“I am, too, dear,” Sally said, and collected her purse as she headed for the front door. “Cameron, you know I love you very much.”
“I love you, too, Mom.”
“I’m glad, because there’s something I need to say to you.” She turned and he could read the disappointment in her eyes. “It’s been a long time since you lied to me, Cameron Duke, but you’re lying now. To me, and to yourself. You are nothing like your father and you know it. Now, I didn’t raise a fool, so stop acting like one. You get that wonderful girl and her darling baby back inside this house or heads will roll.”
Damn, they didn’t call her the Steel Camellia for nothing, Cameron thought ruefully. After his mother left, he took some time to brood for a while. Sally was wrong about the whole lying thing, of course. But he’d been the good son and had allowed her to say what she needed to say.
Now, alone in the house, it almost felt good, necessary even, to wallow in the pain. It had only been a few hours, but he already missed Julia like he would have missed a number of key body parts. More, in fact. Somehow, over the last few months, she had become an essential part of his life, like breathing out and breathing in. So now how was he supposed to live without breathing Julia?
But he would do it. And maybe it was better this way. He’d warned her from the start that he didn’t do the whole love thing, and she’d tried to change the rules. She was asking too much, making demands. Cameron Duke didn’t work that way. Nobody changed his rules but him.
Still, he missed Julia and Jake like crazy.
He was well into his second beer when the doorbell rang again. He wasn’t surprised to see Adam and Brandon let themselves into the house, but he was shocked to see Brandon carrying a small white box with the word Cupcake stenciled in navy blue across the top.
“What are you doing with those?” Cameron asked irately.
“I stopped by Julia’s store and bought them,” Brandon said with a grin. “Hey, now that you and she are breaking up, I’m thinking she might want to go out sometime.” He took a bite of a red-velvet cupcake and moaned, then slid into a dining room chair. “Holy smokes. You let her and these cupcakes get away? Dude, you’re nuts. I’m calling her tonight.”
Cameron started toward him with both hands fisted. “If you want to live, you’ll think twice about that.”
Adam grabbed Cameron’s arm before he could get any farther. “Don’t be a fool.”
“Why not?” Cameron asked. “That seems to be the popular opinion of me right now.”
“Well, a fool is what you are,” Brandon said matter-of-factly, and took another bite of the cupcake.
“And you’re a dead man,” Cameron said, folding his arms across his chest.
Adam laughed. “Look at you.”
Cameron glanced down at himself, then snarled at his brother. “What?”
“You’re standing there making threats, but we all know you would never hurt Brandon.”
“Don’t count on it,” Cameron muttered.
Adam shook his head. “Even when we were kids, you never threw the first punch. Ever.”
“True enough,” Brandon said with a shrug.
“Whereas, Brandon used to get into fights all the time,” Adam grinned. “Remember?”
Brandon smiled at the memories, then glanced at Cameron. “You never fought about anything unless some kid hit you first. Even then, you’d do whatever you could to prevent another punch.”
“Yeah, always the diplomat,” Adam said. “I only remember one time when you were actually forced to defend yourself.”
“Yeah,” Brandon said, then laughed. “And that was only because Jerry Miles was going to beat the crap out of me.”
“I should’ve let him.”
“But you didn’t,” Adam said pointedly. “You entered that fight with grim resignation. There was never any blood lust with you. You never enjoyed it, never got into it. And you never will.”
“Yeah,” he muttered. “Maybe.”
“No, not maybe,” Adam shot back. “Don’t you get it? You’re not a fighter. You’re not violent. You’re nothing like your old man and you never will be.”
That Saturday, Sally brought Jake over to Cameron’s house so he could spend the day with his daddy. Julia had an emergency at the bakery, Sally explained, so she had agreed to bring Jake by.
That’s when it really hit him how much he missed Julia, more than he’d ever thought possible. So much that it hurt him physically.
He took Jake swimming in the pool. After some serious splashing and laughing, they got out and Cameron dried Jake off. He let him crawl in the thick grass of the yard while Cameron quickly dried himself off. Then he watched in amazement as Jake crawled to the fence and used it to lever himself up off the ground. He stood all by himself in the grass and took his first step.
“Dada!” Jake cried, then plopped back down on his butt. He laughed and Cameron swooped him up with delight.
“Jake, what did you do?” Cameron asked, astounded by his son’s ability. “Can you do that again? Can you walk by yourself like a big boy? Here, I’ll help you.”
Cameron steadied Jake, who stood where he was for a few seconds, then took a tentative step. He began to wobble and finally fell on his knees. This time, he screamed bloody murder. Cameron picked him up to comfort him.
