LITMIR.BIZ

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shone behind the scenes, but onstage she froze. Stone Mountain was lovely and as she parked her car under the shade of an oak tree, she watched Pryce employees and their families head toward the picnic area set up for the company.

      The mid-June sun warmed the back of her neck and the scent of magnolias filled the air. The gravel under her sandals crunched as she neared the registration tables.

      The one really bad thing about living across the country from your family was attending events such as this one by yourself. She checked in and received her name tag. Maybe she should go back home.

      “Cami?”

      Duke. The scent of his aftershave washed over her like a warm breeze on a cold winter day. He made her uncomfortable. Not in the slimy way Jess in Sales did. In a way that was entirely too personal, and involved emotions she shouldn’t be having for him. Duke was way out of her league in the man–woman dating field.

      “Hi,” she said, trying to sound normal. She wished she’d worn something trendy that would make her look glamorous but her simple cotton sundress was more her style.

      Duke managed to look both sophisticated and comfortable in his designer shorts and polo shirt. She squinted up at him and found her own image staring back at her from the mirrored lenses of his sunglasses. She reached into her pocket and removed her own glasses. They were flaky and she knew it, but part of her loved the rhinestone star-shaped sunglasses.

      “Checking up on security?” she asked him.

      “No. Just here to enjoy the fun.”

      Funny, he sounded the way she felt. As if there was more torture than enjoyment in this event.

      Somehow—Cami wasn’t really sure how—Duke walked with her through the food line. Long rows of red-checked, cloth-covered tables and uncomfortable chairs were set under a large tent. Families filled most of the seats, but Cami followed Duke to a section at the back that was relatively quiet.

      Cami realized how alone she was as she watched her co-workers interact with their families. She might stay that way if she didn’t take some action.

      An awkward silence fell between them as they both ate their chicken. Cami searched for something to say but the small talk that always came so easy with strangers wasn’t easy with Duke.

      “I love picnics. When I was growing up my family would go to Golden Gate Park at least once a month to fly kites and eat too much.”

      Duke took a bite of his ribs. Cami watched him eat. He glanced up and caught her staring.

      “Do you have a large family?” she blurted.

      He swallowed. “No, do you?”

      “I guess, aside from my parents and an older sister, I have about fifteen aunts and uncles and more cousins than I can count. Most of the time there’s a small crowd of us at a gathering.”

      “You’re from California?”

      “Yes.”

      “Why’d you move to Atlanta?”

      “The city appealed to me. You know this is Margaret Mitchell land. And I wanted to establish myself away from my family.”

      “Is your family protective of you?”

      “A little bit.”

      “Is that why you’re not torrid love affair material?”

      Oh, God. He remembered what she’d said the other day at lunch.

      “Sorry I overreacted.” But she hated having a good-looking man catch her reading a romance novel. He would guess she spent every Friday and Saturday night at home living one lush adventure after another from the solitary safety of her front porch. He’d know she’d never have one-tenth of the excitement, passion and drama as the characters in the books, she thought. Duke made her wish she was different.

      “No problem.” He removed his sunglasses, placing them on the checkered tablecloth. “I really want to know why there isn’t a man in your life.”

      The sun burnt the back of her neck and an ant crawled over her big toe. She stared at the ant instead of answering Duke.

      “Cami?”

      She shrugged. “I work all the time. And well…”

      “What?” His voice was low and husky and he leaned closer to her. Encouraging her to speak the truth to him. And the truth was something she always prided herself on.

      All her life she’d lived in the shadow of her gorgeous, smart sister. Moving to the East Coast from San Francisco four years ago had allowed her to escape, but that distance had left her feeling empty. She’d filled her life with books and things. She’d also fallen on old practiced habits, still hiding in the shadows of her sister though Gabriella was far away.

      It had taken a long time for her to realize that she actually liked being in the background and making things happen. Though she wanted to be equal to her sister, in her mind she’d always be that shy awkward girl despite her success in a large corporation. She longed for confidence and poise but had no idea how to achieve them.

      “Men like women with flash and pizzazz.”

      Duke stared at her and Cami regretted her words. His eyes narrowed and he traced one blunt finger down the side of her cheek. She shivered as desire coursed through her, pooling at the center of her body.

      “I’ve never met anyone with more pizzazz than you.”

      She smiled. It was the nicest thing a man had ever said to her. But the look in his eyes as they swept down her body set fire to her veins. Her nipples hardened against the lace of her bra, and she shifted in her seat. She wondered if he felt it, too. There was a tension in the air that made her want to lean closer to him, tilt her head back and tempt him into kissing her.

      “That wasn’t pizzazz you saw.”

      “Really, what was it?”

      “My legs,” she said.

      He wanted to smile. It was there on his face. She didn’t know why he wouldn’t smile, but there was something about this dark sexy man that got to her faster than her first sip of the gin her father hid in the bottom drawer of his desk.

      “Why don’t you ever smile?”

      “Why do you care?”

      “I don’t know,” she said, but in her heart she knew it had to do with the loneliness that surrounded Duke.

      “May we join you?”

      Cami saw Max Williams standing across from them with a woman who could have easily been a cover model. Duke glanced at her and Cami shrugged. It was a telling moment. Not many men would turn away the CEO of the company, but Cami knew that Duke would have.

      “Sure.”

      Max introduced his date, Melissa Hines, and they settled into chairs across from Duke and Cami.

      “Did you catch the Braves last night?” Duke asked.

      Oh, my. She hadn’t realized how high up the ladder Duke was. His office wasn’t on the same floor as the other executives so she’d figured he was new to the upper-management level. But his ease with the CEO was telling. She was out of her league. She shouldn’t have challenged him to smile.

      Cami let the conversation swirl around her, listening to Duke speak. Deep, and dark, his voice perfectly suited to the male protagonist in her romance novels. It was a voice she’d want to hear in a candlelit bedroom. His voice could stroke her into a heated frenzy with just a few words. His voice, she realized, was calling her name.

      “Cami?”

      “Yes?” she said. Her pulse was pounding, and she wanted to go back to her fantasy.

      “Would you like another drink?”

      “Sure.”

      She

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