“Ugh…why?” At least Maggie looked appropriately upset by that news.
“No clue. And they were holding hands the entire time and were all lovey-dovey.”
Ashley made an angry noise, shaking her head.
“Sam brought his new girlfriend to some of the divorce hearings too. I think he was just trying to intimidate me.”
“Yeah, I’m pretty sure that’s what Ken was doing,” Cami replied. “And, afterwards, he called me all warm and friendly like.”
“That’s weird,” Ashley said.
“I thought so, too,” Cami agreed. “Until I realized he was trying to talk me into backing down and giving up primary custody of Madison without a fight.”
“That bastard,” Maggie proclaimed a little too loudly. One of the doctors looked at them funny and the girls couldn’t help but giggle before turning serious again.
“Maybe he’s doing all of this because he knows he can’t actually win in court,” Ashley offered.
“Yeah, that’s what Drew said.”
The words were out of Cami’s mouth before she could stop them, and she saw Maggie’s eyes grow wide. Oh well, she thought. She’d been debating asking Maggie for advice anyway, so she might as well spill.
“Who’s Drew?” Ashley asked before Maggie could speak.
“Drew is the guy I was telling you about,” Maggie said, giving Ashley a nudge.
Cami raised her eyebrows questioningly at the mention of the two other women discussing her private life without her, but it wasn’t like she could be critical. She and Maggie had talked about Ashley’s love life—or lack thereof since her divorce—plenty of times. So she let Maggie continue.
“You know, the guy she had a torrid affair with at my parents’ beach house,” Maggie said.
“It wasn’t a torrid affair,” Cami said, giving Maggie a playful push. “We met. He was hot and cold. One minute, he liked me, the next, he was an ass.”
“They had sex on the beach,” Maggie said in a whisper.
“We did not!” Cami insisted. “We just made out…and stuff.”
Ashley raised her eyebrows at the “and stuff,” but thankfully didn’t comment.
“And you’ve been talking to him?” Maggie asked. “Told you he’d call!”
“Yes, you were right!” Cami finally admitted.
“So, spill,” Maggie continued. “You’ve talked on the phone. Have you been on a date? Ooh, have you slept with him?”
Cami thought about lying, but she knew that the blush on her cheeks was giving her away.
“Oh, my God!” Maggie continued. “You slept with him. When?”
“He called me Thursday. You were out of town, and I needed something to take my mind off that Friday’s meeting. Madison was staying at my mom’s, and I was lonely. So we went out, had some drinks, and one thing led to another.”
Both Maggie and Ashley giggled.
“And?” Maggie prompted.
“And I woke up the next morning, and he was gone. No note or anything.” Maggie and Ashley both looked murderous, so Cami quickly continued the story before they could hunt Drew down and kill him. “He called later, after my meeting. I guess he’d had a super early meeting of his own and hadn’t meant to stay the night. He was running late and forgot to leave a note.”
“Ohhhh,” both women cooed.
“That’s so sweet that he called later to make sure you didn’t feel abandoned,” Ashley said.
Cami refrained from telling her that she’d already felt abandoned by the time she’d heard from him.
“So was that it?” Maggie asked, an almost manic look on her face as she pressed for every last detail about her interactions with Drew.
“No,” Cami admitted. “I was mad when I talked to him on Friday. It was right after that call from Ken. But I agreed to go out with him the following night, so we went on a date Saturday.”
“And have you heard from him yet?” Ashley asked.
“Yeah,” Cami said. “He called the next day.”
“Guys never call the next day,” Ashley replied, a surprised look on her face.
“Drew did,” Cami responded.
“So, when are you seeing him again?” Maggie asked.
“I’m not sure,” Cami admitted. This was the part she really wanted the women’s advice on, but she also knew that it was going to be hard to explain her reticence to Maggie, who was a little too invested in Cami’s love life. “I’m not sure if I’m going to see him again.”
“What?” Maggie asked, confused. “Why?”
“He called the next day,” Ashley added, still seemingly in shock about it. “Guys never call the next day. He really likes you.”
“That’s just it,” Cami said. “Sometimes, he does seem to really like me. But other times, he ignores me and spends all night flirting with skinny models.”
“I did notice that,” Maggie confirmed, then turned to Ashley to explain. “At the beach house, there was this girl Drew kept flirting with. Or, more honestly, who kept flirting with Drew.”
