“I’m not loud. You’re just suffering from the aftereffects of rum flu.”
I focused on the lei I was making. He knew how cute he was, and I was not about to be sucked into it.
Was. Not.
Then he said, “I’m aware that you’re trying to change the subject.”
“I prefer to think of it as gently steering our conversation in a different direction on purpose.”
“You’re not the only one who can do that. So, you didn’t answer when I called you this morning,” he commented, correctly guessing that I wouldn’t be able to resist his bait.
“That’s because unlike you, I have caller ID.” I wanted to ask him how he got my number but knew that there were a handful of women who were supposed to care about me that would have happily handed it to him.
“Well, fortunately I’m not snobby like you, and when a phone rings, I answer. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t have had the chance to chat with Lindsey.”
“Do not call my mom that.”
“Her name?”
“Yes, her name. Like you guys are friends or something.” As if I hadn’t already had an earful from her this morning.
“What are you talking about? We are friends now. We’re going to get lunch the next time she comes to visit you.”
“You’re not funny,” I told him.
“Objectively, I believe that I am.”
Did he not get how mortifying this whole situation was? Me not being myself last night, him having a chat with my overzealous mother, not being able to explain any of it to him. This whole thing was like a talk of shame.
To pile on, Camden offered, “Your face is all red.”
Should I thank him for pointing out the obvious? As if I wasn’t aware that my face was currently on fire from embarrassment?
Why could I not be around this man and just behave normally?
Because you like him.
I told Mom Voice to shut up and mind her own business. I’d heard quite enough from her today.
“We should focus,” I told him. “A lot of people are paying a lot of money for all of this to go perfectly.”
“Yeah,” he said with a short laugh. “Including Dan.”
So much for focusing. “What do you mean?”
“Can I tell you a secret?”
His words slammed into my chest, and I felt them twisting and turning inside me. They were the words I’d said to him. My secret had been harmless, but that desire had been there. To tell Camden about myself, to be seen by him.
He probably hadn’t meant anything by it, and I knew I shouldn’t overreact. “If this is something dumb like how much you can bench-press, I’m not going to be responsible for my actions.”
“It’s nothing like that. I probably shouldn’t say anything, but not all of the sponsors are fully . . . sponsoring this event.”
“I’m not following.”
He put down the lei he was working on. “Some of them were only willing to offer a percentage off rather than the entire cost, and Dan stepped in and covered the rest.”
“Sadie doesn’t know that,” I said, feeling a bit alarmed.
Camden nodded. “I know she doesn’t know.”
“But you told me.” Was he not worried about me running off to tell her? I was supposed to be her best friend, after all. Should I tell her? This seemed like one of those things I might need to keep to myself. She might be devastated. Or she might be fine with it. I didn’t know her well enough to accurately predict her reaction.
Maybe she’d see it as romantic, because I was sure that’s how Dan meant it. She’d taken on those sponsorships to prove that she wasn’t after his money, and he had secretly covered the missing portion because he loved her. He wanted her to have her cake and eat it, too.
Regardless of what was going on, this wasn’t my secret to tell. Even if Sadie found out and got upset, I couldn’t imagine them staying angry at each other for very long.
Camden spoke, interrupting my internal debate. “You’re right. I did tell you.”
There was something more to his tone, but I was apparently too hungover to appreciate subtle nuance. “Why would you do that?”
“Do you really have to ask?”
Why did he think he was being obvious when he was being the very opposite? He was making my headache worse. I didn’t know what to say, so I said nothing.
When I didn’t respond, he just shook his head. I got the feeling I had disappointed him. He started working on his lei again. The lei that he was wrecking.