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“Hey, aren’t you the lady who came to my house the other day?” she asks, then continues before I can answer, “So, youdoknow my dad?”
I’ve been caught, and I mentally berate myself for going to his house in the first place.What was I thinking?
I plaster a tight smile on my face and decide to change the subject. “Hi! It’s Cam, right?” I ask as if I don’t rememberall too well. “Don’t worry about me stopping by. It was just a misunderstanding. So, are you hanging out with him today?”
Cam raises one eyebrow as she studies me skeptically. Apparently, she’s picking up on my weirdness again, but I feel a jolt of happy recognition anyway. Because that signature facial expression has Jackson written all over it. He always does that single eyebrow lift thing when he’s displeased or uncertain about something. And despite everything, it’s kind of cute to see how much Cam is just like her dad.
Still, I’m hoping she lets the whole me-showing-up-at-her-house incident go. I’m embarrassed enough about it, and I don’t want Jackson to know that I even stopped by. It certainly didn’t turn out to be the romantic gesture I was going for, so it’s better that he’s kept in the dark for the sake of my pride, which was already wounded by discovering he was seeing multiple women when we dated.
“I’m here because one of Mama Robbie’s grandkids got hurt on the playground, and she had to take him to the ER. He’ll be okay. Just needs some stitches, I guess. She dropped me off so I wouldn’t have to sit at the boring hospital all day.”
“Who’s Mama Robbie?” I ask.Surely she wouldn’t be calling her mother that, would she?
“She’s my nanny, but really, she’s like my grandma. I’ve spent almost every day with her since I was a baby.”
“Oh, wow. You have a nanny?”Huh, that surprises me. I know there can be long days working on set, but I figured the girl’s mom would be taking care of her during that time.
“Yeah, only when my dad has a movie because my mom isn’t around,” Cam says, a little more nonchalant than I would have expected. “She left me with my dad when I was born, and we haven’t seen her since.”
“Oh. I’m so sorry.”Bless her heart.
Cam shrugs. “S’okay. I have Mama Robbie and my dad. That’s all the family I need.”
“You have a great attitude about it.” I don’t have much experience talking to kids, and I’m unsure of what to say. Maybe I’m talking to her like too much of a grown-up. But she’s not really a little girl either; she’s ten years old.
“My dad always says that positive thinking can change your life.”
That sounds like him. I remember Jackson as a kind, easygoing guy. He usually had a way of looking on the bright side of things, except for during the holidays.
I know this time of year is hard for him since the death of his parents twelve years ago. They were on their way home from a holiday party when they were in a tragic car accident. Just thinking about that makes me feel bad for treating him so poorly. Sure, I’m upset with the guy, but I haven’t even thought about how difficult it is for him to get through the holiday season.
Cam keeps chatting, and I find myself relaxing. The conversation flows easily once I stop thinking too hard about how to talk to her. It quickly becomes clear to me that Cam is a sweet and intelligent little girl. Jackson is doing a great job with her.
However, that realization seems to make me fall for him more. I don’twantto feel that way, but I can’t help it. And now I’m that much more conflicted. Even if Cam’s mom is out of the picture, the timeline still bothers me. I can’t understand why he would lie about seeing someone else back then.
I need to just finish this stupid movie and walk away. Leave behind the man who stole my heart and forget he ever existed. And his cute daughter too.
Six
JACKSON
I’m at my fucking rope’s end.
I’m desperate for Hailey, but something is keeping us apart. The most frustrating thing is that I don’t know what it is. And she won’ttalkto me.Damn it!
To be fair, she’s at least stopped going to such great lengths to avoid me the last couple of days. But there’s a coldness about her when we interact that just puts me in a foul fucking mood. I need to have an honest conversation with her to see if there’s still any spark between us.
I’ve always thought that if we saw each other again, things could maybe be different. We could pick back up where we left off. But there’s no chance of that with her so angry at me. I’ve been racking my brain, trying to figure out what I’ve done to her, but I keep coming up blank.
The other problem is that I know how hard she’s worked to get where she is in her career, and I don’t want to cause any drama on set by pushing her. That would affect both of our jobs negatively. And you can bet your ass Hailey Walker would have my head for that.
“Alright, everyone,” Hailey calls out, smiling brightly at the crowd. “That’s a wrap for the day. Go home and enjoy your Christmas.”
I’ve been watching her all afternoon, still in awe of how brilliant she is at her job. She sticks to the schedule, easily keeping the staff in line and handling Luca’s moodiness in stride. It’s Christmas Eve, and we’ve wrapped up right on time so everyone can get out of here and still enjoy the holiday with their families.
I know that if I want to talk to her, I need to do it now. But she’s made it clear that she doesn’t want anything from me, and there is no way I can change her mind when I don’t know what the hell I did wrong in the first place. So maybe it’s better if I wait until after Christmas.
With this in mind, I leave the set along with everyone else. It’s early in the evening, which gives Cam and me plenty of time to get things ready for our traditional Christmas Eve movie night. I pick her up from Mama Robbie’s and bring her home to spend the rest of the day waiting for Santa, just the two of us.
