Page 21 of Their Stolen Kisses
Chapter 10
Diana
“Hi, Mom.” I expertly held the phone between my shoulder and my ear so I could flip the pancakes on the griddle, peering over the countertop to make sure Noah was playing on the floor where I’d left him so I could make us a proper Saturday morning breakfast.
“Hi, Honey. Are you busy? I can call back.”
“Not at all,” I promised. “What’s up?”
“Nothing, really. I just wanted to hear your voice.”
“Well then, good morning.” I scooped the pancakes onto a plate and poured batter into the pan for two more. “Don’t you usually sit on the balcony with Eli in the morning?”
“Usually. He has an appointment this morning.”
“And how’s he doing?” I couldn’t entirely keep the suggestiveness out of my voice.
“Are we that obvious?”
“Well… I might have caught you two kissing on the balcony.” I switched the phone from my left hand to my right hand, grinning at my mother’s surprised exclamation.
“I even looked to see if anyone was coming up to the building,” my mother laughed. “I can’t imagine how I missed you. Oh, well. Eli is doing great, for your information. My blood pressure is back down, but they’re still monitoring me.”
“That’s great, Mom! I got more work as an overnight nanny. I might be able to make two payments this month.” Tapping the speakerphone icon, I set the phone on the counter so I could chop strawberries.
“Really. For Cameron?”
“Yeah. For Cameron.” My mom’s question reminded me what I had been thinking about just before she called, and I chopped a strawberry a little more aggressively than necessary.
“Are you okay?”
Trust my mom to catch that tiny, tiny note in my voice that said I wasn’t okay. “I might have feelings for him,” I admitted, face warming at the memory of that day in the office. “And… and he might be interested in me.”
“And you’re probably trying to convince yourself out of a relationship because he’s your boss, aren’t you? Workplace relationships can work, Diana. You should trust your heart.”
“But I’ve done that before, Mom, I trusted my heart and it was a mistake.” These strawberries could definitely be in smaller pieces. I went at them with a will.
“That was a long time ago. You’ve matured so much.”
“Maybe.” Suddenly unwilling to talk about Cameron, I picked up the phone. “Actually, sorry, can I let you go, Mom? I’m making breakfast for Noah and me, and I’m just about finished.”
“Sure. Talk to you later. I love you.”
“Love you too, Mom.” I traded a phone for the cutting board and scraped half of the strawberries into a bowl, watching as they fell and slicing one or two up a little better. Preschoolers could eat most things adults could, but they were still prone to choking. The other half was for me, and that went in another bowl. It would have been easier to cut just half the strawberries, but when I babysat my little cousins, I found that kids didn’t like to feel singled out. If Noah and I ate the exact same meal, he would feel like my equal.
I flipped the last pancakes out of the pan, turned off the stove, and fixed two plates, keeping the syrup to a minimum, of course. “Breakfast!” I announced, my voice containing a cheerfulness I didn’t quite feel. An excited Noah followed me to the coffee table, where I placed his food so he could sit and watch one of the two shows he was allowed to see daily during breakfast.
I opted to eat my own food in the kitchen, preferring to keep my less-than-cheerful thoughts away from Noah’s bouncy morning happiness.
Cameron would get home in just a few hours, bringing with him news of some sort. Maybe he would walk in and tell me he had to go to yet another court date. He could also smile and tell me that he had retained custody of Noah. If he came in with red eyes or a set mouth, then he would have lost the case - but I doubted he would cry outright in front of Noah.
Or, there was another option that my brain had maliciously reminded me about multiple times a day since I’d come here to take care of Noah. Cameron could walk into his house, look me in the eyes, and tell me he’d decided to get back together with his ex-wife.
Whenever he talked about her, he got this wistful sheen in his eyes. No matter what she did to him or how she tried to intrude upon his life, he never sounded angry or upset. Clearly, some small part of him still loved her. She was Noah’s mother, and Noah needed a mother. If Cameron would have her back - if his ex-wife wanted to rekindle what they had - wouldn’t it be best for Noah if his parents reconnected? And Cameron was all about what was best for Noah...
All I could say was that it wouldn’t be the first time a man said or showed in some way that he cared about me, then threw it all in my face. There was a word for that; a phrase, more accurately.
Stringing along.
