Page 16 of Flirting with Forever

“Er, yes. Where did you find it?”

“In the doorway. It, er, seems to be growling.”

Kate held the clutch to her ear. Cam could hear the sound of her phone vibrating.

“It’s my phone.”

The woman stared at her blankly.

“My phone.” Cam held an imaginary phone to her ear.

Kate shook her head.

Cam had a sinking feeling. “Are you an actress?”

“Oh my, no.” Kate smiled. “Just a model.”

“Is this a backstage?”

Kate shook her head. She was beginning to look as spooked as Cam felt. The phone stopped vibrating.

Kate said, “Do you have a puppy in there?”

Cam nodded slowly. “Yes.” The sinking feeling was spreading.

“Named ‘Fone’?”

“Y-Yes.”

“He must be very small.”

“Yes.” Her head began to spin. “Can you tell me where we are?”

“Do you mean where in London?”

London! Cam clutched the wall for support. “Uh-huh.”

“Covent Garden—specifically, Peter Lely’s house in Covent Garden.”

Oh my God! Peter. The man was Peter Lely! How could she have missed it? He looked exactly like his self-portrait—dark, wavy hair, warm brown eyes, and rugged profile. Cam needed to sit. Lely’s house. In Covent Garden. A moment ago she’d been at her desk with mustard on her shoe in Pittsburgh. She looked at her foot. No mustard. Not even a shoe. Holy crap. She was in another time in another city with a Restoration-era painter! It was too much to absorb. “I-I…Can I have a seat?”

Kate ushered her to a chair. “Quick, ladies. She’s ill.”

The women circled her. One offered a cup of ale. Cam gulped it.

Kate removed Cam’s headdress and petted her forehead. “You’re not warm. Did you get a bad eel? The cook here is wonderful, but you never know with eel.”

Bad eel? Maybe a bad hot dog. Cam shook her head, which was already shaking enough on its own.

“Are you with child?”

Cam choked. “No—heavens, no.”

Kate turned to her friends. “I think we should call Peter.”

“No!” For some reason, the thought of facing Peter Lely terrified Cam. There was something about coming face-to-face with an artist from her university art history book that terrified her. “I-I’ll be fine. I just…need a dress.”

Another woman clapped excitedly. “A dress! Is Peter doing you in a dress?”