For a second, he was afraid she was going to glide right past The Fix, but then she tugged open the door and practically bounced over the threshold. She paused, glancing around, and his heart did a little flip when she met his eyes and broadened her smile. But her gaze soon traveled on, and she squealed out loud upon finding her brother.
"You're here! Why didn't you text me?" She sprinted across the bar and wrapped her brother in a hug, then yanked over an empty chair and squeezed in between Darryl and Cam.
"Because then it wouldn't be a surprise, doofus."
"Um, hello? Dad and I have known you're coming since, oh, the beginning of last semester. Not really much of a surprise."
Darryl pointed toward the doorway and then to her. "And yet may I present Exhibit A, which I like to call, A Girl: Surprised."
Mina shook her head, feigning exasperation. "Whoever decided he should go to law school has a lot to answer for."
"That would be me," Darryl said.
She smiled sweetly. "I know. Beware my unexpected wrath."
Before Darryl could continue the banter--that was, frankly, making Cam a little dizzy--she shifted in her chair to include Cam and Nolan in the conversation. "Okay, quickly, quickly, because I need to get over there and help Brooke and Spencer. But tell me what you guys are talking about. I mean, right now the testosterone is so thick I can practically inhale it."
"Nosy, much?" Darryl said. "You tell us what's got you floating on clouds first."
"It shows?"
"You look like you've won the lottery," Cam said.
"I have." She laughed, then hugged herself. "You know that production studio in South Austin? The one that produces Griffin's web series?" she asked, referring to another regular at The Fix, who'd written and produced a popular podcast that had gone on to become a successful web series.
"Sure," both Darryl and Cam said in unison.
"Well, they're diving into features--Beverly Martin starred in their first one, and it's winning all sorts of awards."
"We know," Cam said. "That's why Brooke went nuts when Beverly offered to emcee the calendar contest. That's a hell of a coup having an actual movie star on the stage."
"I know," Mina continued. "And they'll be doing more movies and television. And guess who their newest assistant to the vice-president in charge of development will be."
"Seriously?" Darryl pulled his sister into a hug. "That's fabulous."
"I know, right? And the company is small enough I'm going to have a ton of responsibility."
"Does that mean you're not thinking about moving to LA anymore?" Darryl asked.
"Are you kidding? Hollywood's the cherry on the sundae, and I'm going to make such a splash when I get there. Especially now that I'll be going with a real resume. Not just school projects and a few internships. I mean, this job is the perfect stepping stone. A couple of years under my belt, and I'll take Hollywood by storm!"
"Congratulations," Cam said, with enough genuine enthusiasm that he didn't think twice about also engulfing her in a hug. At least not until his arms were around her, and her small breasts were pressed against his chest. He felt the shock of connection ricochet through him, and pushed away a little too fast, terrified that all that energy was about to coalesce in his cock, and give him the kind of hard on that his Wranglers really couldn't hide.
Mina, thank goodness, was still too giddy to notice his awkwardness. "I know, it's amazing. I start in a couple of weeks."
"Why not right away," Darryl asked, and Mina sighed, as if he'd asked a totally foolish question.
"Because, hello? I want a break. And because I'm writing that article on lighting techniques with my advisor for one of the cinematography magazines, and we still have a few tweaks. But that's outside of my coursework." She leaned back, looking smug. "I'm officially all done with school and have my MFA in film and media production to prove it."
She sighed happily as the guys applauded her. "So, what's up with y'all? Sitting over here in the corner sharing secrets?"
"More like telling stories," Darryl said. "And praising Cameron's testicles."
"Dammit, Darryl--" Cam began as he felt his face start to burn. Shit.
"Well, I think they must be seriously awesome," Mina said, with a wink at Cam that made the parts in question tighten pleasantly. "Is this typical guy talk? Because if it is, I don't want to ever hear another word about me discussing concealers and exfoliating scrubs with my girlfriends."
"I'm trying to convince him to come on Mornings With Wood to talk about his stunt last Wednesday during the contest."
"Brilliant," Mina said. "Because, personally, I'm certain there's more to the story."
