A Carpino Series Collection, Books 1-3

by Brynne Asher

  Cam drops his head a bit and puts a palm out to me. “I get it.”

  “Are you sure? Because I don’t mind going into more detail about our arrangements. He’s very generous. You missed it today—I’m usually dripping in diamonds. And since I’m so young, I’m hoping he’ll kick the bucket soon so I can make like the Steve Miller Band and Take the Money and Run,” I keep on.

  “I said, I get it,” he bites.

  I widen my eyes. “Oh my, does that mean you’re … wait … sorry?”

  He doesn’t answer and absolutely does not offer a real apology. He does narrow his eyes before turning his head back toward my car.

  “You have Grumpy Bear Syndrome,” I declare. “And now it’s worn off on me. Before you showed up I was happy, eating cookies and milk, talking to the kids. But thank you, now I have Grumpy Bear Syndrome, too.”

  “Grumpy Bear Syndrome?”

  “Yeah. When a bear wakes up from his long winter nap and he gets up hungry and irritable. However with you, it’s not so much a syndrome as it is a life threatening disease. You're always grumpy.”

  He shakes his head again, which I’m finding he does all the time. “You’re a piece of work.”

  “I’m a piece of work?” I repeat. “You started this. It really doesn’t matter how hot you are, or how much hotter you are being a dad. You’re an asshole.”

  He tips his head. “You think I’m a hot dad?”

  I flip my hand out in front of me. “You have the potential, but because of the Grumpy Bear, asshole wins.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind,” he mutters.

  I sigh, tired of this and not understanding why he’s such a Negative Nelly with me. “You didn’t need to come early. I don’t mind keeping Jordy and Cara in the afternoons. Especially if you have to take them back to work with you. I like them.”

  He doesn’t get a chance to answer because my mom drives up in her brand new Hybrid Lexus and Cam turns toward the driveway. She gets out of her car with two huge tote bags and yells as she moves to us. “Hi, Cam! I haven’t seen you in months.”

  “Lizzie.” He greets my loud mother. Then, unlike the Grumpy Bear Asshole he’s proven to be, he reaches for her bags. “Let me get those for you.”

  I frown at his chivalrous act as my mom goes on. “You’re sweet, thanks. I brought dinner for you and the kids, Paige. I didn’t know if you’re getting overwhelmed with them and your work. I even made breakfast for tomorrow—Noah loves my applesauce muffins. Your dad came home early to stay with Isabella. How are you, Cam? The kids?”

  Then, like he turned on his hot guy switch, he smiles big at my mom. “We’re good, Lizzie. You?”

  “All’s good in my world. I’m going to be a grandmother again and I’m thrilled. My son, Tony, and his new wife announced she’s expecting. Even though they basically eloped and robbed me of my right to see them wed, I couldn’t be happier. Tony turns thirty next week, that’s why I’m here. Paige and I are going to plan his birthday dinner. Hey, why don’t you and the kids come? We’d love to have you, it’s Monday at six.” My mother, who doesn’t know how not to be social, invites him to our family affair.

  “Mom, I’m sure he’s busy – ” I start.

  Cam interrupts me. “Thanks. I’ll look at the calendar.”

  “Terrific.” She smiles. Moving around me, she starts into the house, but stops and turns quickly. “Don’t let me forget, I have the title to your car. Your dad already signed it and I have the paperwork to gift it to you. I can’t tell you how happy I am you aren’t driving that little old car anymore. It was always breaking down, not to mention it wasn’t safe.” She turns to Cam and imparts her wisdom. “You never stop worrying about your kids. Remember that.”

  Cam Montgomery slowly turns his hot smile, framed in his lush goatee, to me. His blue eyes shine bright, when he says to my mom while looking straight at me, “No, ma’am. I reckon you don’t.”

  As if I got caught toilet papering the mean girl’s house, I feel my blood boil and go straight to my face. Luckily my mom was already headed into the house yelling, “Kids! Grandma’s here!” and she missed my blush.

  I close my eyes and pull in a breath, it’s not like I can run off. I try to calm myself and open my eyes to find Cam still smiling big.

