by J. L. Lora
"I also read your diary from that year," Bronwyn admitted. "You said you were shocked by the growing attraction between you and Cameron. He was a nuisance, a pest, and worst of all the town bad boy. You were kinda mad at yourself for liking him." His daughter turned to Cam, "What kind of bad things did you used to do?"
He looked from Adrianna's flushed face and then at his daughter's inquisitive one. "How about a nap?"
Bronwyn crossed her arms in front of her and gave him a look worthy of her mother when she was in a mood. "I'm nine not two."
"I…I'm sorry. I didn't mean to imply that. I just thought you might be tired from the day." Cam worried he might have hurt her feelings.
"It's okay." She leaned and kissed his cheek. "I'm going to ask the flight attendant for a drink."
She got up from the seat and walked away. When he looked back, he found Adrianna staring at him.
"You're not going to make it. She is already playing you like a cheap guitar."
CHAPTER EIGHT
He’d fucked up again.
Cam pushed the door to his East Side townhouse open only to be assaulted by the blaring music and the familiar female voice singing at the top of her lungs that she’s in love with the shape of someone.
“You do like Ed Sheeran!” Bron gasped behind him and it was all Cam could do not to swear out loud.
He took a step inside the foyer and turned to Adrianna. Recognition was written in her flat lips and the upward roll of her eyes. Cam sighed. This wasn’t going to be good. And why should it be? Things never went the way he needed them to. It would be nice, though. For once.
He wanted to take Bron’s hand to walk her in, and not just because he was afraid her mother would bolt, taking their child with her. He forced himself to step inside the living room where his sister lay on the couch, her iPad in hand, her foot draped over the back of the couch, still singing.
Luciana’s gaze landed on him and the smile bloomed on her face. She jumped off the couch and headed his way until her gaze drifted beyond him. She halted, spotting Adrianna, and her mouth twisted into a lemon pucker.
"Oh God, not you again! Why would you bring her here?"
"Trust me, the feeling is mutual," Adri snapped back.
Here we go again. The high school rivalry between both women materialized all over again.
“Lux, calm down. I need to tell you something—”
His sister cut him off. “What is there to say? You went to D.C. for an exhibition and stopped in Maryland to pick this one up. Like she didn’t mess you up enough the first time around.”
“It wasn’t…”
“He didn’t pick me up from anywhere. And I messed him up? You don’t know anything…” Adrianna muttered, her tone dry as a cup of sand.
Before Cam got the chance say anything, Bron stepped forward and extended her hand. "You must be Luciana. I'm Bronwyn."
Luciana took one look at Bronwyn, blanched, and backed away, plopping back down on the couch. "Oh, God. Oh. God."
Luciana’s eyes ping ponged from Bron to Cameron and back to the little girl.
"Is she okay?" Bronwyn asked him.
He nodded. "She’s fine. Just a little dramatic."
Adrianna scoffed, "You must mean a drama queen."
"Like Aunt Lo," Bronwyn said walking closer to her aunt. "But they were wrong. You don't have any warts and your skin is not green."
"Who told you I had warts?" Luciana snapped out of her shock and was on her feet all over again.
"Lux, we should get going before…"
His brother, Chase, stood at the top of the stairs looking down. His hair was over-grown, and a thick stubble covered his chin. It was his brother’s vacation look and Cam would bet his life he’d been staying over while he was gone. Chase walked down the steps, his gaze landing on Bron and then her mother. The smile was instant and irreverent. "Adrianna. Even more gorgeous today. How is that possible?"
He passed Cam like he wasn’t even there and headed for Adri, hugging her. Adrianna smiled genuinely for the first time that day. It made Cam’s mouth go sour. All he’d gotten from her were surgical or tiresome looks.
I guess all the fond smiles are for Chase today.
Chase turned and saw their little girl. "Well, you’re beautiful and I never forget a beautiful face. You are—"
"Obviously Cameron's child," Luciana spat.
