Page 56 of The Summer Arrangement
Standing from the bed, he walks gloriously naked to his dresser and pulls a pair of boxers from his drawer, then tosses me a t-shirt. “Here put this on.” Then with a sexy smirk, he shrugs. “I’m not exactly sure where your clothes are.”
Thinking back to last night, I grin. “You and me both, buddy.”
Once we’re in the kitchen, Cameron goes through the motion of making blueberry pancakes. To pass the time, I cut some cantaloupe and make each of us a cup of coffee.
When I ask if he wants creamer, he shakes his head. “Just black coffee for me.”
“You have peppermint creamer in the fridge; don’t you drink it?” I point out, clearly confused.
“No…” he draws out, lifting his head to face me. “But you do.”
He winks, and my belly swarms with butterflies. He’s always putting others’ needs first. I have no idea what he’ll tell me about Emilia’s mom, but I find it hard to believe my feelings for him could change because of it.
The next thing I know, we’re sitting at the bar, half-naked for breakfast.
His black t-shirt hits me mid-thigh and since I didn’t want to spend any time apart from him searching for my underwear, I settled for this. He’s wearing a pair of boxers and nothing more. He’s sexy as sin and if we didn’t have more pressing issues to address, I might suggest skipping breakfast and feasting on him instead.
Grinning at the thought, I muse, “I could get used to this.”
His navy-blue eyes smolder as he looks me over from head to my painted pink toes. “So could I, Elizabeth.”
After a few bites, I break the silence by ripping the Band-Aid off the elephant stampeding in the room. “So where exactly is Emilia’s mom?”
“I honestly don’t know,” he admits.
When my eyes widen, he quickly adds, “Like I said, it’s a really long story that starts with a short beginning…” He darts his eyes to mine and back to his food before adding, “Which is why I… Think you might think differently of me.”
“Okay…” I drag out. My mind is already racing with possibilities, but I’m hoping my silence prompts him to put me out of my misery soon.
Clearing his throat he starts, “I met Heather, Emilia’s mom, in Boston. I was on tour, promoting Purple Flame, an alternative rock band. They were making a name for themselves and had quite a bit of groupies. I was fresh out of college and singleas could be, living up the rockstar lifestyle. My life consisted of riding the tour bus, promoting the hell out of the band, and searching for new talent.”
I cringe at that last bit; I know exactly what kind of lifestyle he was living. My sisters have spent months on tour buses, and the single guys are never lonely, or so I’m told.
Cameron takes a long drink of juice, then continues, “Heather had come to an after party with her friends. She wasn’t interested in the band as it was her friend’s favorite. She had never even heard of them and was just along for the ride. Apparently, from the moment they arrived at the party, she had her eyes set on me. She was on vacation from Salt Lake, attending college and was looking for an experience she’d never forget.
“I was young… Dumb… And… Well, you get it. Being part of management, I was never into groupies. But when we started talking, and she told me she wasn’t into the guys in the band whatsoever, and her interest was only in me, it made her stand out from other girls I’d met on tour. As we talked, we quickly found we had more in common than I would’ve imagined… Not that it matters.”
Sighing heavily, he shakes his head and looks to me. “I won’t lie to you. You’ve seen Emilia. She’s beautiful… And she gets a lot of that from her mom. Sure, I’m mixed in there… But keep in mind, I was twenty-four… Single and living what I thought was my best life touring with the guys from Purple Flame.”
“Most guys that age would do the same,” I admit.
“Heather and I literally spent one night together… Hell… I wouldn’t even call it that. A few hours at best… But it changed my life forever.”
Sighing heavily, he glances my way. “I swear to you, I never heard from her again until nearly eight months later. By then, Iwas back in LA, and she was long forgotten. Heather tracked me down via the label and made an appointment to meet with me.”
My stomach clenches when he adds, “As awful as it is, I didn’t even know her last name. When she walked into my office, round belly and all, I was shocked to say the least. I recognized her instantly but didn’t understand why she’d track me down.”
Holy shit, I can’t imagine being a fly on that wall.
“At first, I’d thought for sure she was out for money… If the baby was even mine. Everyone would question it… Given our circumstances. But Heather didn’t come to ask anything of me.”
“What do you mean?” I ask, curiosity getting the better of me.
“She walked into my office and simply stated, ‘Cameron, I know you don’t know me, but you’re the only person I’ve slept with since losing my virginity to Justin Ames my senior year of high school.
“The way she said it made me believe her. What drove her point home was when she told me she originally had planned to get an abortion. But her parents were extremely religious and convinced her to put the baby up for adoption instead. She told me there was a family picked out at her church, but she couldn’t go through with the adoption without letting me know first.”
The weight of the room is heavy as he takes in another deep breath and continues, “She already felt guilty enough walking away from her unborn child… But she’d made the choice and was determined to follow through with her decision. She had goals for herself and knew being a mom at her age wasn’t what was best for the child.”
