Page 22 of My One and Only

“I do, but I want to read a book that you like,” he said. He curled his arm around her waist. “Put Harry Potter back and pick a book that’s your favorite.”

Fiona hurried over to the bookcase and inserted the Harry Potter book in its slot, then stared at the bookshelf for a long moment. Then she pulled out a book and hurried over to the couch.

“Catwings,” Cam said, and his mouth curled into a smile. “I love this book, too,” he said, and pulled Fiona onto his lap. Her sweet scent enveloped him as he read the book, and she relaxed against his chest, her breathing slowing down.

“Can we readCatwings Returnstomorrow?”she asked.

“I’d love that,” he said.

When they’d finished reading and he was tucking Fiona into bed, she rolled onto her side and studied him for a long moment. “Do you ever go on dates?”Fiona finally asked.

“A date?”he repeated, shocked at the question. “What makes you ask that?”

“Grandma asked if you were on a date. What’s that?”

Cam struggled for a description that Fiona would understand. “It’s when a man and a woman want to get to know each other better,” he finally said.

“Chrystal’s mother has a boyfriend,” she said, her expression hopeful. “Chrystal told me Bob brings her a present every time he comes to their house.”

“Sorry, sweetheart,” Cam said, nuzzling Fiona’s neck. “I’ve already got a girlfriend.”

“You do?”Fiona asked, bouncing on the couch. “Is she gonna come over to meet me? Bring me a present?”

“You’re my girlfriend, Fiona,” Cam said, poking gently at her tummy. “You’re the only girl I want.”

Fiona’s mouth quivered. “But I want presents,” she whined.

“You get presents for your birthday. For Christmas. And I suspect your Grandma brings you plenty of presents.”

“She does,” Fiona agreed. “But if you had a girlfriend, she’d kind of be my mommy, right? I want a mommy.”

“Oh, sweetheart,” Cam murmured, pulling Fiona onto his lap and wrapping his arms around her. “I know you’d like a mommy. But there’s no store where I could go pick one out for you. I think we’re managing pretty well, you and I and your Grandma and Pop Pop. Don’t you?”

Fiona nodded slowly. “I love Grandma and Pop Pop. But they’re not Mommies.”

“I know, baby. You know your mommy is in heaven, right?” Heaven, he suspected, was the last place Ashley would end up. Not after the way she’d neglected her daughter and made her cry far too often.

Fiona studied him, her eyes sad. “I know that,” she finally said. “But if you had a girlfriend, I could pretend she was my mommy.”

Cam stroked his hand down his daughter’s blond hair. “I know, sweetheart. But I don’t have time for a girlfriend.” An image of Jo filled his head, and he shook it away. After fifteen years, she still made his heart beat faster. He was still attracted to her. “I’m too busy working. But I think we have fun together in the evenings, right? And on the weekends?”

“We do,” Fiona said. She swallowed. “Maybe someday you’ll have a girlfriend.”

“You never know,” Cam said. His heart clenched at the memory of Jo’s smile. Of the way she’d touched his arm. It would be far too easy to fall for Jo all over again. He pulled his daughter close to his side. “How about this weekend we go down to the river and feed the ducks. I bet they’d love some bread.”

“Yeah!”Fiona said, bouncing on the couch. “I wanna feed the ducks.”

“Then we’ll do that this weekend,” he promised. Thank God he’d distracted her from her girlfriend questions. Glancing at his watch, he said, “It’s time for bed now, though.”

“Okay.” She slid off his lap and held up her arms so Cam could carry her to bed. He tucked her in, kissed her forehead then said, “Sleep tight, sweetheart. I’ll see you in the morning.”

“’Night, Daddy,” his daughter said, her eyes drifting closed already.

Leaving her door cracked, so he could hear if she called for him, Cam returned to the living room and threw himself onto the couch. Was he doing the right thing for Fiona?

Then he remembered the way Ashley had jerked both of them around. He was certain she’d been having an affair before she died in that car accident. She’d gone off the road and into the river, and she’d drowned when she hadn’t been able to get out of the car. The coroner had found a high level of alcohol in her blood.

But by the time she’d died, their marriage had been over. Instead of divorcing her, he’d tried to save the marriage for Fiona’s sake. But he’d seen Fiona crying, cringing and covering her ears when Ashley was drunk and loud, and that had been the last straw. He’d begun filing for divorce, but then she’d had the accident. He was sad that Fiona had lost her mother when she was only three years old, and sorry that Ashley had died. But he and Fiona had done just fine these last three years. His parents helped as much as they could, and he was content with their life.

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