Page 147 of I Loved You First

thirty-eight

Fiona held Cam’s gaze as she buttoned her cream-colored corduroy jacket in the entryway. “The way I’m dressed… This is okay?”

He nodded as he snagged his green plaid shirt jacket off one of the bench hooks, putting it on over his long-sleeve tee as he wore a pair of dark-wash jeans. “It’s perfect.”

“Okay.” But even as she said so, she racked her brain, trying to figure out their mysterious date. Cam had told her to dress comfy and warm as he left to drop Brady off for a sleepover at Grammy and Grampy’s.

Yoga pants and a soft pullover had been her clothing of choice because her sweet little bump had officially made its appearance. The early days of her second trimester were treating her well. She hadn’t vomited in over a week, and she felt much less tired.

“Are you ready?”

She nodded, loving that he grabbed his favorite black ball cap, putting it on backward the way she liked best. “I am. I can’t wait to see where we’re going.”

“You can’t figure it out, huh?”

She wrinkled her nose as she shook her head, grinning as he did.

“I think you’ll like it. Come on.” He reached for her hand as they stepped outside, walking toward the truck in the cool night air. “Your seat,” he said as he opened the passenger side door.

“Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.”

She buckled up as Cam got behind the wheel and turned over the engine. He paused to scroll through the playlists on the touchscreen, selecting the one called Fi and Cam.

She beamed when “Mirrors” by Justin Timberlake filled the cab. “I didn’t know we had a mix on here.”

He nodded. “I added it this afternoon. It’s a bunch of the songs we used to listen to back in the day.”

Her heart melted at such a sweet gesture. “Cam, I love it.”

“Good. Our date’s off to a decent start, then.”

She nodded. “I’m having a great time already.”

He chuckled as he accelerated down their private drive. “I’m happy this is working for you, but I think we can do better than music in the driveway.” But then he stopped as they made it halfway to the main road.

She frowned. “Did you forget something?”

“Nope,” he said, putting the truck in reverse, backing down a barely there track hidden among the trees.

“Cam,” she whispered, pressing her hand to her heart, understanding that this was their date. “Our spot.”

He took his eyes off the road long enough to toss her a wink as he navigated his way closer to the water, eventually stopping several feet from the dark depths.

She glanced around at the forest surrounding them in their special place—at the view that hadn’t changed much even though it had been years since she’d been there. “How many times did we do this? How many times did we come here?”

“It’s hard to say.”

“It’s been so long, but at this moment in the dark, it feels like it was yesterday.”

He nodded. “Grandpa and I came down this way when I was in sixth or seventh grade. He was looking for a good fishing spot. There was something about this place that felt peaceful. Special. I never forgot about it. After I finally convinced you to go out with me, I knew I wanted to bring you here.”

She held his gaze in the glow of the dashboard lights, loving his story. He’d told it to her before—that she was the only person he’d ever brought to the clearing in the woods. But hearing it again made the evening all the sweeter. “I’m so glad you did. It’s such a huge part of our history.”

He nodded. “I wanted to bring you down here this summer… When we were trying and failing at the whole friendship thing…”

She snorted out a laugh. “That didn’t last very long, did it?”