by J. L. Lora
You’ve been out of his life for ten years. This is a natural step like you told Lauren. Still, she wished she could feel nothing. Bron sighed and her attention was back on her child. This was all for her because she was all that mattered.
Adri used that to steel herself. She tiptoed out of the room and closed the door. Cam and Lauren waited for her in the living room. She exhaled deeply. "She knows you’re her father."
"What? How?" Lauren asked but Adrianna's gaze focused on Cam’s bulging eyes and pale face.
"I didn't ask her. She's too upset." Adrianna took a deep breath. "She thinks you're leaving again because of her."
"She thinks I left her?" He dropped to the couch and put his head in his hands. "I'm really going to kill Walter for this."
Adrianna stood in front of him. "We are not going through that again! Your daughter thinks you are abandoning her. Instead of concentrating on what you'll do to your father, why don't you start thinking of ways you can reassure her?"
He gaped at her for a few moments. "I'm not leaving."
"You have to go. If you arrange everything like you said, you'll have a lot of time to spend with her and you have to tell your brother and sister."
"Then maybe she can come with me?" he suggested.
Blood rushed to her head. No way in hell. Adrianna shook her head. "You're not taking my child anywhere without me. I don’t want her anywhere near your parents. I won’t have them shaming her," she almost shouted.
He stood up and they were toe-to-toe, face-to-face when he shouted back, "One, Bronwyn will never have to interact with Walter. I cut him off last night, so you don’t ever have to worry about him being anywhere near her.”
Adrianna’s mouth drifted open, but he held up a hand to stop her from saying anything and continued, “Two, I wasn't suggesting we would go without you."
"That's what you said, and I can't go anywhere with you. I have a business to run."
The air was thick and both of them were more than ready to have it out.
"Let me play the devil’s advocate here, no offense Cam,” Lauren said. “Adri, you can go. I may not be as thorough as you, but I can manage the staff. You can do the books and the ordering from anywhere. You have yet to take a vacation this year and Bron will be out for spring break the week after next."
Adrianna shot Lauren what could only be defined as a death look and then began shaking her head. “That’s out of the question. His exhibition is not until two weeks from now and Bron would miss an additional week of school. We can’t be gone that long. I can’t do this to you, Lo. You have exams for your certification coming up.”
“I’m more than okay to handle it. I think Bron should go spend time with Cam and you.” Lauren smiled and there was something Cam couldn’t catch happening.
He didn’t care though. Lauren was helping him for some reason. He would take that. If anyone knew how to make Adri agree to stuff, it was Lauren. They’d been best friends all their lives and you rarely saw one without the other.
He could practically see the thoughts scrolling through Adri’s brain. She didn’t want to go, that was sure, but he couldn’t leave Bron to think he was abandoning her. He needed to be around his daughter. Adrianna would have to swallow her discomfort.
"I think that settles it. Don’t you?" he asked, earning his own murderous look.
Adrianna pressed a hand to her belly and breathed. “Okay, fine. If you say that we don’t have to deal with your father, we can go with you. Lauren is right. I can do the scheduling and booking remotely.” She spoke through clenched teeth and her breath was choppy.
Cam was careful not to smile. “Thank you. I know it’s not easy for you to just leave and I appreciate you doing it for—”
“Bron. I would do anything for Bron. She needs to feel secure and if what it takes is to be away for a few days, then that’s fine. Tomorrow, I need to go meet with the principal about the incident yesterday. She wants to discuss it and make sure it doesn’t happen again. I can talk to her about our impromptu vacation and coordinate with the teachers for her work and homework.” The color in her face was darker and her eyes glowed like flames.
God, she was hot when she got mad. Cam dismissed the thought as soon as it came. Nothing good could come of that. It would be a lot harder to dismiss the tightening in certain areas. “I’ll come with you and Bron to the school tomorrow.”
Adrianna gave him a brusque nod. “Good. She will love showing your around.”
