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Alex seemed to enjoy the romantic comedy as much as the kids did, never once getting restless. Josh had never been able to sit through a movie, his legs bouncing the entire time. She snuck a glance at Alex to find him… watching her and not the screen.
The stinker. Why wasn’t he tied in knots like she was? As soon as this movie was over, this was it. She was not allowing Lizzie to finagle her into any more situations with Alex. Yeah, that would be much better.
In the future, Mariana could come visit without her father. That would work. If Alex was involved, she’d send her mother so Cameron didn’t have to see the man who was so completely wrong for her. Except he wasn’t. He was practically perfect for her, aside from that whole “could be reassigned any day” aspect of being in the Army.
She should take her wish list and sign up for eMeet. Wasn’t that how singles met people these days? Then she could pre-screen everyone to weed out travel hounds and military. To be safe, she’d look for a homebody. He could have allergies and hate the outdoors. There was no way a man like that would choose Annapurna… or the Army… over her.
“Cameron?”
The lights brightened, signaling the movie was over. She presumed, by the scattered applause from the audience, that the movie had a happy ending. She’d been so wrapped up in figuring out a way to extricate Alex from her life that she’d missed it.
Alex smiled at her and her stomach did a flippity-dip.
Daggone butterflies. Take a break.
“Did you enjoy the movie?”
She sputtered a response. “Absolutely.” Hopefully he wouldn’t ask her any questions about the plot. The only thing she remembered was the scene with the river boat cruise, too focused on the man beside her.
“Good. I’m glad we did this. It gave me a chance to spend time with you.”
His smile never faltered as he hustled the girls out of the aisle. She snapped her jaw shut on his bombshell and followed them out of the theater.
“Mom, can we go for ice cream?”
“Yeah, Daddy. Can we? Please? Please?” The girls jumped up and down, their hands pressed together as they pleaded. You’d never know they had inhaled a huge tub of popcorn and an extra-large box of candy over the past two hours.
But she’d already been weakened by Alex and his great smile today. Time to make her excuses before she succumbed completely.
“We can’t. We have to tackle that chore list you’re still working through, Lizzie.” As soon as she said it, she regretted reminding Alex of the last time she’d seen him. That had not been her finest hour. Come to think of it, neither had today. And yet he still gave her that intense stare, as if her flaws didn’t matter.
“Come on, Mariana.” Alex directed his attention toward Cameron while he talked to his daughter. “Another time.” Then he leaned close to her. “I hope we run into you again soon.”
He chuckled and headed down the sidewalk while Mariana skipped alongside him.
How was Cameron going to think of anything else now? Especially when her Alex fantasies were a lot more entertaining than fighting with Lizzie about her chore list.
Chapter Four
Lizzie’s phone vibrated with a text. She glanced at the screen. Everything ready?
She dashed off a quick thumbs-up to Mariana and shoved her phone between the couch cushions before Mom noticed. The next step in their plan to get their parents together was all set.
* * *
Mariana had her car door open before Alex put the car in park. Sure, she was excited, but this was a little ridiculous. He had to sprint to catch up with her before she pounded on Cameron’s door.
After Mariana had begged daily, he’d finally agreed to a sleepover at Lizzie’s house. Had even confirmed it with Cameron directly. Via text. Using the number she’d given him. That was the point, right?
He hadn’t seen her since their afternoon at the movies. She might have been throwing up roadblocks left and right, but that was okay. He could be patient. Besides, he wasn’t sure if she was uninterested in him… or fighting her own feelings.
Much like he had been fighting his. He hadn’t even considered dating another woman since Valentina died. Hadn’t wanted to set himself up for additional heartbreak. But after getting to know Cameron, he thought it was worth the risk.
Could he convince her of it, too? He’d taken this job at Ft. Dunwoody because Mariana needed stability. He couldn’t keep handing her off to his parents when his unit deployed. His new role was designated non-deployable, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t have to travel. On top of that, nothing was ever certain in the Army. He could be reassigned at any point or be asked to deploy with a forward unit regardless.
Was that what was holding Cameron back? She was already dealing with an absentee ex. Maybe the risk of Alex heading off for parts unknown was too much for her. That he could handle. He’d convince her that, unlike her ex, he had no intention of leaving.
But could he really make that promise?
