Serendipity (Inevitable) (23 page)

Nathan caught Julia’s eye briefly, frowning when he saw the crestfallen look on her face before she turned away. “Valentine’s Day next year,” he told Anton, wishing like hell the subject hadn’t been brought up.

Travis seemed to sense his unease and tactfully pulled Anton away with him, giving Nathan a glance of part sympathy, part irritation. Nathan could only wonder what the hell that particular look was all about.

It was too loud in the bar to be able to make a phone call so he sent Cameron a quick text instead. While waiting for her to reply, he spied Eric Chiang and his cute wife Karen entering the bar and waved them over. As they chatted, Nathan couldn’t help but keep an eye on Julia as Travis introduced her to Aaron and Lance. Both of the restaurant owners were known players, though he was fairly sure Lance was married. It didn’t seem to matter, though, since both he and Aaron were almost shoving the other out of their way to get closer to Julia.

Jealousy and possessiveness raged through Nathan like a fast moving wildfire, and he wanted to hurry over to where she stood and claim her in front of all these people. But the fact that he couldn’t do exactly that gnawed at his guts and made him want to punch something. He knew he was being an unreasonable ass about the whole situation, but he wasn’t able or willing to let go completely. He was the one who’d turned Julia way, who’d made it very clear that Cameron was the only woman in his life. Julia was free to date or fuck whoever she wanted, and he had absolutely nothing to say about it. So he found himself caught in the intolerable situation of not being free to claim her for himself but not wanting anyone else to have her, either.

‘I’m so fucked,’ he muttered to himself in disgust, motioning the waiter over for another drink.

Cameron was well on her way to getting very, very drunk, but she figured she deserved it given the way her evening had gone so far.

Oh, it had started out quite well, no debate there. She’d spent several hours this afternoon getting ready for tonight’s dinner, knowing there would be a lot of local dignitaries and most likely media in attendance. She had left work early to allow plenty of time for all her primping – a mani-pedi, getting her pale blonde roots touched up and her hair blown out, and even having a professional makeup application done. Back at her condo, she’d tried on half a dozen outfits before deciding on the black Stella McCartney. The sequined fabric skimmed lightly over her slim frame, the elbow-length sleeves helping to hide her skinny arms. The shoes had taken longer to decide on, as she didn’t want to appear as tall as Nate but also didn’t want to wear anything too dowdy, either. She’d finally chosen the black Marc Jacobs pumps with the silver kitten heel and buckled strap. Dangling diamond chandelier earrings and a wide diamond cuff bracelet finished the outfit, and Cameron knew she looked damned good.

She had entered the crowded bar area of Taverna Francesca feeling like a million bucks, until she’d noticed that most of the attention in the room – the
male
attention, anyway – had seemed to be focused on the one person she really hadn’t wanted to be here tonight – Travis’ little bombshell designer Julia.

Cameron had seethed inwardly as she’d observed the little bitch, provocatively attired in a fitted red dress that she could never even consider wearing herself. Julia continued to attract attention as she was introduced to one group of attendees after another. Cameron had made a rather unpleasant face upon noticing how Travis and his little faggot lover Anton were fawning over Julia, laughing and conversing like they were all the best of friends. Travis had been making it a point, it seemed, to introduce Julia to every good looking man in the room, whether they already had a woman on their arm or not. Cameron had silently cursed the pair, whom she knew detested her as much as she despised them, and had grit her teeth to observe Julia holding court like she was a fucking queen or princess.

But what had really pissed her off was when she finally located Nathan in the crowd of people, only to observe how he was following Julia around the room, the lustful interest in his gaze unmistakable. Cameron’s cheeks had flamed with anger, and she had stalked across the crowded room towards her fiancé, determined to bring his attention to
her
instead of that little bitch.

Nathan had confirmed her suspicions by looking more than a little guilty when she’d appeared at his side. He’d given her a quick kiss and made sure she had a drink, but she could tell he was definitely distracted by something. In fact, it seemed to her that he’d been a little distracted for months now, almost as though he were going through the motions. Whenever she’d asked him about it, he had blamed it on work or being tired or dismissed her concerns altogether. But she knew something was off, especially with their physical relationship. Sex, which had always been a strong part of their relationship, had become more and more infrequent, and had seemed rushed and almost impersonal when it did occur. There had even been a few times when Nathan hadn’t been able to maintain an erection, or become aroused at all.

The natural assumption, of course, was that he’d been cheating on her, but she had refused to let herself believe that. However, after observing the way Nathan had been following Julia around the room with his eyes, she was beginning to have some real suspicions now. Could he possibly be banging that little bitch? It would explain his withdrawn behavior these past few months, their bland sex life, and other oddities she’d noticed. She made a mental note to herself to pay closer attention to Nathan’s habits and maybe even stop by the office more frequently to observe any interactions between him and Julia.

Cameron’s mood had not improved once they were seated for dinner, since their tablemates included Travis, Anton, and Julia, along with Eric and Karen Chiang, and a very attractive gray haired man in his fifties who introduced himself to everyone as Jackson West, the owner of the winery whose vintages were being served at tonight’s dinner.

From the very beginning of the meal, Travis and Anton had taken control of the conversation, and their very favorite topic of discussion had been Julia. During the first two courses, everyone at the table had been obliged to hear one or the other of them prattle on about what a great cook Julia was, how beautifully decorated her flat was, how kick-ass she was at yoga, no surprise considering that she had been a teacher of the practice during college. Cameron learned – reluctantly – that Julia had graduated from Cornell, had interned and then worked at one of the top design firms in Manhattan, and had lived in a tiny studio in the Upper East Side.

