Cameron cursed. “You’re upset—”
“I am
beyond
fucking upset.”
He wanted to take her back into his arms, but nodded instead. “I get it, so am I, but please don’t tell me you actually think I’d take Shawn’s offer, especially now. I voted for you.”
“I know.” Misha averted her gaze from his. “How you voted wouldn’t have mattered if you knew I’d lose anyway with any damnable evidence of my involvement with you.”
Cameron kept his rising irritation in check as Misha began to pace the floor again. “Ah, I see, so I invited you to the gym fully aware of the security cameras?”
“What was that you said?” Misha stopped moving to wag her finger at him. “Oh, I remember, I’m a
natural
in front of the camera.”
“Stop.” Her words, the uncertainty in her eyes, cut through his growing anger and pained him like a stake through the heart. “So, what are you saying exactly, Misha? That I put together this nefarious plan, strategically voting for you in an effort to secure this multi-million contract for
Celeb Chef
by wooing you and taking you to bed?”
Misha flinched in the face of his harsh tone. “No.”
“And let’s not forget who initiated that whole hot little scene in the gym.”
“Don’t do that.”
Cameron scoffed. “Do what? Attack your character?”
Misha let out a strangled groan, took a step towards him. “Cameron, I don’t even know what I’m saying.”
Cameron held up his hand, beyond furious, annoyed by the ache in his chest. “Misha, I can’t believe you’d say something like that to me after everything we’ve shared. I’m sorry for the recent turn of events. I hate like hell I am the reason your dream to be the next Celeb Chef may not be realised, but I do not regret a single moment of our time together.” The tears welling in her eyes killed him. “There were many reasons why I wouldn’t have accepted Shawn’s proposal”—Cameron held her troubled gaze—“but I only needed one.”
Seconds of silence ensued before Misha looked away. “I’m sorry.” She lifted her face to his again. “I’m sorry I said that.” She reached out to touch his arm. “I’m just overwhelmed.” Her apology did little to calm the raging storm of emotions within him as a tear slid down her cheek. “Cam?”
He moved from her grasp. “I’m going to get you out of here.”
* * * *
Cameron wheeled his suitcase out of the bedroom then walked over to the mini bar. He pulled out two small bottles of Scotch then shut the door. With a dark curse, he opened the fridge again and took out two more. After pouring the contents of two into a glass with ice, he took his drink and sat in the chair facing the window. He drank the liquor fast, wanting to dull the ache gnawing at his insides.
His lawyer had confirmed that Shawn had legal grounds to give the Celeb Chef title to Jackson. The hotel manager had apologised and assured him that he was looking into pressing charges against the employee suspected of snatching the footage—Cameron got the sense that the hotel manager couldn’t wait for him to check out. He was probably worried about a lawsuit himself, which Cameron had considered, until he thought about how proceeding with one would affect Misha. He’d thought about calling her, but had quashed the idea. He wasn’t sure she wanted to hear from him and after the words spoken between them, he wasn’t sure he wanted to speak to her.
Liar.
He did want to talk to her, couldn’t get her off his mind since he’d said goodbye to her as she’d exited the elevator on her floor. They’d said nothing to one another during the drive back to the hotel, barely touching, behaving like strangers.
Fucking insane.
After all they’d shared, Misha’s frazzled accusations had hit him like a sucker-punch to the gut. He thought of her declaration of almost loving him. She couldn’t feel that way about him
and
distrust him. Despite what he’d said, she hadn’t believed him when he’d said they’d get through this together.
Just like Jess.
“No.” Cameron violently swirled the ice in his glass.
Misha wasn’t like his ex-wife. She’d explained why she’d reacted the way she had, apologised even. She hadn’t shut him out completely. He’d seen the regret in her eyes following what she’d said, but the fact remained that she’d uttered the words. Somewhere within her she questioned his intent, his feelings towards her, in spite of him telling her that he didn’t want to let her go.
But you didn’t tell her the rest.
The rest…
Cameron knocked back the Scotch and got up. He went for the remaining two mini bottles and poured more. The rest had been hard to admit, harder to say even when Misha had mumbled her heartfelt sentiment. He hadn’t bargained on falling for her, wasn’t sure he wanted to fully open himself up to the inevitable heartaches and vulnerability a relationship endured when the ‘L’ word was involved, not after what he’d gone through with Jess.