"What is the story?" Darryl asked.
"He told me that he just wanted to do something different," Mina said. "But I think there's a woman involved." She leaned over, her hand resting on his thigh as she shoulder-bumped him. "Am I right?"
"Not even close," he lied, surprised his voice sounded normal despite the fact that his entire body felt hotter than the sun and every cell was vibrating wildly.
"I don't believe it." She leaned back, lifting her hand so she could signal for Tiffany to bring her a water. Cam drew a deep breath, grateful for the reprieve, yet frustrated by the broken contact. "I think it was all about reverse psychology."
Cam knew he'd regret it, but he couldn't help asking what she meant.
"You know," she said. "You go write something funny on your abs so that the women in the audience will notice you twice. First, to laugh, and then to say, wow, the words might be funny, but those abs are seriously awesome. I mean, right?"
She leaned toward him again, and this time Cam about leaped out of his chair when she flipped open two of the buttons on his shirt and then slid her hand inside. Her warm palm pressed against his over-heated skin, and Cam's heart started to pound so hard he was certain that she would ask if he was having a heart attack.
"Honestly, the only thing funny about your performance was you thinking this chest could be comic relief." She winked at him. "But I assumed you were being ironic."
For a second their eyes met, and her hand stilled over his heart. Her lips parted, and there was something familiar in her eyes--something hot and needy that called to him, reflecting his own violent craving.
Then she laughed lightly and withdrew her hand, and the moment faded, disappearing like dandelion seeds lost in a windstorm, and Cam was left to wonder if he'd only imagined it.
Probably so, especially since Mina was stealing a hush puppy and laughing with Darryl and Nolan and displaying absolutely no indication whatsoever that she'd felt anything real at all when she'd stroked his skin.
To Cam, though, her touch had been about as real as it gets.
"I'm right, aren't I?" she continued after she'd swallowed the hush puppy. "Cam's abs should have taken the crown." She turned to Cam, all traces of the earlier moment completely erased. "I mean, you only lost to that dude because he's a superstar reality TV show guy."
As she spoke, she grinned mischievously and hooked a thumb over her shoulder to indicate Spencer, the recently anointed Mr. February, who was approaching their table with Brooke at his side.
"Um, excuse me?" Brooke said. "Cam's no slouch, but I'm here to vouch for Spencer's abs." She waggled her eyebrows. "And the rest of him, for that matter."
"I don't even want to know," Nolan said, laughing.
"And why are we discussing my guy's abs, anyway?" Brooke asked Mina. "Especially since I'm pretty sure you're supposed to be silently subservient behind the camera."
"Subservient?" Darryl chimed in. "My little sister's never been subservient a day in her life. She wouldn't even clean her room when ordered."
"Little sister?" She pushed back from the table. "I'm fifteen minutes younger than you."
"Like I said. Shrimp."
Mina made a face, and everyone laughed. Everyone except Cam whose body was still vibrating from the contact.
"Come on," Spencer said. "
We're going to anchor the new bar to the floor and the wall. Can you work the second camera?"
"Hell, yeah," Mina said, then gave a parting wave to the guys as she followed Brooke and Spencer.
"Hey, Meanie," Darryl called, using the nickname Cam knew she hated. "I'm bringing Zachary with me to my surprise party."
"You jerk. Can't you even pretend to be surprised? And who's Zachary?"
"He graduated with me, and he's doing a year with the Fifth Circuit, too, before he moves on to some humongous firm in Los Angeles. He told me his uncle's a big shot at one of the studios, and he's going to do entertainment law. He's a great guy. I think you'll like him."
Darryl had recently accepted a prestigious position as a clerk, which basically meant that he would be a Federal judge's right-hand briefing attorney for a year. Where he'd go after that, Cam knew he hadn't decided. But apparently, his friend Zach had his career path all sketched out.
"Yeah? Well, you're still a jerk. Just because he has industry access does not mean I'm going to put on a white veil and the shackles of matrimony."
Darryl held up his hands in a defensive gesture. "Not matchmaking, I swear. But the best relationships have a business bond at the core. That's what Dad always says."
