Hot Commodity (Banks / Kincaid Family #1)(26)

Olivia pressed her palm to her heart and closed her eyes. When she opened them, he was still there, bigger than life, beaming his adorable lopsided smile and looking devastating in a tux.

Automatically, she scanned the room for Vivian.

"Oh, yeah," Cameron continued on a husky murmur and moved closer. "Like the dress. It has lick-me written all over it."

His eyes wandered down her body, and she suddenly remembered being naked and alone with him. She remembered it in vivid technicolor.

"Still look good in black, I see," he commented and reached out to run one finger over her left shoulder, under the spaghetti strap. "But I must say, I do miss the leather." He slipped another digit under the strap so the two could slide across her skin. "Nice necklace." The tips of his fingers barely grazed the string of pearls that suddenly felt very snug around her throat.

Olivia shivered and jerked back, grabbing his wrist and tugging his hand off her as she glanced around frantically.

"Are you insane?" she hissed, continuing to hold his hand. "Hurry, you have to go before Vivian sees you talking to me."

Cameron lifted his eyebrows and glanced around the crowded room. "Oh? She’s here too, hmm?"

"Yes! Now go."

"Actually, I’d like to meet the woman."

"No. Trust me, you wouldn’t," Olivia assured.

But it was already too late.

"Olivia," Her mother’s voice came shrilly from a mere ten feet away.

She jolted and spun around, guiltily dropping Cameron’s hand. Cameron remained stubbornly rooted by her side.

Vivian barreled their way. After frowning disapprovingly at Cameron, she immediately turned to her daughter. "Olivia."

"Yes, Mother?" she asked a bit breathlessly.

If she was lucky, Vivian wouldn’t know who Cameron was or find out, and she’d chase him off, never the wiser.

But Cameron stepped forward. "Oh, is this your mom?" he asked with interest. "Well, it’s a pleasure to meet you, ma’am. I’m Cameron Banks, and I can see where your daughter gets her good looks."

Olivia nearly passed out. What was he doing?

Gritting her teeth and fisting her hands, she closed her eyes briefly. He just had to go and introduce himself, didn’t he?

"Who?" Vivian asked in surprise as she slowed to a stop. After looking Cameron up and down, she took his outstretched hand and shook slowly, still studying him as she did so. "Hmm. I pictured you older."

Cameron grinned, a spark of something nasty entering his eyes. "Really? And here I thought you’d be younger."

Feeling a small thrill shoot up her spine, Olivia watched her mother blink. Vivian was used to being the aggressor in every verbal exchange. She had a knack for guiding conversations to suit her purpose. Olivia wanted to cheer Cameron on for his subtle little jab at Vivian’s vanity.

"You...wait. You know who I am?" Vivian asked, clearly surprised.

Olivia held her breath, but Cameron’s answer came out sounding

completely innocent. "Of course. You’re Olivia’s mother. Vivian Roark, C. E. O. of Helbrock Enterprise for the past twenty-eight years, ever since your father handed it to you when you married Roger Donovan. Your company majors in dog food but you prefer to dally in the big buy-and-sell market. Your most recent venture was WorldAct United. And I must say I’m impressed with the profit margin you made there."

Wow. The boy had done his homework. Olivia lifted her gaze to Cameron’s and was surprised to find his eyes on her. He winked.

"I’ve heard of you too," Vivian said, looking satisfied by the fact he knew her reputation. "That merger you accomplished between McCrill and Thompson Pack was impressive."

Cameron seemed reluctant to pull his gaze away from Olivia’s. "I’m sorry, but I can’t seem to concentrate on business in the presence of this enchanting creature." He sent Vivian a look of utter meekness. "Do you mind if I ask your daughter for a dance?"

Both Olivia and Vivian sputtered, but Olivia did so in dread while the sparkle in her mother’s eye contained pure delight. "Oh! Well, of course. Olivia loves to dance."

"Does she?" Cameron asked, turning expectantly toward her.

Her face morphed into scarlet horror.

"Olivia," Vivian said and nudged her toward Cameron.

He took her elbow and nearly dragged her onto the floor. "Relax," he murmured unobtrusively in her ear, but she ignored him.

Cameron settled his hand more snuggly around her waist and touched a little too low, making her lift her head and gawp at him. "What in God’s name are you doing?"

He lifted his face from where he’d been looking quite openly down her cleavage. "What? Isn’t this all part of the plan? I take one look at you and fall all over myself in love?"

Olivia’s eyes went frosty. "That’s Vivian’s plan. Not mine."

Cameron sent her a sloppy grin. "Well, maybe it happened anyway."

Olivia gritted out an irritated groan. Why her? Please, God, why?

"Why haven’t I got any papers in the mail from you?" she said, deciding to change the subject.

"My lawyer’s busy right now with another assignment," he answered, distracted as he returned to gawking down her dress. "Holy hell, you’re not wearing a bra, are you?"