The Real Me (How to Tame a Heartbreaker Book 4) (3 page)

"Are you a surgeon?"

Cam had been taking a sip of beer when she asked and he nearly choked on it, but covered by clearing his throat. He hadn't put enough thought into a backstory. "I'm an anesthesiologist." He prayed she wouldn't say she was one as well. He knew
nothing
about anesthesiology other than it was number five on the list of things to consider if he hadn't made it in Nashville.

Chapter 3

Cam talked to the girl in white while the band played the first set, stealing glimpses of the bartender whenever he had the chance. She was wearing the exact same work uniform as the cocktail waitresses—denim shorts with matching denim tops. Jax's top was a tight fitting button up. The other girls were dressed just like her, but all of them were showing torso. He thought about the bartender's Mother Teresa comment and smiled. He wasn't entirely sure that even if he revealed his true identity he could get Jax to sleep with him on the first night. She was probably one of those girls who made their suitors work for it no matter how famous said suitor was.

Cam's intention for the evening was to get laid. It had
been a little while, and he was looking forward to it, so he decided to go for the easier target. He was curious about the bartender, but the girl in white was primed and ready to go. The girls next to her were preoccupied with talking to each other before a couple of guys walked up and started making conversation.

It worked out perfectly. Cam, as Owen, left with the blonde in a white dress, and her friends didn't even notice she was gone. He took her to Jason's dad's boat since he couldn't really go to his own
apartment—the one that had a few platinum records in the hallway.

The yacht was
reliably empty, but Jason's dad paid this guy named Luke to keep an eye on it. He lived in one of the boats, and tended to several of the others that stayed harbored there. Cam had Luke's number for occasions such as tonight, and he text him from the bar to let him know he was coming to spend the night on the boat.

He had a good enough time with
the girl in white, whose name turned out to be Lexi. She was a nice girl who played a little hard to get at first, but was definitely looking to hook up on a one-night basis. He told her the yacht belonged to one of his fellow anesthesiologists at the hospital who said they could use it for the night. She probably thought he was married and just didn't want to go home. Regardless, she followed him to the marina and got on the boat willingly.

He didn't really feel bad about lying
. He had himself convinced that it was okay since the lie he was telling was making him
less
desirable than the truth. Lexi went home at 8AM. He acted like he slept through her departure, and she didn't bother waking him up. She left her number on his jeans with a note that said, "That was fun. Call me sometime."

He
crumbled and threw away the note as soon as he read it. She was a sweet girl and everything, but he'd always remember her as the girl he screwed while he thought about someone else the whole time. It was the first time that had ever happened to him. He'd never been
so
taken with someone's face that he pictured her when he was with another girl. He closed his eyes the whole time he was with Lexi because the memory of the bartender named Jax was the only thing he wanted to see.

It was 8:13AM and he couldn't go back to sleep because
visions of Jax were
still
haunting him. He could clearly picture her when he closed his eyes, which was more than he could say for the girl who'd just left, and that was exactly why he threw away the phone number. The guy who served him said Jax "worked weekends," and Cam wondered if she'd be there again tonight since it was Saturday. He didn't put much thought into it—he'd just have to go to Bing's to find out.

It crossed his mind to just keep on the beard, but it was already feeling loose in areas, and he knew it needed to be reapplied. He peeled it off before heading to his apartment.
He had on sunglasses and a baseball cap and made it from the yacht club to his apartment without being noticed. He loved driving the old Chevy and rode with the windows down. Neil would kill him if he knew how much he'd been going out alone lately, but Cam really didn't care. He was due for a little alone time—which was why he hadn't even looked at his phone.

Cam
only looked at it when he was ready to talk since he
constantly
had someone trying to contact him. It was usually Neil, but there were a few others who contacted him regularly. His best friend Jason was one of them.

Jason Lane went way back in Nashville. His dad, Mack, wrote some of the biggest old-school country hits of all time, and Jason was following in his footsteps. Jason had written Cam's biggest hits including the song "You're Dangerous," that was still topping the charts. They weren't just partners in business, though. They were best friends who, before Jason's girlfriend Hannah had come along, shared
girls regularly.

Jason was one of the people Cam had a text from when he got home and actually looked at his phone. There were
four calls from Neil. Cam decided to call him back instead of listening to the messages.

"Why aren't you sleeping at your apartment?" Neil asked.

"Hello to you too," Cam responded. "What's it matter where I'm staying?"

"It doesn’t I guess," Neil said. "It's just that you know it's better to go out with a driver, and Reggie said you keep taking the truck."

Cam laughed. "I thought Reggie would like having a little time off."

"No, he loves to work actually, so why don't you just let him go ahead and do his job?"

"I'm fine Neil. Is that all you needed to tell me—that you wanted Reggie to drive me places?"

"And to remind you about the radio contest on Monday. You have to be at the station at 8AM."

"That's like two days away, Neil. I got it. You need to enjoy these few days off."

"You need to let Reggie drive you."

"Thanks for your input Neil."

"I'm not off work Cam. Just because you're not
on the road
doesn't mean we have off. I'm coming by this afternoon to bring by a few album cover ideas Jamey sent me."

"I'll be around for a little while, but I have
plans tonight."

"What are your plans?" Neil asked.