"Like I'm going to take relationship advice from a guy whose marriage failed. And Mom didn't--"
"Guys," Cam interrupted, "can we agree that your dad has serious fucking clout and move on? Because I'm pretty sure Brooke and Spencer are going to fire your ass if you don't catch up with them." Probably not true, but it sounded persuasive. "And Tyree will fire me if I let my customers scare away the other customers."
"You're not on the clock," Darryl pointed out.
Cam stared him down. "I'll grab a shift if that's what it takes to stop you two bickering."
"Fair enough," Mina said, then lifted her hand, her thumb, forefinger, and pinkie on display in the sign for I love you.
Darryl shook his head, but flashed the sign back as she hurried across the rest of the room to help Spencer and Brooke.
Cam watched her go, thinking how easy it was to talk to her--hell, to take charge--when they were just bullshitting or talking about work. But the second he shifted his perspective and thought of her as a woman and not simply as Mina ... well, those were the times when it wasn't easy at all.
Chapter Two
"You're not going to get in trouble by blowing off work tonight?" Darryl asked as he and Mina walked the three blocks to the lot where she'd left her car.
"Nope, I'm free and clear. We work crazy late on Wednesdays with the contests, but the only work we do on Fridays and Saturdays is during the day. Brooke and Spencer figured that way we get footage, but we're out of everyone's hair on the busiest nights."
"Makes sense."
"Besides," she added, "I would have taken off just to hang out with you."
"Well, yeah. I mean that's pretty much a given." He grinned, his wide smile brightening an already handsome face. "I'm just that awesome, after all."
She bit back a smile so as not to encourage him. "Okay, awesome boy. I'm doing a 5K fun run tomorrow morning. You want to come with?"
"A 5K?"
She shrugged. "I've been thinking about training for a marathon, but a 5K's as much as I've worked up to."
"Hmm."
She glanced sideways at him as they crossed the street and headed into the pay-to-park lot. "That's an enigmatic hmm. You disapprove of exercise?" She looked him up and down to make her point. Her brother had been on both the swim and tennis teams all through high school, and in college, he even played water polo. He'd pushed himself through some killer workouts, and she'd been at every one of his major games, jumping up to her feet to cheer him on.
"Come on, Mina. Don't be obtuse. You know I worry about you." They'd reached the car, and he walked around to the driver's side, then held up his hand so she could toss him the keys to the small Mercedes convertible that her father had given her for her eighteenth birthday.
"There's nothing to worry about. It's just a 5K."
He didn't answer. Just snapped his fingers for the keys.
Frowning, she clicked the button to unlock the car, then got in on the passenger side. After a second, he slid into the driver's seat. "Can I have the keys, please?"
She hesitated, then dropped them in his outstretched palm. "You do realize that I've been driving for as long as you have?"
He just shrugged and slid the key into the ignition. Mina sighed, settled in, and decided not to make a thing of it. Because, honestly, she was used to it. Her father and brother had been babying her since ... well, since she was a baby.
The whole thing was wackadoo as far as she was concerned. Darryl was all determined to watch out for his fragile little sister because she was weak, and he was strong and blah and blah and blah.
Except, she wasn't weak. Not any more. True, she'd been born fifteen long minutes after her brother, and they'd both been born at thirty-two weeks. Also true that he'd been exceptionally healthy for a preemie, and she'd been exceptionally weak. He'd thrived; she'd suffered from a series of medical issues and spent weeks in the NICU after her twin had gone home.
But she'd outgrown all her ailments by the time she'd hit puberty, though her parents were convinced that her petite stature--especially when compared to Darryl's robust build--stemmed from her various ailments as a kid. But so what? She was almost twenty-five now, and pretty damn cute if she said so herself. Most important, she was fine. Perfectly fine.
But even so, her dad and her brother pampered her. Which might be charming if it didn't mean they still saw her as weak.
