“So, how long have you two been dating?” Ian asked.
Makenna put her hand on Caden’s thigh, and he appreciated the hell out of the claiming gesture. “A little over two months,” she said, giving Caden a smile. Over her shoulder, he saw Cameron and Ian exchange a look. What the hell? Was he imagining this shit? Who was the guy, anyway?
“How about you two?” Makenna said, looking at Collin and Shima. “How long have you been dating?
The couple exchanged smiles, and then Collin said, “Since the end of the summer. We’ve known each other since we both started the Master’s program, but got together at the welcome-back party in August.”
“It’s good when grad students date other grad students,” Shima said. “Because then we don’t bore other people silly with all our foreign policy shop talk.”
Caden smiled. He liked Shima and was really glad she was there. “So, Ian, Makenna told me you’re an engineer. What kinds of things do you work on?” he asked, hoping to get the middle James brother to warm up to him.
“I’m a civil engineer for the city of Philadelphia,” he said. “I focus primarily on road, bridge, and tunnel projects.”
“So it’s all your fault,” Patrick said with a grin.
Ian flipped him the finger as everyone laughed.
“Seriously,” Patrick said, holding a hand out to Caden. “Have you driven around Philly much?” Caden shook his head. As a kid, his family used to roadtrip everywhere, but since the accident, Caden hadn’t traveled much out of the DC area. “Well, trust me, driving in Philly sucks. I would know since I do it every day.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Ian said, glaring at his brother. “Same shit, different day.”
“Cameron,” Shima said, “what’s your connection to the Jameses?” Caden wanted to high five her for asking.
“This knucklehead’s my best friend,” Cameron said, pointing at Ian. “Has been since grade school.” Pause. “And Makenna and I dated for what?” He looked at her with a smile. “Three years?”
Dated? Three years? Caden looked at Cameron, who was wearing a satisfied expression that said he knew Caden hadn’t known about their past. And he was right.
“Uh, yeah,” Makenna said. “Three years.”
Three years. Caden had never dated anyone for three years. Hell, Caden had rarely dated at all before Makenna. He took a long drink of his soda.
“We started dating my senior and her sophomore year of college,” he said. Makenna just nodded. Caden ran the mental calculations. She would’ve been about nineteen when they started dating and twenty-two when they broke things off. Which pretty much meant there was no way in hell they hadn’t slept together. Whiiich explained the way the guy had been looking and smiling at her, and how he’d hugged her longer than necessary. He was still into her.
“God, that seems like a million years ago,” Makenna said with a smile. She took a long drink of her sangria.
“Nah,” Cameron said with a wink. “Hey, do you remember that time when we—”
“Can I get some help setting the table?” came Mike’s voice down the stairs.
“I’ll help,” Makenna called, grasping Caden’s hand. “Wanna join me?”
“Yeah,” he said. She could’ve asked him if he wanted to help her clean toilets with toothbrushes and he would’ve agreed. Anything to take a break from Cameron’s smug face, and from the way the man’s eyes followed Makenna’s body as she rose from the couch.
CHAPTER FOUR
Upstairs, Makenna dragged Caden into the hall bathroom and shut the door. “I didn’t know he was going to be here,” she said. From the moment she’d looked up and seen Cameron Hollander standing there, she’d worried about Caden’s reaction. Why hadn’t Dad warned her? Although, she wasn’t sure what she could’ve done even if she’d known.
“Okay,” he said, and then he shrugged. His expression seemed unconcerned, but she knew he was capable of throwing down a shutter over his true feelings when he didn’t want to confront them. Hell, separating himself from his emotions had been half of how he’d survived the aftermath of losing his family, so he was damn near an expert at it. “It’s fine.”
She dropped her forehead against his chest, wrapped her arms around his waist, and breathed him in. “It’s awkward.”
Caden chuckled as he stroked the back of her hair. “Only because he’s still interested.”
Groaning, Makenna shook her head, totally confused by Cam’s presence and annoyed that it might make Caden uncomfortable. Finally, she lifted her gaze to meet Caden’s. “Well I’m not interested in him, in case that needs to be said.” It had been three years since they parted ways, and she’d been over Cam for a long time. He’d made his choice and she’d made her peace with it.