His cell chimed, interrupting his dark thoughts. Cameron went to his phone and answered it when he saw it was his brother calling. “Hello?”
“Wow. I guess I should’ve been worried.”
“What the hell are you talking about, Olie?”
“Trouble. You did find some in the Emerald City.” Oliver chuckled. “Damn. You and Misha? Since when did you start dating anything other than petite brunettes? Not that I blame you, she’s very sexy—”
“Shut the fuck up.”
“Okay. I’m sorry. This is a surprise.”
“What is?”
“You’re serious about her. You haven’t let any woman get close to you since Jess.”
Cameron remained silent.
“Hey, I’m happy for you. I know things must be crazy right now.”
“Crazy? Try a complete disaster. Misha’s a mess. Everything is fucked up.”
“Damn.”
“Yeah.” Cameron scratched at his five o’clock shadow. “She’s no longer the winner of
Celeb Chef
.”
“I know. It’s been all over the news.”
“Shit. I haven’t wanted to turn the television on.”
“Cam, everything will work out.”
“That’s what I told her, but she’s understandably upset. So am I.” Cameron set his empty snifter on the bar counter. “The worst part is that she thought I could have had anything to do with Shawn Rill’s decision.”
“He’s the executive producer of the show.”
“Right.”
“I don’t understand. Why would she think that?”
Cameron quickly explained and Oliver swore. “What?”
“That guy is a piece of work.”
“That he is.” Cameron tossed the empty bottles into the trash and glanced at his watch. He needed to be at the airport in less than four hours.
“So, you’re not taking Rill up on his lucrative offer to be a recurring
Celeb Chef
judge?”
“How did you know about that?”
“He had a meeting with Dad earlier this week, presented the idea of a tie-in with you being a returning judge and using a Banner Hotel to host the show next season. Of course, our father was interested in the publicity and revenue this could generate for the family business.”
“I didn’t think he’d have the balls to approach our dad without a green light from me.”
“Rill was relentless. Dad played it cool, but he was very excited by Rill’s offer, thinks it’s a marketing coup too good to pass up.”
“It’s not going to happen. I refuse to be a judge for
Celeb Chef
again. That jerk offered me a multi-million dollar contract if I voted against Misha.”
“Cam, Rill said he would still consider a Banner hotel for the locale as a top choice for next season’s show whether you come back or not.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“You know I’m not, and you should know Dad wants this deal almost as much as he wanted you to be a part of the family business.”
“That’s too bad. He’s about to be disappointed again.”
“What are you going to do about Misha?”
Cameron ran his hand through his hair. “There isn’t much I can do. I know how to handle a media frenzy. This madness is all new to her.”
“You’ll help her through it.”
“Honestly, Olie, I’m not sure that’s what she wants.”
“Are you going to ask her?”
“My flight leaves in a few hours. I’m sure she’s heading back to Chicago soon too.”
Oliver snorted. “What does that have to do with my question? Look, I know you’ve gone through a lot, relationship-wise. I’ve watched you handle shit I’m not sure I could, but I’ve heard something in your voice lately I haven’t heard in a long time.”
“And what would that be?”
“Happiness. Genuine joy. For me, that makes working things out with Misha worth it, man.”
“Thank you, Dr Phil.”
“Hey, just calling it like I see it. I’ll take you out for steaks and beers when you get back.”
Cameron grinned. “You bring the beers over and I’ll cook the steaks.”
Chapter Fifteen
Misha smoothed stray strands back, sighing at the sight of her fuzzy ponytail. Blow-dried heat was no match for Cameron’s brand of passion. Her body ached in several places, every twinge a reminder of her wild night with him. She touched her tender breasts through her pink turtleneck and winced. Zings of awareness shot through her nipples down to her still sensitive pussy and ass. Flashes of Cameron lifting her legs over his shoulders and taking her anal virginity sent a wave of heat through her and she tugged at her turtleneck.
Yes, but it’s a good kind of pain, isn’t it?
