Page 42 of I Loved You First

“Worrying that I’m not enough—that I’m going to screw him up.”

The soft look was back in her eyes. “No way, Cam.”

“You’re good for my confidence.”

She smiled. “I’m glad. Because you’re an excellent dad.” She took another bite of her fruit. “So, what about dating? How do you juggle that?”

He huffed out a laugh. “I don’t. I met up with an interior designer a couple of times two or three years back when I was helping my brother with some work down in Boston, but it didn’t go anywhere. I don’t bring women around Brady.”

Fi nodded. “That makes sense.”

“Mostly, I have a good thing going with Rosy.” He held up his palm. “She knows what I like, and she keeps me out of trouble.”

Fi’s eyes grew huge as she laughed one of her big laughs that echoed off the water.

He chuckled. “It’s true.”

She clapped her hands as she laughed again. “I’m glad she knows what you like.”

Fi used to know what he liked, too, but he wasn’t stupid enough to say so. “So, what about you? What’s city dating like?”

She wrinkled her nose. “I don’t have a lot of time for it. I’ve had a couple of relationships over the last few years, but they fizzled fairly quickly.”

He imagined he was supposed to want Fi to find someone else, but he wasn’t that big of a person. The only man he wanted Fiona to be with was him. “Huh,” he said. That felt like a safe response.

“I’m not sure what dating will look like now that I know what I do.”

He frowned. “You mean about the baby thing?”

She nodded. “Most men eventually want families. I can confidently say I might not be able to give them that.”

He captured her hand, gently squeezing her fingers, mad about the injustice of the entire situation. “The right person won’t give a damn.”

She shrugged as she ate the last bite of her sandwich. “I guess we’ll see.”

And then the alarm on his watch went off, abruptly ending his surprisingly awesome lunch break.

It was still a bit of a shock that Fi was sitting next to him on the dock—that she’d cried on his shoulder while she shared her hard news. It felt like a miracle that they were back here again—that Fi was willing to confide in him after all they’d been through. “That’s my reminder to pick Brady up.”

“Okay.” Fi stacked their empty plates and bowls, picking them up as she stood. “Thank you, Cam. For lunch. For listening.”

He gained his feet. “Anytime. Thanks for hanging out with me.”

“Definitely.”

“You’ll have to come over one of these days and swim with me and Brady. We’ll throw some burgers on the grill. I promise I’ll toast the gluten-free buns.”

She laughed. “I would love to.”

“Maybe you’ll think about sharing your number with me so I can call you sometime.”

“I can do that.”

“Good.” Taking the dishes from her, they walked back to the house. “Let’s get you home.”

twelve

Fi sat on the floor in her temporary office at Bennet & Sons, singing along with Camila Cabello on her favorite playlist. Dressed for comfort in a pair of yoga shorts and an old George Washington University T-shirt, she blew up two pale-pink balloons with the electric pump she’d bought at the party supply store earlier in the afternoon. Tying them off by tying them together, she grabbed two more balloons in a darker shade of pink.