Cam smiled this time. It was hard not to. He’d get to spend the day with them.
“I did some research. The Maryland Diagnostics Lab is twenty minutes away from her school. They can take us in after,” Adrianna said.
“For what?” he asked.
She squared him with a look. “The paternity test. As your lawyer stated in his email, we might as well get the wheels in motion. You can run it by him but it’s a legit place.”
Lauren humphed low, turning cold, accusing eyes on him.
His good mood evaporated. She’d blasted it away with two sentences and fucked up his day with the rest. “Adrianna, I don’t know what you’re talking about. My lawyer wouldn’t have contacted you without my permission and I don’t need that right now. We can wait ’til New York.”
She shook her head. “Elias Sanders is right. There’s no point in waiting, as it’s the norm in these cases. You can get the results while we’re there. Let’s just get it over and out of the way quickly.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
“How did she manage to leave this place without anyone noticing? Everyone here knows her,” Cam asked.
“That’s what I’m dying to know,” Adrianna replied, her gaze fully on their daughter.
Bron’s cheeks bloomed into a pretty pink that almost made Cam smile. Almost. After the twenty-minute lecture from Ms. Walker, the school director, the danger of what she had done had punched through his senses. He’d been so caught up on meeting her and then finding out that she was his daughter that he hadn’t stopped to think about everything that could have gone wrong.
Someone could have grabbed her or hurt her. Adrianna had been pale through the whole conversation. She’d been ruminating about all those things and worried about them. Guilt took over. He shouldn’t have to be told about those dangers. He should be thinking about them. You can’t afford to go through life like you don’t understand that there are people who can hurt her. You’re a father now. Her father.
“Well, we should be glad she won’t be suspending Bron. I’m guessing it’s because of your casual mention of a donation to the teams,” Adri whispered the last part of the sentence just for Cam’s ears as soon as they were out of the school director’s office.
“She said it was because Bron is one of their most talented and usually well-behaved students. I’m sure that played a bigger part.”
Adrianna scoffed. “Right. She’s already envisioning you at the school fair and planning how much more to charge the people to attend because you promised that clinic for students on the baseball team.”
“I was trying to be helpful.”
She sighed. “I know. Hey, Bron, why don’t you show Cam the art studio? I’m going to set up the petition for remote homework and virtual interaction.”
The little girl’s face brightened. Her eyes danced with excitement. “Okay, Mom.”
She took his hand in her little one and pulled, but Cam’s gaze was on Adrianna. Her hips swayed along with her purposeful stride. She’d worn a fitted dress that stopped at her knee. It was tailored to her form, with buttons starting at the collar and going down the length of it. It was sexy as fuck, leaving no doubt about the curves hiding under it. Her ass called to him and for a second, he indulged in the view and put everything else out of his mind.
“Come on,” Bron pulled him the other way in the direction of a glass exhibit. “There,” she pointed.
His head refused to move and he had to remind himself about t
he innocent girl tugging at his hand. His daughter. That’s the word that managed to shake him from his lustful haze and in the direction Bron was pointing to. In the middle of all the sports and science trophies was the wood framed painting. It was Canton Square. All the businesses in the area were there and the yellow light straight from the sky shone above Mi Tesoro, like the treasure it touted to be. The painting was done by a young artist but the talent was there, raw, undeniable, authentic. Resting under the painting, was a hexagon-shaped award with an easel and a brushed etched in it and his daughter’s name engraved in it.
He turned to look at her and her smile was wide. The lump formed in his throat and grew large. He knew she was talented. That was obvious from the work she’d already shown him. But seeing it here, recognized and guarded, it filled him with all kinds of different emotions.
It was just an art trophy. What the hell was happening to him? Cam had to clear his throat a few times. “That’s amazing, Bron.” He could barely recognize his own voice.
“Thank you. Mama cried. She always cries when I win something.”
He nodded. “You told me.” But now I understand.
