Page 19 of I Loved You First
“They were here earlier, helping me set stuff up. Grandpa needed a hand with one of his projects, so they left right after cake.”
Her eyes wandered among the guests standing in the yard or playing on the beach fifty yards away, searching for Luke and Liam. “What about your brothers?”
“Luke’s been living in Mass for the last couple of years. We’ve had homes going up in several different locations, so he has his hands full with that. Liam’s been in Upstate New York for about three years now. He’s keeping an eye on our projects there.”
She blinked her surprise, knowing that expanding the company had been one of the Bennet’s long-term goals. Apparently, they’d made it happen. “Cam, that’s great.”
He nodded. “Things are pretty busy, so we had Brady’s family party on his birthday in May. This one’s more for friends.”
“It looks like a success.”
“Yeah, we’ve had a good turnout.” He sent her a smile. “Can I get you a drink? And there’s plenty of food.”
She shook her head. “Thank you, but I can’t stay long.”
“Brady will be crushed if he doesn’t get a chance to say hello.”
Her gaze tracked around the backyard, spotting a pink-cheeked and sweaty Brady running around with several of his friends and a squirt gun. “He looks like he’s having a great time.”
“Definitely. He should sleep well.” Cam waggled his brow under his aviators.
She grinned, handing Cam the basket containing an adorable stuffed dinosaur, several wrapped books because she hadn’t been able to pick just one, and a wrapped box of Jurassic Legos that had been age-appropriate and seemed fun.
Cam raised his brow. “You hooked him up.”
She shrugged, well aware that she’d gotten carried away. “You only turn five once.”
His smile was back. “Are you sure I can’t get you a burger or a piece of cake?”
She wanted to leave, but it seemed rude to do so when she’d just arrived. And chatting with Cam wasn’t so bad, especially when they stuck to small talk. “I guess I’ll snag a piece of the dinosaur cake.”
“It’s pretty good.”
She walked next to Cam on the manicured grass, noting the dinosaur-themed tablecloths secured to the tables, the multicolored balloons dancing in the wind, tons of food, and the juice boxes and bottled waters sitting in a mountain of ice. They stopped at the cake table, where a quarter of a two-tiered chocolate cake remained. “What a great cake.”
“You should have seen it before we destroyed it.” Pulling out his phone, he stepped closer to shade his screen and show off the green frosted confection that once had various dinosaurs standing on the two tiers.
“That’s a work of art.”
“Yeah, Brady loved it.”
Her heart betrayed her, turning to goo as she heard Cam’s pride and adoration for his son.
“Help yourself. We have enough food here for at least a year.”
Chuckling, she cut herself a small piece of the cake, grabbed a plastic fork, and sampled a bite of chocolatey heaven. “This is really good.”
He nodded. “There’s a new bakery over by my parents’ place. They make some great stuff. I think Mom’s planning to get Grandpa’s cake there.”
“I’ll have to check it out,” she said over her next bite. “It’s crazy how much Maple Ridge is growing.”
Cam nodded again. “I think we’re up to twenty-eight thousand now. Five thousand families in the last four years.”
“That’s what my mom was saying.”
“We have houses going up all over the place. Dad secured several build sites in the big development over by the new activity park.”
She couldn’t help but be proud. This was what the Bennet family had worked so hard for over the last fifty years. They’d always had a thriving business, but this was next-level. “That’s awesome, Cam.”
