You make it work.” Landry shrugged, his tone matter-of-fact. “That’s what you do in any relationship. Just because it’s hard sometimes, doesn’t mean it’s not worth it. Don’t take the easy way out here, son. You’ll regret it.”

Maybe. Maybe not. While he knew it was going to sting when she left on Saturday, trying and failing at a long-distance relationship would hurt a lot worse. There were degrees of suffering, and he wasn’t sure he was ready to get his heart ground into dust.

“I should get going. I’m meeting Camille for dinner.” Or, rather, he was going to her hotel and they were ordering room service. No tour-guiding stuff today, just hanging out, watching TV, and him sleeping over. But since he was in charge of introducing her to everything this area had to offer, he’d brought along his bottle of sweet muscadine wine from a nearby vineyard. There was more than one way to show her local goodness.

“Have a good evening.” Landry pushed away from the boat and turned for the house. He glanced back. “Think about what I said.”

“I will.” But that didn’t mean Dalton was going to take the advice.

Chapter Eight

It was the last day of the conference, and Camille couldn’t escape the final presentation fast enough. She knew the guy speaking, so there was no bailing early, but it was a serious yawnfest. The project was interesting, but the man could redefine the word monotone.

At least the evening was supposed to be fun. This conference put on a concert as the final event every year, and she’d invited Dalton to come with her. Since the humidity had been especially intense today, she wanted to grab a quick shower before meeting him in the lobby, so she hurried for the elevator as quickly as possible, hoping to beat the crowds that were all leaving the last sessions.

She managed to squeeze into the second elevator that arrived, and made it up to her room in under fifteen minutes. Not too bad.

Her phone vibrated just as she closed and locked the door behind her. Dalton’s number flashed across the screen. She picked up. “Hey, what’s up?”

“Just dropped off my uncle’s boat and now I need to stop off at the office to finish some paperwork, then I’ll come to see you. How was your day?”

“Not too bad. Some good information, though a few of my colleagues are lacking in public-speaking skills.”

“Ouch. Technical talks given badly are an insult to the soul.”

She snorted. “Agreed. I’m hoping to grab a shower, so were you just checking in or did you need something specific?”

“I had a specific topic in mind,” he answered. “You know how you don’t love driving?”

Well, that was an unexpected opening. “Yeah?”

“I was thinking, maybe I could drive you to the airport tomorrow morning.”

For once, she didn’t get defensive and insist she could drive herself, that she didn’t need special treatment. Dalton had never treated her like her accident made her fragile or incapable. So she just pointed out, “I have a rental car.”

“You could return it to the local office.” The line rustled as he shifted the phone. “I have the day off, and I’d like to spend as much of it with you as I can. Driving you seems like a good way to accomplish that.”

There was a tough argument to refute, considering she wanted to spend her time with him too. However, she’d been raised in a frugal family, so throwing out a plan in order to indulge herself wasn’t something she normally did, especially if it cost money. “I’d have to see if they’d charge me a huge fee for doing that.”

He made a humming noise of agreement. “Before you shower, give them a quick call and find out. Then you know if you can get chauffeured by someone who’s comfortable with the roads around here.”

“Okay, I will. Thanks.” Maybe if the fee wasn’t too large, it would be okay to indulge herself, just this once.

She made the call, and they told her if she returned the car tonight instead of tomorrow morning, they wouldn’t charge her extra. Apparently, they had a shortage for economy cars this evening and returning her vehicle meant they wouldn’t have to upgrade anyone for free. Sounded good to her.

She texted Dalton to let him know she’d need to move back their meeting by half an hour so she could turn in the car. He let her know that was fine, and she hurried out to the parking lot. Fortunately, the rental company operated out of a resort a couple of blocks away, so she could get back on foot, but walking through the thick, damp air meant she’d wait until she returned to take that shower.

And she was so right. By the time she was back in her room, she was dripping sweat and feeling all kinds of disgusting. A lukewarm shower actually felt damn good. She hopped out and took extra care getting ready, applying makeup and styling her hair—things she rarely bothered with. If this was her last night with Dalton, she wanted to look good. On went her nicest pair of lacy panties and bra, then a red wrap dress that hugged her curves. Strappy sandals completed the ensemble.

