Serendipity (Inevitable) (20 page)

And of course the little bitch would just have to have all that long, thick hair when Cameron was having to contend with her own thinning locks. She did much prefer her own pale blonde shade to whatever color one could call Julia’s hair. It was a well known fact that men always preferred blondes.

Cameron continued to fume during the cab ride back to her gallery as she recalled – reluctantly – how the form fitting navy lace dress had clung to Julia’s shapely hips and ass. She thought snidely that the girl’s big tits had to be fake. There was no way they could be that perfect and still be natural. One of Cameron’s great disappointments was that own boobs were so small. She always wore padded push-up bras to give the illusion of cleavage but there was no way to disguise the fact that she was flat-chested when her clothes came off. She had first considered getting implants when she was barely in her twenties, but her mother had gotten wind of the idea and had been horrified that she would even consider doing something so crude and trashy. And when she’d mentioned the idea to Nathan in recent times he had made his distaste for anything fake well known. Conversely, Cameron was well aware that Nathan – like most men – loved big boobs, based on comments he’d made to his friends when he didn’t think she was listening.

It was little wonder, then, that all of her old insecurities came rushing to the surface at the thought of this young, beautiful and tempting girl working in such close proximity to Nathan. Cameron had worked very hard to look like she did, having procedures done that most people didn’t know about, especially not Nathan. Her appearance now was a source of pride for her, and she knew she’d never looked better. But it had only taken a very short while in the presence of that little bitch to feel like the awkward, unattractive girl she’d once been and had vowed never to be again. Cameron did
not
like revisiting those feelings and swore that little Julia would never be allowed to make her feel that way again.

Julia was struggling to hold it together as she walked back to her office after being hustled out of the conference room. It was very obvious that Nathan’s fiancée was a supremely confident woman used to getting her way in all things. Even if it meant putting a premature end to what had actually been a pretty important meeting. But what enraged Julia even more than Cameron’s lofty attitude was the fact that Nathan had allowed her to get away with it.

‘He was probably afraid I’d start tattling on him,’ she thought angrily. ‘and wanted to hustle me out of there before I could say anything.’ It hurt that he could think so little of her, especially when she’d vowed not to betray him.

Unless, of course, he was afraid that
he’d
be the one to give something away. But no, Julia dismissed that rather wild idea quickly. Nathan had given her zero indication over the past couple of months that he ever gave her a second thought, and treated her more distantly than ever.

As she put away the design boards in their designated files, she thought absently that Cameron Tolliver wasn’t what she’d expected. For one thing, Nathan’s fiancée was several years older than expected, mid-thirties instead of the late twenties Julia would have assumed. And she was much taller and slimmer than Julia would have guessed, her hair a lot shorter, too. But there was no denying that Cameron was a very lovely woman who certainly knew how to dress. Julia recognized the cut of her pants and jacket as Armani, had noticed her dramatic makeup, perfect manicure and expensive jewelry.

Of all days, thought Julia glumly, not to be wearing one of the many designer dresses or skirts in her wardrobe. Not all of her clothes were courtesy of Aunt Madelyn. Her aunt, in fact, had taught her years ago to mix high end pieces like the Louboutin pumps with less expensive items, such as the pretty navy lace dress she’d bought online from a women’s apparel website for less than seventy dollars.

“It’s all about accessorizing, darling,” was one of Aunt Maddy’s favorite sayings. “That and having the figure to look good in anything, which you and your sister were fortunately blessed with.”

Being both petite and busty, however, didn’t always make it easy for things to fit properly, and Julia was extremely grateful that she’d learned how to sew when she was still a girl. Her Grandmere Vivienne had been a seamstress, a very talented one at that, and she’d taught Julia and Lauren how to do hems and seams. Well, she’d at least taught Julia since Lauren had been more interested in her camera or sports or getting into trouble to bother learning the finer parts of operating a sewing machine.

Julia gave a little shrug, not really sure why she gave a damn about how she looked today. She certainly didn’t care about impressing Nathan’s fiancée, and Nathan himself seemed completely oblivious to whatever she wore. Julia wondered peevishly if he’d even notice if she strutted through the office wearing just her underwear and high heels. Not that it should matter any longer, she thought with a sigh. It was very obvious that he only thought of her as an employee, and that Cameron was the woman in his life. She needed to stop being such a silly, sentimental goose, forget all about that night in New York, and find someone new.

The thought of trolling singles bars or clubs made her feel queasy, though, so there was no way she was going to find a guy that way. Maybe she’d call Sam and ask if he had a friend he could fix her up with. Even though he lived in Arizona now, he was sure to know a lot of guys in the NFL. There were also a couple of guys in her yoga classes who seemed nice enough, though the one with the long hair and tattoos was more Lauren’s type than hers. Maybe all she really needed was a few dates with a hot guy to get Nathan out of her system and clear her head. She made a mental note to give Sam a call tonight. Even though he was currently dating some Australian supermodel, they were still friendly and kept in regular touch.

“Why so serious, hunny bunny?” teased a familiar voice.

Julia glanced up and smiled at her boss as he hovered in the doorway. “Just thinking about the best way to snag a new boyfriend.”

Travis looked very interested in this topic and took a seat in front of her desk. “Ooh, men, my favorite topic. And sweetie pie – I wouldn’t think you’d have to worry about that ever. It’s like buying shoes at DSW – just find something you like among thousands of pairs on the shelves and take them.”

She laughed, grateful for his perpetual cheeriness. “Not quite that simple. I’m picky, after all. I mean, I’m not desperate enough to go out with Jake, for example.”

