The Stubborn Suitor, Book 2 (The Stubborn Suitor #2)(11)

“It wasn’t a torrid affair,” Cami said, giving Maggie a playful push. “We met. He was hot and cold. One minute, he liked me, the next, he was an ass.”

“They had sex on the beach,” Maggie said in a whisper.

“We did not!” Cami insisted. “We just made out…and stuff.”

Ashley raised her eyebrows at the “and stuff,” but thankfully didn’t comment.

“And you’ve been talking to him?” Maggie asked. “Told you he’d call!”

“Yes, you were right!” Cami finally admitted.

“So, spill,” Maggie continued. “You’ve talked on the phone. Have you been on a date? Ooh, have you slept with him?”

Cami thought about lying, but she knew that the blush on her cheeks was giving her away.

“Oh, my God!” Maggie continued. “You slept with him. When?”

“He called me Thursday. You were out of town, and I needed something to take my mind off that Friday’s meeting. Madison was staying at my mom’s, and I was lonely. So we went out, had some drinks, and one thing led to another.”

Both Maggie and Ashley giggled.

“And?” Maggie prompted.

“And I woke up the next morning, and he was gone. No note or anything.” Maggie and Ashley both looked murderous, so Cami quickly continued the story before they could hunt Drew down and kill him. “He called later, after my meeting. I guess he’d had a super early meeting of his own and hadn’t meant to stay the night. He was running late and forgot to leave a note.”

“Ohhhh,” both women cooed.

“That’s so sweet that he called later to make sure you didn’t feel abandoned,” Ashley said.

Cami refrained from telling her that she’d already felt abandoned by the time she’d heard from him.

“So was that it?” Maggie asked, an almost manic look on her face as she pressed for every last detail about her interactions with Drew.

“No,” Cami admitted. “I was mad when I talked to him on Friday. It was right after that call from Ken. But I agreed to go out with him the following night, so we went on a date Saturday.”

“And have you heard from him yet?” Ashley asked.

“Yeah,” Cami said. “He called the next day.”

“Guys never call the next day,” Ashley replied, a surprised look on her face.

“Drew did,” Cami responded.

“So, when are you seeing him again?” Maggie asked.

“I’m not sure,” Cami admitted. This was the part she really wanted the women’s advice on, but she also knew that it was going to be hard to explain her reticence to Maggie, who was a little too invested in Cami’s love life. “I’m not sure if I’m going to see him again.”

“What?” Maggie asked, confused. “Why?”

“He called the next day,” Ashley added, still seemingly in shock about it. “Guys never call the next day. He really likes you.”

“That’s just it,” Cami said. “Sometimes, he does seem to really like me. But other times, he ignores me and spends all night flirting with skinny models.”

“I did notice that,” Maggie confirmed, then turned to Ashley to explain. “At the beach house, there was this girl Drew kept flirting with. Or, more honestly, who kept flirting with Drew.”

“And he was letting it happen,” Cami countered. “He was letting her hang all over him. He even started ignoring me when she joined us for breakfast.”

“Who was she?” Ashley asked with a frown.

“I don’t know her very well,” Maggie replied. “She was the daughter of some right-wing business guy my dad knows. I really didn’t talk to her much. But Cami is right, Drew was definitely encouraging the attention.”

“See,” Cami said emphatically. “He says he really likes me, that he wants to continue seeing me. But he’s been so unpredictable that I don’t really know what to believe. I have a daughter to think about and a lot going on right now. I don’t really have time to play games. And I really don’t want to get hurt again.”

Ashley nodded understandingly. Cami knew that Ashley had never really gotten back into the dating field after her nasty divorce.

“I’m going to get to the bottom of this,” Maggie stated, a mischievous look on her face. “I’ll figure out what’s going on.”

“Please don’t,” Cami replied. “I told you this because I want advice. I don’t want you to meddle. Things are already complicated enough without you sticking your pretty little head in the middle of it.”

Maggie looked torn for a minute, but finally nodded in agreement.

“Fine,” she said with a pained sigh. “But if you change your mind, I can talk to my brother. I know Grant and Drew were, like, best friends in college. They aren’t as close now, but Grant can find out what’s going on in Drew’s head.”

“I’ll let you know if I change my mind,” Cami said with a smile. “But don’t hold your breath.”

“As for now,” Ashley said, “I think all you can do is see where it goes. Try not to get attached, and just wait and see.”

“Yeah,” Cami replied.