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I’m not a fan of the Christmas holiday—too many painful memories—but seeing Cam’s excitement always warms my heart and manages to get me in a festive mood. We plug in the Christmas tree, the multicolored lights illuminating our living room while she changes into her special pajamas. This year, they’re red fleece covered with reindeer, and I have a matching set I’ll put on once we settle down to watchChristmas Vacation, our favorite holiday movie.
In the meantime, I’m preparing the snacks. We always go overboard, but I figure it’s the best time of year to do such a thing.Go big or go home, right?I have peppermint hot chocolate warming in the crock pot, a plate of fresh sugar cookies with sprinkles, and homemade Chex Mix right out of the oven. I even whipped up a cheeseball to serve with fancycrackers. I’m not the greatest cook, but I have my mom’s old recipe, and it was easy enough to follow to make her famous cheeseball.
I’m just taking it out of the refrigerator to set up on a plate when Cam strolls into the kitchen. Her eyes light up at the sight of all the snacks, and I love seeing her so pleased. This is for her, and I’m happy to make her Christmas memorable every year.
She grabs a cookie shaped like a Santa hat and takes a huge bite out of the center. “Are these from the set?”
“Don’t talk with your mouth full,” I gently scold while nodding my confirmation. “And yes, they’re from the set. We had leftovers, and they were gonna be thrown away. I was happy to volunteer to take them.”
“I liked this set. It was fun.”
“Glad you approve, your highness.” I cross my arms over my chest and lean against the kitchen counter.
“What’s the name of this movie again?” She takes another big bite of her cookie.
“The Naughty List.”
Thankfully she chews all her food before speaking again. “That sounds perfect for you, Dad. Or should I call youMr. Grumpy Pants?” She gives me a big, toothy grin.
“Very funny. Of course, I’m grumpy when I don’t get time with my princess.” She rolls her eyes at me. “Did you enjoy your visit to the set the other day?” She was there all afternoon, and I figured it was probably boring for her. I was too busy to entertain her, and the place wasn’t exactly ideal for a ten-year-old girl.
Her eyes light up as she responds. “Yeah, I got to play with all the makeup. Audrey showed me how to do a cat-eye look, and I watched the actors get ready for their scenes. It was cool to see how much their appearances changed because of the makeup and hairstyles.”
“That’s great, honey.” I make a mental note to thank Audrey for going out of her way to look after Cam.
“I also talked to the lady who came by the house a few days ago.”
Came by the house?
“What lady?” I ask, vaguely remembering that Cam had answered the door, but when I got there, whoever dropped in was already gone.
“Hailey,” Cam says her name so casually. But the singular word has me freezing in my tracks. My eyes snap to my daughter’s.
“Did you sayHailey?”
“Yeah.”
“She camehere?”
“Yes, Dad. Sheesh.” Cam looks at me with confusion in her brown eyes, but I hardly notice as I try to remember exactly what day that was. I was baking homemade pizzas that night, so it was…
Her first day on the set. She came here to see me. So whatever is bothering her now, it couldn’t have been an issue then. What happened that day to make her so fucking angry with me?
“Did she say what she wanted?”
Cam shrugs. “I don’t know. She was kind of weird.” Cam scrunches up her cute little nose. “She asked about you, then asked if you were my dad.”
My mind is whirling. Why didn’t Hailey stick around to ask me these things herself?
“Oh, and she asked how old I was,” Cam adds before finishing her cookie.
Suddenly, I can see the whole thing from Hailey’s point of view. She came to see me and discovered I had a daughter she didn’t know about. Shocking, but surely not a deal-breaker.However, when she realized that Cam is ten years old… And we’ve been apart for ten years.
Shit. Fucking motherfucking shit.
She thinks I cheated on her! Well, that would explain everything. The hurt I keep seeing in her eyes. The reason she ignores the chemistry that’s still obvious between us. All of it.
I need to talk to her. She has it completely wrong.
