Epilogue
Two months later
NATALIE
“ITHINK THE FENWAY one should be in the middle.” My daughter stood in the center of the living room, one hand on a hip and one hand stroking her chin thoughtfully. “It’s arguably the best one.”
“Arguably.” Cameron adjusted his framed stadium posters at Chloe’s suggestion, holding them up against the wall so she could judge their location. “You’re starting to sound like a lawyer, kiddo.”
I shook my head, peeking down at my hands and the crocheted version of Winnie I was making for Delilah’s first birthday. “Between you and Blake, she’s going to know more big words than she knows what to do with.”
Chloe gave me a look over her shoulder. “You say that like it’s a bad thing. I’m almost in middle school, Mom.”
I could barely believe that, honestly. Couldn’t believe she was already ten years old. A whole decade of being my daughter, of doing life together.
“Middle school next year, college the one after at the rate you’re learning.”
Chloe shrugged. “Works for me.”
“Nu-uh.” Cameron stuck a nail in his mouth to hold it while he adjusted the wall hanging, getting it positioned just right. We were filling the townhome with some of his things, and I couldn’t love it more, having him all around me. “No growing up too fast allowed in this house.”
“Moved in two days ago, and already making rules, huh?” I teased.
Cameron’s eyes cut to me, amused and happy.
“He’s allowed to make some rules, Mom,” Chloe said as she crashed onto the couch. Annabeth jumped on her lap, and she began absently petting her. “Just as long as he leaves my ice cream alone.”
“I would never dream of touching your ice cream, Champ.”
Chloe beamed, pleased. She leaned toward me, dropping her voice in a conspiratorial whisper. “I like this.”
She didn’t have to explain what she meant.
Chloe’s last day of elementary school
CAMERON
“I really hate leaving you when you’re not feeling well,” I whispered against Natalie’s temple. It was a little warm, but nothing too concerning.
She shook her head. “It’s just a stomach bug. I’m sure it’ll get better soon, but I don’t think I can manage standing on that hot field all day.”
“No, of course not.” I pressed a kiss to her skin.
Her eyes fluttered shut, her head sinking deeper into the pillow. “I feel bad making you do it, though.”
I shook my head. “I don’t mind going to field day for you. Chloe and I will have fun. I just need you to promise to text me if you start feeling worse.”
Natalie nodded. “Promise.”
“Okay, Sunshine. I love you.”
“I love you, too.” A small smile lingered on her lips. “Thank you.”
“Of course, baby.” I turned off the lamp next to our bed, wanting her to get some more rest. Then I made my way to the door, gently shutting it behind me before I went downstairs to find Chloe waiting for me, water bottle in hand and hair in the high ponytail I’d helped her with before going back upstairs to say goodbye to Natalie.
A pretty good ponytail, if I do say so myself. Every time I did Chloe’s hair, I got a little better at it.
“Ready, kiddo?”
“Ready!”
To my relief, she hadn’t been too disappointed when I’d told her I was stepping in for her mom at field day. Actually, though I could tell she felt bad that Natalie was sick, Chloe seemed excited that I was coming.
Hopping off the kitchen barstool, Chloe sped out the door, and I followed her out to the car.
It was a short drive to her school, and after we parked, Chloe led me to the back of it, where there was a playground and a field. A crowd was gathering at the edge of it, and I heard Chloe mutter to me, “Luka Stevens beat us here.”
I couldn’t help a laugh from escaping. “We’ll beat him on the field, Champ.”
She made a satisfied noise in her throat and then grabbed my hand, tugging me across the black pavement. Sun beat down on us, the early heat of June present in the air despite it being early morning.
“Chloe!” Her teacher, Mrs. Hanson, brightened when she saw us walking up. “So glad you could make it.” She looked to me. “Good to see you again, Mr. Bryant.”
I smiled at her. “Same to you.” I’d gone with Natalie to Chloe’s last parent-teacher conference and met Chloe’s teacher then. She’d been nothing but kind and welcoming over the last year. “Natalie’s sick today, so I hope it’s okay that I came to help out instead.”
“Oh, of course it is. We’ll miss her, of course, but always happy to have any kind of support.”
She looked more than a little relieved to have more adults here, and I couldn’t blame her, considering the growing group of fifth graders behind her, which Chloe dragged me toward.
Two girls gravitated toward us, who I thought I recognized from pictures of Chloe’s last field trip. She waved at them excitedly.
“Chloeee!” one of them squealed, while the other one looked at me curiously, which Chloe caught.
“This is Cam,” she said matter-of-factly. “He’s my…sorta dad.”
