Page 87 of As You Ice It

When I recovered from my utter shock, I almost proposed to him right then and there.Vegas wedding, here we come!

But I wisely refrained since jumping from I love you to wedding bells might be a little fast.

I didn’t say anything, actually.

In trying to kiss him, I made his car horn honk, then tried to hide in case Liam looked out the window. It was while ducking down behind the dashboard that I realized how ridiculous I was being.

In short, I pretty much ruined Camden’s proclamation of love. Or, at least, the mood surrounding his declaration.

With the moment ruined, I opted not to tell him I love him too—yet. I need to redeem myself, so I’ve been looking for the right time. He hasn’t said it again, so I feel like he understands.

At least, I hope that’s why.

Eloise—who was absolutely thrilled and full ofI knew its andI told you sos—said I’m being stupid and should tell him as soon as possible so he’s not left hanging. Part of me thinks she’s right, but Camden didn’t seem bothered. I don’t think he was saying it so that I would say it back. And I really want it to be amoment.

“I’ll tell him when the time is right,” I told her.

Not when I’m falling all over Camden’s car and hiding from my kid. And not just because I promise someone I’ll do it. It will be at the perfect time, and I trust myself to know when that is.

Ididdecide it was the right time to tell Liam. Finally. Which we did this morning before Bailey and Eli arrived with Panda.

My thinking, which I shared with Bailey earlier this week, was that if Liam wasn’t happy about Camden and me dating—kind of unfathomable, but you never know—then Bailey and Eli would arrive with a dog and make it all better.

Does this make Panda a bribery dog?

Technically, no, because in the end, Liam was thrilled to find out Camden and I are dating. Actually, he was more unsurprised than anything.

“Did you think I didn’t know you were together?” he asked, looking at us both with confusion.

“Uh,” Camden said, looking my way.

“How did you know?” I asked, earning a very pre-teen look from my son.

“Mom,” Liam said with a hint of exasperation, “you guys aresoobvious.”

So, that was that. No bribe dog needed.

But I don’t regret Panda. He makes Liam too happy, which makes me happy. I’ll just have to get used to the “smile.”

“Liam was totally already onto us,” I tell Bailey now. “So, it was a little anticlimactic for all the worrying I did.”

“Were you really worried? Liam seems to love Camden.”

“He absolutely does. I think after last summer, I just thought he might be scared,” I say.

“Scared that it wouldn’t work out again?”

“Yeah.”

She’s quiet for a moment. Outside, the snow starts coming down harder. Panda zooms all over the yard, trying to eat snowflakes. This apparently is a contagious infection, because now Camden, Liam, and Eli are doing the same. I could charge money for admission to my backyard right now, and it would sell out faster than Taylor Swift’s Eras tour.

“Areyouscared that it won’t work out again?”

Bailey is good at sucker-punch questions. This one makes me go very still. Like, if I don’t move, maybe the monster of doubt won’t see me and will just keep on walking by.

But I’m not fooling anyone—myself or Bailey.

“I’m terrified,” I admit.

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