The Stubborn Suitor, Book 3 (The Stubborn Suitor #3)(4)

Eventually, Cami nodded in consent and followed Drew back towards the cars, locking the door behind her. She knew that this was probably a bad idea, but, at the moment, Cami couldn’t bring herself to care.





3





Cami





The drive to Ken’s place was awkward. Other than sparing a few words to give Drew directions, Cami sat in silence. Drew opened his mouth to speak a couple of times, but obviously decided that it was better not to try and embark on an inevitably heated conversation on their way to Cami’s ex’s house.

Cami, for her part, was overwhelmed by emotions, each battling for a place at the forefront of her mind. She couldn’t help but think about what Drew had just implied and wonder about the state of their relationship. Was she going to give him another chance? Should she? On top of that, he was about to meet her daughter. Even if it was simply out of necessity, it was an enormous step.

On a completely different note, Cami was anxious to see Ken and Natalie. Last time she’d picked up Madison had been a disaster. She really didn’t want a repeat performance.

When thinking about things in that light, she couldn’t help but be glad that Drew was there to support her. Her arrival at Ken’s house in a BMW, driven by a tall, dark, sexy man, made her feel a lot less pathetic. She wanted Ken to see her moving on—to know that he wasn’t the only one who thought that they’d traded up since the divorce.

“Wait here!” she commanded as Drew steered his BMW right up next to Ken’s own Beemer.

Cami couldn’t keep the smile from her face when she realized that Drew’s was a much newer, nicer model. She knew that she was being petty, but she couldn’t bring herself to care.

“Sure thing,” Drew said with a wink.

He offered her a wide smile, complete with dimples. His dark eyes seemed to dance in the late afternoon sun and she had to remind herself to breathe as she got out of the car and made her way towards the house.

Cami didn’t even have to ring the bell before the door was opened and Madison was barreling into her arms.

“Mommy!” the little girl cried as Cami knelt to scoop her daughter up in a tight hug.

“I’ve missed you, sweetheart,” Cami whispered into Madison’s hair as she kissed her daughter’s head.

“Missed you,” Madison repeated, returning her hug.

“New car?” Ken’s voice interrupted her blissful moment, and Cami looked up with a glare over Madison’s shoulder.

She hadn’t talked to her ex since he’d called them after their first custody meeting and tried to talk her into giving up primary custody without a fight. He had since filed a petition for full custody and, if it weren’t for the presence of their daughter, Cami would have to fight not to claw his eyes out because of it. Instead, she just smiled.

“No. It’s my boyfriend’s,” she replied.

She didn’t know why she lied. Her and Drew’s relationship was way too complicated to be using such terms. And it was none of Ken’s business anyway. But she relished the shock on his face as he looked across the driveway. Cami turned to see Drew staring back, glaring murderously at Ken. Cami wasn’t sure why, but it made her like Drew all the more.

“Not that it’s any of your business,” Cami continued, grabbing Madison’s bag from Ken’s hand. “Now say goodbye to your dad Madison!”

“Bye, Da!” Madison called, but didn’t reach back to hug or kiss the man goodbye.

Cami couldn’t help but wonder whether she would have reached for Natalie, had she been the one at the door. Cami shook the thought out of her head and turned towards Drew’s car.

“Boyfriend!” Madison shrieked as Cami opened the back door to get her situated in the car seat.

Cami cringed and avoided Drew’s questioning glance.

“What happened to ‘not telling her who I am’?” he asked with a smile as she slid into the passenger’s seat next to him a minute later.

“I didn’t tell her that,” Cami said, which was really only half a lie, as she’d told Ken that, not Madison. “Ken made an assumption.”

“Good.” Drew simply replied.

Cami opened her mouth to argue, but Madison’s little voice from the back seat interrupted her.

“Something fun, Mom?” Madison asked.

Cami’s heart sank. She was hoping her daughter hadn’t remembered the promise she’d made on Friday.

“Not today, sweetheart. I’m sorry. I know, I promised, but Mommy’s car is broken. That’s why Mr. Drew is giving us a ride. As soon as it’s fixed we’ll do something fun. I promise.”

“Mr. Drew!” Madison cried, seemingly having stopped listening after Cami had mentioned him. “Boyfriend.”

Cami cringed again. She was still turned towards the backseat, watching her daughter, but she could see the look of delight on Drew’s face out of the corner of her eye.

“We can go do something fun!” Drew offered. “I don’t mind. I don’t have any plans.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Cami said, but Madison’s shrieks from the back seat interrupted her again.

“Something fun! Something fun!” the little girl was squealing with delight.