“Bron, are you not coming to class today?” A raspy feminine voice called out from the other side of the hallway.
Bron’s gaze moved beyond him and she smiled. “Miss Alexander.”
She rushed toward the woman with Cam’s hand still ensconced in hers. Even if Bron and Adrianna had not mentioned the woman several times, Cam would have known she was an artist. Her curly hair was held back by a scarf but it did nothing to hide the bright green highlights. Her jeans had paint splotches, but it was the printed top and minimal but big tribal earrings that called her out. She was a bohemian, a true one. Her clothes were authentically worn and not matched.
It was the kind of look women paid top dollar to recreate. That his sister, Luciana, often featured in her fashion blog.
Her eyes narrowed and she pointed at him. “You’re Cameron Blake. I love your Cloisters Series. It inspired many day trips to New York. I’m Winter Alexander, Bron’s art teacher.”
Cam didn’t get to introduce himself.
“He’s my dad, Miss Alexander.”
The woman’s eyes widened, her mouth opened and closed.
“Bron, we talked about this. We have to keep it to ourselves for now.” Adrianna rushed in and shot Cam an apologetic look.
He wanted to take her hand and tell her he didn’t care that the whole world knew. But it just wasn’t practical. It was sudden and the last thing he needed was the sharks from the press getting all over this while he tried to sort out how everything was supposed to work. “I’m sure Miss Winter can keep our secret. It’s just until we work some things out.”
“Oh, I won’t say anything. Don’t worry.” Winter smiled.
“How are you feeling? Adrianna asked, adding, “Bron told us you went home sick.”
The smile faded. “I’m doing better. I’m sorry about that. If I had been here, I would have noticed Bron was gone right away.”
“You would have taken me to the art exhibit. Right, Miss Alexander?” Bron asked but she didn’t give her a chance to answer. “We both love painting and she just paints without sketching sometimes. We talk about your paintings a lot.”
Winter shook her head and the smile was back in place again. “Now I get Bron’s interest and why you’re her favorite artist. Not that you’re not amazingly talented but there’s always been extra pride in there.”
Cam patted Bron’s head. “I’m proud to be her favorite.”
“You have to be really proud of Bron too. She’s so talented. Her work in class leaves me in awe. She’s a fast learner and dedicated to her craft. Sometimes, she and Ayla come to paint with me during lunch,” Winter said.
“What do you paint, Miss Winter?”
“Just Winter please. I like to work on portraits mostly.”
“She’s also a sculptor. Her work has been displayed at Artscape the past three years. Last year she got her own booth. I bought one of her pieces for Mi Tesoro,” Adrianna added. Cam intuited that the women were friendly and not just in a parent-teacher way.
Winter stared at her feet and fidgeted with the hem of her shirt. “Would you like to see our art lab and student stations?”
“Yes, I want to see where Bron does her magic.”
His daughter giggled. The sound, so new yet familiar, did funny things to his chest.
“It will have to be a quick tour. We are running late for our next appointment.”
Adrianna’s reminder sent a cold wave through Cam. Their next stop was the laboratory for the paternity test. He didn’t have doubts, and even though it was Adrianna’s idea, it still felt disingenuous to go through with it. As if he was trying to deny the smiling little girl next to him. He’d been telling himself to get over it since last night. This was a logical and practical step. Anyway, Adrianna seemed determined this would happen now.
His lawyer said the place was reputable and affiliated with the ones they’d worked with in the past. They could work out an expedited result. Cam just wanted to get it over with. He was the biggest of assholes, looking at Bron in the eye when they were at the lab, trying to rule out she wasn’t his.
Thanks a-fucking-lot, Elias.
•••
A day later, they flew to New York first class. Cam still refused to go anywhere near Acacia Falls, even if it was passing through on the highway at seventy miles an hour. Even though the person he’d tried to avoid the most sat at arm’s reach in the seat across from his, ramrod straight and staring out the window most of the time.
