Page 76 of I Loved You First

“We can blow them up?”

“Tomorrow we can.”

His eyes brightened. “My party’s tomorrow?”

She shook her head. “It’s in two more days.”

He groaned as he collapsed forward on the bed. “That’s a lot of days.”

She chuckled. “They’ll pass quickly. We have a lot to do.”

Gaining his feet, he stood before her again, touching her earring. “Maybe we can go to the hot dog restaurant while we’re shopping.”

“The hot dog restaurant?” She grinned, gently poking him in the belly. “You’re going to turn into a hot dog if you keep eating them.”

He laughed. “No, I won’t.”

“How about we have ham and turkey sandwiches with some broccoli and dip when we get back. That way we can test out the ice cream we’re thinking about using for our sundaes.”

His eyes grew wide. “Can I have a sundae?”

She narrowed her eyes and bobbed her head from side to side as if she were struggling to make a decision. “We’re buying all of the ingredients today, so it does make sense to try them out. You can be the official sundae taste tester.”

He jumped up and down. “That sounds way better than a hot dog.”

She laughed as she stood, holding out her hand. “Let’s go shopping, party planning helper.”

He grabbed hold, walking with her into the hallway. “Okay!”

Cam and Brady headed up to Brady’s room to finish his bedtime routine. “It’s a little later than usual, so let’s pick one good book tonight.”

Brady nodded, wearing his favorite Marvel pajamas. “Let’s read the new one Fiona brought for me. It has a seal that tells us about Seattle.”

Brady had been full of talk about his party and Seattle. From the moment Cam met Fi and Brady at the park after work, Brady’s mouth hadn’t stopped moving. Fi had left shortly after their rendezvous to meet Melody for a girls’ night, so he and Brady had eaten out and then dropped by Grammy and Grampy’s for a visit. “That sounds good.”

Turning on his light, Brady headed to his bedside table. “See my map, Dad? We live in Vermont, and Fiona lives all the way over here.”

Cam clenched his jaw, staring at the distance between their picture and Fiona’s paved in a path of hearts. “That’s a great map.”

“Yup.” He grabbed the book on the bed. “And this book tells us about the aquarium and the Ferris wheel. And there’s a place called the Space Needle. You can see it from Fiona’s living room in her house in the sky. She showed me a picture on her phone.”

He nodded as he pulled Brady’s covers back. “You mentioned that.”

Brady plunked himself on the bed, crawling up to the pillows before he lay down. “It’s so cool!”

“It is.” Cam settled on his knees by Brady’s side, capturing his hands. “Are you ready for the words?”

Brady nodded.

He held Brady’s gaze, always wanting his son to know how much he meant what he said. “You’re smart and amazing. I love you to the moon and back. I’m so lucky I get to be your dad.”

Brady smiled. “You’re the best dad in the whole wide world.”

Cam grinned, kissing Brady’s forehead. “I like that you think so.”

Brady nodded. “I do.”

“Good.” He kissed Brady again. “Are you ready for your book?”