A Perfect Fit (14 page)

Vince straightened. “I have a master’s degree in landscape
architecture with a business minor from Cornell.” He stepped toward her. “Do
you have a problem with that?”

Yes, her mind screamed, but she couldn’t admit it. Didn’t understand
her internal reaction. “I have a problem with being lied to.”

“I didn’t lie to you. I told you your dad had some dream
about us getting together. I told you I owned a business. I’m a landscaper.”

“And what other pies do you have your fingers in? I should
have known when your dad was such a hotshot lawyer. Your family makes such a
pretty picture, all successful and bright and moneyed.” She thought about the
start-up costs for his business after he attended an expensive university. “Do
you have a trust fund, too?” She couldn’t
believe
she bought into all of
this. Hadn’t she learned anything from Trent? No one was what they seemed, were
they?

“Don’t be a hypocrite, Cami. You’re every bit the trust fund
baby I am. And more, since I have the funny feeling yours is
far
larger
than mine was. And I have my fingers in a few pies. Diversifying is a good bet
in a small area like this. Some years the weather doesn’t cooperate and we have
a bad winter, or a bad snow removal season, or I get a disease blight and lose
a bunch of seedlings and have to start over in the spring. It’s the whole principle
of not putting all your eggs in one basket.”

He stepped closer, so there were only inches between them. “And
before you ask, yes, I have ties to Gage’s ski resort. He, Jeremy, and I have a
partnership—if extremely unequal—and that’s why I help out with the mountain
bike festival and the hot air balloon rides.”

She backed into the door as he crowded her, thunder in his
eyes, but she kept her head erect and met his gaze. “You’ve been keeping this
from me?”

He raised his hands in disbelief. “If you wanted to know, it’s
pretty much public record around here. Well, except for the ownership issue at
the ski resort. Most people think some big corporation owns it and Gage just
manages the thing. It keeps the pressure off some. We admit to the ballooning
though.”

That didn’t make her feel better. “I don’t appreciate being
made a fool of.”

“I don’t appreciate you only wanting to be with me if I’m a
washed up nobody. You say you’re enlightened and don’t care about status or
money, but then you prove otherwise—only it’s the opposite of what one would
expect.” He whirled back and returned to his seat. “You can leave now.”

“I will. And don’t expect to see me back here, either.” She
pulled the door open and stalked out, refraining from slamming the door behind
her.

~*~

 As soon as she was out of sight, Vince stood and shut the
door to give himself some privacy. He swore up a blue streak, kicking at his oak
desk, swearing more when it hurt his toes, even through his cowboy boots. He’d
never had a woman upset with him for being more successful than she’d first
thought.

Things had been going great between them, great
conversation, plenty in common, oodles of chemistry. He thought she’d felt the
mind-to-mind connection he’d experienced. What was her problem?

When someone came knocking at his office door, he took a
calming breath before returning to his chair. “Come in.” He had piles of
paperwork to catch up on before he could go to a job site and work off his
anger with a good sweat. He smiled at the young woman who ran one of his
registers and moved back to work mode. There was time to worry about the rest
later.

~*~

Cami took another survey of the progress at the hotel, and
stopped by the local office for the Colorado Department of Labor &
Employment to pick up the job applications waiting there. They would do a
mass-interview period in three days under Harrison’ organized hands, and there
would undoubtedly be more interviews to come. They would likely end up
interviewing over a thousand people before all of the spots were filled, and
she was glad she’d only have to be in on the appointments for  her small
department, leaving the rest for the others.

Through it all, she thought of her argument with Vince and
though she told herself she was in the right, she couldn’t let it go.

She returned home to find Rosemary giving Jonquil what was
probably an unwanted cooking lesson. Sage sat on the sofa in the great room,
setting out lotions and masks, sugar glows and bottles and tubs of things Cami
couldn’t identify.

Sage smiled at her. “Delphi’s catching the red eye and will
be here in the morning.”

