Guarding Camille

“Jake, please, you’re making me tired.”

“I don’t know what could’ve happened,” he muttered, ignoring her complaint. “I tried calling, but she’s not answering her phone.”

“Jake—” Camille began again.

But the sound of a car stopped all of them. A van pulled into sight behind the house, and Jake opened the kitchen door, glowering.

As a pretty woman slid from behind the wheel, Jake shouted, “Where the hell have you been?”

CHAPTER THREE

CAMILLE WATCHED the other woman, wondering how she would react.

With hands on her hips, Anna grinned at Jake. “Hey, shopping is hard work. It took longer than I expected. Besides, it’s just past four.”

Before Jake could respond to that, the other door to the van opened, and a second woman got out. “What the hell are you doing here, Shelby?”

“Well, I feel welcome,” the woman drawled.

Camille admired the women’s sangfroid. Obviously they didn’t bow to Jake’s orders.

“This is supposed to be secret!” Jake practically shouted, frustration in his voice.

“Then you shouldn’t be yelling,” Anna said calmly. “Come help us carry things in.”

Camille watched from her seat at the kitchen table, Jamie in her arms, as the three of them trooped through the kitchen and up the stairs with the clothing. She was amazed at how easy the two women were with Jake’s anger. After several trips, Jake introduced them to her.

“Camille, this is my sister Anna and our good friend Shelby Lord.”

“Are you related to Garrett?” Camille asked. She noticed some similarity in Shelby to Garrett. A very feminine resemblance. Both women were attractive and fashionably dressed in tailored slacks and silk blouses, making Camille feel like the dowdy country cousin.

“Yes, he’s my brother. I can’t believe he didn’t ask us out here before to keep you company,” Shelby replied with a smile.

“Shelby, everything about Camille has to be kept secret,” Jake insisted. “You shouldn’t even be here.”

“This is my brother’s place. I come and go all the time. No one will think anything of it,” she assured him.

Camille turned to Jake. His gaze reminded her to be discreet. Then he looked at the other two women. “Just fix her up for tomorrow night, okay? No questions.”

“Okay,” Anna agreed, smiling, but she sent a warning look Shelby’s way before leaning down to look at Jamie. “What a sweet baby! May I hold him?”

“Yes, of course,” Camille responded, “though, since he just ate, he’ll probably go right back to sleep.”

“We can only hope,” Jake muttered, and received a glare from Camille for his efforts.

Anna smirked at her brother before saying to Camille, “We’ll take your baby and go upstairs so some people won’t bother us.”

Her words didn’t seem to affect Jake. His attention was focused on the road.

“What, or should I say who, are you looking for?” Anna asked.

“Max. He’s going to stay here while I run into town.”

Anna looked at her brother, a glimmer in her eye. “I’m sure you’re going to give him a piece of your mind for showing up so late.”

Jake ignored his sister’s teasing. “There he is!” he exclaimed a moment later. As he headed for the door, he called over his shoulder, “I’ll see you later, Camille.”

She stared after him, missing him already, feeling a little unsure on her own. After all, he’d been with her almost constantly these past months.

When she turned to find Anna and Shelby studying her curiously, she shrugged. “Shall we go upstairs? I don’t want to keep you any longer than necessary.” That wasn’t quite true, though. Female companionship, especially with these two charming women, was a welcome change.

“Don’t be silly,” Anna said. “We’re delighted to meet Jake’s mystery woman.”

“I’m just a job for Jake,” she hurriedly said, and followed the other two up the stairs.

Camille knew they’d carried in a lot of clothes, but she was stunned by the amount. Anna had brought a selection of casual clothes besides the dressier items. A linen jumper with several different silk T-shirts to be worn underneath was her favorite item.

“I love this.”

“You have good taste,” Anna assured her. “It looks terrific on you.”

Shelby laid out several pairs of walking shorts. “You must’ve been hot lately in the clothes you have. It was much colder when you arrived.”

“Yes. I had no idea I’d be in hiding so long,” Camille confessed.

“Have you been bored?” Anna asked. “I don’t think I could stand to be trapped in one place.”

Camille thought back to the lonely days and nights. Jake hadn’t been much of a conversationalist, though toward the end of her pregnancy, he’d opened up a bit more.

Then, when he’d gone into the delivery room with her, helping her through that difficult time, she’d thought they’d drawn closer. But she could sense he was pulling away again.

“I read a lot. And we have a television and VCR. Jake got us movies to watch.” Though most of them she’d watched alone.

“Well, tomorrow night you’ll get to socialize a little,” Anna said. “Which brings us to what you’ll wear at Mom’s. Shall I show you my favorite?”

Camille nodded, and Anna unzipped a garment bag and pulled out a cocktail dress in pale leaf green. Its empire style relieved Camille’s concern about her waistline, which hadn’t quite shrunk to its pre-pregnancy trimness, and the frothy chiffon skirt gave the dress a certain grace and elegance.

Camille gasped. “How beautiful!”

“It will be perfect on you,” Anna assured her.

Camille picked up the dress and gasped again. “But—but it’s a designer dress!”

“Don’t you like it? It’s beautifully simple, such great lines,” Anna enthused.

“Yes, it’s wonderful…but expensive,” Camille said, frowning.

“Oh, don’t worry. After I talked to you and Jake, Mom called. She was afraid you’d have nothing to wear. She wants the gown to be a gift from her.”