Not the Placeholder: A BBW New Adult Serial Romance (Not the Hot Chick series Book 4) (3 page)

"Oh." He shook his head as though to wake himself from a dream. "She, uh, she lost the pregnancy. Then she left town. This is the first I've seen her since."

"She just disappeared?"

"Yeah. The first few weeks she'd text every once in a while, let me know she was doing all right. Then she stopped. I figured she was trying for a fresh start. Wanted to leave the past behind."

And leave Cam behind, too? After everything he'd done for her? What a shitty way to treat a friend. "She shouldn't have done that, just leave you hanging."

"She did me a favor. I love Paige, but she's always surrounded by drama."

I love Paige
. The words, needle sharp, jabbed Layla.

Chill,
she told herself.
There are lots of ways to love someone.

But how did he love Paige? Like a friend or a kid sister? Did he only feel responsible for her, or was there more to it?

A chill prickled her skin while a sick feeling fluttered in her throat. "Is that why you told her your phone wasn't working? Because of the drama?"

Color rose in his cheeks. He stood abruptly, as though angry he'd revealed too much. When he bent to retrieve his socks from the floor, for once Layla didn't think to admire his fine ass. She was too busy trying to decipher his true feelings.

Cam balled the socks in his fist and gave her with a lopsided smile. "We missed lunch. You get dressed, I'll take you somewhere."

Slick change of topic. But she wasn't fooled. Paige weighed heavy on his mind, and Layla was determined to help him shake off his misplaced guilt, if only for a little while. Rising from the futon, she returned his smile, then snatched his socks and tossed them over her shoulder. "Or you could get naked and fix us something here."

"Mmm, even better." He scooped her close and palmed her butt. "I like how you think," he murmured between hot, dirty kisses.

"You inspire me." She broke free and clapped her hands as happiness fizzed in her blood. "Okay, mister, get those pants off. Chop chop. Only naked people get to eat lunch around here."

"You got it." Just as he touched his zipper, his phone dinged, signaling a text. "Aww, shit. This better not be work."

She was closer to the side table, where his phone lay. As she picked it up, she couldn't help but see who'd texted. Paige. "It's not." She gave him the phone, her good mood collapsing like a soufflé gone flat.

His features went blank as he read the screen. "Oh. She wants me to meet her. Says she has something to ask me."

Resentment surged through Layla. "She couldn't have done it when she came by?"

Cam tapped out a brief text. "I'm asking her what it is." At the answering ding, he gave a heavy sigh. "Says she wants to ask me face-to-face." For a moment, uncertainty flashed in his eyes. Then his features hardened. "I'm not into these games. If she wants to ask me something, let her—"

"No," Layla heard herself say. "Tell her all right."

He gave her a look of confusion. "But we—"

"It's okay." Better to take care of it now than put it off and have them both wondering what Paige wanted. Layla and Cam might go through the motions, pretending to have fun, but the unanswered question would hang over them like a storm cloud, spoiling their day. "Go ahead, go meet her. We'll catch up later."

Round one went to Paige.

****

She'd been home a while when her roommate Kelsey entered the apartment. Layla greeted her with a wan smile. "Hi. What've you been up to today?"

"Oh, this and that." Kelsey gave a careless shrug. "Shopping." Though she had no bags with her. "Is it safe to come in?" She waggled her eyebrows. "I'm not interrupting any fun times, am I?"

"You're in the clear. Cam's not here."

"Damn. I was hoping to get a little glimpse of your guy's fine ass." Kelsey tossed her purse onto the coffee table and plopped herself on the sofa. "Why so down in the mouth, girl? I'd'a thought after sexing your boy toy, you'd be wearing a big goofy smile instead of looking like somebody ran over your puppy."

"Yeah. Something's up with him. I don't know what to make of it." She recounted the day's events to her roommate, who interjected comments throughout.

"What?"

"Oh, I'm sure."

"She said that?"

And finally, "You told him
what
? Have you lost your damn mind?"

"What?" Layla cried, startled when Kelsey jumped to her feet.

"Honest to God, Layl, sometimes I wonder about you. You're just so fricking…gah, naive or something. You
told
him to go see that bitch? My God, you're practically throwing him into her arms!"

