The Stubborn Suitor, Book 3 (The Stubborn Suitor #3)(10)

To combat her wayward imagination, she continued to remind herself that she couldn’t trust Drew. He was hot and cold. That was his MO. Sure, he was all about Cami and Madison right now, but he’d already proved that they weren’t his top priority. She couldn’t let herself get attached and she shouldn’t be allowing her daughter to get attached either.

By the time they sat down to dinner, Cami was deep in her head, caught up in her own conflicting thoughts. Drew had to have noticed her change in mood, but he didn’t say or act any differently. When she was slow to respond, he would simply turn to Madison and speak to her instead.

Drew eventually handed Madison off to Cami to get situated in her highchair while he plated up their meals and brought them to the table. Cami had to admit that the food was amazing. Everyone had a healthy portion of homemade macaroni and cheese.

“This is amazing,” Cami gushed after she swallowed her first bite of the creamy pasta. “I’ve never had it home made before. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to eat the boxed kind again.”

“Glad you enjoy it,” Drew replied with a sheepish smile. “I have to admit, it’s my sister’s recipe. I wasn’t quite sure what to make for Madison.”

“Well,” Cami said, forgetting her reticence, “you did a great job.”

Dinner was a warm affair after that. Cami was surprised—though by now she probably shouldn’t have been—to see that Drew paused his own meal to help Madison eat just as much as Cami herself did.

After the meal, Cami excused herself to bathe her daughter and put her to bed. Drew told her to take her time, as he had a huge mess to clean up.

“Don’t worry about it,” Cami told him. “You cooked. The least I can do is clean.”

“I don’t mind,” Drew said. “You just take care of your daughter.”

Madison did not want to say good night to Drew and it was a fussy bath time. Thankfully, however, she’d tuckered herself out and was asleep before Cami could even finish one bedtime story.

Cami sat at the foot of her daughter’s bed for the second night in a row, too reluctant to go confront the man in her kitchen. But, Cami was under no delusions that Drew would leave if she hid out in Madison’s bedroom here long enough.

What was he expecting? Did he think they were going to have sex? Were they going to have sex? Did Cami want that? Her body was screaming yes, reminding her of their last few passionate trysts together. But, in her heart, she knew it was a bad idea.

Deciding to take each moment as it came, she eventually headed back towards the kitchen. To her surprise, the kitchen was spotless, with all the food put away and the dishes clean. But Drew was nowhere to be seen, so she wandered into the living room.

Drew was sitting at one end of the couch. On the coffee table before him was the bottle of wine, with both of their glasses topped off.

Hesitantly, Cami made her way into the living room and perched at the other end of the couch. Drew leaned forward, picking up her glass and handing it to her. But then, instead of staying close to her as Cami had been expecting, Drew returned to his end of the couch, leaving a good bit of distance between them.

“So,” Drew began. “I promised you an explanation.” Cami didn’t say anything, so Drew continued. “I know I’ve seemed distracted lately and haven’t been able to give you the attention you deserve. But that’s all changed now. I promise.”

Cami wanted to speak up, tell him that damn right, he hadn’t given her the attention she deserved, and to demand answers. But, instead, she remained silent, giving Drew a chance to speak his piece.

“For the last several months, I’ve been in the middle of trying to sell my company. When we met, at the Emersons’ beach house, I was only there because I was trying to impress an investor. The man—James Cook—was there with his awful wife and daughter. You met his daughter, remember? We had breakfast together. Her name was Analise… She wouldn’t shut up about herself.”

“I remember,” Cami replied.

Her mind went back to that weekend. She knew exactly the moment he was talking about. Cami and Drew had been having breakfast together the morning after they’d fooled around on the beach. He’d seemed to really be interested in her—until Analise had shown up. Then Drew had shifted his attention solely to the conceited model. Cami had been hurt and confused at the time but, if he was trying to impress her father, his actions made a bit more sense.

“Anyway. The man that was offering to buy my company, Sylvester Kenton, he didn’t want to finalize the deal until his investor—Cook—signed off on it. And Cook didn’t want to sign off on the contract that I had insisted upon. You see, I was stipulating that none of my employees be terminated. I couldn’t bring myself to sell unless they were all secure. But I didn’t want to hold on to my company anymore. Too much stress. Too many long hours. I wanted to settle down, start a family. So that’s where my focus has been for the last few months. That’s why I’ve been busy and unable to treat you the way you deserve to be treated. But the deal was finalized on Saturday. The company is sold. I’m free to take care of you now and I want to do that.”

“Why,” Cami interrupted, genuinely bewildered, “why didn’t you just tell me that? It would have been so much easier than acting all hot and cold around me.”