Warmth blossomed in my chest, threatening to take over as Chloe’s friends giggled. My favorite ten-year-old looked back at me, a little sheepish, as if not sure if I was okay with that title.
But I was so okay with it. The idea of being a dad, or even just a sorta dad, filled me with so much pride. And the thought of being her dad? I fucking loved it. And I loved that she was starting to think of me that way.
And I wanted her to know that.
Later, after we were both dripping in sweat from running around all day and dragging our feet back to the car, I said to Chloe, “I like being your sorta dad, Champ. I like it a lot.”
She glanced my way, squinting from the sun. “Yeah?”
I nodded and then cleared my throat. It felt thick. “You can call me that whenever you want. But I wouldn’t mind just being your dad, too.”
“You wouldn’t?”
“No.” My chest felt tight. “I’d really like that, actually. But I know you already have a dad, so if you want, we could come up with a different name for me, too.”
“Hmm.” She pressed her lips together in thought. “I can have two dads, can’t I? Percy Jackson does.”
I laughed, happiness floating out of me. “You sure can.”
One summer after
NATALIE
“Three,” I called across the beach.
My daughter crouched down, ready to dive headfirst into the sparkling Cape Cod waters. “This time, you’re going down,” she threatened.
“Two!”
Cameron laughed, lining up next to her. Salt water ran in rivulets down his muscled body, his swimsuit plastered to thick thighs, dripping from their last race. He’d won that one. “Did you just threaten to drown me, Chloe?”
She just shrugged.
“One!”
My two loves splashed into the water simultaneously, taking off across the length of the beach in front of our rental cottage.
I sank my toes deeper into the sand and watched, smiling to myself as Cameron stopped every few feet to look over at Chloe and make sure she hadn’t fallen too far behind.
She was a strong swimmer, but just the stretch and power of his body meant he pulled ahead with every stroke.
With every sport they played together, he liked to make sure she won some and lost some. Keep it balanced.
This time, Chloe made it past the line they drew in the sand on shore and jumped up, raising her fists above her head in a victory stance.
Cameron pulled up behind her, shaking the water out of his face and pretending to act winded and defeated, slapping a hand to his broad, bare chest. “What a champ,” he said with a smile. “As usual.”
He was such a beautiful man. How had I gotten so lucky?
Crouching in the water, he turned his back toward Chloe, who immediately jumped onto it, wrapping one arm around his neck while raising the other in a pumping motion as they took a little victory lap.
“I think it’s your mom’s turn,” Cameron announced, turning toward me and flashing dimples he knew I’d have a hard time saying no to. “You think you can beat her, Champ?”
“Oh, yeah,” Chloe said, waving a hand like that was no big deal.
Rude.
“What do you think, Mama?” Cameron called.
“I think it’s pretty comfy here on the sand!” I called back, sinking lower in my beach chair.
“Come on, Mom!” Chloe encouraged, sliding off Cameron’s back.
Cameron raised a brow at me. “Do I need to come get you, Sunshine?”
Sighing dramatically, I nodded. “I think you might.”
His warm, brown gaze heated me from the inside out as he emerged from the water, all wet and perfectly sculpted. I tried not to stare too hard; after all, my daughter was right there. But Cameron clocked my wandering gaze immediately, smirking as he marched through the sand.
“Careful there, Mama,” he murmured as he approached, sun bright across his face. His eyes roamed over me appreciatively. “There are consequences for looking at me like that. Especially when you’re sitting there in that hot little swimsuit, looking absolutely edible.”
“Consequences?” My lips twisted. “I was hoping you’d say that.”
Cameron shook his head, husky laughter filling the air.
And then I was in the air, getting thrown over his shoulder as he charged back toward the water, my daughter cheering in the background.
I’d never been more happy to dive deep into something.
Afterward, when the sun had begun to go down and Cameron had built a fire on the beach, I strolled along the water’s edge, listening to the crackle and pop filling the summer air and appreciating the scene.
Chloe was curled into a cocoon of blankets on the sand, Cameron’s old copy of The Lightning Thief in her hands.
When I’d warned her to be careful with it, Cameron had shrugged the idea off.
“I like the idea that the pages are well-loved,” he’d said earlier, voice casual.
Now, he spoke again. But he sounded a little more tentative, catching my attention from across the beach.
“Hey, Chloe?”
I pulled my cardigan around me tighter and traced a line in the sand with my toes.
My daughter perked up. “Yeah?”
“You know I love you and your mom a lot, right?”
“I know.”
I liked the way she didn’t hesitate.
“What would you think if I asked your mom to marry me?”