Couple that with the fact that since her mom had moved out when the twins were seven, Mina had grown up in a house with two men, both of whom plunked her firmly on the Princess Throne. A seat she'd never wanted. But, at the same time, she loved her father and brother. And if they wanted to spoil her rotten...
With a sigh, she leaned back and closed her eyes, letting Darryl steer them toward home. As annoying as he and her dad might be, the truth was there were a lot worse problems she could have than an overprotective family.
Like, she thought, one that dabbled in matchmaking.
She frowned, suddenly suspicious, and opened her eyes. "Tonight's just us, right? You didn't invite Zacharius over, did you? Because I want to put on some yoga pants, make some popcorn, and veg."
"It's Zachary, and no. Just us."
"Good." She felt the stress practically ooze off her. "Are we watching at my place or Dad's?"
"Let's do the house," Darryl said. "I may crash early."
"Sounds good." Her father still lived in the house they grew up in, and Darryl's room had stayed the same during his years in undergrad and law school, like a museum in honor of the departing hero. Mina had moved out, too, but she'd taken her stuff with her. Not far, though. Unlike her brother, who'd moved out of state, Mina had not only stayed in Texas, she'd stayed in Austin for both undergrad and graduate school.
She'd lived on campus until she got her bachelor's, but the summer before grad school, she'd moved into the family's garage apartment. A well-appointed residence, it took up the entire second floor of the detached six car garage that graced the back half of the five-acre lot nestled in the hills near Lake Austin.
It had been her father's suggestion--another nod to taking care of little Mina. But by that time she'd spent four years with a roommate and had learned the value of a rent-free place to live. Especially one with access to a pool, tennis court, theater room, and a seriously well-stocked wine cellar.
"How long are you staying with Dad?" Mina asked as Darryl turned the car up the private drive that led to their gate.
"Not sure," he said. "It's a big house. If he doesn't drive me too crazy, I might stay for the year of my clerkship, then see where I land."
"Good," she said. "You might be a jerk on occasion, but I've missed having you around."
He pulled the car up in front of the massive garage and
killed the engine. "Glad I'm back, too," he said. "Meet at the house at six? I'll order Chinese."
"Perfect." She reached for the car door.
"Oh, to finish answering your question, I did invite one person over for movie night."
Her hand stilled, and she groaned as she turned to her brother. "Please tell me you're joking. It's Friday. It's been a long week. All I want is to kick back and chill, not act all perky for some guy you're looking to fix me up with."
He laughed. "It's only Cam. I told him to come by for Chinese and whatever movie you saddle us with--see? I didn't forget that it's your turn to pick. Or should I tell him not to come over?"
"Cam?" She realized she was smiling and dialed it back. "Well, duh. Of course, Cam's welcome."
"Just checking," Darryl said. "God forbid I foist a guy on you."
"Oh, please." She pushed open the car door, using the motion to camouflage the fact that she'd turned her face away. "Cam's not a guy. He's practically like family."
Which completely begged the question of why her skin suddenly burned with the memory of his bare chest under her palm--or why she had a sudden urge to spend the rest of the afternoon taking a scented bath, shaving her legs, and trying on outfits until she found something casual yet cute, and just a tiny bit sexy.
* * *
Like family?
Hours later, her words still rang in her head, and she wondered at her own foolishness. Because no way in hell was Cam like family.
Not tonight. Not now.
Not while Mina was standing in front of her bathroom mirror in her underwear, her entire body tingling as she let her mind drift back on the afternoon. The pressure of Cam's body against hers as he hugged her in congratulations. The heat of his skin when she'd so boldly slid her hand in his shirt. The blood pounding under her fingers and the way she'd felt that unexpected craving rush through her as if following a path from her fingertips all the way down to her sex.
With a little shiver, she eased her fingers under the band of her panties, then moaned when she realized that she was wet.
A heartbeat later, her eyes flew open and she jumped backward, pulling her hand free like some kid caught in bed with a dirty magazine.
Good grief, she hadn't even realized what she'd been doing. Her hand stroking down her abdomen, her fingers seeking her heat. And her mind lost in the memory of Cam's innocent touch, while her reaction to it had been anything but innocent.