Landon's eyes wandered around the modest coffee shop with admiration for the aesthetic in this artistic little shop that looked like a different world from the view outside. Their coffee was every bit as incredible.
"I know you don't frequent places like these but easy with the judgement stare your highness." She said sarcastically, unable to read Landon's stoic expression.
"You'd be surprised. I think it's rather…" He paused mid-sentence in search of the right word to describe what he thought of the place.
"Cute?" Camile interjected.
"Quaint." He corrected and she let out a sigh.
"I hope you didn't ask to meet just so you can annoy me?" She asked in a strict tone, voicing out her impatience and distaste for an encore of the last time they sat together.
He took a sip of the coffee and looked into her eyes. She had her glasses on and he still bore into them like he was trying to read her mind.
"My behaviour at dinner was inexcusable. I made a promise to Katherine and failed to keep it." His eyes never moved away from her gaze and his words sounded as genuine as you could get with Landon Archer.
"If this is an apology, I think you should save it for Katherine. I wasn't the best of hosts either." Camile quickly brushed the issue aside.
Landon scoffed in response. "It's not."
Camile debated whether to make a snappy remark in her head but decided against it. "So why are we here?"
Before Landon could respond, his eyes caught sight of a collection of miniature pictures kept as memorabilia on the wall behind the barista who was currently attending to a customer. Camile appeared in a lot of them.
"I could ask you the same thing." He languidly pointed towards them and then picked up his coffee.
"I worked part time here for a while, this place was how I was able to pay for college." She admitted and his mind visioned a young Camile, working these very tables. "I'm an owner now." She added with a sense of pride and fulfilment. Her eyes glowed with affection as she spoke about the place and he could see how important this place was to her.
Although, her revelation still hadn't answered his question. If this place was so important to her, then why had she brought him here, a place so personal? He didn't ask though.
"So why are we here, Landon?" Camile repeated, her voice cutting through his contemplation.
He set his cup down, the weight of the question was hanging between them like a challenge. The truth was, he wasn't entirely sure himself. After last night with Giselle and waking up alone with nothing but a scribbled note, something had compelled him to make that call.
"I told you, My behaviour at dinner was—"
"You also said this wasn't an apology." She interrupted, leaning back in her chair. "So what is it?"
Landon's jaw tightened. She had this infuriating ability to cut through carefully constructed walls and evade his avoidance techniques. "There's something I'm still trying to understand."
"Understand what?"
"What you said. About me being that silly little boy." The words came out harder than he intended, he saw her eyes flash with surprise, maybe even regret.
Camile was quiet for a long moment, her fingers tracing the rim of her coffee cup. Landon watched her attentively. When she finally spoke, her voice was softer. "Because that's exactly what you were acting like Landon. And maybe… maybe I was hoping the Landon I actually fell for was still in there somewhere."
The admission hung between them, raw and unexpected. Landon felt something twist in his chest, a feeling he had long forgotten. A feeling he felt when she turned away from her easel to steal glances at him while he watched her paint in his father's study.
"How dare you say this when you were the one who pushed me away Camile?"
"God, Landon, you were seventeen and I was twenty-four. I hated myself for wanting you the way I did." Camile's composure finally cracked. "I thought you'd forget about me and move on and find someone who was actually age-appropriate." Her laugh was bitter.
"Instead you changed and became spiteful, vindictive, and promiscuous. Playing around with women even older than me." She scoffed, referring to Giselle. Landon realised his mother wasn't the only one who knew about the relationship.
"I didn't change until you slept with my father." His stoic gaze changed into something colder, his words hit her like a physical blow.
"The wounds we inflicted on each other can never be forgiven, not while we still feel the pain from the scars." Camile head hung low, her voice was deadly quiet now.
They both remained silent, their coffee was cold now, no one had drank for a while. Camile contemplated whether or not it was time to leave.
"That wasn't the only reason I wanted to see you." Landon announced, ending the spell of awkward silence. His stare lingered outside the window and his hand rubbed his wrist, where his watch would usually be.
His search for it had stalled and he had no solid leads to pursue. An idea had suddenly appeared in his mind, Camile's knowledge of the art world might just be the missing piece he needed to find it.
He described the situation to her but spared her a few details like him asking Giselle for help. "I need your help finding it, we don't have to forgive each other to find a way to work together. It isn't exactly what I promised Katherine but it'll have to do."
Camile considered all the information he had given her. She knew how important that watch was to Caleb and to him. It was important to her as well and if he trusted her enough to ask for her help, it was a step in the right direction. Or he was just really desperate, either way, she was glad.
"I think I know just where to start." She said confidently which filled Landon with a bit of optimism. He hadn't felt that in a long while. "Do you play poker?"
"You insult me woman, I'm a gambler." He said with a wide smirk on his face. She found herself smiling at the playfulness in his voice.
"We'll see." She shrugged and got up from the table.