Cameron sucked in a breath, his gaze snapping to his sister. “How did you know?”
Luciana waved an upward palm in Bron’s direction. “Look at her. She’s you.” She then turned feral eyes on Adrianna. She took a step forward, shoving a finger in Adri’s direction. “You had a baby by him and never told him? You’re…”
“Lux—”
Adrianna jumped in. “I went looking for him. He was gone. All of you were. I told your father. Instead of helping me get to Cam, he got in the way.”
Lux halted midway and shot her an incredulous look. “Father? Why would you tell our father? You could have contacted Cam directly or me or Chase. God, this is so like you…”
Cam wanted answers too, but that wasn’t the moment. Not with the set of young eyes watching them all with curiosity.
“Stop. We can talk about this after we’ve settled down.” His gaze drifted to the child, hoping all the adults would get the hint.
Luciana sighed.
“He means when I’m not around,” Bronwyn whispered out loud.
Chase laughed and mumbled for Cam’s ears, “Yeah, this little smart-ass is definitely ours.”
He glared at his brother. “Can we all sit down and talk about this?”
Neither of the women made a move and Chase’s eyes danced with mischief.
Adri cleared her throat. “Bron should eat something. If we get her something to eat, she can watch some TV and we can talk.”
Cam nodded. “Lux, why don’t you order us all something to eat? I’ll show Adrianna the guest room.”
“I bet you will,” Chase said. Cam was dying to punch the smirk off his brother’s face.
Except it made Adrianna laugh. “Are you ever going to grow up?”
Chase shrugged. “Growing up is overrated. My brother grew up and look at how boring he’s become. Now you—” he pointed at Bron “—look like you’re a lot of fun. How about you and I go watch some TV in the family room while these adults find us something to eat?”
Bron smiled and nodded.
Adrianna stared after Bron.
“Don’t worry. They’re the same mental age anyway. I’ll go order us some dinner.” Lux walked away to the kitchen.
“Come upstairs. I’ll show you the room you and Bron will be staying in. The driver will bring your things upstairs.” Cam started walking but Adrianna waited a few seconds before following him. He breathed a sigh of relief once she started moving again. She wasn’t going to bolt. There was no way she’d leave Bron behind.
Still, the tight air between them was something he couldn’t take for much longer.
•••
Adrianna was both delighted and freaked the hell out.
Once everything was explained, everything took a whiplash kind of turn. It all had to do with Bronwyn. She won over both Chase and Luciana.
Maybe it was what Adrianna's grandmother used to say about the call of your blood. She would always say there was an affinity to people who shared your genes. That something in you recognized them, even if you didn’t know their name. That had to be the case here.
They had been in New York for a week and already her daughter lived a completely different life. Cam and his siblings bought her all sorts of expensive gifts that would take Adrianna years to give her. Just earlier today, Luciana brought a catalog of children's furniture so Bronwyn could choose before she called the interior decorator.
It sent Adrianna straight into their home gym where she ran for forty minutes straight. It wasn’t the Canton harbor side trail or the cobbles
tone streets of Fells Point, but it gave her peace, which lasted until her daughter intercepted her to show her the huge iPad Pro her father had gotten her. Adrianna loved the smile on Bronwyn's face as she told her of the new software to help with her stroke precision and the sketching apps Cam downloaded for her. Yet, she couldn't help the apprehension growing every minute they spent in New York.
It was too much, too fast, too intense. She needed air, lots of it.
“Adri?” Cam called out from behind her. Just the sound of his voice rasped over the walls of her belly. She turned around fast, only to find herself a few steps from him.
“What’s up?”
His eyes lingered a little too long over her running capris and she fought not to fidget. She also wasn’t going to linger on his bed head or the way his jeans hung loose. And she was definitely not going to notice the way that white T-shirt clung to his arms and torso. Nope, she was going to keep her eyes above his shoulder. Just nowhere near his kissable mouth.
You need air and distance, like blocks and miles away from him.
“You have a sec? I wanted to talk about plans moving forward.”
