The Stubborn Suitor, Book 3 (The Stubborn Suitor #3)(7)

Cami realized that she was probably making a huge mistake, but she also knew that she was too far gone to fight the thing that was developing between them. Whatever happened was going to happen—she was helpless to fight it anymore—so she might as well enjoy the ride.





4





Drew





Drew slumped against the back of the town car, closing his eyes with a sigh as the driver took him to his house.

The night had gone better than expected. He’d thought he’d maybe run into Cami—if he was lucky—and they would argue. He’d assumed things wouldn’t be resolved easily, but he’d at least get to—hopefully—see her beautiful face and let her know that he was still around and not planning on going anywhere.

Instead, he’d found her in need of assistance and he’d been able to play the knight in shining armor, swooping in and being exactly what she needed. It wasn’t everything she would need in order to feel secure in their relationship again—if she ever had—but it was a start. It was way more than he could have hoped for.

And he’d had way more fun than he’d thought he would while spending time with Madison. Drew had always known that he loved children—and he spent a good amount of time with his nephew Robbie—but Madison had been a delight that he hadn’t been expecting. She was just as spirited and lively as her mother. She had her intelligence as well. Despite the short amount of time he’d been around Cami’s daughter, he found himself feeling as attached to her as he was to her mother.

As they had played together and then eaten together—with Madison perched happily on Drew’s lap—he couldn’t help but imagine what it would be like if they were a real family; if both Cami and Madison were his family.

One day, he told himself. One day that dream would be a reality—he would ensure it. As he’d watched Madison pick up her daughter earlier in the evening, he’d stared daggers at the man who currently called himself Madison’s father. Even before Drew had the pleasure of getting to know Madison, he had known that Cami’s ex was complete scum—undeserving of the title of a father. And Drew was going to make sure the man didn’t carry it for long.

His home was brightly lit when Drew got home, which was still surprising. Drew wasn’t used to having a house full of people. Not that it was full per se, but Robbie was such a handful that he made it feel full all on his own.

“Uncle D,” came a screech from the boy in question as Robbie threw himself at him, assuming that he would be caught before he hit the ground.

And, of course, Drew lunged forward to scoop his nephew into a tight hug. “I’m surprised you’re still up, little man,” Drew said, raising an eyebrow at his sister, who had followed her son into the room.

“Yeah, I guess his uncle had brought him some candy from New York City, which he ate in one sitting, without telling me,” Elsie replied, raising an eyebrow of her own. “He’s all yours to put to bed, since this is your fault.”

Elsie smirked, and Drew couldn’t even find it in himself to complain. It had been so long since he’d seen his sister smile—years, really, after her marriage had started taking a drastic turn for the worse—and he was powerless against it now. Instead, he carried his nephew into the room that had quickly become the boy’s bedroom. There were already superhero posters all over the walls, and the bed was shaped like the Bat-mobile.

“I can’t believe you’re wearing Spider-man pajamas,” Drew teased as he set Robbie down on the bed. “How can you even live with yourself, crawling into the Bat-mobile in Spider-man pajamas? What would Batman say?”

“Batman and Spiderman are friends,” Robbie replied, launching into a long-winded, sugar-fueled tale about Batman and Spiderman’s crime-fighting adventures.

Drew wasn’t even really listening, though he nodded and gasped at regular intervals as if he was. Instead, he simply marveled at the excitement in his nephew’s eyes—excitement that hadn’t been there a month ago.

Since Elsie had left her abusive husband, Robbie had flourished. While both Drew and his sister had expected the boy to take it hard, crying and asking for his father at regular intervals, Robbie had proved them wrong. The shy and mostly silent child had become a rowdy, rambunctious boy.

Drew couldn’t imagine the trouble he and Madison could get up to together. He couldn’t wait to schedule a play date between the two of them. He also wanted Cami and Elsie to get to know each other—they both had similar stories.

Elsie probably felt like she already knew Cami, given how much Drew had been talking about her. He had expected his sister to give him a hard time—she’d never liked his ex-wife, after all. But Elsie had been nothing but supportive, listening patiently as Drew rambled on and on about the woman who had captured his heart.

Eventually, Robbie’s energy petered out and Drew kissed him on the forehead before leaving him to drift off to sleep—probably still fighting crime with the superheroes in his head.

When he made his way back into the living room, Elsie was still up. She motioned for him to sit next to her on the sofa and handed him a glass of wine.

“So?” she prompted once he was comfortable.

“So?” he repeated, playing dumb.

“I take it that, since you weren’t back twenty minutes after you left, you at least got to see her.”