  I don’t know what to say so I bite my bottom lip when Cam switches both bags to one hand and places the other high on the door jamb, leaning in. Then he leans closer and I try hard to hold my ground when he says in a low voice so no one else will hear, “This Sugar Daddy of yours, that you handed me shit about, isn’t really a Sugar Daddy. He’s just your daddy.”

  “Cam – ”

  “No, no.” He narrows his eyes on me. “I want to get this straight. Your parents gave you that car and you made me eat shit.”

  “No, I made you eat shit because you inferred that I was ‘well taken care of’ and you know what you meant.”

  “Darlin’, you’re still well taken care of.”

  “They didn’t give me a choice. My other car was a piece of junk and it was still in their name from high school and college. I just started a business. I don’t need a car loan right now, so I took the car, all right? I took a luxury mom-car that I look ridiculous driving from my parents. There. Are you happy?” I finish on a huff.

  He hesitates, letting his eyes drag over me again, making me shift to my other foot. Okay, it’s a fidget, but whatever. “Yeah, I’m happy.”

  “I’m thrilled,” I spout before turning toward the house and call, “kids, time to go.”

  I turn back and he’s still leaning into the door jamb, but he’s smiling this time, looking downright delicious.

  Damn.

  I do my best to look uninterested until I hear the kids come running because I know I’m going to be tortured by having to see Cam with his kids, just like last night. Today, he torments me by leaning down and kissing Cara’s head, followed up by a manly fist bump with Jordy. This is all after I hear “Hey Dad,” and “Daddy!” followed up with “Hey, bud,” and “Missed you, baby.” It’s almost worse today because seeing him transform from asshole, to hot, to hot dad is too much for my system.

  I do my best to ignore all this and focus on the kids. “See you tomorrow.”

  “Thanks, Paige,” Jordy yells as he runs out the door.

  “Bye,” Cara sings, skipping out, following her brother.

  But Cam stands there, not saying a thing. I raise my eyebrows in question, wondering why he’s still here. He leans in closer, lowering his eyes almost to mine, and says in a low sexy voice, “See ya’ tomorrow, darlin’.”

  I narrow my eyes and don’t say a word. Instead I reach out to grab my mother’s bags and step back into the house, slamming the door in his face.

  My mom yells, “What was that?”

  I sigh. “Nothing.”

  Shit, it’s only Tuesday. This is going to be a long week.

  Chapter Four

  The Cleaning Fairy

  Paige

  “Now?” Cara asks.

  After I picked up the kids from camp this afternoon, the boys parked themselves in front of video games. Cara climbed up and settled on the counter, looking at me in a way she silently wondered what fun we could drum up in the kitchen. There was no way I could resist her—we got started straight away.

  “Let me see.” I touch the chocolate covered strawberries to make sure the chocolate had set. “I think they’re ready, sweet girl. Go to town.”

  I can’t feed them sugary snacks all week, so today I incorporated some fruit with the sugar. Cara dunked the berries in melted chocolate and waited impatiently for at least ten minutes. It must’ve seemed like an hour in her little world since she’s asked constantly if they’re ready to eat. She was covered with chocolate and licked as much off her little fingers as she used to dip them with. They didn’t turn out pretty, but she had fun and today she chatted way more than yesterday.

  I yell for the boys and it doesn’t take long for them to come
bounding into the kitchen. “Strawberries are done.”

  I can’t help but be curious about Jordy, Cara, and their grumpy father, so I start to investigate. “Does your mom ever pick you up or just your dad? Is she at work or something?”

  Cara doesn’t say a word but Jordy doesn’t miss a beat. “Just dad. We don’t have to go to our mom’s ‘til Friday.”

  Huh. Cam Montgomery is divorced.

  Now I can’t help myself, I have to know more. “It’s just you two and your dad at your house?”

  “Yeah,” Jordy says.

  “We have Ariel and Junwane,” Cara adds.

  I frown. “Who are they?”

  “Ariel’s our dog and it’s not Junwane. It’s John Wayne. He’s the cat,” Jordy explains as he grabs another berry.

  “You have a cat named John Wayne?” I ask, perplexed.

