“I would never do anything to harm Ari, you know that.”

“Of course, sweetheart. But just be careful, okay?”

I nod and my grandmother smiles, cupping my face with her hand. “You are a good mother, Hayley. I know you will always do what’s best for your baby girl.”

“We’ll be more careful next time, Gama,” I promise.

“Good girl.”

With that my grandmother goes back into the kitchen. The front door opens and Cameron appears.

“You girls ready?” he asks.

Ari answers by running up to him and throwing her arms in the air, a silent command that she wants to be picked up. Cameron does it without hesitation, although his cheeks turn a darker shade of red whenever Ari looks at him. I find it comical. How a two year old little girl can make a grown man like Cameron, who is confident and sometimes cocky, blush every shade of red on the color wheel. But even so, watching them together always makes me feel strange. In a good way.

Cameron parks his truck and takes us inside the hospital. We take the elevator up to the maternity floor and head straight for Candice’s room. Cameron knocks and I follow behind him. Candice is holding her newborn and Cameron’s mother, Gemma, is sitting beside her on the bed. I don’t see Brett anywhere so I assume he’s out with Jordan.

“Hi,” Candice whispers. Cameron leans down and kisses her cheek before doing the same with his mother. I walk closer and give each of them a hug, careful not to squeeze Candice too hard.

I watch how Cameron holds Ari, suspended above where Candice is holding her daughter. “Mommy, look,” she says, lifting her gaze to me. I smile at her, thinking back to when she was as small as the bundle in Candice’s arms.

“I see, princess. It’s a baby.”

“A baby,” she repeats, looking down.

“Did you finally choose a name?” Cameron asks.

Candice smiles. “We decided on Aubrey Michaela.”

Gemma sniffles and I realize she moved from her spot on the bed to next to me.

“Are you okay?” I ask her gently, understanding just how emotional she must feel.

“Oh, I’m fine, honey.” Her eyes tell me a different story but it’s not my place to push. Cameron walks across the room and joins us. He engulfs his mother in his arms, and I hear her muffled sobs. It then dawns on me that this must be incredibly difficult for her, getting to experience this magic without her husband. Candice wipes a tear and I squeeze her hand. I might not understand what they’ve been through, but I understand wishing you had someone there to share this with. I felt it for months before and after Ari was born.

“Thank you, Hayley,” Candice whispers.

I frown. “For what?”

“Just…thank you.”

Her words and the way she says it makes something tug at my heartstrings. She glances back at Cameron and their mother and suddenly it becomes a little clearer. She’s thanking me for so much more than I think I can give, but it makes me want to throw caution to the wind and give this thing with Cameron everything I’ve got. Because somehow, I think he could possibly do the same.

Chapter 16

~ December, 2013 ~

~ Hayley ~

Hannah and I practically run into the diner, eager to get out of the freezing winter temperatures. The thirty-degree weather has our teeth chattering, even though we’ve spent the last few hours indoors at the swim meet against Notre Dame. We wave to Taylor who grabs us menus as we walk towards our regular booth. Cameron and Noah should be here soon, so we go ahead and order some hot drinks to help with the chill. Taylor brings them over and then takes a seat next to us for a few minutes.

“I’m so happy to see you two,” she whispers. “I need some advice and soon, because I’m about half past freaked out already.”

“What’s wrong?” I ask her. “You look ready to puke.”

“Oh my God,” Hannah gasps, smacking the table. “Are you pregnant? Is Macy going to have a little brother or sister?”

Taylor rolls her eyes. “No! But I do have a date tonight….” Her words trail off and she looks between me and Hannah nervously.

“Well, don’t just sit there,” I say. “Tell us who the lucky guy is.”

Taylor’s cheeks darken beneath her make-up, giving her face a beautiful glow. “It’s, uh…it’s Dr. Gates.”

“Ari’s pediatrician?” I ask.

Taylor nods and Hannah and I giggle. “It’s about time,” Hannah says. “We saw how he looked at you when Ari was at the hospital. But what took you so long?”

“Well,” Taylor begins, fidgeting nervously with a napkin. “I decided to start taking Macy to him, too, after I saw how good he was with Ari, and I don’t know, I guess we just hit it off. He asked me a few times, but I declined because I was scared as hell to get involved with someone, “ her eyes drift to me, a silent understanding passing between us, “but then I thought maybe it wouldn’t hurt to have one date with a nice guy who will treat me to dinner and make me feel special for a night.”