“Great. I’ve got applications for every department.” Cami
held up the sheaf she’d picked up, then set them on the kitchen table. “Read
them over when you get a minute. Harrison said he’d be here bright and early
Saturday to discuss strategy.” Retreat was her best option right now, as she
didn’t think she was fit company, even if she had wanted to spend time with
these women—which she didn’t.

“As soon as they put the cake in the oven, we’re going to
test out some new products I’m considering for the spa. Care to join us?” Sage
asked.

Cami managed a smile, but couldn’t vouch for it coming
across happy. “I’m up to my eyebrows in work. But thanks.” She hurried away
before she could get drawn into more conversation.

As soon as her bedroom door clicked closed behind her, Cami
stopped and took a deep breath. She felt so angry. Angry at whomever was
causing problems for them in the news. Angry with her father for keeping so
many secrets and dumping them all together in this. Angry that he’d planned for
her to get together with Vince, and she’d just fallen right into place like the
obedient daughter she’d always been. Angry at the other women for existing and
ruining her image of the father who had always treated her with the adoration
every child deserved.

She didn’t have to toe the line in everything, though. And
she had no intention of becoming bosom buddies with his other daughter or
letting things with Vince get serious. It was time to strike out for
independence.

The next morning Cami found hot muffins on the table and
Mrs. Grady kneading dough on the counter. “Wow! It smells great.”

“Thanks. I thought you girls could use some fresh bread and
soup for dinner tonight. I’ll finish the cleaning when everyone’s gone for the
day.” Mrs. Grady sprinkled a little more flour onto the counter and returned to
kneading. “It sounds like things are getting busy at the hotel.”

“There’s always something going on,” Cami agreed. The hotel
itself was only one of her worries. She spotted the plate of chocolate and
crème cake rolls Rosemary had made the previous day. They were drizzled with
chocolate sauce after the slices had been cut and were to-die-for delicious.

“Looks like one of you girls was busy yesterday,” Mrs. Grady
commented, seeing Cami study the dessert.

“Rosemary gave Jonquil a lesson on the evils of snack cakes
and the joys of cooking.” Cami turned her attention back to the split muffin in
her hand and spread some jam on it. “If you ask me, Jonquil is still going to
sneak in her
Ho Hos
—though the cake rolls are divine.” She took a bite
of the muffin and made herself a cappuccino.

Mrs. Grady laughed. “My Robert is the same way about those
cream-filled oatmeal cookie sandwiches. He says life’s too short not to enjoy
it while you can.” Her smile turned wistful.

“How’s he doing?” Cami asked. In all of the craziness of the
past few days, she hadn’t followed up on the calls she’d made to some friends
in Chicago. She would have to take care of that when she reached the hotel.

“He’s holding on. We’re praying for a donor.” Mrs. Grady
turned her attention back to her bread, using more force than before.

“I hope it goes well.” Cami sat in silence until it was time
to leave. What could she say?

~*~

Cami sat at the desk in her room Sunday night, typing up
notes for the next morning’s meeting. She could hear Jonquil’s music pounding through
her closed bedroom door, and Rosemary called something down the stairs to the
others, who were all gathered in the kitchen. Though Cami tried to block it all
out, it wasn’t easy.

She wished she didn’t have to live in this house with so
many people. Even in the monstrosity, she could never be alone. Not really. And
yet, she didn’t feel part of the careful camaraderie they seemed to be
developing. Nor did she want to. What was wrong with her, anyway? She had a
come apart on Vince, had her world turned upside down, and was forced to live
everyday with women whose very presence reminded her George had cheated
constantly on her mother. And he kept secrets from her, big, important secrets
that affected her after making her trust him with most of her own.

Cami thought about taking a trip back to Chicago after the
meeting wrapped up the next day. She needed some breathing space. She had a few
things in Chicago that needed attention. The break might be perfect.

When she heard a knock at her door, she nearly growled. “Who
is it?”

“Lana.”

She forced herself to relax. “Come in.”

Lana entered and shut the door behind her. “You’re always
hiding out in here whenever someone else is around.”

“It’s easier. And quieter. Mostly.” She threw a dirty look
at the door as another song started on Jonquil’s cranked stereo.