Cameron wasn’t sure which of these facts angered her more. She couldn’t cook at all, had always had hired staff to look after her while living with her parents, and nowadays she liked to joke that her favorite thing to make for dinner was reservations. She’d never really used the kitchen inside her professionally decorated apartment. She hated yoga, claiming that it wasn’t really a workout and that she needed something much tougher to challenge her, like kickboxing or spinning. The truth of the matter was that she wasn’t the least bit flexible and was also somewhat uncoordinated, but she’d never admit either of those facts to anyone.

The knowledge that Julia had attended an Ivy League school had really touched a nerve. For most of her life, Cameron’s parents had pushed her to excel at school and get good grades so that she could attend a school like Harvard or Yale or Stanford. But she had generally disliked school, and had goofed off and partied a lot in high school. No number of private tutors to bring her grades up or improve her SAT scores had helped. Neither had any of her parents multiple social and political connections, or their monetary donations. By pulling a lot of strings, Cameron had managed to get accepted to USC but she’d dropped out after her freshman year due to academic probation. She’d eventually obtained a degree in art history from a small liberal arts school in Manhattan, but her father had set his foot down about her living there after graduation. He’d been willing to set her up in the gallery, but only if it was in San Francisco. He had wanted both of his daughters close by and under his control as much as possible. No matter that Cameron had always dreamed about living in Manhattan, which she considered a far more vibrant and exciting city than San Francisco. When Graham Tolliver made up his mind about something there was no denying him, and Cameron had grudgingly returned to San Francisco after college.

At one point in her life Cameron had fancied herself an artist, but had been told by more than one of her teachers that she simply didn’t have that sort of talent. She had settled for learning enough about art and artists to carve out a career as a gallery owner, and the Union Street establishment was quite successful. Travis had even bought several pieces from her recently for design projects, and one of those pieces was currently gracing a wall in the restaurant this evening.

Travis made sure to call everyone’s attention to the piece, complementing Cameron on her choice. “I think that turned out to be an excellent selection,” he told her. “I’m glad we went with the still life instead of the abstract, much more fitting with the décor.”

She nodded warily, a bit unsettled with this rare compliment from him. “I agree.”

Travis gave her an odd little smile. “Tell me, Cameron. What was the name again of that artist who did those magnificent landscapes hanging in your gallery? The ones you told me weren’t for sale?”

“You mean the Benoits? Her full name is Natalie Benoit and you’re correct - those pieces aren’t for sale. They’re part of my personal collection, pretty much my most prized pieces” she replied firmly.

Julia started visibly and shot Travis a quizzical look, but he only continued to regard Cameron calmly. “Well, you won’t believe this amazing coincidence. The woman you told me was one of your favorite artists of all time happens to be Julia’s mother.”

Cameron felt like she’d taken a punch to the solar plexus, unable to catch her breath or think of anything to say in response. She had only to look at the expression on Julia’s face to know it was true. She quickly reached for her wine glass and bolted down the rest of its contents before refilling it to the brim.

Jackson turned to Julia with great interest. “I’m not much of an art expert, but even I’ve heard of Natalie Benoit,” he gushed. “And lucky enough to have attended one of her shows about a decade ago. Your mother has incredible talent.”

Julia smiled up at him. “Yes, she does. She doesn’t paint much anymore, since she’s already begun to develop some arthritis in her fingers. She devotes most of her time to her gallery nowadays.”

“Oh, that’s the Spindrift Gallery in downtown Carmel, isn’t it?” asked Karen. “Eric and I have been in there a couple of times. They always have such a magnificent display. I’ve read that it’s one of the top galleries in the country.”

Eric snapped his fingers. “It just occurred to me, Julia. If your mother is Natalie Benoit, isn’t she married to Robert McKinnon?”

Nathan looked startled. “The architect?” He gaped at Julia. “Your father is
the
Robert McKinnon?”

Julia nodded. “Yes, though he rarely does design anymore. He prefers to build things these days – decks, furniture, cabinets.”

Nathan seemed fascinated by this revelation, and Cameron was furious that all of his attention now seemed to be focused on Julia. He and Eric peppered her with questions about her father, who apparently was some highly regarded architect that both men had studied and tried to emulate while back in college.

“I would kill to meet him someday,” said Eric. “Any chance he might pay you a visit soon?”

Julia shrugged. “My parents aren’t big city people. They love living in Carmel and don’t venture away from there too often. But I might be able to persuade them to come up for a visit one day.”

Travis gave Cameron a huge, very satisfied grin.”Well, wouldn’t that be something? Eric and Nate could meet their idol, and perhaps Cameron hers.”

Cameron would have gladly spit in Travis’ twinkling, humor-filled eyes at that moment. She knew now that he had brought all of this up deliberately to rub her nose in the fact that the artist she had idolized for years was the mother of a woman she saw as a rival. The knowledge stuck like a thorn in her side, and she had to clench her fists to keep from tossing her wine at his smugly triumphant face.

She finished off her wine, and discreetly motioned a waiter over, asking him to bring her a dirty martini. She’d had two already before dinner, plus four glasses of wine since, but needed the alcohol badly to steady her nerves that were all but screaming at this point.

Karen unknowingly poured salt into Cameron’s already gaping wound by asking Julia, “Are you an artist like your mother, then?”

Julia laughed softly. “There is no one like my mother. Her talent is otherworldly. I draw and paint a little as a hobby, nothing more.”

“She’s being modest, Karen,” chimed in Nathan. “There’s a series of charcoal drawings in her office that she swears she did on a lark, and they’re incredible”