Page 25 of Staying for You

“I asked you about buying this place?”

“Oh. Right. Sorry.”

“It’s okay. You seemed lost in thought.”

I was.

Thoughts about her. And how she seems to fit in here so well and how much I like seeing her at The Escape and I barely know her. I want to ask what brought her here. I want to tell her we’ve talked enough about me and it’s time she shared a little more about herself. I want to understand so much about her but I can’t figure out why. We’ve spent a few hours together and I want to stretch every minute.

It makes no sense.

The last person I felt this way about was my sister’s friend Lily. And nothing ever came of my feelings for her. I always thought we just needed to get our timing down for us to be together. That she was the one and I just needed to be patient. But then she met someone.Theone, actually. And she married him. And I was hundreds of miles away getting myself drunk on the day she walked down the aisle to another man.

I didn’t have the courage to go after her when I had the chance.

But Cami’s not here to date anyone. She’s just a guest.

It’d be good to remind myself of that.

So instead of asking about her like I want to, I resolve her curiosity by answering her questions.

“Harry made it clear that he wanted The Escape to be in the hands of someone who didn’t want to change it from being the low-key vacation spot that it always was. I must have shown him that’s what I loved most about the place. After I left here to go back home to Michigan, he met with his family, asked them what they would do with it if he left it to them in his will and they made it clear they’d end up selling the property one day.”

She was staring at Issy in her arms while I was speaking but at the mention of the family selling the resort, her head popped up and cobalt blue eyes widened in disbelief. “Really? That seems…”

“Heartless?” I ask and she nods. I take a big swig of my coffee and keep hold of the mug. “I thought so, too. But really, they were just being truthful. And that’s all he’d asked for. He told me his family never had the heart for it the way he did. And that’s okay. Nothing wrong with having different dreams than your parents. To them, they just saw an old-fashioned hole in the wall resort that was a time and money suck. To me, I saw nothing but possibilities.”

Her eyes soften and she lifts Issy up to a sitting position when her bottle is gone and she starts fussing at still being reclined back. She rubs her back and rests her cheek on the top of Issy’s head, eyes still on me as she waits for me to continue story time. Brody’s been playing quietly on the floor and walking around, snooping in the new space.

“You said his family seemed grateful that you took it on?”

I nod and swallow hard, wiping my palms on my jean-covered thighs then lean over, resting my forearms on my legs, holding the cup with the tips of my fingers. “Yeah. They were. When he was,” I pause, looking at nothing in particular on the wall, “at his sickest, all they wanted was for him to have peace before he… passed on. And that’s what he got. In the end. Because he knew The Escape would be well cared for.”

“By you.”

“By me,” I agree.

Our eyes lock and she offers me a faint smile. Her lips are closed, not showing me her teeth. Man, she’s pretty. Really pretty. I’m pretty sure she isn’t wearing a bit of makeup, aside from maybe whatever was left over from yesterday and wasn’t washed away completely.

Issy reaches for me, breaking the hold that Cami had on me and I happily take her into my arms. Glad for the distraction of the kids.

“Brody?” I call out, noticing he’s been quiet for a few seconds more than I’d like. He can get into more crap in a split second than anyone I know. He’s curious, lacks fear, and incredibly adventurous. A bad combination.

I hear him giggle and stand up, wondering what he’s gotten into. I shoot Cami an apologetic look and follow the sound of his innocent sounding laughter, which I’m afraid is far from innocent.

And when I walk into the bathroom, I know why.

He’s sitting on the floor surrounded by tampons and pads.

Not in the packaging anymore, either. There’s plastic tubes, cotton, string that he somehow got removed from the cotton, and wrappers all over the bathroom floor. I keep hold of Issy with one arm while I cover my mouth with the other. A laugh escapes and then I feel a hand on my back and hear a gasp.

I look behind me and grin. “Oh my gosh!” Cami screeches then covers her face, burying her head into my back.

“Whatcha got there, B-man?” I can barely get the words out without laughing.

He turns his stout little body to look at us and I can’t contain my laughter. He has a pad stuck to his chest and he’s so dang proud of himself. He’s just beaming with happiness as he points to his chest.

“Yeah. I see, buddy. You found a fun sticker, huh?” I ask, voice full of humor.

---