  “Daddy and Jordy like Junwane the cowboy and I like Ariel the mermaid,” Cara explains, with a mouthful and chocolate all over her face. She’s nowhere near speaking paragraphs, but has offered many complex sentences today. I’m making progress in the Cara department.

  Jordy corrects his sister. “It’s two names, Cara. John. Wayne.”

  “John. Wayne,” she mocks in her little voice, showing the most backbone I’ve ever seen from her.

  I smirk. “I like mermaids, too. Did you get to name your dog?”

  She smiles and nods. “She’s a puppy.”

  “John Wayne is scary,” Cayden says.

  “John Wayne scares Ariel, too,” Cara adds.

  “Why’s he so scary?” I ask.

  “He’s not scary,” Noah explains. “He’s just not happy.”

  “He catches mice,” Jordy says.

  “He’s scary,” Cayden reiterates, wearing a serious four-year-old face. “I don’t like him.”

  “John Wayne likes my dad, but that’s it,” Jordy says.

  My phone dings with a text as I take another bite. I frown at my phone, not recognizing the strange number and slide my finger across the screen.

  Cam: This is Cam. I’ll be late. Let Cara’s dog out. Jordy can get in the house.

  “It’s your dad,” I say, thinking he’s not just grumpy, but bossy to boot. “He says he’ll be late. He wants us to let your dog out. Can you get us into your house, Jordy?”

  “Yeah, let’s go!” Jordy yells. “We can play video games at my house!”

  Me: Sure. But only because you asked so nicely, Just Cam. And by the way, you’re welcome.

  I guess I’m not surprised I don’t get a text back, with his winning personality and all.

  Noah and Jordy head for the door. After I get Cayden mopped up, he runs after the big boys and I pick up Cara, holding her so she can wash the sticky off her hands in the sink.

  “Are you going to introduce me to Ariel?”

  “Let’s go!” she squeals.

  I put her down and she grabs my hand, dragging me out of the house. We follow the boys who have already raced halfway across the expanse that separates the two houses. By the time Cara and I catch up, the boys are already inside. We move through his three-car-garage filled with an enormous riding lawn tractor, bikes, trikes, and I swear, I’ve never seen so much sports equipment in one place other than a sporting goods store. There’s equipment from almost every team sport I can think of, he even has those big things football players use to run and hit while trying to push them across the field for practice. I’ve only seen those on TV. Most people don’t own them, let alone store them in their garage.

  “Why do you have so much sporting equipment?” I ask Cara.

  “It’s for Daddy’s teams,” she says shuffling ahead of me into the house.

  Jordy said his dad coaches his baseball team, but how many teams could he coach?

  Beeps from a security system snap me out of inventorying his garage. Jordy turns off the alarm and I follow into a large mud room slash laundry room. It’s a nice room with newer cabinets and a new-ish washer and dryer. The room would probably seem even larger if it weren’t for all the stuff. And there’s a lot of stuff, that’s for sure.

  In one corner, piled high against a bank of cabinets, is a volcano of shoes. Man shoes, boy shoes, and girl shoes. Apparently they have to dig for what they need, because the volcano is tall and wide, spewing shoes over half the room. The rest of the floor is scattered with dirty laundry. I guess Cam doesn’t see the need for laundry baskets when he can simply toss them into piles.

  “Paige!” I hear my name being yelled through another door. I follow making my way through the muck.

  Cara meets me in the doorway where she’s barely got her little arms wrapped around a Jack Russell Terrier puppy. And that puppy is whining and wiggling so much, Cara can barely hold it in her arms.

  “This is Ariel.” Cara smiles big, clutching her dog tight so she doesn’t wiggle away. I reach down for the puppy so Cara doesn’t drop her and hold it up to my face.

  “Aren’t you a pretty little mermaid,” I say to Ariel. Looking down at Cara, I ask, “Where do we let her out?”

  “In the backyard, she won’t run away there.” Cara skips off through the door and I follow.

  But the second I walk through the door, I stop so I can appreciate what could be a magazine cover featuring the most beautiful kitchens in all the land. It’s enormous and not at all what you would expect in a house this old. The ceiling had to have been ripped out. It’s vaulted with huge, rugged, dark beams going up the peaks and across, forming triangles, with enormous industrial iron light fixtures hanging in between. There’s a ton of cabinets with contemporary clean lines finished in crisp white around the perimeter of the room. The huge island in the center of the space is painted a gray so dark, it’s almost black.

