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Cam watched them, only half-listening, and feeling fully ignored. He wasn’t wrong about sending Bron to school but maybe he’d been heavy handed. He should have sat with Adri and explained things better, but she didn’t seem to want to talk to him for the past week.
“I’ll work on it some more when I go upstairs,” Bron said.
“Good. I’m getting things ready here for the dinner crowd, so maybe—”
“Can I help? I can fix the arrangements and put out the dinner candles. I promise I won’t go anywhere.” The little girl’s voice trailed off and she looked downather shoes.
Adrianna’s shoulders tensed and her smile wavered. The waves of memories washing over her face. But she squared her shoulders back and blew a mouthful of air. “I need your help. Badly.”
Bron’s smile was big and devastating. “We can do it together.”
Adri smiled back. “Yeah, but go on to the back and start collecting the candles and chocolates for the tables. I need to talk to your dad first.”
Cam’s pulse quickened. She needed to talk to him? That didn’t sound good.
“Okay,Mom. Daddy wants to talk to you about something too.” She leaned in to whisper in Cam’s ear. “Remember what we talked about.”
Oh, for fuck’s sake.
Adri turned a narrow-eyed look on him. “What’s that all about?”
This was going to suck no matter what. She was probably going to tell him to move to the house he’d purchased or go to a hotel. What’s another thing to piss her off?
“Bron wants to go to thatThrills & Spine Chillzpark for her birthday. She wants Ayla there, some of her other school friends, Miss Winter, and the whole family. In that order.”
Her mouth fell open and she shook her head. “Um. The amusement park?” she squeaked, then stopped, pressed her hands to the table, and closed her eyes.
His chest hurt for her, for how hard she was struggling. But she was about to dump him and he needed to brace himself.
After a few breaths, she opened her eyes and said, “Okay.”
“Okay?”
She nodded way too hard. “Yeah. It’s her birthday. It’s about her and her wishes. I haven’t planned anything. I’ve been off my game so it’s good she knows what she wants.”
Cam could only stare at her.
Adrianna gave him a tiny smile. “I know you’re probably thinking I’m crazy. At times I do too. I had some time to clean, and do the books, and organize my office, and go through inventory.” She pressed her hand to her head. “It helps me think.”
Cam resisted the urge to smile. “I know.”
Her lips curved again into a bigger smile. “Anyway, I had time to think and with the help of my mom, I realized that I’m overprotecting Bron. I’m so afraid of losing her…” She sighed. “I can’t keep her locked up in here, no matter how much I want to. So, thank you.”
He could only blink.
“Thank you, Cam, for doing what needed to be done. I’m not going to say I liked it this morning or that I didn’t curse you for the first couple of hours, but you did what was right. What her neurotic mom couldn’t seem to do in that moment. You put her first. That’s what a good father does.”
Cam’s throat swelled. He was so taken aback by her words. He’d been preparing all day for her to tell him it was definitely over. He didn’t expect this… “Adri…”
He couldn’t think of anything to say.
“I’m happy you’re in her life.”
Her life. Bron’s life. Fuck his life.
“And mine.”
His heart slammed against his ribs and he coughed out a breath.Huh? “I thought you blamed me for everything that happened.”
