Chapter Four

Cam fixed a smoothie and took it out onto the deck to watch the sun rising. He hadn’t slept well, and once Ash had gotten home around four a.m., he’d stirred and not managed to get back to sleep, so he figured he might as well get up and do some work.

He took a seat, sipping his drink. The fiery palette of the rising sun painted streaks across the sky, but it wasn’t yet enough to take the chill out of the air. He lifted his hood, remembering how he’d snuck glances at Nina over the edge of it as they’d walked along the beach the previous night. She had rich dark hair that shone like the night sky and chestnut-brown eyes containing tiny star-like flecks of amber.

He grimaced at the memory of his prying into her encounters with Zac then rubbed his temples painfully as he recounted how offhand he’d been with her during their first couple of meetings. Well, the second couple. He hadn’t forgotten the very first time he’d spoken to her at that party in Glasgow years before. He’d noticed her around with Isla prior to that and had seized his chance to talk to her when their paths had eventually crossed. Unfortunately, she’d been with a boyfriend. He shook his head. Crappy timing on his part. Not that it mattered…

He’d had zero game back then anyway, so he probably would’ve struck out—or more likely not have even tried in the first place, knowing he’d be doomed to failure. He took another drink from his glass and laughed humourlessly. All it had taken was fame, fortune and a complete image overhaul before women had started to show any interest in him—except it wasn’t really him they were interested in. It was ‘Logan’. However, that guy didn’t really exist. Not anymore, anyway.

Cam lifted his feet onto the neighbouring chair and took in the expanding sunrise. He needed to make an effort to improve Nina’s opinion of him. It was clear after her visit to the villa that she’d thought he was a dick—and he didn’t blame her. He’d acted like one, all out of his disappointment and tinge of jealousy that she’d been chatting up Zac at the bar on the afternoon of her arrival. Though Cam’s natural awkwardness around attractive women was another major factor in his behaviour.

It didn’t help that Nina had also been flirting with Zac at Cam’s set the previous night. Cam admitted to himself that he’d been hoping to impress her with his showmanship…but no such luck. He sighed. In any case, he didn’t have a right to feel anything about her involvement with Zac. The woman didn’t know Cam, and he doubted she’d remember him from all those years ago. It was none of his business who she was interested in, and she had no obligation to be in his company, no matter what a ‘big deal’ everyone else thought he was.

He folded his arms. “You’ve also got a girlfriend, remember?” he muttered, not that it felt like much of a relationship nowadays. Ash seemed more interested in partying without him than in spending any time with him. She just liked to reference him to whomever she was with. He rubbed his eyes. If he faced facts, then the situation wasn’t recent but for the duration of their time together. From that first night until today, that was how it’d been.

He doubted that Ash knew anything about the real him, only his persona. But as usual, he’d been dazzled by the fact that someone beautiful and renowned like her was showing him attention. He still hadn’t gotten over that geeky oh-my-God-a-female-is-interested-in-me inner person who he’d carried inside him since high school—the guy who’d rather be at home making mixes than out dancing to them with his friends.

Not that he could even dance… He might have the talent for making music that got everybody going, but nobody seemed to notice that he lacked the physical coordination to move to it in a dexterous manner himself. On stage it was fine because he just raised his arms or pumped his fist and everyone lapped it up.

Cam finished his drink and decided to go down to the gym before he entered the studio for the morning. Maybe a workout would clear his head and pave the way for productivity.

 

* * * *

 

When Cameron emerged from the studio, it was eleven a.m. Time always ran away with him once he got in there. He lifted his phone as he climbed the stairs and realised there were a few messages from Noah. He skimmed them as he entered the kitchen.

Ash was leaning against the counter. “Hey.”

He glanced up. “Morning.” Cam paused to take in the messages.

Ash frowned. “What’s wrong?”

He hesitated. “It’s Noah. He’s sick. He thinks he’s got food poisoning.”

Ash grimaced. “Ew.”

Cam waited for her to ask how Noah was, but she didn’t. He placed the phone away. “I guess it’ll just be us at the beach today.”

Ash poured herself a coffee. “Just you and me?” Maybe he was imagining it, but she didn’t sound enthralled at the idea.

He shook his head. “Isla and Nina are coming.”

Ash’s eyes lit up. “Cool. Nina is so cute. And she’s really smart. Didja know that?”

Cam took the coffee pot and poured his own mugful. “Yeah,” he smiled, “I do know.”

“She does science stuff and taught me a couple things last night,” Ash said.

Cam raised his eyebrows. “Okay.”

