Page 91 of The Sweetest Mistake

“Do you really want to know?” Julia ventured.

“Only if you want to tell me.”

Julia took a few seconds and then decided that this is what women do. They share. And since Cam was a woman and was sitting across the table, trying to be nice, she would share—to a point.

“As you probably know, the O’Brien brothers take care of all the lawn maintenance at Harper’s house and studio where I work.”

Cam nodded.

“Well, at first, I avoided Connor like the plague. I thought he was too smooth, too cocky.”

“No argument here.”

Trying not to think about Cam’s firsthand knowledge of the man, Julia continued. “But he just never gave up. He kept asking me out until he caught me at a weak moment, and I finally said yes.”

Cam giggled. “He can be very persistent.”

“And like you with Tony, I couldn’t deny my attraction to him.”

“But at least you and Connor don’t work together. I’ve been through this before, and it was a mistake.”

“Are you talking about Tyler?”

Cam’s smile evaporated. “Yes.”

Julia didn’t bother pointing out that Tyler was her boss and he was married—the double whammy. She assumed Cam had learned her lesson from that poor decision a long time ago.

“At least Tony is single,” Cam said with a nervous laugh. And then, glancing down at her Kate Spade watch, she said, “I better get going.”

With that, she stood up, kissed Ava on both cheeks, and then handed her to Julia.

When Cam had shown up in her formfitting floral print dress and high heels, Julia had assumed that she’d just come from work, but now she knew different. Cam had dressed to impress her date, just like most women would. Of course, not every woman looked like a model, but Julia could still relate.

Following her to the front door, Julia said, “I hope you and Tony have fun tonight.”

“Thanks,” Cam said, and then waving goodbye to Ava, she disappeared down the walkway.

After Cam had left, Julia felt pleased with herself. She’d planted the seeds of trust with Cam, and she couldn’t wait to share the news with Connor when he came home. Oddly enough, she’d skimmed over some of what she and Cam had talked about, deciding that some things were better left unsaid.

Now, as they were walking around the lakeside trail at the park with Ava tucked into a baby carrier on Connor’s chest, Julia wondered why he was so quiet.

“Everything okay?” she asked. He’d seemed distracted recently, and she’d assumed it was because of how busy he was. He’d been trying to balance work and parenthood as well as spending time with her, and she knew that he was exhausted.

She’d been offering her support in any way she could, including waking up with Ava in the middle of the night and letting him sleep in whenever possible, but he still seemed off.

“Yeah. Everything’s fine. Why wouldn’t it be?” Connor replied.

“Just wondered. I know how hard you’ve been working lately and…”

“It’s not that.”

“Okay.”

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to snap. I just have a lot on my mind.”

Julia wasn’t sure what else to say or how to make it better for him. “Do you want to take a break for a few minutes?”

They were about halfway around the trail, and she’d spotted a picnic table up ahead right by the water’s edge.