Redeem Me (Kin #6)(16)
Author: Jennifer Foor

“So that’s how it’s goin’ to be? You’re just goin’ to move on?” He obviously heard Seth talking to me. I was going to let him think I was forging forward.

“Apparently so.”

He didn’t say anything, so I knew I’d gotten under his skin. “Good luck with that.”

“Goodbye, Parker.” My hands were shaking as I ended the call, and I could feel the burning in my eyes when I turned to address Seth.

Chapter 11

Cameron

“Seth, I thought I saw you earlier.”

He put his hand on my shoulder and looked into my eyes while smiling back at me. “It’s been a long time, Cameron. You look amazing.” Ten seconds, and I was already getting compliments.

“Thanks. You too.”

“So where’s this boyfriend your dad keeps complaining about? I hear he’s a jock.”

I didn’t want to think about Parker, or talk about him for that matter. My face contorted as I replied the best way I could. “It’s over.” I held my ground, determined to be strong. After all, I was an independent woman with a great future ahead of me. I’d been raised to hold my head high, never letting anything bring me down.

“Wow. When I first heard you had a boyfriend I wondered if it was because you wanted to get your father back for keeping you locked up for all those years. Looking at your face tells me that this guy meant something to you. I’m sorry to hear that. First love is hard to get over; I’m not going to lie.”

Seth was seven years older than me. He’d had relationships with beautiful women. “I appreciate that.” He waved to the barmaid for another round. I smiled and looked down at my hands, instantly becoming nervous, because he was insuring that I stuck around.

For someone that thought I wanted this, second thoughts were overwhelming me. I stuck my finger in my mouth, and began to chew on the nail. It was a bad habit that I only did when I was nervous. Seth waited until our drinks were served. He slid mine closer to me and pulled my hand away from my face. “Do I make you uneasy?”

I shook my head, even though he did make me feel on edge. “Of course not.”

“I’d never hurt you, Cameron. You know, I still think about that kiss. You’re a hard woman to forget.”

I wish Parker felt that way. Just thinking about him made me angry. I put on the best fake smile that I could conjure up. “You’re being too kind. I recall that kiss as your desperate attempt to get me to date you behind my father’s back.”

He took his hand and placed it over mine on the counter. “Had I known that you were about to run off and date the first guy to come around, I would have tried harder.”

We could sit here all night and argue about intentions, but the bottom line was that each second that passed was forcing me to rethink being around him at all. “Seth, you’ve known me for a long time, and you’ve never been a bullshitter. I knew you wanted me when I was still a teenager, but you respected my boundaries. I appreciate your attraction, and so I’m going to give it to you straight. I came here to forget about my boyfriend, albeit I realize it’s not going to happen. So I have a proposal for you. You can walk away knowing that I’m still not interested in being in a relationship with you, or you take me upstairs and help me temporarily forget how much pain I’m in. The choice is yours.” I gulped down the burning alcohol while I let Seth make a choice. This was going to be my last drink of the evening, whether we ended up in his room, or I was back in mine all alone.

Seth took his beverage into his hand and downed it all at once. He snickered as he sat it back down on the edge of the bar and turned to face me. Then he leaned in close to my ear. “I’m going to make you forget all about him.”

It was that very moment when I knew without a doubt I was going to go through with it. Desperation had led me to this point, and there was no turning back, when all I wanted to do was move forward. “What are you waiting for then? The way I see it, we’re just wasting time.” I couldn’t believe the words that were pouring out of my mouth. This was so out of character for me, and my drinks hadn’t been stiff enough to cause me to be so blatant with my eagerness. It was my pain that was fueling me, and my need to alleviate it in any way possible.

For my own sake, I waited until we were in the elevator to speak again, on account not being in total control over what I was about to do. Did I really want to be intimate with another man? Could he actually make me forget everything about Parker that I loved so much? Was this man who knew me longer than Parker able to help me cope with the pain of my first breakup?

I was willing to find out.

I watched the numbers on the elevator climb, as the man behind me, whom I was about to sleep with remained silent. I think he was giving me the opportunity to puss out. Little did he know that I was frantic to get over my boyfriend. My despairing situation left me vulnerable, and that vulnerability left me accessible.

Seth was right. He’d waited a long time to be given the go-ahead, and I knew he was going to give it his all, because he wanted nothing more than to nail the boss’ daughter.

Whether it was some kind of attraction, or other motives all-together, my mind was only focused on my needs. I honestly didn’t care why Seth wanted me. By morning I’d have my answer. I’d know whether sleeping with him had helped or made things worse. Like everything in life, it was worth the try.

Parker

“What have I done? What have I done?” I kept repeating it out loud as if I were going to get an answer. I couldn’t believe this was happening. I don’t know why, but I assumed in the back of my mind that we’d eventually figure out a way to be together. I never, in a million years, would have thought my innocent girlfriend was in the mountains with another man. It made me wonder if she’d had a secret friend in her life that I’d never known about. I wondered if Cameron had her own set of secrets; except that made no sense. If she had she would have forgiven me for mine, instead of creating this trickle of events. I was frantically trying to calm down enough to rationalize with what had happened.

I knew Cameron, sometimes better than she knew herself. Her heart was broken, caused by my actions. Had I overheard and misunderstood? Had she played me based off of my reaction? It was very possible indeed.

She’d gotten her keen knack for manipulation from her lawyer parents, who always seemed to get what they desired. If this was a ploy to win me back out of jealousy, she had me right where she wanted me.