The sites. About how beautiful the sunset they were watching together was.
But they hadnât talked about anything of any importance.
And sheâd had a completely different impression of himâas the businessman sheâd assumed he was. Right now, he looked more like a cowboy, in faded blue jeans and a soiled chambray shirt that still managed to accentuate his broad, broad shoulders.
The hair was the same, thoughâthick auburn, short on the sides and slightly longer on top, where it was carelessly mussed. Also the same was the model-handsome face, lean and sculpted, with a strong jaw shadowed with stubble around thin but hellishly sexy lips. His slightly longish nose was straight and narrow. His penetrating eyes as dark as black coffee, beneath brooding brows and a square forehead.
And tallâhe was so tall. And muscular.
Nothing at all like her Patrick.
Which had been part of the reason for that night...
Livi swallowed with some difficulty, trying to manage so many emotions at onceâthe shame and humiliation, but also the attraction she wished she could repress. Because she couldnât help appreciating what an impressive, imposing specimen of a man he was.
âI didnât know you were a cowboy from Montana,â she said weakly.
âCowboy?â John Sr. commented, breaking through Liviâs shock. âHe isnât really that.â
âHe is when heâs getting his hands dirty doing our work around here,â Maeve retorted. âAnd, yes, Livi is a Camden,â the older woman confirmed to Callan. âSheâs Seth Camdenâs cousin, Georgianna Camdenâs granddaughter, and she came to offer sympathies and help with Greta.â
Livi watched Callanâs thick eyebrows dip together in a frown. âHelp with Greta,â he repeated without inflection. But the frown was enough to let her know that he wasnât as receptive to the idea as the Tellers had already seemed to be. âWhy would a Camden want to do that?â
Suspicion. It was clear as day in his voice then.
So much for this going smoothly...
And despite what had happened in Hawaii and how monumental it was to her, Livi realized that their personal history was now on the back burner for him. That theyâd veered into anti-Camden territory. John Sr. and Maeve hadnât seemed to know the details of the bad blood between the Camdens and Randall Walcott, but Livi was willing to bet Callan knew the whole storyâand held a grudge.
âI know that once upon a time there was a falling out with the Camdens and Randall Walcottââ
âA falling out ?â Callan repeated with an unpleasant huff. âYou people played that guy for a sucker. You lured him in and then pulled the rug out from under him.â
Livi took a deep breath, wishing she could deny any part of what heâd just laid at her familyâs doorstep, but knowing she couldnât. The harsh, often unethical behavior of the senior Camdens was the very reason she and her siblings and cousins were working so hard to make restitution.
âUntil very recently none of the Camdens who are around todayâme, my brothers and sister, my cousins and our grandmotherâknew what went on all that time ago,â she said. âMy grandmother knew Randall Walcott as a boy her sons grew up with, worked withââ
âThey worked him, all right,â Callan continued with a sneer. âThey had their old man give him advice on how to start his shoe business. Even gave him a loan so he could expand it. But about the time he had everything up and running they called in the loan, knowing he couldnât pay. Then they took over his company, stealing what heâd started and built up. You people still sell Walcott Shoes, if Iâm not mistaken.â
âYou peopleâ again...
âI was only two years old when it went down,â Livi felt compelled to point out. âAnd no one alive