Blood Debt (Touched Series Book 1) (12 page)

I caught Brent out of the corner of my eye, grinning from one ear to the other
,
and I couldn’t help but shoot him a glare. 
I turned my attention to Chris,
“Uh, sure.”

We were out of ear-shot from Brent when Chris said, “So, am I the first?”

“The first what?”

“The first to make your acquaintance?”

“Yes, up until now I’ve just been getting to know my family.  I haven’t met
anyone
since I’ve been here.”

W
e approached the front doo
r
,
and he nearly shouted
,
“Excellent!  I live on Daniel Island
,
and I’m finishing up my residency as a family practitioner.
”

He couldn’t possibly be giving me his “husband” resume, could he? 
Was Chris for real? 
“That’s thoughtful of you
to tell me about yourself, but I’m still a little new to the
. . . you know.
”  I didn’t know how to say I wasn’t interested without coming right out and saying it.  “
Never mind, w
ould you like to come in and cool off
, too
?”
 
Chris stepped in front of me and reached for the door knob so he could open the door for me.  Two points for the tall sexy gentleman
with great manners
.

As the door opened,
Gretchen was in the hallway with a huge smirk
that matched the one Brent was wearing in the back yard
. 
Dammit
!
I need
ed
to keep my thoughts to myself. 
Gretchen didn’t miss a beat
.  S
he held out her hand and said,
“Hello, Chris, we’re so happy you could come today.  I spoke with your mother earlier
.  G
lad to hear things are going so well with your practice.”  Gretchen directed her attention to me, “Camille, did Chris tell you he was a
d
octor?”

Flushed with embarrassment still, “
Yes, he mentioned it.
”

Chris was gushing with pride when he said, “I
’ll be joining my family’s
practice in town
very soon
.”

The embarrassment should have been overwhelming.  The idea that a woman could simply pick a suitor and good
-
looking, educated men would be thrilled to be chosen seemed
bizarre.  But as I looked at Gretchen and Chris, sure enough
-
this was exactly what was going on.

Tradition or not, Chris was attractive,
had a
good job, and seemed to be giving me vibes that he was interested.  It wouldn’t hurt to get to know him
– though I wasn’t at all interested in trading in my single status
.  I motioned for him to step into the family room where the couches were plush
,
and it seemed a nice place to chat
,
hopefully
away from prying ears.  “So, what do you like to do when you aren’t working?”

Chris cocked his head to the side momentarily, “I don’t understand the question.”

“For fun.  What do you like to do with your free time?”

“I volunteer at a clinic downtown a few hours per week.  Each year I volunteer for two weeks for an organization called Doctors without Borders.  I read in my spare time.”

Wonderful, a workaholic.  “So
,
no hobbies
,
like golf or tennis?”

“I’ve done both.  If you enjoy golf and tennis, I’d be happy to
take
you sometime.”

“No.  I mean, I don’t like either.  I just wondered if there was something you enjoyed doing outside of your profession.”

“I would be willing to give anything a whirl you felt would be a good use of my time.”

That was by far the creepiest answer he could have given me
- l
ike a Stepford Wife in reverse.
  I really took him in for the first time since his arrival
: 
his posture, his eye contact, his non-verbal language all looked
-
almost desperate.  After replaying the conversation with Brent earlier, one question came to mind.  “Chris, how old are you?”

Chris gave me a forced smile, as if his answer were one of shame, “
Twenty-nine
.”

There it was
:  h
e was trying hard to make a good impression.  If what Brent told me was the truth
,
and I had no reason to doubt that it was, I was his last chance. 

Chris held the unnatural smile when he asked, “You are new to our kind, is that right?”

“That’s a great way to put it.  Uh, yes . . . I’ve only been here a few days.”

“My mother told me that your mother never told you about your ancestry.  Is that true?”

“Yes.”

Chris let out a long breath,
“This must all be a bit much to take in.”

“That’s a colossal understatement
, Chris
.”

“Look, if I were in your shoes
,
I wouldn’t be in a hurry to find a husband.  You have to make peace with who you are before you can decide who
m
you want as your partner.  I won’t pressure you.
  But don’t interpret my lack
of
pressure as lack
of
interest.  I am my parent’s only son
. 
I. . . I would love for you to consider me.
”

“Uh . . . thanks, I think.”

I thought his sales pitch was over and I could relax
,
until he said,
“The truth is, I think you’re beautiful.  I’ve known your brothers since I was a
kid
and would love to be a part of your family.  I believe your family would be equally pleased if you joined mine.  But it would be a mistake to
try to convince you I am the best choice for you before you are ready to accept who you are.”

“I know who I am.”

