READY OR NOT (CAMREN)

SIXTEEN

Camila stared at the spreadsheet on her computer, but the numbers didn't change. She scrubbed her eyes and sat back in her chair. With her savings now depleted from the money she'd given to her sister that morning, she needed to play it safe a bit. The harsh reality was that she didn't have a lot of wiggle room, as in barely any.

The bar was doing okay, but moving forward with her plans to hire So Harmony would push her close to the edge of scary from a financial perspective. While she wanted to take this bar, her little-engine-that-could, and mold it into something bigger, it would require she take a rather substantial financial risk. But one bad month and she'd have trouble paying the bills. New York City wasn't the easiest place to run a business.

Camila had some decisions to make.

She heard a knock on the door. What now? She closed her eyes in irritation. The mid-week traffic at the bar was manageable and she should have been able to steal a couple of hours on her own that night to work, but apparently the universe had other ideas. She planned to deal with whatever issue awaited her behind door number one, then take a look at the annual fire-marshal-inspection checklist. The last thing she needed was to be found in violation of some obscure safety code and leveled with a large fine.

"What's up?" she said, opening the door.

"I was about to ask you the same thing," Lauren said, smiling. Camila had to take a second to regroup. This was an unexpected surprise, but she was definitely not complaining. She could use a bright spot right about now. Lauren wore jeans, a red T-shirt and black blazer, her hair unencumbered, down around her shoulders. She looked sophisticated and hot as hell.

"Hey," Camila said and gestured behind her. "Um, I was just getting some work done."

Lauren tilted her head. "So all those times, when I thought it just wasn't your shift and some other bartender was on, you were most likely back here doing bar-owner stuff."

Camila's widened her eyes in appreciation. "Bar-owner stuff sounds so official. I like it. You should name more things in our society."

"You know what I mean," Lauren said, pushing at Camila playfully. "Well, anyway, we're having celebratory drinks out here. Ally found a wedding dress. And I just...I don't know, wanted to say hi. So...hi. But I'll let you get back to work." For reasons Camila couldn't quite fathom, Lauren seemed nervous, which was so unexpected it was adorable, causing Camila's stomach to ignite in butterflies of her own.

Camila took her hand and pulled Lauren into the office. "You should say hi in here though, I'm thinking."

Lauren's eyes danced, but she allowed herself to be pulled inside the small office. Camila closed the door, placed her back against it, and drew Lauren to her, wrapping an arm around the back of her waist. "So, hi."

"Hi," Lauren said back, smiling. "Your hair's in a ponytail today."

Camila glanced upward at the mention. "In fact, it is." Her focus dropped to Lauren's mouth. It sported a shiny kind of lip gloss, which she desperately wanted to taste. As she moved in, Lauren's words stopped her.

"I like it when you wear it in a ponytail. Adds a soft / tough dynamic."

"Yeah?" Camila asked, not letting the comment deter her, as her lips had almost been on Lauren's. She braced for the kiss, basking in the warmth of Lauren's proximity, anticipating the tingles before they could arrive. Her lips parted slightly as their mouths inched together.

"I mean, it's a great look."

Defeat. Camila leaned back against the wall, her body thrumming. "You're killing me right now." And the thing was, Lauren seemed to be enjoying it. She placed her hands on either side of Camila's hips as a starting place and eased her thumbs up the brunette's body to the top of her rib cage, falling just short of her breasts. Camila hitched in a breath, very aware that Lauren held all the cards today and seemed to want it that way.