Page 44 of I Loved You First

Cam nodded as he walked in, sitting in one of the extra chairs tucked against the wall. “Practice starts at six thirty.”

“Great.” She gave Brady her attention. “Do you want to be my helper?”

“Yeah!” Brady sat in the V of her legs, zeroing in on the fruit and cheese she’d brought along for a simple dinner. “Can I have a piece of cheese?”

“Sure.”

Picking it up, he turned his head to look back at her. “This cheese is gluten-free.”

She smiled. “Yes, it is.”

He bit in, started to chew, and grimaced. “I don’t like this kind.”

She chuckled. “That’s okay. That’s why we try things, so we know what we like and don’t like.”

He nodded, shuddering as he swallowed his bite. “Yup.”

“You can pop the rest of that piece right in here.” She pointed to her mouth.

He grinned as he fed her the slice of Havarti dill.

“Thanks,” she said as she chewed.

“You’re welcome.” He turned back to the balloon machine. “Why do you have so many balloons?”

She blew up a dusty-rose balloon, showing him what to do. “I’m going to make a big balloon garland for a gift table.”

Copying her, Brady did a great job, handing her a metallic-pink balloon to tie off. “You can make one of those for me when it’s my birthday again. That’s when I’ll be six.”

And suddenly, her happy mood dimmed a little as her gaze darted to Cam’s. “I might be able to do that, but I live far away from here. I make parties for people all the way across the country in a city called Seattle. I have to go back there in a few weeks.”

Brady blew up another balloon. “You can be in Seattle and here.”

It was clear that the country’s geography was lost on a five-year-old. “Sometimes I can be.”

Cam stood. “I need to grab something from my office.” He sent her a small smile as he walked off.

Her gaze followed him down the hall before she gave Brady her attention again as he blew up the next balloon. “You’re good at this, buddy.”

“Yup,” he said with a ring of confidence, smiling as he handed her one of the massive pearl-pink balloons.

Cam walked to his office, not needing anything in particular. There had been no need to stop at the office at all, but when he drove down Fifth Street and saw Stella’s old Camry parked in the lot, he pulled in, eager for a conversation with the woman he thought about constantly.

Moving to his window as the sun began to set, he stared out at the distant mountains, listening to Brady and Fiona’s voices carrying down the hall.

It worried him some that Brady liked her so much—that his son and his former girlfriend were creating such an easy bond. He didn’t want Brady getting too attached when Fi would be gone before long.

And this was why he didn’t welcome women into his life. There were far fewer complications when he focused on his career and his son. But the woman down the hall was warm and sweet and everything good that his little boy deserved. Brady’s life would always be better for having Fiona in it.

He steamed out a breath when the two people he adored most in the world laughed when a balloon popped. Because he was undoubtedly making this into a bigger issue than it was.

He was the one struggling with the idea of Fiona leaving. No one else.

Fi was a friend. She’d made that perfectly clear, even though there was still plenty left between them—an undeniable snap of electricity that sparked every time they looked at each other. But that undercurrent would undoubtedly always be there. It was impossible to have shared what they had and there not be residual vibes.

“It’s fine,” he assured himself as he turned and picked up a file at random, then headed back down the hall. Because when it came to Brady, he tended to overanalyze everything.

It was great to have Fiona home again. But he had every intention of regularly reminding himself and his son that Fi’s time in Vermont was short.