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He frowned a moment, trying to decide if I was telling the truth, then began talking about all they had done. I listened—or tried to listen—as I worried over what was about to happen next. When Cam was done talking, I pulled him to me and hugged him tightly.
“I love you,” I said fiercely.
“Uh, yeah, I love you too,” he replied, sounding confused but returning the hug.
“Everything I have ever done since the day you were born is because I love you. I made mistakes because I was young, but I have always loved you completely, and I will always love you. No matter what life throws our way, I’m here.”
He pulled back and looked up at me. “Mom, you’re not sick, are you?” he asked with fear in his eyes.
“No, I’m not sick.”
“You swear?” he said.
I nodded.
He relaxed then. “Okay, so it’s just you doing weird mom stuff. I can deal with that.”
I smiled at his comment, but inside, I wanted to cry.
“We need to go up to Dean’s penthouse,” I began.
He beamed at the mention of Dean’s name. “Okay!”
I wanted to grab his arm and explain first, but how would I do that? Should I without Dean?
He headed for the door before I could stop him, and I had no choice but to follow.
“What are our plans?” he asked as the elevator doors closed behind us.
Wehad no plans. Maybe one day soon, he and Dean would have plans, but there wasn’t going to be aweany longer.
“I’m not sure,” was all I could say.
I wished we had talked about this yesterday. Dean hadn’t said how he wanted to proceed with Cam. I wanted to sit him down and come clean with him too, tell him everything, but I wasn’t sure if that would be good for him. What if Dean decided that he didn’t want to be a part of Cam’s life? I couldn’t allow him to be rejected by his own father.
When the elevator doors opened, Cam bounded toward Dean’s door, excited to see his hero. He began to punch in the code to enter, and I started to stop him when the door opened, and a stunning blonde woman stood there. She seemed familiar, but I wasn’t sure why.
Had I seen her with Dean in photos? Was this one of his past girlfriends?
“Hello,” she said, smiling at Cam and then lifting her gaze to look at me. I could see her studying me, but she kept her smile in place before looking back to Cam. “You must be Cam. Come on in,” she said, stepping back.
Cam was looking up at her, curious. I could see his brain working. He was aware that Dean and I had been dating, so this woman was confusing him. This was just the beginning of his confusion. I wanted to shelter him from it all. He continued to walk into the penthouse and I watched him as he took in his surroundings.
When I reached the door, the woman looked at me, and her smile was genuine. Kind even. Not something I’d expected to encounter today. At least, not at this apartment.
“I’m Blaire Finlay,” she said, and the name registered as well as where I had seen her face before.
This was Rush’s wife. Dean’s daughter-in-law. She was even more beautiful in person than the pictures I’d seen of her splashed across magazines when she married Rush.
“It’s nice to meet you,” I replied sincerely. “Since you’re here, I guess you already know who I am.”
She gave me a sympathetic smile. “Yes,” she replied. “Rush thought it would be easier for you if another woman was here.”
That was thoughtful of Rush. I was surprised. Mostly because Dean had told his son and also because he’d allowed Rush to advise him in anything. It didn’t seem very Dean-like.
“Dean left his sample already. He isn’t here,” she said gently.
Knowing I wasn’t about to face him again was a relief and a heartache, all at once. He was avoiding me. He didn’t want to be in the same room as me.