She shook her head. “Huh? What plans?”
He shrugged. "Well, I was talking to my lawyer about something and when I brought up Bronwyn, he asked if I wanted him to start getting together the paperwork to change her last name and add mine to her birth certificate."
She tensed, the heat rising all over her face. He said it so calmly that she wanted to punch him. She took a deep breath and pushed the words through her teeth. "You talked to a lawyer about changing her name? Without telling me?"
"It just came up when I brought up her name, Adrianna. It’s not like I'm going behind your back."
"That kind of stuff doesn't just come up. The test results have not come back yet. Why did you even bring her name up?"
He sighed, "I was dealing with some acquisition deals and eventually, I want to put some things in Bron’s name."
"Without consulting me?"
"I don't have to ask your permission for every gift I give my daughter! You already have an opinion on all the small things we give her." His voice rose, his face taking a familiar dark turn.
She was more than ready for him. "Are you fuc—"
"Why are you guys fighting?" Bronwyn asked from behind her.
Adrianna shoved her fury into her back pocket. The last thing she wanted was to scare Bron. Arguments with Cam had always ended in one of two ways, all-out combat with words sharp enough to cut flesh…or clothes ripping and bodies sweating. There would be no chance of the second, so she needed to diffuse the first.
She rubbed a hand over her daughter’s head. "We're just having a disagreement. No need for you to worry. You know I yell a lot."
Bronwyn nodded and peeked at Cam. He was shell shocked.
"Cam sometimes gets like your Aunt Lo in the morning when she gets no sleep."
"Ohhhh," Bron nodded. "Let's get you some coffee. That would fix you right up." She reached for his hand and began to drag him.
“Go ahead. We'll talk later," she said to Cam.
"You're in a lot of trouble," Bron whispered loudly when they were a few feet away.
Adrianna laughed as soon as she closed the door to her room. She filled the soaking tub and sank into it. She wished she had a tub this big at home.
She was happy that Cam and his siblings accepted Bronwyn, but things were moving way too quickly for her. It was downright scary to think about. She wasn’t trying to control Bron’s relationship with her father, but she didn’t want her daughter to become spoiled.
Adrianna needed to get in the right mindset. A little alone time might just do the trick. She rose from the tub, got dressed, and made a list of places she wanted to go.
She was reaching for her purse when her phone rang.
"Start spreading the newsssss, Adri Bear," the teasing voice on the other side of the phone made her smile.
“Thank God, Lo. I’m losing my damned mind.”
“Oh? I’m guessing you and Cam didn’t shed your clothes yet.”
“Shut up, loca.” As if Adrianna needed to picture him naked, anymore than she did. “He just ticked me off so bad.”
•••
"And who is this?" Cam asked, trying to keep his voice light despite the urge to fling his daughter’s new tablet into a wall.
She was showing him her photos and they came to one of Adrianna and Bronwyn with a tall, muscular man. All three smiled and the man's arm was around Adrianna, his other hand on Bronwyn's shoulder. They looked like a happy family, which made the bile in Cam’s stomach churn.
"That's Evan, Mama's ex-boyfriend. He is so cool. He used to take us to the museums and games and to the state fair. He was a really good shot. He won me like five stuffed animals. I miss him a lot. He always calls on my birthday and Christmas and sends me presents. He still loves Mama. That's what Aunt Lauren told Abuela. She also said it's too bad the relationship didn't work for Mama, ‘cause Aunt Lauren says Evan is all kinds of right."
“She said that to you?"
"No, I heard them talking once. Don't tell Mama."
Cam opened his mouth to say something about her eavesdropping, but her mother walked in the room.
"Bron, it’s for you," Adrianna said, waving the phone at her daughter.
The little girl leapt and took the phone. Her face lit up and she squealed, "Aunt Lo, wait, hold on. I'll call you on FaceTime."
She hung up and began to walk to the other side of the room.
"Where are you going?" Cam called out.
