Page 178 of From Rivals to I Do

He walked away from him and the absurd conversation. Rafael could be overprotective sometimes. The years had changed him. It made him more attentive to what might be suitable for Abel. It was considerate in a way, but honestly, Abel hoped he backed off with that nonsense. He could not have his big brother looking over his shoulder with every woman he brought home.

Abel went to bed and brushed the whole thing off. Rafael was only trying to protect him. That is all he was ever trying to do. Abel could not be mad if Rafael wanted to look out for him. He was wrong about Camilla, though. Now that Abel had seen a softer side of Camilla, he longed to see more. With a bit of luck, he might.

Chapter six

Chapter Six

Camilla was thinking about the walk home with Abel the next morning. She was also thinking about all the other interesting things that she’d clearly misjudged about him. At the breakfast table, she found herself lost in thought, thinking of him and checking off his attributes in her mind.

For one thing, he was attractive. Very attractive. That was something she’d noticed right off the bat. Soft brown eyes under his thick dark hair. Muscular arms and chest. She’d been annoyed with him the day he was wearing the T-shirt in the restaurant. She thought of the definition in his arms and the outline of his pecs under the thin white material of his shirt and wondered what they might feel like under her hands. Abel was also at least a foot taller than her, which was definitely something that she was attracted to. If she ever kissed him, she would probably have to stand on her tiptoes to do it.

Instantly, the image of herself on her toes, balancing against him to kiss him brought the heat to her face. How had she gotten to that thought so fast? A week ago, his defiant attitude was getting on her nerves. Now…well, now things were different.

“Mommy?”

She looked up to see Charlie sitting across the table, his wide blue eyes with a question in them. His bowl of cereal was nearly empty, but he still had the spoon in his hand as if he was going to keep going until it was done.

“Yes, honey?”

“Can I come to work with you today?” he asked.

She smiled at him lovingly. “No,” she said. “You have to go to school.”

“Okay, but Mom, I can go to school tomorrow. Today, I want to come to work with you.”

“No,” she said, looking down at his bowl. “Are you finished with that?”

He nodded. “But Mommy, I think I should come with you today.”

She stood up, taking the half-empty bowl of mostly milk from in front of him. “Sorry, kiddo,” she said. “Mommy would have to stop doing her job to watch you, but I’m very busy when I’m at work.”

“I can stay out of the way. I can just talk to Mr. Abel while you work.”

She chuckled a little. Of course, it would be Abel. They’d gotten along well on their first meeting. “Ah, I see.” She took the bowl to the sink and rinsed it out. “So that’s why you want to come to work. You’ve found a new friend.”

“He’s really nice.” He started swinging his legs under the table. “Did you know he likes Bluey too? Like really, really likes it?”

“I did not know that. That is very interesting. I can see why you like him so much.”

“Yeah.” He threw her a big smile, his cheeks round like a chipmunk’s. “So can I come to work with you today?”

She knelt down next to him and booped his nose. “Nope.” He deflated a little, but he was still smiling. “Go wash up and get your stuff for school.”

Charlie sighed and said, “Okay” as he pushed away from the table and left the kitchen. A second later, she heard a thump at the door, then a knock. She went to open it and found Lulu standing on her porch, a look of annoyance on her face.

“Since when do you lock your door?” she asked as she walked in. She was wearing her security guard uniform, her dark, shoulder-length hair tied back in a ponytail.

Camilla shrugged. “There are desperate people out there,” she said. “You get held up and then all of a sudden, you’re locking your doors. Go figure.”

“Yeah, whatever,” said Lulu with a smirk. “Where’s little man?”

“He’s getting ready. Thanks again for picking us up today. I can’t believe my luck.”

“It’s no problem. What are friends for? And, listen, if you need a mechanic, I know a really good one on Main. Handsome, too. My cousin used to date him about a month ago, but they broke up, so he’s single.” She said the last few words in a sing-song voice that made Camilla chuckle a little.

“Thanks. I’ll see about him fixing my car. As for the rest…”

Charlie suddenly came running into the kitchen, grabbing Lulu by the legs and hugging her. “Hi!” he squealed. Lulu laughed with surprise and gave him a one-armed hug.

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