"I get that," Megan said. "It's hard to focus on your business if you're sidetracked by romance."
"Exactly," Mina said. "Why would I work so hard at school and my internships and all my various projects over the years if I wasn't completely committed to my career? And how can I be completely committed to getting my career off the ground if I'm supposed to be committed to a relationship, too? Later, yeah. But right now is critical."
Surely Cam felt the same way? He'd been killing himself to get through two masters programs, and now that he'd been accepted into a Ph.D. program he was going to be even more busy.
Taylor actually threw up her hands. "Okay. Fine. You win."
"Thank you." She exhaled loudly, feeling smug. "I wish you could tell that to Darryl. He's bringing some guy to the party tonight hoping that we'll hit it off." She made a face. "He thinks that since Zach is going into the entertainment industry it'll be a match made in heaven."
"Well, wouldn't it?" Megan asked. "If he's in your business, then it's not really a distraction, is it? More like a perk."
Mina shrugged. "Maybe." Hell, maybe she was resisting Zach because he was Darryl's set up. Maybe the guy really was great.
Maybe.
But even if he was, Mina knew it wouldn't matter. Yesterday, she might have managed to peel her eyes open to really give the guy a look. But today...
Well, today, all she could see was Cam's face. All she could think about was the brush of his fingers over her skin and the way he'd made her feel. Not sex. And not even just fun, but fun and warmth and wildness and need all rolled into one.
She didn't want a relationship--really she didn't.
But she couldn't deny that she craved him. And she hoped like hell that when he'd walked out of her apartment that morning, he hadn't intended it to be forever.
She avoided Taylor and Megan's question about whom she'd slept with, then finally pushed them out the door with the excuse that she had to get to the store, and that she'd see both of them that night since Taylor was coming with Amanda, a mutual friend, and Megan was coming with Griffin.
"I can't ask him, since I interned for him, but are you and Griffin dating?" Mina asked as she walked her friends to Taylor's car.
Megan shook her head. "I won't deny that there was a spark when we first met--or, at least, I thought so. But no."
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be. Honestly, it wouldn't have lasted, and I'm not sure we would have become friends with that kind of history hanging between us."
Mina swallowed, thinking of Cameron. Had they screwed up? Was that unreadable expression she'd seen on his face advance warning of goodbye?
"He's the best," Megan said, unaware of Mina's spiraling thoughts. "But he's got a lot to overcome, and it gets in the way. I hope he finds someone, but I think she's going to have to be a fighter to get through his thick skin. And I don't mean the scars," she added.
"I hear you." Griffin had been horribly injured in a fire when he was a kid, and his face and one side of his body were still messed up. She knew he was in some sort of experimental drug trial, but that wasn't going to magically erase the scars or give the wounded little boy who lived inside the man a shot of confidence.
Once Taylor and Megan were gone, Mina dove into getting the house ready and the food delivered. The food was the easiest, since all she had to do was call the store and ask her father's assistant to send a runner over with everything on the list. For that matter, the house was easy, too. Her father had a housekeeper who came every other day whether the house needed it or not. She'd cleaned and dusted just yesterday, which meant that all Mina had to do was put away the groceries when they arrived, pretty up the party trays, bring up a few bottles of wine from the cellar, and hang the Congratulations banner over the big bay window.
And, of course, she had to make the cake. Duncan Hines yellow cake mix with chocolate Betty Crocker frosting. Simple--although considering her lack of skill at frosting, it would still be messy--but it was both of their favorites, and no way was she throwing her brother any type of party without making him a cake.
"Smell's amazing," Darryl said, coming into the kitchen and dropping his keys into the bowl on the breakfast table.
"Only the best for my big brother." She'd just finished frosting the cake, and she passed him the canister. "In case you didn't get enough food at your brunch."
"More than enough," he said. "But there's always room for frosting." He demonstrated by using his finger to scoop up a glob. "So my surprise is at six?"
"I'm not even calling it a surprise party anymore. Now it's an ingrate party."
He waved a chocolate-covered finger at her. "Not ungrateful. Just not surprised."
"Yes, six." She'd deliberately made the party early so that folks realized that it was an understated gathering. They could come by, hang out, and still keep all their Saturday night plans. Plus, even though Mina hadn't invited many folks from The Fix since that was her world and not Darryl's, there were a few crossovers. And since it was a Saturday night, Mina hadn't wanted to pull them away from the busiest hours.
She and Darryl had gone to high school with Tiffany Russell, one of the waitresses, so she was a given. And Jenna and Reece were coming, too. Over Christmas break, Darryl and Reece had spent a full evening talking about restoring old cars--a hobby that Darryl loved but never had time for. It wasn't a huge connection, but the guys had hit it off, and Mina liked both Reece and Jenna.
And, of course, Cam.