He couldn’t blame her. Though the ordeal at the Maryland Diagnostics Laboratory was behind them, it was far from forgotten. He didn’t know how they’d gotten through it. Her face had been taut throughout the visit to the facility. Her teeth clenched, despite how friendly the staff had been and the smiles she put on for her daughter.
His lawyers had arranged for a visit with the utmost privacy. One of them had taken the train down to accompany them. They’d explained the procedure and the steps they’d have to take later.
Do we need a test because you don’t think I’m really your daughter?
Cam would have preferred a baseball to the head without a helmet than to look in Bron’s eyes when she’d asked that. He wanted to say he didn’t need it, but Adrianna had stepped in and explained that this was all routine like getting fingerprinted for a passport. The little girl had smiled and said she understood.
She’d moved on to ask the lawyer if judges were as mean as they seemed on TV. Anger bubbled inside him at Adrianna for keeping her a secret and putting them all in this position. He’d turned to Adrianna, intending to blast her with the venom inside him, but the tears she blinked away so fast stopped him. The slight tremble in her lip and death grip she kept on the armrest made him feel like an asshole for even wanting to unleash his anger on her.
She’d pulled out her cell phone and texted Lauren. Cam didn’t make out the whole text but the words mortified, and earth to swallow me, were clear as day, even with a seat between them. Seconds later a barrage of messages kept her phone vibrating for a while until Adri chuckled and the tears disappeared.
They’d gone inside the lab room five minutes later. The rest of the visit was a blur, relatively painless. Now all they had to do was wait for the results.
But…
Adri had been colder with him since then. They returned to her place, she’d left him with Bron and gone to work. In the evening, they’d come down and had dinner at the bistro. She was pleasant but her only real smiles were saved for Bron.
Elias deserved every swear word Cam had vented during their conversation last night. He stopped short of telling him to shove his apology straight up his ass.
"Wow, is this how you always travel?” Bron’s words yanked him back from yesterday’s drama. “This is so different from when we went to Los Angeles or when we
went to Atlantis, right, Mama?" Bronwyn gushed. Adrianna smiled back though it wasn’t in her eyes. That damned remote look in her face had become a new annoying norm.
Cam just didn’t get it. He had not pushed for the paternity test. But he had pushed her to come to New York, though she’d made it clear she wasn’t one hundred percent comfortable with the trip. He spent the evening yesterday and all night worrying she would back out. He hated to put her in this position, but he couldn't leave Bronwyn to think he abandoned her.
He only needed a couple of weeks and he wasn’t going to take any risks. He wasn’t going to knowingly put his child in the position to wonder why her father wasn’t around. Bronwyn never again would. His thoughts were interrupted when a set of hands grabbed his face on either side of his cheeks.
"Are you listening to me? Am I talking too much?"
Eyes identical to his own blinked at him, a smile played on her lips. He doubted that there was another child in the whole world as beautiful as her. He shook his head.
"Atlantis is that awful place with the rides, right?" he asked.
Her eyes widened. "It's not awful. It's fun. Mama didn't like the rides and she stayed with Aunt Lauren by the poolside, but Uncle Nathan went on all the big rides with me." She lowered her voice and moved closer to him. "He even paid the guy to let me get on some of the ones I was too short for. Don't tell Mama."
"I already know," Adrianna said, looking away from the window and back at them. "I gave your uncle Nathan a piece of my mind after that." She leaned forward to be eye-to-eye with her daughter and asked, "How did you know Cam is your dad?"
Bronwyn looked down at the floor. "I heard you talking about it the night I found the magazine article about his paintings."
"When you were supposed to be asleep? I tucked you in! Oh my God, that's how you knew Cam was going back to New York. You eavesdropped on your Aunt Lo and me." Adrianna was so shocked that Cam wanted to laugh, but he strained to keep a serious face. He didn’t want to ruin the moment of levity or the fact that she was no longer looking like she wanted to puke on him.