Ash sipped her coffee. “What time are we meeting them?”

He glanced at his watch. “In an hour and a half.”

“I’ll take this upstairs then. I need to get ready and find my new bikini.” She made to leave, then paused as she passed him. “Oh, are we taking a picnic?”

He smiled. “I’ll sort it. You go get ready.”

She smiled back and gave him a peck on the cheek, then left for the stairs.

Cameron pulled out various items from the fridge and cupboards, remembering what Isla had told him both she and Nina liked. He packed everything into a cool box then went to the garage and loaded it into the back of his four-by-four.

He returned inside and checked his watch. The beach was a twenty-minute drive away. “Ash,” he called up the stairs. There was no answer, so he waited a few more minutes and she eventually came down looking more like she was dressed for a photo shoot than the beach—but that was her style.

“Ready?” she asked him as she placed on her Audrey Hepburn-esque sunglasses.

He smiled. “Yep. I’ve loaded the Jeep.”

He locked the door behind them before following her to the car and climbing into the driver’s side.

They made their way along the windy hill road toward the beach. “Did you have fun last night?” he asked.

“Yeah, it was so cool,” she said. “I was hanging out with Jack and Simone and Aubrey. You remember those guys from the other night?”

Cam racked his brain but they didn’t ring a bell. “No, not really.”

“They’re the ones with the viral YouTube channel. They said they’d let me guest on one of their videos.”

“Sounds good,” Cam said, watching the road. The social media stuff wasn’t his thing. He had someone else do it on his behalf because he never had any idea what to say. Ash, on the other hand, was a master at it and a supreme networker. She might have a rep as a party girl, but she knew what she was doing in order to manipulate media attention to her advantage. That was why she was such a big name. Cam knew many talented artists and creators who’d no idea how to use social media effectively. It wasn’t a landscape that became easy to navigate just because you were in the limelight.

He glanced at her as she chatted about whom she’d seen and spoken to the previous night. People thought that she didn’t pay attention to others and was self-obsessed, but she tended to focus on and remember random details about a person that others might not. It was one of the ways she charmed everyone. Although she was perhaps a little self-obsessed and she did overlook some things when they didn’t fit with her aesthetic, like how she still referred to him as Logan, despite knowing his real name. To his face, though, she never called him that. She just used pet names like ‘baby’ instead. She also couldn’t seem to grasp that he was Scottish and not English, despite his having explained it on numerous occasions. But then, she wasn’t the only American to display that particular tendency.

Cameron remembered their first meeting and how she’d been forthright in approaching him, clearly aware that he knew who she was and taking advantage of the signs that he found her attractive. Since his rise to fame, he’d discovered that his previous lack of confidence making the first move with women no longer mattered, because suddenly they were approaching him. The only problem was that perhaps the wrong ones were doing so—or at least the wrong ones for him, a fact that had started to dawn on him lately. He certainly wasn’t knocking it. He loved empowered women and enjoyed their attention and intimacy. What guy wouldn’t? But the series of short relationships based on physical attraction that he’d experienced thus far had left him unfulfilled, and the older he got, the stronger his desire for more. He wanted depth to the intimacy, not just someone he thought was hot and who found him attractive in return, but someone he connected with on a meaningful level. The idea of that was sexier than any illicit encounter he’d experienced so far.

He let Ash continue her monologue. It was a welcome relief not to have to think about what she was saying and try to act interested. He glanced at her. At some point in the future their relationship would end. It wasn’t going to be a forever thing, but they could enjoy the time they had together while it lasted.

Cam pulled into a parking spot next to the beach steps. He passed Ash some money to go secure some sun loungers and went to get the picnic. Once he caught up with her, she was engrossed in conversation with the sun lounger guy and seemed to be getting him to pose for some pictures for her Instagram account.

Cam adjusted the parasols so that their area would be in the shade. Ash preferred it that way because she talked a lot about how the sun caused skin aging and she didn’t want any wrinkles before her time. Plus, Isla was a redheaded, fair-skinned Scot who’d burn just by looking at the sun. Nina wouldn’t with her darker tone, but then she was English, and they seemed to cope marginally better than the melanin-deprived Scots.

Thinking about Nina was a mistake, because his mind started to wander past her skin tone onto her other physical attributes, and that was a fool’s game when she clearly had a poor opinion of him. Plus, he wasn’t single, and even though things weren’t great between him and Ash, it still wasn’t right to fantasise about other women.