He shuddered. “Thank God. You can do
sooo
much better than that idiot, sweetie. I’m sure we can find a nice guy for you. In fact, I might have someone in mind.”

Julia regarded him warily. “No offense, but I only date straight guys. Bi-sexuals are off the table, too.”

Travis looked offended. “Not all of my friends are gay, you know. I mean, Nate’s one of my closest friends and he’s the straightest guy I know.”

At the mention of Nathan’s name, Julia instantly tensed up. “That’s true. Look, let’s table this discussion for now, okay? I’m not sure I ought to be talking to my boss about looking for a new boyfriend.”

He grinned. “Oh, but it’s such a fun topic. However, I’ll put it on the back burner, sweetie. Speaking of Nate, did he like the re-designs?”

She nodded. “Just fine, I think. Except we got interrupted before he could look at a couple of them. His, um, fiancée showed up.”

Travis grimaced. “Ah, so you’ve met the she-devil, have you? I don’t see any claw marks on you so I trust everything went well?”

Julia gave a small shrug. “She wasn’t brimming over with friendliness, if that’s what you mean. She was rather distant actually.”

He hooted. “You’re being polite, hunny bunny. Cameron Tolliver is a raging bitch, and I’m guessing she wasn’t happy at all to meet you. Or realize how closely you work with Nate. When the she-devil feels threatened, her hackles really rise up.”

“Oh, please. I have no idea why she’d be threatened by me. She’s a beautiful woman. And she’s the one wearing his engagement ring, not me. I just work with him, that’s all.”

“Hmm, that doesn’t mean Nate isn’t checking out all of your – er – assets as often as possible. Being engaged doesn’t automatically turn off a guy’s radar, you know. And I’ve always said that he was making a huge mistake in marrying Cameron.”

Julia’s curiosity was not piqued. “Why do you say that?”

Travis grinned. “Interested, are we? Well, that’s a discussion that might take awhile. Maybe like this weekend. Anton and I should take you to dinner.”

Anton was Travis’ partner, whom Julia had met a couple of times already. He was a slight, dark-haired, half-Asian man who worked as a personal shopper at Neiman Marcus, and absolutely adored Julia. They had talked fashion for hours the last time they had met.

“Actually, I owe you guys a dinner,” admitted Julia. “Why don’t you come over Saturday night and I’ll cook for you? And by cook, I mean preparing the meal from scratch, not ordering takeout.”

“So you’re gorgeous, artistic, fashionable
and
you cook? Hmm, maybe being gay isn’t what it’s cracked up to me. I might give Anton the boot and date you myself,” he teased.

She giggled, her good mood restored with his rather outrageous humor. “Oh, but you’d break poor Anton’s heart. And lose that great discount he gets you at Neiman Marcus.”

Travis looked horrified.”Oh, God, I can’t lose that discount, can I? Guess I’ll have to hold onto the boy. But seriously, sweetie, dinner at your place sounds awesome. We’ll bring the wine. Around seven sound good?”

She nodded. “Perfect. And I’ll see if I can pry Angela out of her hidey-hole. I swear that girl is in training to become a nun. If I ever meet that guy who screwed her up this bad I’d – um – unleash Lauren on him!”

“Ah, Kung-Fu Twin. I still have to meet her, you know, see if all those stories can possibly be true.”

Julia smiled. “Oh, they’re all true. And I’ve only scratched the surface, told you some of the tamer stories. My sister has packed a lot of living into twenty-five years. Hopefully she’ll visit soon. I saw her last month when I went to Carmel for President’s Day weekend but she’s on the road again now. Somewhere in Central America, I think.”

“Well, got to get back to work, sweet pea. But dinner on Saturday sounds fabulous. We’ll have a
loong
talk about the she-devil.”

She shrugged. “That’s not necessary. I mean, I don’t really think we should be gossiping about her.”

Travis rolled his eyes. “Of course we should. I assure you I’ve never met anybody who deserves to be dissed more than that witch. And I have some real dirt on her, things that even Nate doesn’t know.”He grinned at the sudden interest on Julia’s face. “Ah, now I’ve got your attention. Trust me, its good stuff.”

As it turned out, Angela did not come for dinner on Saturday but it wasn’t because she chose to closet herself away again. It was one of her niece’s birthdays, and she felt obliged to drive down to Carmel for the weekend to attend the party. Julia knew that Angela disliked going home and only did so when absolutely necessary. Mrs. DelCarlo – Angela’s mother – was quite a piece of work, and if she were Julia’s mother she knew she’d spend as little time as possible with her.

Julia’s flat was small but charming, with its original hardwood floors, bay windows, and high ceilings. The main room was a shared living/dining space, with her antique oak dining table and matching chairs arranged on the end closer to the kitchen. She had set it with bright, beautiful Provence-style linens in yellows and blues. A vase of spring flowers sat in the middle of the table. She’d chosen the hand-painted ceramic dishes she’d bought a few years ago at a crafts fair in SoHo, and accented the setting with cobalt blue glasses from Cost Plus. The country French table décor would go nicely with the rustic French meal she’d prepared – ratatouille with eggplant she’d bought fresh at the Ferry Building Farmers Market just this morning; a divine smelling cassoulet with chunks of chicken and tiny white beans; a loaf of crusty artisan bread and a platter of assorted olives, peppers, and other antipasti. For dessert she’d baked one of her famed tortes – this one with beautifully fresh Anjou pears.