Love-in-Idleness Read Online Free Page A

absolutely breathtaking. “You’re Cameron.” She held out her hand. “I’m Grace. But I guess you knew that.”
                   “Yes. Well, everyone calls me Cam, but I’m still pleased to meet you,” he said formally and shook her hand. “I had a hunch you were Theo’s daughter. It wasn’t hard to match you to my father’s description. He said that you were a tiny girl with tons of auburn hair and ice blue eyes. Now that we’ve met, would you care to tell me why you’ve drawn my house to look like something from an Edgar Allen Poe story?”
                   Grace couldn’t help but smile. He must drive the girls crazy, she thought. “It just seems a bit like some strange fairytale,” she began, “that a mystery man appears out of nowhere and offers Theo this prestigious job. What possible interest could Miles Oberon have in an estate lawyer from Brooklyn?”
                   Cameron smiled broadly at her and, for just a moment, Grace felt her knees buckle. His gaze was so deliberate, so focused on only her, that she was instantly filled with the joy of having Cameron’s full attention.  As she collected herself, he commented, “Don’t worry. People usually find that my father has a plan. If they go along for the ride, they are never disappointed.” He chuckled. “Just don’t marry him.”
    Grace decided to let the last comment slide. When they arrived at the building in which they both lived, Cam stepped to the side to let her enter first, as Julius, the middle-aged, slightly corpulent doorman, held the door wide for them. Cam nodded his appreciation in Julius’s direction, but Grace doubled back before she passed the threshold.
                   “Julius, is your daughter feeling better?” she asked. Julius was the only person in the building that struck Grace as normal. She had gotten to know him a bit and liked his complete and utter lack of pretension. He was just a guy working for a paycheck. Grace respected that.
                   “She’s fine, Gracie. All better.” Julius grinned at her. “Now go upstairs. You have a fancy dinner to eat.”
                   “See you later.” She waved. Cameron was waiting for her in the lobby.
                   “Julius has a daughter?” he asked.
                   “He has three daughters,” Grace replied. “I’ve been here for four weeks. You’ve been here your whole life. How do you not know about Julius’s family?”
                   Cameron shrugged and pushed the elevator button. “I guess I never asked.” As the lift arrived, they slid through the open doors.
                  Grace reached past Cam to hit the button for the eighth floor. “That kills me about people in this neighborhood. You don’t talk to each other. You probably don’t know anyone in the building.”
                   “You’re wrong. I know a lot of people.” At that moment, the elevator stopped at the third floor, and a tall elegant woman covered head to toe in Prada entered. She smiled at Cam as she pushed the button for the fourth floor. Cameron waited for her to exit and said, “I know her. She’s an actress.”
                   “Everyone knows her,” Grace snapped. “She’s wicked famous.”
                   “Not everyone knows that she bought an apartment on the fourth floor for her mother.”
                   Grace sighed. “That doesn’t count. That’s something that you know about her. That’s not like really knowing her. It’s just gossip.”
                   Cameron gave her another mesmerizing smile and said, “I guess you’ve given me something to think about.”
                   The door slid open and Grace walked out. Cam called after her, “See you in half an hour.” She could feel his eyes following her until the elevator