Hot Commodity (Banks / Kincaid Family #1)(46)

But she’d never had a job, and she’d never tried to find one before. The thought of actually going out into the workforce and applying scared the daylights out of her. Then again, how long could she mope around here before she was kicked out? Cameron would eventually want to return to his life. She couldn’t just stay.

As she was leaving the room, a manila package sitting on an old shoebox caught her attention. Olivia paused and read the return address. When she saw that it was from the Viva Las Vegas Wedding Chapel, she reached down and snatched it up with a gasp.

The pictures inside had her plopping down in a nearby chair, stunned. Oh, God. She had no idea she’d been so drunk. But then, yeah, a person would have to be completely plowed off their ass to marry a total stranger.

Captivated by the shots of her and Cameron together, Olivia sifted through every proof. She wondered why he hadn’t mentioned receiving them. She barely remembered getting them taken. But, from the looks of it, it appeared she’d had a blast being married by Elvis.

Olivia sobered. She still had the ring she’d picked out that night. She looked down at it on her finger—still on her right hand—and let out a sigh. And to think, if she hadn’t worn it to Chicago, it would currently be lost to her forever at Vivian’s place, just like her one hundred and twenty pairs of name brand shoes and her closet full of designer clothes.

Man, she missed her clothes. There was only one clean outfit left in the luggage she’d brought with her. Hopefully, Cameron would be a saint and lend her some money to buy some—

She paused. No, she couldn’t rely on him to provide her with anything else. She was already mooching enough off him. She’d lived her entire life leeching from her mother for everything she’d ever needed. The habit wasn’t going to be transferred to Cameron.

Upset with her train of thought, she pushed the pictures back into their envelope. She started to toss the package back on top of the box on the floor, but paused. Curious about was inside, she slipped open the lid. What she found had her digging inside. Pictures. Piles and piles of photographs.

Unabashedly snooping, Olivia shuffled through the mess. Most shots showed Cameron’s childhood, from when he was a baby to when he graduated high school. Others were of family members. She caught sight of Leah, his sister, in many poses. Becoming very curious about his life, Olivia eagerly went through more.

She found a shot of Boston, the lawyer cousin, and paused. He might’ve only been thirteen or fourteen, but Olivia could tell it was him with his pitch-black hair and urbane demeanor. He was grinning with his arm looped casually around Cameron’s shoulder as they stood, dripping wet in swimming trunks on a beach.

Olivia smiled. Cam had been a happy kid. She liked that thought. The snapshots of him as an adult didn’t quite reflect contentment, though, especially when he posed in a picture with the black-haired woman. Olivia turned one of those over and was rewarded with a name. Cam and Sienna, it read. One month wedding anniversary.

One month wedding anniversary?

Frowning, Olivia flipped the shot back over. Well, hello. They didn’t look like newlyweds, especially solemn Sienna. She had deep violet slashes under her eyes as if she hadn’t slept in weeks. She didn’t smile, and the look on her face said she just wanted to die.

Struck by that thought, Olivia blinked a few times. Cameron was at least smiling despite the underlying look in his gaze—a desperate, wild look as if he knew exactly how miserable the woman next to him was, yet he was determined to act as if things were swell.

It was sad, knowing this woman had killed herself within a year of being married to him. Olivia could tell something was wrong between them, even at this point. She wondered what the problem was, though she didn’t believe any of it was his fault.

Feeling an impulsive antagonism for Sienna Banks, Olivia picked up another picture and was even further angered to see Cameron alone, opening a gift in front of a tree. He’d looked up just in time to get his mug taken, but he didn’t smile. It was a recent shot and Olivia blamed his sober expression on the woman with the straight black hair.

Suddenly wanting to categorize the pictures chronologically so she could see just how much he’d changed through the years, Olivia picked up the box and carried it from the office. She found a spare bedroom and dumped the contents onto the bed. Then she went about sorting the pictures by age. A little thrill of pleasure went through her as she envisioned how pleased Cam would be that she’d gone to the trouble of organizing his mess.

See, she wasn’t totally useless after all. If only Vivian could see her now.

*

Boston knocked on Cameron’s office door late in the morning. His cousin barely glanced up before waving him inside.

"What’s up?"

Boston gnashed his teeth, reluctant to be the bearer of bad news. "There’s a new development on the Shaney deal. We’ve got a new player

butting in and wanting to add their bid."

Cameron frowned and finally turned from his computer. "This late in the game?"

Boston nodded. "Ever heard of Helbrock Enterprise?"

Cameron lifted his eyebrows. "Well, I’ll be damned." He ran his hand over his mouth.

"What?" Boston asked, coming fully inside and sitting in the chair across from him. He hated it when Cam knew information he didn’t.

"Livy’s mom," Cam said. "I pissed her off in Chicago. I don’t think she’s very happy with me at the moment."