Page 63 of Bang

I did.When it came to women, Chase liked them on the trashy side, which made his apparent interest in Cami all the more maddening, unless…

I frowned.Was he just yanking my chain?

Shit.He probably was.

The dick.

And me?Like a total dumb-ass, I'd fallen for it.

This was a first, which posed a disturbing question.Why this time?

When I made no reply, Cami continued. "Look, I'm not trying to be judgmental or anything, but itisNovember, whichdoesmake it seem a tad odd when someone walks into a coffee shop wearing a bikini. And I don't mean a regular bikini either. I mean a thong bikini. Oh sure, she had little skirt over it, but the skirt was mesh and practically see-through." Suddenly, Cami threw up her hands. "And why am I telling you any of this?"

As she'd been speaking, I'd been trying not to wonder whatshe'dlook like in a thong – not out in public, but in private, with just the two of us.

I didn't share.And that included glimpses of things that only a lover should see.

Absently, I replied, "Because I asked."

"Yeah, you did," she said. "But you were so off base, it wasn't even funny."

This was true.And yet, I almost felt like laughing.

Why?

Was it because she was so cute when she got flustered? Or was it because I was too damned relieved to hear that she and Chase wouldn’t be hooking up any time soon?

Either way, this wasn't good.

"Anyway," Cami continued. "Sothat'sthe 'coffee' with your brother. And in case it wasn't clear, there was no 'banging' involved." Under her breath, she added, "Well, not with me, anyway. Who knows what he and the blonde did afterwards." She hesitated. "Or before."

With a final sigh, she asked, "And why am I even thinking about this?"

As I gazed down at her, it slowly dawned on me that my anger had morphed into something else, something a lot more dangerous – and not only to me personally.

Cami was a nice person. She deserved a nice guy. But me – I wasn't nice. Hell, I didn't evenwantto be nice.

Nice guys finished last –andwasted too much time doing it.That wasn't me.And it never would be, not if I could help it.

It was time to get back to business. "About Veronica," I said, "I'll need a written report."

Cami shook her head. "What?"

"Keep it under five pages. Typed. And don't omit anything." I gave her a hard look. "Because trust me, I have ways of finding out."

Chapter 23

Cami

I looked to Arden. "And then he tells me…" I did my best Mason impression. "I have ways of finding out."

Arden and I were sitting in the living room of the beach house that she and Brody had renovated earlier this year as part of theBlastreality show. The house had been in Arden's family for generations, but it wasn't until Brody had invested some serious time and money into its restoration that the house had morphed into something truly spectacular.

Today, the home looked brand new, but with all its original charm. Best of all, Arden and Brody were now living in the house together while they made plans for their upcoming wedding.

From the nearby sofa, Arden said, "You know what's funny? I bet he really does have ways of finding out."

"Oh, I'm sure he does," I said, recalling the background check that Mason had run on me, back in the beginning. "But if that's the case, why doesn't he get a report fromtheminstead?"