Page 110 of Dr. Brandt

“It’s pacifier talk for stop acting like a bitch, Uncle Cam,” Alex said, drying off, shaking his head, and joining us. Great, now I was about to get lectured by three businessmen. “Right, Izzy?”

“Wrong, Uncle Alex,” Avery said, walking out to where we were. “Why are we all out here cussing up a storm in front of Izzy? It’s bad enough we can’t figure out what half her words are, and something tells me this dat-dat-mir phrase is probably a few curse words rolled up into one.” She leaned down to get her daughter, who was reaching up for her. “Time for bed, little one.” She looked at me, “Jessa is here. She’s been talking with Laney downstairs, so dry it up, handsome.” She winked in her usually sassy Avery way, “I think this may all come back together for you. The rehab might just have taken longer for your relationship malfunction than Jackson’s did.”

I rose, bringing smiles and humor to everyone’s faces.

“Send her up here,” Spence said. “Quick, Cam, jump in the pool. Let her see what she’s been missing for a couple of months.”

“I agree,” Alex smirked.

“Anything else from the men I won’t be taking advice from tonight?” I looked at Jim.

Jim sipped his bourbon and shrugged, “Dat-dat-mir?”

“Yeah. That about sums this up,” I said, feeling more anxious than I should.

“You’re going to be fine,” Avery said, pulling Izzy tightly into her side. “But the whole bare chest in the water thing couldn’t hurt your case.”

“Nice, Av,” I answered with a smile. “Is Jessa okay?”

“I don’t think she’s going to be okay until you and she work things out,” Avery said. “Might be just me, but she and Warren are toxic. I think she sees that, but if you know that, you have an angle.”

I smiled, feeling my spirits lift. Thank God for that, too, because when I got here, after Jessa and Jacks had declined my invitation to join me at Jim’s house, my mood was shitty.

Now, all I could do was hope that things went well. Lately, it seemed like every time I got my hopes up with Jessa, everything always went south.

I walked through Jim’s pimp as fuck Hollywood Hills home, and with each beat of my heart, my feelings of excitement faded, and the nerves took over.

Fuck, Cameron, this is what you’ve been praying for.

“Hey, Cam,” Elena said with a bit of liveliness. “Can I talk to you for a second?”

“Haven’t we had enough of your sneaky-therapy sessions, Laney?” I asked with a grin.

“We have,” she said with a challenging eyebrow arch. “And thank God for my sneaky little attempts to peel you like an onion, or else you’d be a prisoner at St. John’s, hiding behind work and from all of us.”

“So, what is this?” I asked. “Seriously, I’m confused.”

“Just come here and stop asking questions,” she said, leading me to a spare room in Jim’s home.

She closed the door behind us, “I’m on my way to see Jessa. I don’t want to keep her waiting.”

“She’ll be fine. She’s with Nat and the girls.”

My eyes widened. “You left her alone with Natalia?” I asked incredulously. “Jesus Christ. Trust me, Nat is not her flavor.”

“Nat was not your flavor,” she said with a laugh. “Jessa likes her. In fact, I think we all have Natalia to thank for helping Jessa come to her senses about coming to talk to you tonight.”

“How the fuck is that possible? The only thing that woman cares about is money and sex.”

“Nat cracks all of us up, so take it easy on her. Now,” Elena said, more serious, “Jessa doesn’t need fifty-million questions about why and how she left you.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

“Because she’s been with that asshole for a month now and blowing your ass off. Anyone from the outside looking in would judge the situation harshly.”

“I don’t blame her for leaving me and believing she could find more stability in Warren. Unfortunately, I didn’t have much time to prove myself to her before things went horribly wrong with Jacks.”

“I know,” she said. “Both of you needed this last month to heal with Jacks, and I feel you both have. You just need to understand that sometimes, when something is right for two people, it takes time to heal, and healing separately, to realize that you need to be together.”

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