Page 101 of I Loved You First

“Probably a week or two.” Then she covered his hand on his thigh, giving his fingers a squeeze. “This is going to be a good thing, Cam. Brady deserves to have both of his parents in his life.”

He immediately stood, breaking their connection. “I’m sure it will be.”

But ultimately, they would see what they would see. Because although Ally was Brady’s biological mother, it was Fiona who had felt like his co-parent for the last several weeks. “I need to pick Brady up at day camp. I’ll have Darius overnight those legal documents to your Florida address. You’ll need to get them notarized.”

She nodded as she gained her feet. “Sure.”

“Keep me in the loop, and let me know when you’re back in Boston.”

“I will.”

“I’ll see you around.”

Ally tossed him a wave. “See you.”

He turned, walking back toward his truck, rubbing at the tension in his jaw.

“Fuck,” he muttered, craving his son’s company and a long-ass boat ride because nothing felt right anymore. Nothing was how it was supposed to be now that Ally was back and Fi was gone.

Everything felt a little less bright and a lot less fun without Fi’s big heart and effortless sparkle. Life would never be quite the same for him or Brady again. As the days passed and Fi didn’t call him back, it was slowly sinking in that he would have to live with that.

Three days later, Cam sat on a lounge chair in the massive domed space at Aqua Adventure while Brady played in one of the shallow pools on the pirate-themed slides with four other boys and girls.

“Watch me, Dad,” Brady shouted, pushing off down one of the smaller slides, landing with a splash at the bottom.

Cam grinned, giving Brady a thumbs-up. “Looking good, buddy.”

Brady hurried over to join his new friends while they waited for the big bucket to dump a huge cascade of water on them.

Cam grabbed his phone and selected his camera app, pressing record, waiting for the bucket to topple. He chuckled when it did—when Brady and his new buddies screamed and laughed their delight in the deluge. “You’re soaked!”

Brady beamed as his hair lay plastered against his head. “Yup.”

He chuckled again, loving that Brady was having so much fun. Ultimately, they were both having a great time. During their first two days at the park, they’d tried the enormous outdoor ropes course, bowled in the evening, rewatched The Super Mario Bros. Movie in the small theater, and spent plenty of time on the numerous indoor slides. All in all, their getaway was exactly what they’d both needed. But as Cam glanced at the empty lounge chair next to his, it was impossible to deny that something major was missing. Fiona should have been there with them.

Exhaling a breath, he rubbed at the back of his neck where the tension so often settled. It had been six long days since she left, and he missed the hell out of her.

After Brady had fallen asleep last night, he hadn’t been able to stop himself from trying her number again. He hadn’t bothered to leave a message when she didn’t pick up because it was safe to say that Fiona was one hundred percent ignoring him. She’d boarded a plane back to Seattle and moved on with her life.

He glanced up, putting eyes on Brady before he looked back at his phone, tapping on his string of texts with Fi, grinning as he read her witty replies to several of his responses. But his smile faded as he also read about grocery store stop-offs or dinner plans and questions or concerns about Brady’s daily care—normal conversations any two parents or partners would have.

Sighing again as he set down his phone, he made himself smile, waving when Brady waved at him.

Tomorrow morning, they would head back to Maple Ridge. Tomorrow night, he would lie in his empty bed that smelled like Fiona, no matter how many times he washed the sheets. In twenty-four hours, he would have to deal with reality again, which was something he could do without.

twenty-six

Fiona sat at her office desk, looking over her notes and schematics for the upcoming weekend wedding. She’d spent most of her day on the phone with the numerous vendors Leo had selected for the swank four hundred-guest affair, but tomorrow she would make on-site visits to the various locations to confirm that they were all on the same page. Everything would be perfect for the biggest event of the year.

She yawned as she clicked to her emails, ignoring the bone-dragging fatigue she couldn’t seem to shake as she opened a message Simone had sent nearly three hours ago when the office had still been bustling.

Fiona,

I ran into Anthony Drake and his wife while I was at Cardoni’s for a dinner meeting. He couldn’t stop singing your praises for a job well done Saturday night. Keep up the excellent work.

—Simone

Reading the note several more times, she waited for the thrill of receiving such high praise from the boss herself, but mostly, it didn’t seem to matter.