Page 16 of I Loved You First

Cam followed, watching how she smiled as Brady said something, finding himself no less affected by Fi’s beauty than he’d always been.

He’d thought about her nonstop—about their conversation in her driveway and Ezra’s truth bomb at the Clarke site two days ago. If he would have had any idea that Fi had been oblivious to Ally’s departure… But she hadn’t wanted to know. He’d fucked up the best part of his life, and she’d moved on. But Ezra was right. Fiona was here now.

“Hey,” he said, closing the distance between them, catching hints of her perfume.

Fi sent him a small smile. “Hey.”

He stopped close by, immediately feeling the tension radiating between them. “How’s vacation treating you so far?”

She nodded. “Pretty good.”

“Good.”

“Brady was telling me you’re having a picnic.”

Cam nodded this time. “We just finished our sandwiches.”

“We went to see Grampy at the Dawson site before we came here,” Brady piped up. “We have to keep our pulse on things ’cause Bennet & Sons is our legacy. But there’s no pressure, right, Dad?”

Cam grinned when Fiona chuckled. “That’s right.”

Brady hopped from foot to foot. “Because maybe I wanna be a policeman or an astronaut instead of a home builder.”

Cam nodded. “You can be whatever you want to be, and I’ll be proud all the same.”

Brady nodded this time, eyeing the logoed purple cup in Fi’s hand. “You have a Freezy.”

“I do. I’ve been helping my mom with the gardens, but I wanted a break, so I walked down to Martin’s.”

“How’s Stella doing?” Cam asked.

Fi bobbed her head from side to side. “Mostly, she’s good. She’s a little sore—a little grumpy, I guess. I think it’s hard for her to watch me do the things she normally does, so I thought I’d grab us both a pick-me-up.”

Brady still stared at Fi’s frozen dessert. “That looks yummy.”

“It is yummy.”

Cam shoved his hands in his pockets as he rocked back on his heels. “I’m guessing that’s death by chocolate with extra brownie chunks, cookie dough, and a shot of caramel.”

Fiona rolled her eyes as she smiled. “Good guess.”

Brady gasped as his mouth fell open. “That’s magic. You know magic, Dad.”

He shrugged. “Mostly, I just know Fi.”

He felt a zing of satisfaction as hints of awareness filled her eyes when she glanced at him through her amber-tinted lenses. Because he’d forgotten nothing. He wanted her to be thinking about everything he remembered about her.

Brady’s gaze wandered back to the cup. “The brownies are tasty?”

“They are.” Fi’s eyes met Cam’s again, silently asking him if it was okay to share.

Cam nodded.

Fiona scooped up a bite with a big brownie piece. “Would you like some?”

Brady nodded enthusiastically. “Yup.”

Cam cleared his throat as he raised his brow at his son.