Chapter Twenty-Eight
Cami
I was on pins and needles as we arrived at Dad”s place, wondering how this was going to go over. I was certain he’d love the new plans. He wasn”t as adamant about keeping the park intact as I was, but I just knew he would be happy about it. Especially about saving Mom’s tree.
But about Maddox and me? I truly hadn”t expected Dad to act the way he did when I”d told him about us. I wasn”t sure if he”d come around or not. But Maddox seemed surprisingly calm and relaxed even as we went to the front door and knocked.
”Who”s there?” Dad asked.
”It”s me,” I said loudly.
”And Maddox,” Maddox added.
Dad opened the door immediately. His eyes fell on Maddox’s arm around my shoulders. He was silent for a bit but then said, ”Come on in, you two. Maddox, I didn”t know you were in town.”
I was painfully aware that I hadn”t brought anyone to meet Dad in years. Oh, Cami, why did you think that was a good idea? Should have brought one or two Tinder guys for him to cut his teeth on. Maddox was going to take the brunt of Dad’s overprotective streak.
“We want to go over the contract together, especially the architect’s plan, if you have time,” Maddox said.
”Yes, let”s do that. After you sent it to me, I forwarded it directly to my lawyer, but I wouldn”t mind looking through it in more detail. First things first, though.”
I sensed danger from the change in his tone. Maddox was so damned relaxed. I wished I could warn him somehow.
”I understand you’re dating my daughter.” It wasn’t a question really, and Dad couldn’t have been harsher.
”Yes,” Maddox said.
At the same time, I added, ”Dad, I”m right here, so please don”t talk about me in third person.”
Dad glared at me. Actually glared. ”All right. I’ll say my bit first. I wasn”t happy when Cami first told me about the two of you.”
”Dad,” I said, putting a hand on my forehead. ”Please stop.”
Maddox chuckled. ”No, let him say what”s on his mind.”
”But why?” I asked. ”This isn”t going to help anyone.”
”I figured you were someone who wouldn’t get serious about relationships.” Then the strangest thing happened. Dad smiled and said, “Yeah, I misjudged you, boy.”
Maddox didn”t miss a beat before I could attempt to stop him. ”You didn”t, sir.”
”Then what the hell are you doing with my daughter?” Dad barked.
This was escalating far more than I”d anticipated.
”Your daughter and I are moving into unfamiliar territory for both of us. We’re exclusive, and while I”m sure that you would like to know more, we”re figuring it all out as we go.”
Exclusive! I liked that. Maddox had given Dad a good explanation, making me wonder if he”d actually thought this through before we got here.
Dad frowned. I was certain he’d respond, but to my astonishment, he nodded and said, ”Yes. Every couple has their own rhythm of finding their way.” His expression was thoughtful, then changed instantly to a sterner look as he continued, “But if I hear one word suggesting that you’re disrespecting her—”
Damn, I chanted victory too soon.
”Dad!” I warned.
”One thing you can be sure of. I will never, not ever, disrespect your daughter,” Maddox said adamantly.
Aaaaand my heart was full. I wanted to jump him and kiss him right in Dad”s living room, but that wouldn”t do.
Dad”s face broke into a smile as he said, ”You”re a good man, Maddox.” He clapped his hands together. ”Okay, now let”s go through that contract. I”m going to bring a bottle of champagne from the back.”
“I can go get it, Dad,” I offered.
”No, you just sit down. I”ll get it.”
”I’ll put the glasses on the table.”
As he went to the back, I opened an overhead cabinet, getting out three glasses. I was shaking for some reason.
Stepping up behind me, Maddox put an arm around my waist and his mouth at my ear. ”Relax, babe. Everything is going fine.”
”I know, but I have a lot of adrenaline. I don”t know why I”m so on edge.”
”I promise to rid you of it once we”re home,” he said seductively.
Well, I”d stopped being jittery, but only because I blushed like hell.
”Maddox,” I admonished.
He laughed at me. ”I”m sorry, I can”t resist. You”re so delicious when you”re red in the cheeks. With your red hair and green eyes, it”s exquisite.”
I opened my mouth but didn”t say anything else as Dad came back. He was too busy uncorking the bottle of bubbly to notice my blush. I startled when the cork finally went off.
He poured generously into the glasses, and then we held them up and clinked them together.
Dad flashed my favorite heartfelt smile. ”To starting over! And for my girl finally bringing home someone I can roast.”
”Dad,” I said.
”What? You haven”t given me the opportunity over the years. My skills got rusty.”
”I can assure you that your skills are perfectly fine,” Maddox said.
We all laughed as we downed a bit of the champagne. This evening was taking an unexpected turn.
”You know what? Before we start, I”m going to grab some logs from the back,” Dad said.
”I can get them,” Maddox said. ”Just tell me exactly where they are.”
”Sure, they”re in the barn. You won”t miss it. It”s just the back of the house.”
Maddox went down the corridor Dad pointed out.
Once we were alone, I couldn”t help but say, ”Dad, you”re behaving far better than I thought you might.”
He smiled at me, putting a hand on my cheek like he did when I was a little girl. ”Well, I still have reservations, especially after he confirmed that he was... well, in my time, we called that a ladies” man.”
I winced, not liking that expression at all.
”But he’s a good man,” he continued. ”I actually did take a look at the contract. There was no need for them to include that modified plan.”
”I know.”
”So I figure anyone who does that must care about you a lot.”
”I really care about him, too, Dad,” I whispered.
”I can tell from the way you look at him. I always hoped you’d bring someone to meet me.”
”I just figured you didn”t want to meet everyone I was dating.”
”And I didn”t,” Dad said, taking another swig of champagne. ”But for a long while, I figured you might not want to get into a relationship because...” He sighed. ”You know I”ve been devastated since losing your mom. I”m not sure I set the right example.”