A car door slammed and he turned his head. Isla stood with her hands on her hips as Nina got out of the cab. For a moment the sight of Nina’s thin flowery sundress fluttering over her thighs in the breeze threw him. He averted his gaze and waited for them to approach. Their hushed conversation carried on the wind ahead of them, and it had an agitated tone. Cam heard the mention of Zac and it caused him to snap his gaze up. Isla was striding ahead over the sand toward him with Nina lagging behind, her mouth set in a frustrated line.

Isla reached him first and dropped her beach bag onto a lounger. “Hi.”

“Hey,” he said, slowly. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah,” Isla said. She glanced at Nina, who was closing the gap between them. “I’m just going for a quick walk.” She turned and left for the surf.

Cam frowned as he watched her move quickly away, then turned his attention to Nina, who arrived next to him with a sigh.

“Where’s she going?” Nina asked.

“For a walk,” he said.

Nina shook her head. “More fool her. She’s not put any sun cream on yet, so she’ll be returning a lobster.”

He smiled, wondering whether to ask why there was tension between them but worried about overstepping the mark.

Nina sat. “I’m sure you can tell we’ve had a disagreement.”

He took a seat on the lounger next to her. “Anything I can help with?”

She smiled and the fact that he’d finally managed to bring a sincere version of that expression to her face delighted him. It was a shame it was under these circumstances.

“I don’t think so,” she said. “But thanks for the offer.” She paused. “Unless you have the power to hire a hit man.”

He raised his eyebrows. “For Isla?”

She laughed. “No, not her.”

He studied her as the breeze blew strands of dark hair across her face. He had a strong compulsion to tuck them behind her ear, but he quashed it. The two of them were clearly arguing about Zac, which wasn’t surprising, knowing the guy’s history. He seemed to regard women as trophies and tended to have a few that he strung along simultaneously with booty calls—but failed to let any of them know that he had a harem on the go.

Cam saw no problem with playing the field if all parties involved were aware of the circumstances and had the same opportunities for polygamy. If a person wanted more than one partner then why shouldn’t their partners have the same? It was just another double standard as far as he could tell. Not that it was something he’d be into. He preferred to concentrate on one woman at a time, and if Nina was his partner, there would be no way he’d want anybody else on the scene for himself or for her. But she had clearly fallen for whatever these charms were that Zac possessed. Maybe Isla was trying to warn her off. She must know his background, being in the same industry plus on the same label.

He lifted a bottle of water out of the cooler and offered it to Nina. She thanked him and accepted it, her fingers brushing his and sending a wave of electricity firing along his skin. He cleared his throat. “Murder aside, if there’s anything else I can do to help, just ask.”

Nina laughed and the sound was music to his ears. She smiled at him and opened her mouth slightly. He held her gaze, admiring the dark of her eyes and tiny star-like flecks of lighter shade within them. He got the feeling that she was close to confiding in him as to what was really going on. But then she glanced over at Ash, who was coming in their direction, and took a sip of water. “Thanks, Cam.”

Even the sound of her saying his name was awesome.

Ash arrived and sat next to Nina, giving her a hug. Cameron moved the cool bag under one of the loungers and lay back onto his, listening to the chat between Nina and Ash. It was mostly Ash talking, with Nina interjecting with interested noises and questions. He glanced over, able to read that Nina was humouring Ash’s celebrity update in much the same way that he did. He felt an inexplicable affinity toward her.

Cameron scanned the water’s edge. Isla was sitting on the sand, staring out to sea. He addressed the others. “Back in a minute.” He rose from the lounger and started toward the water, taking a glance over his shoulder. Nina was watching him. He held her gaze for second, his heart rate picking up. Then he wrenched his eyes away and set off over the sand.

Before long he closed the gap to Isla, sitting next to her. He handed her a bottle of suntan lotion that he’d lifted from the lounger prior to his departure.

Isla smiled. “Thanks. I’m cooking out here, but I didn’t want to give Nina the satisfaction of me coming back for it.”

He laughed as she started applying the cream, looking out across the breaking surf.

Isla sighed.

Cam glanced at her. “Want to talk about it?”

She blew her fringe out of her eyes. “I don’t really know where to start.”

He leaned back onto his elbows. “At the least painful part and work your way along?”

Isla laughed. “It’s all painful.” She rubbed her eyes under her sunglasses. “This isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.”

Cam didn’t have to ask what she meant.

Isla drew in the sand with her finger. “I thought I wanted it, but once I had it I realised it could be a poisoned chalice.”

“The fame,” he said.

