Chapter 23 #2
Chloe nodded as though Cameron was stating facts and she hadn’t whined my name just a few minutes ago. “I am stronger than Luka Stevens, and he’s the strongest person in our class.”
A laugh slipped through my lips. Not because I didn’t believe my daughter might be the strongest person in her class, but because of the matter-of-fact way she said it. “How do you know you’re stronger than Luka Stevens?”
Chloe shot me a look, like it had been a ridiculous question. “Arm wrestling match, duh.”
“See?” Cameron jabbed his thumb at her. “A champion.”
I groaned, immediately thinking of the broken bones I’d treated. “No more arm-wrestling matches, Chlo. They do not always end pretty, honey.”
Her jaw dropped. “But how can I defend my title, then?”
Cameron made a noise that I knew was him holding in laughter. He mouthed, “Sorry,” when I looked at him before saying, louder, “You’ll just forever be undefeated.” He clapped a hand on my daughter’s shoulder and then switched the subject. “You on summer break yet, Champ?”
“Almost! We just have fun field day on Monday. It’s basically optional, but I want to go so I can kick Luka Stevens’—” Chloe cut short at Cameron’s raised brow, and I had to press my lips together to keep a straight face.
“Just be careful out there, ’kay?” Cameron said, eyes twinkling. “Your mom’s right. Safety first. You need more than strength and speed to be a winner on the field, anyway. You gotta be smart, too. I’m sure your Uncle Noah would agree.”
Chloe gave a very serious nod, as though making a mental note.
“I’ll ask him this weekend,” she said, and I started to worry how intensely she was taking field day.
“Chloe’s having a sleepover at Noah’s tomorrow,” I supplied, struggling to contain my smile.
Both at Chloe’s energy and at the way Cameron had expertly handled that entire conversation, how he didn’t question my parenting stance about arm wrestling and then immediately backtracked to support it before ending the conversation so Chloe didn’t continue to argue.
And she was still happy, which was just an unexpected bonus.
“Yeah, Gemma said we could make a fort again!” Chloe’s entire face lit up. “And go to Scoopies! It’s my favorite ice cream place.”
“That sounds very fun. I love forts. And ice cream,” Cameron said enthusiastically. Maybe a little too enthusiastically, but I understood as he turned his attention toward me. “And what about you, Mama? Do you have to work?”
I shook my head, ignoring the burst of butterflies at his sudden, hot attention. And the possible insinuation of his question. “No, actually. Noah and Gemma just felt bad that they haven’t had Chloe over since before Delilah was born, so they’ve been planning this for a while.”
Cameron took that in with a slow nod. “So no plans for you, then?”
His eyes trailed over me, and I couldn’t breathe.
“No plans,” I confirmed.
He was trying hard not to smile as he threw his shirt over his shoulder.
“Maybe it would be a good time for us to review some case notes I have,” he said, but his voice was already lower and doing something to my insides.
“That sounds boring,” Chloe cut in beneath her breath.
“Very boring,” Cameron chuckled before turning his attention back to me. “But your mom is a good…sport. And maybe I could spice it up for her.” He raised a knowing brow at the heat rising on my face. “With some tacos?”
“I love tacos,” I declared, practically panting.
Oh my God, I needed to get it together.
“Excellent. Tacos tomorrow. At eight.” Cameron’s short, authoritative voice made my knees weak, and I had to swallow hard.
“See you later, Champ,” he said to Chloe, raising a flat palm.
She jumped up to give him a high five, and then Cameron was off, popping his earphones back in and continuing his run.
I stared after him just long enough to see him look over his shoulder with a smirk.
“Hey, Mom?” Chloe voiced, and there was something about her tone that had me whirling around and dropping to her level so I could see her eyes beneath the helmet visor.
“Yeah, Chlo?”
She chewed on her lip for a second before asking, “Is Cam helping you so I don’t have to move away with Dad?”
“He is,” I assured her. We’d talked before about how custody worked, in general terms, and she knew what her dad wanted.
Mostly because I’d wanted to check if there was a possibility it was what she wanted, even if hearing it would have wrecked me.
“He’s helping me argue that nothing should change from how it is right now. ”
Chloe nodded, staying quiet for a moment. “Maybe you should get tacos with him tonight and tomorrow night, then.”
I sighed, hated that Korey was doing this to her, putting her through this again. While I was happy that she wanted to stay with me, I wasn’t happy that she was concerned about it. No child should have to think so much about this sort of thing.
“Don’t worry, honey,” I assured her. “Cam’s been working very hard to figure this out for us. It’s going to be okay.”
Chloe nodded, but I didn’t like the look in her eyes as she took off for the park on her bike, and I needed to remember that whatever happened between Cameron and me…this case and my daughter were the priority here.
Luckily, I still trusted what he told me in his office that day. For some reason, I so strongly trusted that he could take care of me in more ways than one, all at the same time.
So hell, I was going to let him do just that.