She just finished buckling the ankle strap on her sandal when her cell vibrated. Not bothering to check the number, she tapped the button to accept the call. “Hey, I’ll be down in the lobby shortly.”

“Great. What’s in the lobby?” Her sister Hazel’s voice came through the line.

“Sorry, I figured it was Dalton.” After straightening, she went into the bathroom to check her appearance one last time.

“Oooooh.” Hazel drew the word out, making it the singsong of a schoolgirl. “Someone’s still having fun with the eye doctor.”

Fun. It seemed like such an innocuous term, but fun had been in short supply in her life for a while now. Her own fault, of course. “Yep. The week definitely improved.”

“I’m glad to hear it. After you had to start wearing contacts, I figured you’d be irritated and grumpy for most of the week. Glad he took your mind off it.”

“Well, contacts are irritating.” She sniffed. “But, um, Dalton actually got a pair of glasses for me while he was at a meeting in Knoxville.”

There was a beat of silence before Hazel spoke again. “He bought you glasses?”

“Yep. Cute ones.” After they were off the call, Camille should probably text her sisters a picture of them.

“Cute ones,” Hazel echoed, incredulous. “And you’re not marrying him, why?”

“Because the humidity in Tennessee is killer.” The mention of marriage reminded Camille of their conversation earlier in the week, which she’d meant to follow up on. “You know, you made a comment the other day, about us being spinsters.”

Wariness reflected in her sister’s tone. “Yeah? Why?”

“It sounded like it wasn’t just some off-hand comment. I just wanted to make sure you’re okay.”

A sigh rustled through the connection. “I don’t know. Things are just…”

When she didn’t continue, Camille prompted, “Just?”

“I don’t regret going after my PhD, but I sometimes feel like my life is stalled out. Like I’m this perennial student, who’s never going to grow up, get a real job, have a real relationship, and get on with a real life.”

Well, there was the most unflattering way to describe the years of work her sister had put into finishing her degree. Camille understood how work could interfere with a social life, but it surprised her that her sister didn’t necessarily feel like her many years of study was time well spent. “You will do all of those things, Hazel. While it may seem like your life is on hold while you complete your postdoc fellowship, you’re almost there. The finish line is in sight. You should be done in, what, another year? You’re even finishing your fellowship in Australia. That’s exciting!”

The pep talk didn’t help in the least. Hazel’s voice wobbled a little. “I’m going to be the sad spinster auntie forever.”

Camille sat down on the bed. “It’s funny, that’s what I’ve always thought, only about myself.”

Somewhere in the last few years, she’d somehow started to think that she was going to watch all three of her sisters get married and spend her days as the workaholic aunt. Hey, at least she’d be able contribute to her nieces’ and nephews’ college funds. She’d always been the ambitious Kirby, not the one who got the boys. The fact that she hadn’t met anyone since her accident that she was even remotely interested in committing to had made her start thinking that maybe that just wasn’t in the cards for her. Maybe there wasn’t The One for her and never would be. So, she wouldn’t have those kids she wanted, but that wouldn’t be the end of the world, right? It wouldn’t be a bad life to have a wonderful career, awesome sisters, great friends, and the occasional fuck buddy, right?

Dalton had made her rethink her assumptions about herself in a very big way this week.

Hazel swallowed audibly. “You thought I’d find Mr. Right and you wouldn’t? Really?”

“Yeah, I did.” Camille let out a breath. “I shouldn’t have though. I should have given myself a little of the faith I put in my big sisters. But you’re so amazing, Hazel, in so many ways. I won’t be cheesy and say any man would be lucky to have you, even though it’s true. I will say, don’t sell yourself short in the romance department the way I have. You deserve better.”

“Wow.” A little laugh escaped Hazel. “If I’m not mistaken, you’ve realized you were selling yourself short this week. Which means someone got you thinking about romance, marriage, and finding Mr. Right. Or should I say, Dr. Right?”

Well, no one said Hazel wasn’t quick on the uptake. Camille shook her head and sighed. “We’re talking about you here, not me.”