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Although she tried to get to Cameron, she found herself staring after him as she became the center of a throng of well-wishers.
Look at me. Just give me one little look, she silently urged him.
Instead of glancing in her direction, he seemed to be caught up in his own thoughts. A dejected look was etched on his face.
“Cameron!” she called out, catching up to him just as he was about to exit the room. His expression was shuttered.
“Good evening,” he said with a nod. “You’re full of surprises tonight.”
“I’m sorry that I didn’t give you a heads-up. It all came together so quickly.” She rushed the words out, anxious about his reaction.
“No problem, Paige.” His mouth quirked. “Everything worked out beautifully.”
“I think Hazel’s boots will serve this town well.”
“Congratulations. From the sounds of it, you got everything you wanted. Just one question. Does this mean you’re going to be heading back to Seattle?”
The question was thrown at her the way a pitcher might throw a curveball. She hadn’t expected to have to answer a question like this tonight. Especially not from Cameron.
“I’ve built a life for Emma and myself in Seattle. It only makes sense that we go back home,” she said.
For a moment Cameron looked as if someone had punched him in the gut. Pain flickered in his eyes and she knew without a single doubt that he was thinking about Emma.
“Cameron, we can work out a schedule. You’ll always be in Emma’s life. You’re her father,” she said in a low voice. “It will all work out.”
She was winging it now, saying the mature things that a mother should say in a situation like this. The reality was that she didn’t want to leave Love, but it was hard to justify staying here in town without a purpose. And to stay here with the shadow of her relationship with Cameron always hanging over her head wasn’t something she could do. Not when she’d fallen in love with him all over again.
Raw emotions flitted across his face. His expression hardened. “I never wanted to be a long-distance father, Paige. Take it from my own experience—sometimes it doesn’t all work out.”
Without saying another word, he turned and disappeared through the door, leaving Paige feeling crestfallen.
She hadn’t wanted to hurt him or to revive memories of his own parental abandonment. She’d come all the way to Love so that he could meet Emma and forge a bond with her. Over the past few weeks the father-daughter duo had done just that. Cameron clearly adored their baby girl. And he now occupied a tender place in Emma’s world that no one else could ever assume. She had grown to love him and even learned to call him Dada. But what if Cameron allowed anger and bitterness to get in the way of his relationship with Emma? He’d once decided that he no longer needed Paige in his world. He’d cast her out of his life without sparing her a second thought. What if it happened again? Only this time around she wouldn’t be the only one he wounded.
Even though she had tried to guard herself against falling in love with Cameron, Paige hadn’t been able to stop herself. Being in his warm, steady presence had made it easy for her to forget how badly he’d hurt her in the past. And recently she had begun to imagine how sweet life could be if they could only repair the pain of their past and dedicate themselves to one another and Emma as a family.
Tears misted in her eyes as the realization hit her that it wasn’t meant to be. Once again Cameron was showing her how easy it was for him to walk away from her without hashing out their issues.
Nursing her broken heart the first time around had been agonizing. This time might just break her into little pieces.
* * *
Yes, indeed. It was safe to say he was moping. He had been sitting there like a fool when Paige had dropped the bombshell that she was no longer pushing for the cannery project. He let out a harsh laugh. So much for her calling him her ally. So much for her considering how it would feel for him to be blindsided. And his fears had been realized this evening when she’d admitted that she was heading back to Seattle with his little girl.
Humph! She had always been good at pulling the rug out from under him!
She hadn’t even given him the courtesy of a heads-up. Yet she’d brainstormed with Grace, whom she barely knew. That simple fact had added insult to injury. Despite the progress he’d thought they had made since Paige’s return, she’d still seen fit to keep him in the dark. Some things never changed.
He felt sick to his stomach. A cannery project would have kept Paige and Emma in Love. He had heard her say it with his own ears. But according to Paige, she wouldn’t be sticking around in town now that everything had been wrapped up with a nice little bow. Paige’s speech had almost sounded like a goodbye. After all, as long as Love was able to grow and prosper with the money she’d returned, her mission would be fulfilled.
Redemption accomplished.
The thoug
ht of Paige leaving town again gutted him. It had been agonizing the first time around, but now it would be unbearable. She would be taking a pint-size version of him along with her. His beautiful daughter, who was surely the best part of him.
Why hadn’t he pulled her aside and laid it all on the line as Hazel and Boone had suggested? Why hadn’t he told her how he really felt? Why was he always running away when emotions ran high?
He was head over heels in love with Paige. That knowledge had always been there, safely nestled in his heart and tucked away where it couldn’t cause him any more heartache. But despite what he had done to protect himself, he was in pain now, broken by the harsh reality of his situation. If he kept silent and said nothing, he was certain to lose her. But if he pushed past all the doubts and fears and confessed his love to Paige, there was always the possibility of suffering a huge rejection. He wasn’t sure he could handle that.