Cam got out of the conversation by mentioning something vague about hanging out with Jason. He thought he might try to get Jason to go out with him anyway since it might be sort of weird to sit at a bar alone two nights in a row. It might be weird to go there two nights in a row period, but he just had to see her again. He needed to see if she looked like he remembered.

Cam typed out a text to Jason.

Cam: "The beard's going out tonight. Wanna come?"

Jason sent a message back within minutes.

Jason: "I'd like to see that. Care if Hannah comes too?"

Cam thought about the possible benefits of having Hannah along. He thought Mother Theresa
herself would like Hannah, so her presence couldn't hurt.

Cam: "As long as she can play along."

Jason: "She will. Where are you going?"

Cam: "Bing's."

Jason: "I'll let you know for sure by this afternoon. What time?"

Cam thought about the barstools in front of the girl—the ones that were completely taken when he got there at 10PM.

Cam: "8."

Jason: "
That early? Is there a band playing?"

Cam: "Yes
, but not sure who. Just like the place and the beard goes over well."

Jason: "You tried it already?"

Cam: "Yeah, last night."

Jason: "And you want to go back? There must be a girl."

Cam: "Lots of them."

It wasn't a full lie since there were technically lots of lovely ladies at Bing's. He didn't mention that there was only one he was interested in
seeing. Jason text Cam back later that afternoon saying that he and Hannah would meet him at the bar at 9 or a little after since the band didn't even start till 10. Cam was glad they were meeting him there, but he wasn't going to be late.

Macy came over at 6PM to make sure they had plenty of time. They did the whole process again where she carefully applied the lace beard and then
put realistic looking hairs on individually. Cam was amazed by the results yet again.

"It's so freaking real," he whispered as he looked in the mirror. He smiled, and was thankful for how flexible it was.
"You're the best."

Macy beamed and hi-fived him. "That's why you pay me the big bucks."

Cam continued to stare at it for a few seconds before handing the mirror back to her.

"Jason's going to
freak out when he sees this."

"You should surprise him," Macy said.

"Oh I'll totally be sneaking up on him. I'm gonna get Hannah too."

Macy laughed even though she had no idea who Hannah was. She'd met Jason and she assumed Cam was talking about his girlfriend.

Macy left right after the beard was applied and Cam was on his way to the bar by eight o'clock. Cam drove his Chevy again even though Reggie protested. He said Neil was going to kill him for letting him go out alone, but Cam said he was meeting Jason out and assured him he wouldn't get into any trouble.

He stopped at a gas station to
get a pack of gum and an energy drink. He parked on the side, and when he came back out to his truck, there was a girl parked on the other side of it. She was pacing and cursing under her breath as if she were worried to death, and since Cam was a country boy through and through, he couldn't leave without asking if there was something he could do to help.

"Everything okay, ma'am?" She threw her hands in the air.

"No, everything's not okay. I've called the city
twice
about that pothole. I knew this was gonna happen. I hit it
every time
I turn down this road."

She hadn't looked at him the whole time she was talking.
She was just staring down at what was left of her blown-out tire.

"Do you have triple-
A, or anyone you can call?" Cam asked. He'd come around the truck by this time and stood beside her. He looked down to inspect the damage. The tire was gone.

"
How much does it cost to have someone come help you with something like this? My husband's gonna kill me. He told me this was gonna happen." She rubbed her forehead, looking like she wanted to cry. "We're down to one car and now this."

"Do you have a spare?"
Cam asked. He knew the answer would be yes and that he would be stuck helping her change the tire, but he asked anyway. His mama would have been disappointed if his own agenda had come before being a gentleman.

"I think there's one in the trunk, but I have no idea what to do with that thing. My husband could do it, but he's about six miles that way." She pointed
out and to her right, in the direction she was headed.

"I'll help you get it on there, but you won't want to drive on it longer than you have to. It'll mess with your alignment.

"Would you really help me?" she asked hopefully. "I can't imagine how much it would cost to have it towed somewhere. Then that still wouldn't solve the problem of picking my husband up from work. Putting the spare on is really my best option, but I'm afraid I'll be almost no help at all."

"It's
all right. It's a one man job anyway," Cam said.

He knew how to change a tire, and he worked quickly and efficiently, but it was still an hour later when she drove off. Her name was Holly and she thanked him a million times for the kindness.

Cam knew what he should have done from a professional standpoint. He should have told the woman who he was. It would have been his publicist's dream for a story to get out where Cam stopped to help an unsuspecting woman change her tire.

He
didn't tell her who he was for two reasons. Number one: If everyone pats you on the back for what a hero you are then it sort of nullifies being a hero in the first place. Or maybe not, but he still felt like he wanted to remain anonymous.

Number two: He was already running late and telling her the truth of his identity would have only wasted more time.

He typed out a text to Jason before he started the engine.

Cam: "I got held up. Are you there yet?"

Cam adjusted the rearview mirror so he could get a good look at his beard. Thank God it was cool enough outside where he hadn't gotten too sweaty changing that tire. The beard was still in place.

Cam's phone dinged, indicating a text.

Jason: "Just got here."

Cam: "Is it packed?"

Jason: "Not really. There's a line, but I can see in and it's not too bad."

Cam: "I'll be there in ten minutes. It's very important that you get a seat at the bar in front of the female bartender."

Jason: "Is that who we're here to see?"

Cam got the me
ssage but didn't respond. He drove way over the speed limit to get to Bing's.