“That’s okay, buddy,” he crooned as he hugged the little guy. “We’ll just kiss it and make it better. All better.”
Jake shuddered and sniffled as Cameron soothed away his pain.
“Hey, you’re getting to be a real big boy,” he murmured, patting his back. “Come on. It’s all better now. All better. And just wait till your mama hears what you did.”
The emotion hit him so fast and hard, Cameron almost fell to his knees himself. Julia needed to know that Jake had walked. He raced into the house to call her immediately. Who better to share this special moment with?
As Cameron picked up the phone, he rubbed his chest, recognizing the heavy feeling. He’d felt it that night at the big party, while watching Julia as she talked to his friend Byron. Now the feelings seemed to come in waves and they filled his chest with so much warmth, he had a hard time catching his breath. It wasn’t pain. It was an emotion he’d never felt with any other woman but her.
He stared at the phone for a few seconds, then put it back in its cradle. What would he do when Jake had another special moment? Would he rush to call Julia? And what would happen when Jake started walking for real? If Cameron wasn’t there, would Julia call him to describe his every movement, bit by bit, over the phone? Was Cameron prepared to miss all those special moments of their lives?
And what would happen if Jake fell down again? What if Cameron wasn’t there when Jake cried? Who would kiss and make it better?
And what if something happened to Julia? Who would kiss her and make her feel better when she was hurt? She’d spent much of her life having no one around to do that for her. He was ashamed to admit that he hadn’t come forward to do it for her, either.
Would she find someone else? Someone with the guts to stand by her side and love her as she deserved to be loved? Would some other man move into Julia’s life and take Cameron’s place?
Would Cameron really sit on the sidelines and let that happen?
“Hell, no,” he swore. If anyone was going to love Julia, it was going to be him.
“Damn it, Julia,” he muttered, grabbing his keys and Jake’s diaper bag. “I warned you.”
He drove up into the hills above Dunsmuir Bay to Glen Haven Farm, Julia’s home. She and Jake had their living quarters in the east wing. It was a nice set-up, with three bedrooms, a couple of bathrooms, a good-size sitting room, as Julia called it, and a great old kitchen. It was comfy and lived-in, unlike the rest of the big old house.
He still couldn’t picture the little girl she’d been, trying to grow up in what was more like a fine arts museum than a home. But that was okay, because he was determined to make sure she wouldn’t li
ve here much longer.
Holding Jake securely in his arms, Cameron rang the doorbell and waited for the maid or housekeeper to open the heavy double doors.
Instead, Julia showed up, looking beautiful and sexy in jeans, sneakers and an apron spotted with chocolate smears. “Hi.”
“Hi,” Cameron said, and gazed into the dark blue eyes he’d fallen for the first time he ever saw her. He’d settled on a plan of action on the drive over here. He’d worked out all the right things to say, and just how to say them. But when faced with his fate, he simply blurted, “I love you, Julia. Please come home.”
He watched her swallow, then she bit her lip as her forehead furrowed in a frown. “I’m sorry. I’m not sure I heard you quite right. Could you maybe repeat that three or four more times?”
“I’m in love with you, Julia,” he said. “I love you more than anything in the world. I want you and Jake to live with me and I want more babies and I want a dog. A big one. But more than anything else, I want you back, Julia. I love you so much. Come back home and don’t ever leave me again.”
She tilted her head. “Once more?”
He laughed and grabbed her in a fierce embrace and she kissed him with all the love she could muster. “Of course I’ll come home. I’ve just been waiting for you to ask.”
“Mama!” Jake giggled and waved his hands.
Cameron’s heart was bursting with joy. “I love you more than anything. Will you marry me all over again? We’ll have a huge, fancy wedding. You can wear a designer dress and we’ll invite a thousand people. There’ll be a gigantic cake. I promise we’ll do it the right way this time. Just please come home with me. I love you.”
She kissed him again with her arms still wrapped around him and Jake. “Silly man. You still don’t get it. I don’t need another wedding, Cameron. I already have everything I’ve ever wanted right here in my arms.”
KATE CARLISLE
New York Times bestselling author Kate Carlisle was born and raised by the beach in Southern California. After more than twenty years in television production, Kate turned to writing the types of mysteries and romance novels she always loved to read. She still lives by the beach in Southern California with her husband, and when they’re not taking long walks in the sand or cooking or reading or painting or taking bookbinding classes or trying to learn a new language, they’re traveling the world, visiting family and friends in the strangest places. Kate loves to hear from readers. Visit her website site at www.katecarlisle.com.
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Sweet Surrender, Baby Surprise Page 15