She nodded. “Everything was so much fun and such a novelty. Then, as it snowballed, I had less and less time for my family and friends. I feel like I’m losing a grip on reality at times.”

He touched her arm. “We all feel that way. Just reach out to them, and they’ll still be there for you.”

Her voice wobbled. “That’s what I’m trying to do, why I called Nina to ask her out here. But I still feel like I’m losing her.” Isla glanced back to where Nina and Ash were laughing together on the lounger.

Cam shook his head. “Don’t worry about that. She’ll still always be your best mate, even if she makes new ones. From what you’ve told me, she’s one in a million.”

Isla swallowed. “She is.”

Cam leaned onto one side so that he was facing her. “Look… I’m no expert when it comes to being well adjusted to fame, but you need to talk to her. She doesn’t strike me as the unempathic sort.”

“I know,” Isla said. “I’m just struggling to find the words—and stuff keeps getting in the way.”

Cameron wished he could fix it for them—and not because their issues were a roadblock to making his track. He was rooting for them out of empathy because he’d been through it all too and hadn’t come out the other side unscathed.

Isla looked away. “Have you heard any more from Noah?”

“Not yet,” Cameron frowned. “Didn’t you guys eat with him last night?”

“Yeah,” Isla said.

“But neither of you are sick.”

Isla nodded. “Good point. And we shared everything too.”

Cam took out his phone. “I’ll call him.” He lifted it to his ear. It rang right out onto voicemail. He left a message saying that they all hoped Noah was okay and to message an update when he could.

He put the phone away and studied Isla. Her shoulders appeared tinged with red, despite the recent application of sun-factor fifty. “Come on,” he said. “Let’s go get some shade and something to eat.”

He stood, brushing away the sand, and Isla reluctantly followed suit. They headed back to the others in silence and Isla lay on her lounger, not speaking to anyone. Ash fetched the cooler and handed out the food as if she’d been the one to pack it. Cameron just let her take credit.

They ate their lunch, listening to Ash’s chatter but with nobody else joining in. Ash seemed oblivious. Cam could cut the tension with a knife. He’d been planning on asking Isla to go back to the villa so he could show her what he’d worked on in the studio that morning, but there’d be no point with the current creativity-killing vibe.

After they’d eaten, Nina excused herself to go for a swim and Ash said she’d go with her. Cam lifted out his baseball cap and pulled the peak down over his eyes in an effort not to watch Nina take off that flowery sundress. He didn’t think he could handle it. Once the two of them had left the vicinity, he lifted he cap a little, admiring her form as she headed toward the surf. Ash hung around at the water’s edge taking selfies, while Nina waded in fully, jumping over the breakers until she was swimming out into the sea.

“She loves the water.”

Isla’s voice startled him out of his Nina-shaped daydream, and he sat up. “She does?”

“Yeah. She used to be a champion swimmer at school.”

Cameron watched Nina cut through the water. I can believe that. He shifted his gaze back to Isla and was about to ask if he and Ash should go for a walk to give Nina and Isla time to talk, when Isla’s phone buzzed with a message. She took it out and started quickly texting. He lay back again, not wanting to pry. He started watching Nina again. She was coming back out of the water, her skin glistening with beads of seawater and wet tendrils of dark hair falling onto her chest. He swallowed hard and tried to drag his gaze away. There was a movement out the corner of his eye and he became aware that Isla had stood and was gathering her belongings into her bag.

Cameron raised his eyebrows. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” she said. “I’ve just ordered a cab. I’m going to meet someone.”

“Right now?” he asked.

She gave him a look. “Yes.”

“Okay,” he said, taking the hint not to ask any more questions. “Are you going to tell Nina that you’re leaving?”

Isla glanced toward where Nina was sitting with Ash. “Can you tell her?”

He rubbed his forehead. “What do you want me to say?”

“Just tell her that I’ve gone to see Zac.”

Cameron frowned. They were both seeing Zac? No wonder they’d been arguing. Though, he didn’t know why he was surprised. That was Zac all over, playing multiple women off each other. And if it was best friends then it was bound to give him some sort of perverted extra kick.

Cameron tried to think what to say to dissuade her from going or to at least speak to Nina before she did, but she was already leaving. She glanced back over her shoulder. “I’ll meet you at yours tomorrow.”

“Okay,” he said weakly. The cab was already pulling in. It must’ve been nearby. He glanced back to the surf but the others hadn’t noticed Isla’s departure. His heart sank as he tried to think how he was going to break it to Nina that Isla had left in order to respond to a booty call from the guy that she was also seeing.