Page 100 of I Loved You First

“Okay.”

“For our first conversation, she wants to talk to us together.”

Ally sighed as she stared at the sidewalk. “She’s going to think I’m a terrible person—certainly a terrible parent.”

“You’re here now. We’re working together to make this a positive situation for Brady.”

Ally nodded as she looked at him. “Thank you for saying that.”

He was trying to be kind when he could, but a huge part of him wanted Ally to go away. “Lesly thinks it’ll be less disruptive if we wait until after Brady starts school before I introduce you to him as his mother. She wants him to have a solid routine at home and in his classroom before you spend any time with him.”

Ally frowned. “That sounds like it could be several weeks.”

Cam nodded. “Most likely, it will be. But we’re playing things Lesly’s way. She’s the expert. I fully intend for Brady to make it through this transition healthy and whole.”

Although he couldn’t deny that he was worried about his son right now. Brady had been on the quieter side since Fiona left three days ago. He clung to Bob, his baby T-Rex, and he still had no desire to build the Lego set Fi had gifted him. Dinner conversations centered around Seattle, and in the mornings, Brady asked to rewatch the message Fiona had made for him.

He hoped their weekend getaway at the water park would distract his little boy and help them both recalibrate. Because they needed to find a new normal that didn’t include Fiona.

“I want what’s best for him, too, Cam.”

He nodded, slowly becoming more convinced that Ally meant it. “I should tell you that I talked to Darius on Monday.”

Ally’s frown was back. “Ezra’s brother?”

“Yeah. He practices family law.”

“I know that. Why did you talk to him?”

“Because Brady’s getting older, and things don’t feel as simple as they were when he was a baby. You and I have always had an informal arrangement⁠—”

“Which has worked just fine.”

He nodded, recognizing Ally’s miffed tone. “So far, it has. But I want you to sign something—to make it binding that I have sole custody of Brady. I’m not going to keep him from you or try to fuck you over. I’m not going to ask you to pay child support. We both know I have plenty of money. But it’s important to me that we have something in writing. If you want to hire an attorney and have him or her look things over, I’m entirely on board with that.”

Ally bobbed her leg up and down as she sighed. “This is starting to sound complicated.”

He shrugged. “Whatever it takes for Brady.”

She huffed out another breath. “I don’t need an attorney. I trust you. I’ll sign it.”

“Thank you.” He looked toward the playground—toward Brady’s favorite twisty slide. “So, what do you want your relationship with Brady to look like? I feel like I need to ask you what you want your role to be so we’re both on the same page.” Because he never planned to drop the ball again when it came to what was best for his son.

“I don’t know,” Ally said as she shrugged. “I want to be a normal mom. I want to be there for his birthday parties and bring him presents at Christmas. Maybe he can stay with me on the weekends every once in a while.”

Cam nodded, even though he hated the idea. Being a single parent had never been easy, but for a long time, he’d loved that it had been just the two of them until Fi reappeared in his life and changed everything. But Brady had a right to know and love his mother. “I don’t see why we can’t work up to that.”

Ally took another sip of her tea as they watched some of the neighborhood children rolling down the grassy hill. “So, I heard Fiona left town.”

He felt his shoulders stiffen, but he nodded again. “It was never her intention to stay.”

Ally raised her brow as she met his gaze. “So, you guys are really just friends? Because that’s hard to believe.”

He clenched his jaw, struggling to remain patient. “I’m not talking about Fi with you.”

“Fine,” she said with a toss of her hair. “I have to head back to Florida tonight. I need to pack my stuff and get settled in Boston.”

“How long will you be gone?”