  The counters are all dressed in Carrara marble with faint veining. There’s a stainless steel apron sink with a tall pull-down faucet looking out over the backyard with a smaller sink in the island. I let my eyes wander to the left and see the coolest industrial size double oven and gas range sitting underneath a matching sleek stainless steel vent hood. Hands down, the best part of the kitchen.

  Wow. I think I’d be willing to give up my left pinky toe to be able to cook on a stove like that.

  But as kick-ass as Cam Montgomery’s kitchen is, I cringe at what I have to look through to appreciate it. The sink is piled high with dishes. And not dishes rinsed and ready to load into his top of the line dishwasher. They’re dirty and crusted with old, dried food. More dishes and cups litter the counters that haven’t even made it to the sink yet, with fast food cups and wrappers thrown into the mix. Two boxes of cereal stand open on the island, probably from breakfast, and will no doubt be stale the next time they go to eat it. The side counter, that appears as if it was designed for showcasing pretty kitchen things or hosting a buffet, is heaped with unopened mail and masses of papers. One corner of the island has been taken over by Cara with crayons, markers, and coloring books. Finally, the stove and oven, which should be honored and kept pristine as a shrine to all things cooking, is filthy with spills and slops from attempts to prepare food.

  Oh, and don’t get me started on the lush, dark wood floors. Filthy.

  I can’t take it. This kitchen is too pretty and perfect to be treated like this. I don’t care one single bit whose kitchen it is or that its owner ruined my favorite tank and assumed I was some Sugar Daddy’s hussy. It’s not the kitchen’s fault Cam can be an asshole, no matter how hot he is. Or how much hotter he is when he smiles at his kids being a good dad. Or how soft his goatee looks and, now that I know he’s divorced, I can’t help but wonder how it would feel on me, even if he is an ass, because Cara made it look like it feels great. Nope, I can’t take it.

  I have to clean this kitchen.

  Barely a second goes by after I’ve made the decision to bring this beautiful kitchen back to all its glory, when I hear a hiss from my side, making me jump. I look down to see a dark gray cat, practically matching the color of the island, staring up a
t me with hazel eyes.

  “You must be John Wayne,” I assume.

  The cat instantly hisses again, making me flinch. Holy shit, Cayden was right. John Wayne is a little scary. I’ve never had a cat, we only had dogs growing up, but I usually like all animals. I’ve had a few friends with cats and they’ve always been nice, even if they were a bit persnickety.

  “I’m going to clean your kitchen,” I inform John Wayne. “You may not like it, but you’re just going to have to deal with it. I have to bring it back to life. I can’t help myself.”

  I didn’t know a cat can meow with attitude, but I’m pretty sure John Wayne just gave me lip in cat-speak. Even little Ariel stills at John Wayne’s meow before burrowing into my arms. I know I’m small and petite, but I’m an adult and a human for goodness sake. There’s no way I’m going to let a cat boss me around.

  “Go away,” I bite, giving my foot a little stomp, making poor Ariel flinch in my arms. John Wayne turns and flips his tail with attitude to stalk out of the kitchen toward what must be the family room.

  Well. Cam Montgomery certainly keeps an interesting home. Enough of John Wayne, I have a kitchen to clean.

  I turn to yell, “Cara?”

  “Yeah?” she sings as she skips back into the kitchen.

  “Here, sweet girl.” I hand over the dog. “Take your little mermaid outside and play with her so she can run off some energy. Don’t let her come back in until she’s done all her business. I’m going to clean your kitchen.”

  “Why are you gonna clean the kitchen?” A little frown plays on her face since I doubt anyone has ever cleaned this kitchen in its existence.

  “Because a messy kitchen makes me sad,” I answer and she looks up at me with big eyes. I grin. “Not to worry. Go take care of your puppy and then you can keep me company. We haven’t talked about camp yet. I want to hear all about it.”

  “Okay,” she half-heartedly agrees as she hefts her puppy in her arms and turns toward the back door.