Page 104 of I Loved You First

Billy winced. “Sorry, boss.”

Seconds later, Nine Inch Nails played loud and gritty—a perfect match to his dark mood.

It had been a long time since he’d felt so nasty. His emotions were all over the place. In the two days since he and Brady had returned from Connecticut, he’d been a mess.

It worried him that Brady was still quiet despite their long weekend away—that every morning, his son still asked to watch the video Fi had made.

He missed Fiona just as much as Brady did, finding himself regularly teetering between anger and despair that their relationship was simply done. She’d left without saying a word—without letting him try to fix things. And why the hell did Ally have to come back?

He slammed the next nail into the stud, using enough force to send it home with one swing. Grabbing another, he glanced over his shoulder when he caught a whiff of perfume, spotting Melody’s red hair as she smiled and kissed Ezra.

Cam immediately gained his feet, turning down the music as he headed across the room.

Melody’s shoulders stiffened in her pretty summer dress as their gazes met. “Cam.”

He tossed her a nod, noting that she didn’t appear any happier to see him than Stella had been last week. “Have you talked to Fi?”

She nodded. “I have.”

“How is she?”

Melody shrugged. “She’s working a lot.”

“She didn’t have to leave. Maybe you can tell her that since she won’t talk to me.”

“Cam,” Ezra said, resting a firm hand on his shoulder. “Back off.”

Melody shook her head. “It’s fine because this entire situation is just sad.” She looked at Ezra. “I know we said we were going to stay out of this, but I can’t.” Then she gave Cam her attention again. “Ally came back, and you pushed Fi away.”

Cam took a step back, shocked as hell that Melody would think that. “That’s bullshit.”

She crossed her arms as color started to rise in her cheeks. “You certainly didn’t ask her to stay.”

“Why would I? Fi and I agreed to keep things simple. She never said she wanted anything different. Fi’s life is in Seattle. I understand that.”

Melody huffed out a breath. “Clearly, you don’t understand anything. She left to make things easier for you and Brady. For you and Ally.”

Cam huffed out his own laugh as he shoved his hands in his pockets and rocked back on his heels. “Yeah, well, you can tell her that didn’t work.”

Melody narrowed her eyes as she shook her head, clearly still short on patience. “Fiona can’t have children.”

He frowned now because, apparently, he was clueless. “I know that. What does that have to do with anything?”

“She knows you’ve always wanted a big family. She also knows she most likely can’t give that to you.”

“I don’t give a shit about that.”

Melody shrugged as she held his gaze.

Then he raked his fingers through his hair when understanding finally dawned—when the anger left his body, and he felt a new wave of devastation that Fiona could ever think he wouldn’t want her because she couldn’t give him more babies. “I need to go.”

He ignored Ezra calling his name as he walked out to his truck and got behind the wheel. Glancing at the dashboard clock, he turned over the engine and headed home.

Cam pulled up in front of the house, more than a little relieved that his mother’s car was parked in the driveway. When she’d offered to pick Brady up earlier this afternoon, he’d been all for it. The last thing he wanted was to slap a smile on his face and pretend that all was fine when he stopped by the YMCA.

Getting out of the truck, he went inside, frowning as he took off his boots in the quiet. “Mom? Brady?”

Mom walked down the hall, dressed casually in capri jeans and a pretty tank shirt, sending him a small smile. The concern radiating in her bold green eyes was apparent. “Brady’s upstairs.”