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"Come on, Bron. We'll watch your favorite show while they're out. I'm way behind," Luciana offered.
"Okay!" Bronwyn clapped but then she turned to look at her parents. "Next time, you're not leaving me behind."
Luciana waived at Cam and Adrianna. She turned her attention to her niece and said, "We can order cupcakes and ice cream fromSweet Dreams. They deliver.”
Cam turned back to Adrianna, shaking his head. "Shall we?"
She nodded.
They walked in silence until they reached Central Park. Cam was nervous, not knowing what she would say or how he could start. They went in through the Strawberry Fields entrance side by side. He tugged at her hand and moved left. Then dropped it, not knowing if she would welcome his touch at the moment.
The silence unnerved him. His mind reeling from Chase's words clashed with the need to stop and pull her close.
"About last night, Cam…" She began, but he stopped walking and shook his head.
"I understand now…" He trailed off as they reached a park.
There were trees along the path, barely juxtaposed against each other. From their walking angle, the trees appeared to touch. It was like they held hands and made a pact to shield over and around them like accomplices. Or maybe that’s what he wanted to think. That the world was on their side and wanted them to make up again.
"Solace," Adrianna said, her voice softer than the wind.
Cam blinked in surprise. It was the name of the painting in which he immortalized this place. "I come here to think and reflect."
They continued to stroll, past the Imagine Mosaic, where she stopped and paid her proper respect. His Adrianna was a dreamer. He had always been able to see that in her eyes.
His Adrianna. God. Cam shook his head and shook the thought. They made it all the way to the gazebo overlooking the lake before he spoke.
"I've spent the day going over last night. Most of the time, I kept thinking of what I could have done for you not to be jealous of Sophia." Her mouth opened, and he reached for her hand. "Let me finish, okay?"
She took a deep breath and nodded. They resumed walking.
"The rest of the day, I wondered how I would keep you from being upset when we ran into the other women I dated, and there’s a lot of them, Adrianna."
Cam squeezed her hand to prevent her from bolting.
"I know that," Her voice was dry and coarse like a sand block.
"It wasn't until Chase put everything in perspective for me that I realized what this is really about," he sighed.
Her lips twitched. "Chase?"
Cam chuckled a bit. "He has this nasty thing he does. He's always horsing around and joking. It’s like he takes nothing seriously, and then out of nowhere he drops logic and knowledge into a conversation. It's really annoying."
Adrianna giggled. "Lauren once said that about him too."
"He knew about us the whole time back then."
"She told me that too, and that she’d bribed him somehow. What did he say that clarified things for you?"
The gazebo was surprisingly empty that day. So they walked in. She went to the back of it and leaned on the hand rest to look into the lake.
"He pointed out that this was not so much about your reaction but my actions behind it."
Adrianna looked over her shoulder and quirked an eyebrow. "Chase actually said those words?"
"No, he just pointed out that I purposefully got involved in relationships that would get paparazzi coverage, in hopes you would see it and think you never meant anything to me. That I wanted you to think I was happy without you." He whispered the last words and leaned to look out.
Her body tensed as she held the wooden rails of the bridge, but she didn’t move. "This reminds me of Acacia and the town square."
