Page 171 of Already At Risk
“Hmm.” She pressed her lips together in thought. “I can have two dads, can’t I? Percy Jackson does.”
I laughed, happiness floating out of me. “You sure can.”
One summer after
NATALIE
“Three,” I called across the beach.
My daughter crouched down, ready to dive headfirst into the sparkling Cape Cod waters. “This time, you’re goingdown,” she threatened.
“Two!”
Cameron laughed, lining up next to her. Salt water ran in rivulets down his muscled body, his swimsuit plastered to thick thighs, dripping from their last race. He’d won that one. “Did you just threaten to drown me, Chloe?”
She just shrugged.
“One!”
My two loves splashed into the water simultaneously, taking off across the length of the beach in front of our rental cottage. I sank my toes deeper into the sand and watched, smiling to myself as Cameron stopped every few feet to look over at Chloe and make sure she hadn’t fallen too far behind. She was a strong swimmer, but just the stretch and power of his body meant he pulled ahead with every stroke. With every sport they played together, he liked to make sure she won some and lost some. Keep it balanced.
This time, Chloe made it past the line they drew in the sand on shore and jumped up, raising her fists above her head in a victory stance.
Cameron pulled up behind her, shaking the water out of hisface and pretending to act winded and defeated, slapping a hand to his broad, bare chest. “What a champ,” he said with a smile. “As usual.”
He was such a beautiful man. How had I gotten so lucky?
Crouching in the water, he turned his back toward Chloe, who immediately jumped onto it, wrapping one arm around his neck while raising the other in a pumping motion as they took a little victory lap.
“I think it’s your mom’s turn,” Cameron announced, turning toward me and flashing dimples he knew I’d have a hard time saying no to. “You think you can beat her, Champ?”
“Oh, yeah,” Chloe said, waving a hand like that was no big deal.
Rude.
“What do you think, Mama?” Cameron called.
“I think it’s pretty comfy here on the sand!” I called back, sinking lower in my beach chair.
“Come on, Mom!” Chloe encouraged, sliding off Cameron’s back.
Cameron raised a brow at me. “Do I need to come get you, Sunshine?”
Sighing dramatically, I nodded. “I think you might.”
His warm, brown gaze heated me from the inside out as he emerged from the water, all wet and perfectly sculpted. I tried not to stare too hard; after all, my daughter wasrightthere. But Cameron clocked my wandering gaze immediately, smirking as he marched through the sand.
“Careful there, Mama,” he murmured as he approached, sun bright across his face. His eyes roamed over me appreciatively. “There are consequences for looking at me like that. Especially when you’re sitting there in that hot little swimsuit, looking absolutelyedible.”
“Consequences?” My lips twisted. “I was hoping you’d say that.”
Cameron shook his head, husky laughter fillingthe air.
And thenIwas in the air, getting thrown over his shoulder as he charged back toward the water, my daughter cheering in the background.
I’d never been more happy to dive deep into something.
Afterward, when the sun had begun to go down and Cameron had built a fire on the beach, I strolled along the water’s edge, listening to the crackle and pop filling the summer air and appreciating the scene. Chloe was curled into a cocoon of blankets on the sand, Cameron’s old copy ofThe Lightning Thiefin her hands. When I’d warned her to be careful with it, Cameron had shrugged the idea off.