"Wait a minute, she's not a bitch. They're old friends." Layla stood too and had to sidestep to avoid getting smacked when Kelsey threw out her arms in exasperation.

"
Old friends
. Sure." Kelsey rolled her eyes. "Listen. That girl, Paige or whatever, is after your man."

"But she's marrying somebody else."

Kelsey blew a raspberry. "Like hell. She's either lying through her teeth, or if she is engaged, it's just to make Cam jealous. That's how it works. Tell the guy you want that you're with someone else. Get that old male competition thing going. When he thinks someone else wants you, then he wants you back. That's how the game is played."

"I don't think it's a game. I didn't get that vibe from her." But in the face of Kelsey's certainty, Layla doubted her instincts. Paige hadn't seemed like a conniver. But Cam's reaction to the girl had been so weird. He hadn't reacted happily to her sudden appearance or her news. He'd been shocked—stunned, in fact. Paige might not have noticed, but Layla had. And later, even his good humor in her presence had seemed forced and shallow.

Layla didn't know if Paige wanted Cam. What worried her was that he wanted Paige.

Kelsey was already taking charge. "All right, we've got to take care of this. Head it off before it gets out of hand. Let this bitch know your man's off limits."

Layla, dizzied by the doubts twirling in her brain, asked, "How am I supposed to—"

"We're going to see what this Paige chick is up to. Where's he meeting her?"

"He didn't say."

"And you didn't ask? Oh my God, Layla." Kelsey sighed and rolled her eyes as though Layla were a gullible child.

That set her teeth on edge. "I wasn't about to ask him a million questions. I trust him."

Kelsey's expression turned hard. "Fine." Her brown eyes shot angry sparks. "Trust him all you want. But don't trust her. Take it from someone who's been there. I don't want to see you played like I was."

Layla stopped short. "When did that happen?" She always thought her roomie called the shots with men and had more guys than she knew what to do with. Could it be that her friend was not quite the careless player she'd always believed?

Kelsey's mouth twisted. "Long time ago. Doesn't matter now. Look, I know I haven't always been the greatest friend, haven't been around when you needed someone to talk to or whatever. But this time I've got your back, okay?" Her forehead crinkled as she zeroed in on Layla. "Now think a minute. When you left his place, did he give you any clue where he was headed?"

"No." Then Layla remembered something that made her stomach fall with a sickening thud. "Hold on. When he locked up, he had his skates with him."

"His ice skates?"

"Yeah. It didn't register at the time, but thinking back…"

Kelsey's eyes lit up. "So they're meeting at the rink? Okay, then that's where we're going."

Layla felt a stab of betrayal. He shouldn't be meeting Paige at the Water's Edge. It was
their
special place.

Don't be stupid. It's a
public
skating rink. Duh.

She didn't own Cam. She had no right tell him where to go or who to hang with, nor did she want to. But the thought of him and Paige together there, of all places, turned her stomach.

Kelsey's
we
suddenly clicked in her mind. "You mean you're coming, too?"

Kelsey grabbed her purse with one hand and Layla's arm with the other. "You bet your sweet ass I am."

****

This is a bad idea. A really bad idea.

The thought circled Layla's mind as she circled the ice rink with Kelsey at her side.

"Look natural," her roommate murmured. Kelsey skated as lithely as a fairy, as though she'd been born on skates. Layla felt clumsy and stiff, in spite of her recent lessons with Cam. Her nervousness didn't help. She was sure she looked anything but "natural."

"Remember, if we run into them, we just happen to be here. Total accident," Kelsey added. Her gaze swept left and right. "Do you see them?"

"No. Maybe they're not here," Layla answered, hope rising. Why had she let Kelsey drag her here? What would she do if she saw Cam and Paige? Storm over and cause a scene? What the hell would that accomplish?

Besides, Cam hadn't lied. He told her flat-out that Paige wanted to see him and it was she, Layla, who'd insisted they meet. Now she was having second thoughts. It was crazy. She'd lost faith in her own instincts. "This is wrong," she heard herself say. "Let's get out of here."

Kelsey's eyes narrowed. "What?"

"I mean it. Let's go."

Kelsey crimped her mouth stubbornly. "One quick look, that's all. One turn around the rink."