"To the dining room. Mom, can I talk to you?"
They moved away where Cam couldn’t hear what they said. His daughter was talking a lot and Adrianna nodded. Then, Adrianna gave her a hug, then a kiss and whispered something in her ear. Bron sat in a chair by the window with her iPad.
"What was that about?" Cam asked as Adrianna walked back toward him with a smile. Luciana joined them.
"She wanted to talk to Lauren in private because she doesn't want you all to get jealous. She says that when she mentions Lauren or her uncle Nathan, you guys get like Suzie, her school frenemy, whenever Bron gets anything new."
"She's so considerate and kind. It kills me that you're responsible for that," Luciana said.
Adrianna's face shifted from amusement to pure joy. "Thanks." Then she turned to Cam and the warmth faded out of her gaze. "I'm going to visit a couple of bistros for new ideas and do a little shopping. We can talk later or tomorrow. Today, you can bond with her."
His stomach knotted. He had never spent time all alone with Bronwyn except for the car ride from the exhibit to her mother's. What if he said or did the wrong thing? And damn it, he didn't want to see Adrianna go. He could kick himself for losing his temper earlier on. He’d made her cold and distant, again.
She ran down a list of instructions and stuff he shouldn’t let Bron do and answered some of his and Lux’s questions. Don’t let her eat too much or whatever she wants and please do not buy her everything she asks for were among the most stressed sentences. She repeated them a couple of times.
“Are you guys going to be okay?” she asked with wary eyes.
Fuck no. He didn’t know anything about entertaining kids. Still, he had too much pride to prevent her from walking out, which she did without so much as a glance back.
"What's going on with you and Adrianna?" Luciana asked as soon as the front door closed.
"Nothing," he said quickly. The last thing he needed was his sister’s meddling.
"He made her mad earlier," Bronwyn said, walking back to the family room. "It doesn't look good for him."
"How was your talk with your Aunt Lo?" Cam asked. He wasn’t having this conversation. Especially not in front of the kid.
"It was okay." Bronwyn answered.
He ran his fingers through her hair. "You can tell us. We won't be upset."
"S
he got me an Eli Manning Jersey and tickets to go see the Giants play the Ravens in the fall." she gushed. "If Mama lets me, we're getting our faces painted blue."
"Why?" Luciana asked.
"‘Cause that's how you show love for the team." Bronwyn looked at him. "Can we go do something outside?"
"How about a little sightseeing?" He was rewarded with a big smile and a nod.
"Can we go see the Statue of Liberty?"
CHAPTER NINE
Adri wished she could cartwheel as easily as she had in high school pep rallies. Fancy s’mores made with chocolate mousse and shortbread cookies and chocolate hazelnut lattes. Those would be new items at the bistro. The pear, walnut-gorgonzola salad would be a hit. It had been a wonderful day for her business mind. She couldn’t wait to see Lauren’s and Mom’s faces over the gifts she bought for them.
She splurged like she rarely did but it would make them all happy, and that was all she cared about. Her mom and her best friend had always been there for her. These gifts were not enough to show how much she appreciated them. And Bronwyn would squeal over hers.
Adri headed back to Cam’s more in control of her emotions. The call with Lauren and the day in the city had centered her. She couldn’t wait to see her baby. She could now trust herself to talk to Bron’s father without screaming. She and Cam were in a tricky situation but it was not unheard of. Millions of parents who are not together raised children every day. They just needed to get on the same page. The most important thing was that Bron was dealing well with all the changes. She planned to call the school and ask them to recommend a professional to advise her on how to deal with it.
She and Cam needed to learn to work together and share the responsibilities. It was no longer solely up to her. She was scared and relieved at the same time.
Luciana intercepted her at the door. Her normally sleek and styled former nemesis seemed frazzled and her hands clasped tightly together. "Thank God you’re here."
Adrianna froze. "Did something happen to Bron?" she asked but moved past Luciana.
In the living room, Cam was holding a sobbing Bronwyn.