“Do you?”

“Yes, and it has nothing to do with being a
. . .
Centaur.”
  I caught myself – it was the first
time I had acknowledged it, out loud
, outside my family
. 

“That’s where you’re mistaken, Camille.  It has everything to do with being one of us.”

“What if I just want to be normal?”

“Normal isn’t an option when you’re extraordinary.”  Chris put his hand on mine and gave it a gentle squeeze, “You are extraordinary, Camille.  Choose wisely.”
 

Chris stood up, bowed his head slightly in my direction
,
and left me reeling on the chair
as he left
.  A handsome, thoughtful, intelligent, eligible, doctor
-
no less, just told me I was extraordinary and wanted me to choose him.  Five days ago if the same thing had happened
,
I would have
followed him around like a love sick puppy
-
but it wasn’t five days ago.  It wasn’t left to fate anymore
.  F
inding a husband had never been on the top of my priorities.  Sure, growing up, I
had
always wondered why my mom never found a husband when my friends
’
mothers
rarely seemed to settle
on one.
  Meeting Chris just made me want to ask
Gretchen
more questions. 

I could hear Gretchen’s voice in the hallway, “Yes, she’s here.  Let me see if she has a minute.”  I was still teetering with reality when she appeared in the doorway.  “Camille, you’ve only got an hour before the ceremony
.  D
o you have time to meet someone before you get ready?”

“I guess so.  Who is it?”

She turned away and used her hand to motion someone from the foyer down to the family room
.  W
hen he appeared in the doorway
,
I stood to greet him.  Gretchen said, “Gus, this is our daughter, Camille.”

The fact that Gretchen had used the words
,
“
our daughter
,
”
did not go unnoticed by me.  The words startled me a little, more than I had expected them to.  I was a little unsteady as I looked up
at
the man towering over Gretchen.  I held out my hand
,
and he took mine in his hand
and shook it vigorously.  Gretchen excused herself
,
and I stood with Gus for an uncomfortable moment. 

“I know you don’t have much time
. 
I just wanted to meet you.  I’m Gus
Hinman
.”

My years of etiquette were lost on this hulk of a man as I stared at his six
-
foot
-
five frame, dark hair, dark eyes and brutish body.  He reminded me of a cage fighter I had known back home.   “It’s nice to meet you
,
Gus
. 
I’m Camille.”

“I passed Chris on the way out
. 
I can see this may be my only opportunity with you today
,
and I just wanted to say hi.
”

I suddenly felt like I had some sort of “USDA Prime Cut” sticker pasted to me.  “Well,
I’m glad
you . . . stopped . . . I mean. . .”
Remembering my manners, “Would you like to sit down?”

“I don’t want to make you late, but I would like a chance to talk to you later.  I play for the Panthers and came back to town for my sister’s wedding to your brother. 
I live a few hours from here in Charlotte but am home during the off
-
season.”

“You’re in the NFL?”  I could see from his eyes that this was a great s
ource
of pride for him
,
and I’d be lying if I didn’t confess I was a little impressed myself
.

“Yeah,
r
eceiver.  I’m not in the area much this time of year, but will be here all week if you’ve got some free time.”

“Uh, sure, okay.”

Gretchen popped back in the doorway, “I’m sorry to interrupt, but Camille needs to get ready or she’ll be late.”  Gretchen ushered Gus to the doorway as I bounded up the steps to my room.  As I reached for the door knob
,
I glanced out the window.  Everyone arriving, includ
ing
the two handsome guys I’d just talked to
,
were seriously dressed to impress.  The first pangs of fear grabbed me when I realized I didn’t have anything to wear, at least nothing that wouldn’t clue everyone in as to how much I really didn’t belong here.

As I stared at the few changes of clothes I’d brought with me
and the items I’d bought shopping with Gretchen,
I decided on a denim skirt, flats and a nice blouse I’d tucked in my bag.  My nerves took hold
. 
I’d never been one to want to stand out
.  M
y lack of a wardrobe would definitely make me stick out like a sore thumb.  I couldn’t not attend
;
I took a seat on the bed
,
chastising myself for not thinking of this
on one of the shopping trips with Gretchen
or even earlier this morning.  I heard a quiet knock on my door.

Great.  Now what?  It’s bad enough someone must have tweeted that there was a single female Centaur at the wedding tonight
. 
I couldn’t imagine what would happen next
.  F
rustrated
,
I called,
“Come in.”

Gretchen stepped inside my room,
“Camille, I hope you don’t mind, but I thought you might be looking for something different to wear.  I bought this a few months ago
-
I didn’t
know why at the time.”  She smiled warmly at me, “I believe I bought it for you.”