Page 21 of My One and Only

Cam kissed her again and set her on the floor. “How’s my favorite girl tonight?”he asked.

Fiona giggled. “I’m your only girl, Daddy,” she said.”

As he nuzzled his daughter’s neck, a picture of Jo flashed in his mind, but he ignored it. Jo was a ghost from his childhood. He was an adult now, with adult responsibilities. And a daughter who meant more to him than anything else. He inhaled her scent again, drawing it deep into his lungs.

Protecting Fiona meant shielding her from the women he occasionally dated. None of those women had met Fiona. Most of them didn’t even know he had a daughter, and that was the way he liked it. She washis, and he wasn’t about to let any woman coo over Fiona to endear themselves to Cam.

Shifting her in his arms, he headed toward the living room. “Did you have fun with Grandma after school today?”

Fiona chattered away, telling Cam everything she and his mother had done. “Grandma made spaghetti for dinner,” she said happily. “And she said there’s enough for tomorrow.”

“Wow,” Cam said. “You’re one lucky girl. I wish I could have spaghetti two days in a row.”

“You can have it with me tomorrow,” Fiona assured him. “Grandma told me there’s enough for you, too.”

“Your grandma is too good to me,” Cam said, and he meant every word. He had no idea how he’d cope if his parents didn’t live close by.

“My homework is all done already,” Fiona said proudly. “Come look at it.”

“Let’s say goodbye to Grandma first, so she can get home. Then I want to look at your homework. But I bet you got it all right.”

“I’ll bet you a bowl of ice cream that I did,” Fiona said with a huge smile.

“I’ll take that bet,” he said. His little girl was scary smart. His jaw hardened. No thanks to Ashley, Fiona’s mother. She’d dumped the girl on his parents every chance she had.

His mom met them on their way into the living room. “How was your meeting, Cam?”she asked.

He shrugged one shoulder. “You know how business meetings are. Tedious and boring, but necessary.” His dinner with Jo had been anything but boring, but he wasn’t going to tell his mother that. Back when he was in high school, his mom had known Jo well. If she knew Jo was in town, she’d nag him mercilessly to bring Jo around to the house so they could get reacquainted.

That was the last thing he’d do. If he brought Jo over to his house, she’d meet Fiona. He had a hard and fast rule about women he saw -- none of them met Fiona. None of them even knew he had a daughter. And that’s the way he liked it. No woman would get a chance to get close to Fiona, then abandon her and crush her heart the way her mother had done.

“Maybe you should go on a date instead of to a business meeting,” she murmured, being careful that Fiona didn’t hear her.

Cam drew in a breath to tell her he wasn’t interested in dating, but it was too late. His mom had bent and hugged Fiona, then kissed her cheek. “I’ll see you after school tomorrow,” she said. “Maybe we’ll go to the library so you can check out some books.” She cupped her granddaughter’s face in her hands and bent to press a kiss to her cheek. “You’re such a good reader.”

“Yeah, Grandma!” Fiona jumped up and down. “I want to go to the libary.”

“Then that’s what we’ll do.” She turned to Cam and kissed his cheek. “Take care of my girl for me.”

“You know I will, Mom,” Cam said, brushing a kiss against her smooth cheek. “See you tomorrow evening.”

“I’ll be here. No where else I’d rather be.”

She slipped out the door, and Cam locked it behind her. “Did Grandma give you a bath?”he asked, realizing she wore her princess pajamas.

“Yes, she did,” Fiona said, beaming at him. “All the animals took baths, too.” She snickered. “Some of them didn’t like their baths.”

“I hope you were stern with them and made sure they got in the tub,” Cam said, taking his daughter’s hand and leading her to the living room. “No one wants smelly animals in the house.”

“I made sure they were all clean,” she assured him. She ran to the small bench that sat by the back door and grabbed her school backpack. “Here’s my homework, Daddy,” she said, waving some papers.

“Let’s take a look,” he said. Fiona cuddled into his side as he looked over her reading and math homework. Finally, he hugged her close and planted a kiss on her cheek. “Great job, Fee. Looks like you got yourself a bowl of ice cream,” he said. “Why don’t you pick out a book to read while I get it.”

As he returned with a small bowl, he saw Fiona sitting on the floor in front of the bookcase. Finally she chose one and brought it over to him. “Can we read another chapter of this one?”she asked, handing himHarry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.

“Ooh, this is one of my favorites,” Cam said. “I read this when I was a little older than you.” He pulled Fiona close. “Did you pick this because you knew I liked it?”

Fiona nodded. “I know you like the Harry Potter stories,” she said.

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