Page 59 of I Loved You First

“I’m all clean,” he called.

Dropping Fi’s feet back to the hardwood, they stared at each other, both of them fighting for their breath. “Friends can kiss, right?”

She nodded with rosy cheeks and swollen lips. “Yeah. Definitely.”

They broke apart.

Cam fixed his swim trunks, doing his best to hide his erection as he walked to the kitchen, grabbing steak from the fridge.

“I’m clean,” Brady repeated as he stood by the counter in a pair of fresh shorts from his drawer. “And I got that cast cover thing off all by myself.”

Cam smiled. “Nice job, bud.”

Moments later, Fiona walked out of the bathroom with her shorts on. “I should head out.”

He swallowed, noting that her cheeks were still pink. He wanted her to stay so they could finish what they just started, but taking a couple of deep breaths wasn’t a bad idea for either of them. “We’ll see you tomorrow?”

She nodded. “I’ll see you then.” She gave Brady her attention. “We’ll finish that Lego project in the morning.”

Brady smiled. “Okay. Can I watch a show, Dad?”

“One. While I get dinner ready.”

“Okay.” Brady plunked himself on the couch.

Cam looked at Fi as she grabbed her purse and bag on the counter. “Hey.”

She met his gaze.

“We’re good?”

She nodded. “We’re good.” Sending him a small smile, she turned and headed down the hall.

He exhaled a long breath, smelling Fi on his skin. He had no idea where they stood, but now that he’d had a taste of her, he planned to do it again.

sixteen

Fiona looked toward the choppy water and the darkening skies as the storm clouds rolled in. Thunder rumbled in the distance as she glanced at the wall clock from her spot on the couch in Cam’s great room. “It’s almost seven thirty, buddy. We should get ready for books and bed.”

Brady shut off the TV, walking to the French doors in his Hulk pajamas as lightning speared across the sky. “I don’t like to go to bed when it thunders.”

She had peeked at the local radar on her phone when the wind picked up several minutes ago. They were due for a doozy of a storm. “Thunder makes you nervous, huh?”

He sighed as he nodded. “Yeah.”

Brady had been fine when a storm rolled through while they ate their lunch and played a board game, but his eyes had darted to the sky several times when the warning system alerted them to the threat of severe storms during his cartoons.

Fiona walked to stand next to him, wearing a pair of light-gray joggers and a simple white T-shirt. She knelt at his level, wrapping a supportive arm around his shoulders as she realized how tense he was. “I didn’t like thunder and lightning when I was your age either, especially at nighttime. Now I think it’s pretty cool.”

He looked at her. “You do?”

She nodded. “Thunder’s just a whole lot of noise, and lightning can’t hurt you if you’re safe inside.”

“I still don’t like it.”

She smiled. “That’s okay.”

“Do I have to go to bed? Maybe I should brush my teeth again.”