"Kels—" But her friend was already gliding off. Layla sighed and skated toward the exit, trying to avoid the little kids crossing her path, some whizzing, some wobbling. She'd gotten a bit of confidence and a little speed in her stride when a child skating a few feet in front of her fell. Layla swerved aside to avoid him and got jostled hard by someone going a lot faster with the same idea. Suddenly she was falling and everything Cam had taught her about falling correctly flew right out of her head. She went down hard, flat on her chest, spread eagle, bumping her nose on the ice.

Kelsey was at her side. "Jesus, are you all right?"

She didn't answer, just groaned as she got to her hands and knees. A strong hand grasped her arm and helped lift her. By touch alone she knew it wasn't Kelsey. She looked up to find Cam gazing down at her, his face taut with concern. There was something behind the concern, though. Suspicion, maybe. And anger.

He spoke quietly. "Let's get you to a seat."

They found an unoccupied bench and soon Paige was sitting beside her. Cam and Kelsey stood above her.

"You took a bad tumble," Paige said. The worry in her voice and expression was genuine. "Did you get hurt?"

"No." Layla touched her nose gingerly. There was no blood. It wasn't broken. Aside from some soreness there and stinging in her knees and the palms of her hands, she was fine. "Just rattled. I'm okay."

"I'll get you a drink from the snack bar," Paige offered. "Looks like you could use something."

"No, I'm good, thanks."

"I don't mind. Be right back." The girl flew off on her self-appointed errand.

Kelsey watched Paige take off, then gave Layla a questioning look.
That's her?
She seemed puzzled they weren't dealing with a sultry man-eater.

"You sure you're okay?" Cam took Paige's spot beside her. "Let me see your hands."

She removed her gloves. Her palms were a bit pink, nothing more. He tsked and shook his head when he saw her laces. "They're not tight enough. What have I told you about that?"

He turned her sideways on the bench and lifted her legs to his lap to work on her laces. When he'd tightened them to his satisfaction, instead of setting her feet down again, he held them on his lap, as though to keep her from escaping. "Some surprise, finding you here."

"It's a free country, isn't it?" Kelsey put in. "A public ice rink. We can go anywhere we want to."

Cam gave her a cool look. "I never said you couldn't."

Paige returned with a steaming cup, offered it to Layla. "Hot chocolate. Good for whatever ails you." She smiled, oblivious to the tension crackling in the air. "Did Cam mention my surprise?"

Layla blinked as she took the cup. "Surprise? You mean about getting married?"

"Besides that." The girl laughed. "I forgot to bring it up this morning, I was so excited to see Camster again. I've asked him to be my best man. No, that's not right, that's for the groom. Uh, best person?" She glanced at Cam for help, but he was silent.

Kelsey spoke, her tone flat. "You mean like maid of honor, but with a guy. Person of honor." She gave Layla another look, one that asked,
Is this chick for real?

"Yeah, that's right."

Layla gulped some cocoa, burned her tongue. She directed her gaze at Cam. "What did he say?"

"Well, he didn't say anything," Paige answered. "'Cause that's when you went boom and we rushed over."

"How did you get here?" Cam asked Layla.

"We came in my car," Kelsey said.

"So you can get home, then? Because I'd like to take Layla home myself. The two of us need to talk." His gaze seared Layla.

"That okay with you, Layl?" Kelsey's voice sounded fuzzy in Layla's ears.

"What about Paige?"

"I'll get her where she needs to go," Kelsey said.
Like off a cliff
, her grim expression seemed to say.

Once they changed into their normal footwear, Cam escorted Layla to his Suburban, keeping careful hold on her. Was he concerned for her fall or trying to make sure she didn't get away?

****

Once they were buckled in and he'd started the engine, his questions began. "How was it you
just happened
to end up at the rink?"

She could have smarted off like Kelsey or given him some song and dance about it being accidental, but what for? "You had your skates with you when you locked up."

"So you decided to track me down? Why?
You
told me to meet up with her, remember? Hell, you could have come with me if you wanted. What's the deal? You don't trust me?"

"I trust you. I just don't understand why you had to meet there." God, she sounded like a whiny little brat.

"It's no mystery." His voice was a bit calmer, more measured. "We used to go skating together. When we were kids, my parents would take us. When we got older, we'd go just the two of us."