Guarding Camille

“Nope. And I’ve checked all the staff and extras hired. They’re clean.”

“Good. While I look around, I want you to stay close to Camille.” A sudden image of the way she looked beneath her disguise had him amending his instructions. “But not too close. And don’t let Garrett drool all over her.”

Max laughed again. “That might be the hardest assignment you’ve given me. Especially when she gets rid of that mustache. Good thing no one could see her clearly on the way in. She could never pass as a man.”

“Yeah,” Jake muttered. “Where are the guards stationed?” He had a picture of Eckart in his breast pocket. He wanted to show it around one more time.

Max gave him the information he’d asked for.

“Right. I’ll be back in a minute,” he assured his friend.

“You taking the baby with you?” Max asked as they entered the house.

Camille was waiting with Garrett in the entry. “I’ll take Jamie. I want to see the nursery where he’ll be staying.”

“I’ll take her to the nursery and somewhere she can remove her disguise,” Garrett offered.

Jake gave Max a stern look.

Max chuckled again. “We’ll take her,” he assured Garrett. “I want to see the setup.”

Jake hurried away. He didn’t want either man to spend too much time under Camille’s spell. They might never recover.

He wasn’t sure he would.

CAMILLE was overwhelmed.

She gazed around the high-ceilinged room at the beautifully dressed women, the men in their suits, and felt as if she’d stepped into another world. Megan Maitland, an elegant and gracious woman, had introduced her to each of her children and their spouses.

The woman was well loved by her family.

Now she arrived at Camille’s side, a beaming smile on her face. “Camille, dear, let me present my nephew, Connor O’Hara. I wish you could meet his fiancée, Janelle, but unfortunately she’s under the weather and couldn’t join us.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry,” Camille said. “But I’m pleased to meet you, Connor. It’s so wonderful that you and your family have managed to find each other after all these years.”

Megan’s nephew was good-looking in a rugged way, but when he took her hand, his lecherous gaze roved over her. “Yes, it is, isn’t it?”

Camille wanted to like everything about the Maitland family. After all, this was Jake’s family, and every member she’d met had been charming.

Everyone but Connor.

Something about him bothered her, and she tugged her hand away. A strong arm slid around her, and she jerked in surprise as she realized Jake had joined them. “Connor, Mom,” he said, acknowledging the other two.

“There you are, darling,” Megan said, smiling at her youngest son.

“Yes, Mom, here I am. Connor, where’s Janelle? I haven’t seen her.”

A flash of jealousy went through Camille. Did Jake have a special interest in the absent woman?

“She’s laid up with a cold and running a fever, so she wanted to stay in bed tonight, not take any chances.”

The man sent a suffering look Megan’s way, and she patted him on the arm.

“She made the right decision, though of course we miss her,” Megan assured Connor. Then she turned to Camille. “Did you see Chase when you took your baby upstairs?”

Jake had told Camille about Connor and Janelle’s little boy, Chase. For reasons Camille didn’t know, Janelle had abandoned the baby on the clinic steps the previous fall. Then in January she’d shown up to claim her child, but he was still in Megan’s care.

“Yes, I did,” Camille said with a smile. “He’s a handsome boy, and big for his age.”

“Yes, he is, isn’t he?” Megan agreed, sounding like a doting great-aunt.

Camille had been intimidated by Megan’s appearance when she’d first met her, but then she’d discovered the warm, loving woman beneath the expensive attire. No wonder all of Megan Maitland’s children adored her.

“What did you name your little boy?” Megan asked.

“James Jacob,” Camille said, not thinking about the speculation the name might cause. Jake’s hand squeezed her waist in warning.

“After Jake?” his mother asked in surprise.

“Um, well, Jake has helped me a great deal and—and his name went well with my father’s.”

Connor gave a harsh laugh. “I heard that my cousin was quite a stud, but I didn’t know—”

“Connor!” Megan snapped, an air of command in her voice for the first time.

He sobered at once and offered an apology.

Jake seemed distracted, however, his gaze fixed on something or someone over his mother’s shoulder. “I believe you have a late guest, Mom.”

She turned to look, then said, “Of course. Mr. Smith. If you’ll excuse me, children, I’ll go greet him.”

“Who’s that?” Connor asked, frowning.

Camille could feel the tension in Jake and knew he had some kind of interest in the man who had just arrived. She wondered if he had any connection to her ex-husband, but instantly dismissed that idea. Jake wouldn’t have allowed him to be invited to his mother’s house had that been the case.

“A man who’s checking out the hospital for his grandchild’s birth. Mom thought he might enjoy meeting the family.”

Camille studied Jake’s face. His explanation was reasonable enough, she supposed, but something about his intensity alarmed her.

“I thought it was just supposed to be family,” Connor grumbled. “Though I suppose since the Lords are here, there’s no reason—”

“The Lords are part of our family, Connor,” Jake corrected. “I’d suggest you not make that mistake in front of Mom.”

The man glowered at Jake, then tipped his glass to swallow the last of his drink. He signaled a waiter and exchanged his empty glass for another flute of champagne. “Aren’t you two drinking?” he asked, gesturing to the waiter’s almost full tray.

Camille lifted her glass of club soda. “I have something, thank you.”

Jake didn’t bother with excuses. He shook his head at the waiter and continued to keep his eye on the new guest.