“Or, it could turn out to be more than one night,” I state.

Taylor shrugs. “Is it wrong of me to want more than one night?”

Shaking my head, I reply, “Not at all. You also need love and affection. We all do.”

“So you think it’s a good idea? Given that he’s Macy’s doctor and all?”

Hannah and I both nod in agreement and Taylor visibly relaxes. The doorbell chimes and I look up to see Cameron and Noah making their way towards us. Taylor jumps up and I grab her hand quickly. “Call me if you need anything, okay?”

She nods, a grateful smile adorning her face. “Thanks, Hayley.”

Taylor goes back to serving her other customers and Noah and Cameron drop into the booth with us. Cameron wraps his arm around me, pulling me close into his side. “I missed you,” he whispers, his hot breath tickling the sensitive skin around my neck.

I chuckle, playfully rolling my eyes. “You saw me less than twenty minutes ago.”

“That’s a really long time,” he retorts. He pouts, giving me puppy dog eyes that make my insides do somersaults, and I resist the yearning to sink my teeth into his bottom lip.

“Ugh,” Noah snorts. “You two make me sick. You’re like two horny teenagers. Why don’t you just do each other right here?”

“Because,” Cameron replies, nuzzling my neck. “I don’t think ‘doggie style’ is on the menu.”

Hannah chokes on her hot chocolate and I feel my cheeks flush.

“Cameron!” I hiss, slapping his thigh. “Don’t say things like that here!”

“Yeah, please, that’s definitely too much information,” Hannah adds. She winks at me and I know she’s teasing. Cameron and I have yet to venture into that kind of territory. But that’s not to say the sex isn’t hot enough already. Because it is. Ridiculously hot. It makes me blush just thinking about it.

“I’m sorry, Hayls.” Cameron unleashes his panty-dropping smile and I’m no longer able to be irritated with his comment. He threads his fingers with mine and brings my hand up to his lips, kissing my palm.

Hannah and Noah start bickering, which is nothing new when they’re together, but Cameron and I hardly notice. We stare at each other a little longer than what’s deemed appropriate for public displays of affection and my body starts to hum, the heat from his body radiating onto mine and making me keenly aware of his closeness.

He leans closer to me, his mouth inches from mine. “Later,” he whispers, like he read my mind. He brushes my lips briefly before another protest comes from the other side of the table. This time it’s from Hannah.

“Okay, seriously, I’m getting jealous watching the two of you eye fuck each other, so for the sake of my lacking sex life, please stop.”

“Oh God,” Noah groans. “I don’t need to hear about your sex life, please. That’s gross.”

Hannah rolls her eyes. “Are you fucking kidding me? I hear about yours almost every night. It’s a good thing mom and dad aren’t at home that often, otherwise they’d think you’ve turned our house into a brothel. And for the love of my eardrums, stop screwing girls who scream like banshees or at least stuff a sock in their mouths. I can’t handle the sound of cats being strangled any longer.”

Noah stares at his sister, shocked. Cameron and I laugh at Hannah’s crass statement, not only because of Noah’s face, but also because it’s probably true.

“I’m not that bad,” Noah grumbles.

Hannah snorts. “No, you’re worse.”

For the first time since I met them, I don’t think I’ve ever seen them act this harshly towards one another. Something tells me there’s more to it than what they’re letting on and I resolve to find out from Hannah exactly what it is. But that can wait for now. We have a victory to celebrate.

I turn to look at Cam, smiling when I see his eyes have never left me. “Congratulations on your win, Cam. I’m so proud of you.”

“Thank you, buttercup.” His new nickname for me always makes me sigh. It’s corny, but it’s grown on me in the last few weeks. In fact, Cameron has grown on me. We’ve been inseparable for the most part, and he spends a little more time over at my grandmother’s house than I do at his. But he never complains. I made it clear that I didn’t want to do anything that would upset Ari’s routine, and me sleeping over at Cameron’s house would definitely do that.

“Okay, kids,” Taylor says, stepping up to our table. Her smile wavers when she sees Noah. He always makes her uncomfortable, and I don’t blame her. He’s a shameless flirt and can even charm the pants off a mannequin if he tried hard enough. Something about the way he looks at Taylor even makes me a little uncomfortable, like he’s eyeing his prey. “What can I get you?”