Lana managed a half-hearted smile, which worried Cami. She
saved her document, then gave her sister her full attention. “What’s going on?
What’s wrong?”

 “I wasn’t going to tell you.” Lana sat on the edge of the
bed. “I was never going to tell anyone, but I think maybe . . .” She sighed and
rubbed her nose. “I knew Dad was cheating on Mom.” She knotted her hands
together on her lap, but she held Cami’s gaze. “I’ve known for years.”

Cami felt like everything was crumbling around her all over
again. “What do you mean? You knew and never told me? Since when? How?”

“I worked with Dad more than you did. Closer. I’d seen the
way he checked out other women sometimes. I didn’t like it, but I thought, you
know, you can’t blame someone for looking. He was a guy, after all, even if I
didn’t like to think of him that way. It was a couple more years before I saw
him with someone, saw the way she touched him, the way they couldn’t seem to
stop staring at each other, and then he kissed her. I almost threw up.” She
wrapped her arms around her stomach, bending over slightly and her face paled.

“Mom was still alive.” Cami was certain—it wouldn’t have
bothered Lana nearly so much if their mom hadn’t still been alive.

“Yes.” Lana stood, moving to the window, then back again. “I
confronted him, and he denied it. When I told him I knew, that I’d seen him
with the bimbo, he told me it was none of my business; he loved Mom but he
needed more.” She returned to the window, staring out at the lowering sun. “I
put in applications everywhere to get away from Dad, was thrilled when the opportunity
came up at the Ritz-Carlton.”

Cami remembered well her shock that Lana had considered,
even for a moment, going to work for someone else. The fact she’d taken the job
had been incomprehensible. It hadn’t made sense at the time. “You said you wanted
to broaden your horizons. You didn’t
tell
me.” That was one more slap in
the face in a growing pile of betrayals she couldn’t handle.

“No.” She turned back to face Cami, leaning against the
window. “At first I couldn’t imagine saying it aloud, admitting it, because I
was so angry and confused. Then I couldn’t tell you because you deserved to be
able to think well of him, even if he didn’t deserve it. We both thought the
sun rose and set with Dad. He wasn’t around as much as we’d have liked, and now
we know why, but he loved us, talked to us, cheered us on through everything. I
didn’t want to take that away from you.”

Didn’t want to take it away from her. What was she, a
freakin’ china doll? Cami’s hands clenched and she set them on her lap,
fighting to stay calm. She needed all the answers before she let herself blow
up. “What changed your mind? You came back to work for him.”

“It was seeing him with Mom when she was sick. He sat by her
bedside, hardly ever left it for anything, doted and took care of her, loved
her.” Lana lifted a hand, shook her head. “No, it didn’t make what he did
right. Things between us were never the same again. I didn’t want them to be—I
couldn’t trust him anymore. There’s no excuse good enough for him to step out
on her, and I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to forgive him for everything he
gave to those other women when he should have given it to Mom.”

Cami took in the explanation, considered and felt more
knotted up inside. “So why are you telling me now?” She wished she didn’t know—the
last thing she wanted was to be angry at Lana as well. She needed someone she
could trust, turn to when everything else was falling down around her.

Lana walked over, picking up Cami’s hand. “Because I think
sometimes you hold yourself back from the others.” She gestured with her head
to indicate the women downstairs still kicking up noise and confusion. “Because
you still blame them, not for being born, but for knowing something so big when
you didn’t.”

She hurried to clarify before Cami could respond, “I didn’t
know about the other sisters. He never mentioned it, but I knew he hadn’t been
faithful, suspected it wasn’t a one-time thing, and I never told you. You can’t
blame them for knowing it, if you don’t blame me. They deserve better. You
deserve better than holding back from everyone. If we want to make this year
anything better than crossing days off a calendar, we need to try being the
kind of friends with them that we could have been growing up. Don’t discount
everyone because your pride has been pricked.”

Cami pressed her fingertips between her brows and closed her
eyes. She couldn’t think. It was too much all at once. “Thanks for telling me.”