”What are you talking about?”
”I”ve left you to pick up the pieces. And I remember hearing a conversation with you and Miriam that summer. You told her that you weren”t sure you ever wanted to fall in love if losing them would do that to you.”
”I said that? I don”t even remember it.”
”You were in pain. People say a lot of things when they”re in pain. Others like me just disappear into themselves. Anyway, I always wondered if that”s why you didn”t bring anyone to meet me.”
I shook my head but pressed my lips together, really considering his words. ”Honestly, I don”t know. I don”t think so. At least not consciously. And don’t worry about being an example. You”re the best dad in the world. I wasn”t a kid then; you didn”t have to be an example for me.”
”That”s always a parent”s job.”
”You”ve been the best role model I could ever have dreamed of.”
My eyes stung a bit. I heard footsteps behind me, and as Maddox joined us, I carefully wiped a few tears with the back of my hand.
Dad and Maddox busied themselves with the fire. Seeing them together filled me with happiness but also a bit of sadness. I would have loved nothing more than for Mom to be here, too, and witness this moment. I put a hand on my chest. Somehow, I knew she was watching over us and was smiling right now.
As the fire was crackling, we got to work. Dad’s ancient MacBook took a million years to start, but after that, we went through the contract. It was pretty self-explanatory, but there was a lot of jargon. It was a good thing our lawyer was working through it as well. Of course, as a rule of thumb, I’d never do a business transaction without a lawyer checking it.
The gist of it was simple. The sale would go through immediately, and we”d do the acquisition right before Thanksgiving. I was actually very giddy at the prospect, because that meant I could honestly and truly enjoy the Christmas season with a lot of money in my bank account and without having to worry about the seasonal downturn in business the winter months brought the park.
Dad seemed to be thinking along the same lines, because he beamed at that and said, ”I”m going to get a one-way ticket to Florida.”
I blinked. ”What do you mean, a one-way ticket?”
”I don”t know yet if I”m going to come back for New Year”s.”
”Oh right, yeah, you did mention that.” I was a bit sad about not spending Christmas with Dad. But he seemed so excited at the idea of being in Miami that I didn”t have the heart to even mention it.
“Will you still be here for Thanksgiving?” Maddox asked, looking back and forth between me and Dad.
“Of course,” Dad said.
“I haven’t cleared it with my grandparents, but I know they’d love to have both of you over for Thanksgiving dinner.”
My face exploded with happiness. My smile was huge.
Dad looked at me for a split second—probably for confirmation—then nodded. “I’d love to.”
“So would I,” I whispered. I was very touched, and I could barely focus as we got through the rest of the document.
It took us about two hours. After that, Dad said, ”Well, this is all very straightforward, but still, I want our lawyer to look through it before we sign.”
”Of course,” Maddox said. ”I’d never advise you to sign anything before talking it over with a lawyer. I just wanted us to look at it in case you had questions.”
”Honestly, no. Everything”s good from my side. Now, what do you think about opening another bottle of champagne?”
”Sure, but I can’t drink more or I’ll have a headache,” I replied. ”For some reason, the bubbles always go to my head.”
Maddox looked at me with a mischievous smile. He even wiggled his eyebrows when Dad wasn”t looking.
”We can’t risk that, of course,” he said.
I laughed, but my cheeks were hot as hell. I was starting to accept that when it came to Maddox, I couldn”t control when I blushed.
We stayed at Dad”s place for about another half hour, but then he started yawning. I knew we couldn”t count on him paying attention for much longer; he usually went to bed very early.
After bidding him goodbye, we headed out. I checked my phone as we got in the car. It had buzzed a few times earlier, but I”d forgotten to look at it. I had a message from Miriam.
Miriam: Hey, I baked a fresh tray of cookies. Want me to drop some by at your house?
Cami: Sure, and thanks.
“You’re going to meet Miriam tonight,” I informed Maddox as he drove the short distance to my cabin.
”I can”t wait.”
”She knows a lot about you already.”
I was extremely happy as we both jumped out of the car once we”d arrived. This was such an amazing evening.
I took a deep breath, enjoying the crisp air as we headed inside the house. I”d barely managed to take off my shoes when I heard commotion behind me.
Miriam grinned at me, nodding toward Maddox’s car. ”I’m not a cockblocker, am I?” she asked.
”You’re so smooth, Miriam. You think I don”t know that you know Maddox is here?”
”Well, I heard rumors, and since you failed to introduce him to me for so long, I decided to take matters into my own hands.”
”I think she”d enjoy meeting Gran,” Maddox said from behind me as I opened the door wider.
”Hi, Miriam. I”m Maddox,” he said, shaking her hand.
She grinned brilliantly and handed me the bag of cookies. ”I hear you”re responsible for my friend being so happy all the time.”
Maddox put an arm around my shoulders, kissing the side of my head. ”I like the sound of that.”
I smiled sheepishly, sinking against him. ”Want to come in?” I asked her.
”What? Hell no, girl. I can read the signs.” She pointed at Maddox”s hand on my shoulder. He burst out laughing. “Just came to see this one in the flesh. And to bring cookies.”
”Thank you,” I said, holding up the bag.
”It was nice meeting you, Maddox. I had to put a face to the name.” She winked at us before sending an air kiss and going back down the front porch stairs. ”You two have fun.”
I closed the door and turned around.
“What was that?” he asked. ”Why did she drop by for only two minutes?”
“Literally just to meet you.”
Maddox took my hand and led me to the living room, putting the cookies on the counter. ”Do we foresee any other interruptions tonight?”
”Honestly, I”m not sure. I’d say no, but this is Essex, so who knows?”
”Then I”d better do this before anything else happens.”
He went in for a kiss, and I rose up on my toes, meeting him halfway.