Misha exhaled. Just thinking about the way he’d introduced her to how good it could be made her wet. Annoyed, she reached for her lip gloss, applied it then tossed it into her makeup bag. It didn’t feel right entertaining thoughts of Cameron’s lovemaking skills, not when there were so many other things she needed to focus on, like how she’d completely flipped out on him. The things she’d said…
She’d felt the wall come up between them the moment she’d all but accused him of purposefully messing up her chance to win. He’d been furious, but he hadn’t yelled or called her irrational. No, he’d seen her back to her hotel room without uttering a single word. Well, one—goodbye.
No.
Misha grabbed her makeup bag then exited the bathroom. Her gaze fell on the stainless steel knife Shannon had presented her with. Tears filled her eyes as she picked it up and stared at the embossed words on the handle. She’d wanted to win so badly. The thought of going home no longer the winner of
Celeb Chef
hurt, but was nothing in comparison to losing Cameron. Had she ruined everything between them?
A knock on the door drew her attention away from the stainless steel and her scattered thoughts. She placed the knife on the bed, went to the door and opened it to see her sister. “Where’s Ava and Josie?”
Serene walked into the room. “They’ll be here. I wanted to talk to you alone first. Where have you been? We’ve been trying to reach you for hours.” She hugged Misha.
“I just needed some time to myself.” Misha squeezed her sister tightly.
“I’m sorry all of this happened.” Serene moved back to look at her. “I can see in your eyes how upset you are.”
Misha sighed. “Wouldn’t you be?”
“I would. But it was just a vid of you two kissing. It wasn’t like you two were having sex in the gym.” Serene’s eyes widened as she stared at Misha. “Oh, my
God
. You
did
, didn’t you?”
“Serene—”
“Do you think that was recorded too?”
“Serene, I don’t know, okay? I just can’t believe this is happening, how recklessly I’ve been behaving since…”
“Since Cameron.”
Misha sat on the bed. “None of this would’ve happened if I’d just stayed focused on the reason I came to Seattle in the first place.”
Her sister came over and sat next to her. “C’mon. I know it seems bad, but all that video showed was a kiss between two lovers, a very
hot
kiss. It’s not like a sex tape, Misha.”
“But one could exist. Maybe this person is just waiting for the right moment to let the other shoe drop.”
“Whoever shared that video made some quick cash giving that footage to some tabloid. You best believe they would have shared something juicier for more money if they’d had it. So, try not to let that thought drive you crazy.
Crazier
.” Serene picked up the
Celeb Chef
knife and sighed. “This is beautiful.”
“It is. I guess I should give it back.”
“Like hell you should. It’s got your name on it.” Serene handed it to her. “You earned it. It’s yours.”
Misha hesitated before taking the gleaming utensil from her.
“Look, you won. Everyone knows that. Don’t let what happened shake your confidence. Now, take this damn thing, put it back in that lovely box and pack it in your suitcase. We are going to find a special place to display it when we get back.”
Misha grinned as she took the knife. “I love you, Serene.” She kissed her sister on the cheek then walked over to her suitcase.
“I love you back. Speaking of love…”
Misha whirled around and pointed the kitchenware at Serene. “Don’t.”
“Don’t what? Talk about the fact you’ve found a man that you obviously care a lot about?”
“My involvement with Cameron is what messed things up.” Misha stuffed the wooden box inside her suitcase.
“I know the timing was a little off, but are you really sorry you got involved with him?”
Misha paused for a moment then zipped up her bag. “No, I’m not sorry.”
“I know you aren’t.”
Misha came back over to the bed and flopped down on it beside her sister. “I also have absolutely no idea what I’m doing with him either.”
Serene lay back with her. “That’s how it is with love—unexplainable, unpredictable.”
“I didn’t say I loved him.”
“Don’t you?”
Misha thought about what she’d mumbled to Cameron before she’d drifted into sated dreamland. “I said some things to him I seriously regret.”
“Was it that bad?”
“Worse.” Misha shook her head, remembering the coolness in Cameron’s gaze when he’d said goodbye to her. “If you had seen his face.”
Serene nodded. “You were upset, reacting to the situation. He understands, I’m sure.”
“I don’t know. He was pissed.”
“You need to talk to him.”