“And he was letting it happen,” Cami countered. “He was letting her hang all over him. He even started ignoring me when she joined us for breakfast.”
“Who was she?” Ashley asked with a frown.
“I don’t know her very well,” Maggie replied. “She was the daughter of some right-wing business guy my dad knows. I really didn’t talk to her much. But Cami is right, Drew was definitely encouraging the attention.”
“See,” Cami said emphatically. “He says he really likes me, that he wants to continue seeing me. But he’s been so unpredictable that I don’t really know what to believe. I have a daughter to think about and a lot going on right now. I don’t really have time to play games. And I really don’t want to get hurt again.”
Ashley nodded understandingly. Cami knew that Ashley had never really gotten back into the dating field after her nasty divorce.
“I’m going to get to the bottom of this,” Maggie stated, a mischievous look on her face. “I’ll figure out what’s going on.”
“Please don’t,” Cami replied. “I told you this because I want advice. I don’t want you to meddle. Things are already complicated enough without you sticking your pretty little head in the middle of it.”
Maggie looked torn for a minute, but finally nodded in agreement.
“Fine,” she said with a pained sigh. “But if you change your mind, I can talk to my brother. I know Grant and Drew were, like, best friends in college. They aren’t as close now, but Grant can find out what’s going on in Drew’s head.”
“I’ll let you know if I change my mind,” Cami said with a smile. “But don’t hold your breath.”
“As for now,” Ashley said, “I think all you can do is see where it goes. Try not to get attached, and just wait and see.”
“Yeah,” Cami replied.
Don’t get attached. That was so much easier said than done.
6
Cami
Despite her apprehension, Cami slowly allowed herself to picture a life with Drew. He seemed to genuinely like her, at least during their last few dates. In fact, the leaving-without-a-note incident aside, he hadn’t given her the cold treatment since their time at the beach house. And he’d more than explained his note-less absence the morning after they’d slept together. Plus, he did want a family after all, and Cami came ready-made with a family—as long as she didn’t lose primary custody of Madison.
Maybe, Cami thought, just maybe, this could turn into something real. And so Cami decided that, next time Drew called, she would tell him as much. Well, she might not tell him that she was picturing them growing old together or anything like that, but she would tell him that she was more than happy to see him again.
Of course, it was once Cami had decided to give Drew a chance that he didn’t call. Cami had at least talked to him every day since Thursday, so she’d just expected him to call Monday evening. But he didn’t. He didn’t call Tuesday either.
&
nbsp; Maybe I was too difficult, she thought. Maybe, when she had told him that she needed more time to think things over, he’d taken it as an insult. He was used to women throwing themselves at him, after all. He had said that it was only because of his money, but if he had women like Analise hanging on his every word, he definitely didn’t need to wait around for Cami to make up her mind about him.
Every day on each of her breaks Cami would diligently check her phone, hoping for a missed call, or even a text. Yet there was nothing. By the end of the week, Cami was disappointed, but not surprised. She tried to remind herself that she’d been waiting for the other shoe to drop—that she hadn’t really expected him to follow through—but still, she was disappointed.
When her phone did ring on Friday, Cami’s heart leapt for just a second—still refusing to give up hope completely—until she realized that it was her lawyer’s office on the phone.
“Please tell me you have good news,” she said.
“Actually, Ms. Hendricks,” Michael said, sounding slightly flustered. “I have some rather distressing news.”
Panic began to creep into Cami’s heart at those words.
“What is it?” she demanded.
“Well,” he began, “I received a notice from your ex-husband’s attorney today. It appears that he is filing for full custody.”
“What does that mean?” Cami knew, but she didn’t want to admit it.
“It means that, if your husband wins the case, you will no longer be allowed any custody of your daughter. Meaning you would not get to see her at all.”
Cami felt sick. This was much worse than anything she could have foreseen. Now she wasn’t in jeopardy of losing primary custody—she was in jeopardy of losing her daughter altogether.
“Can he do that?” she asked in a broken voice.
“He can try,” Michael replied. “We still have a strong case. You’re a good mother and he is a documented alcoholic with past reckless behavior on his record. Plus, full custody is a very extreme way to go. This may encourage the judge to rule against the request for full custody even if he would have approved a petition for primary custody.”
May was not a very comforting word, and the lawyer didn’t seem very confident even as he was trying to assure Cami. She quickly got off the call before she collapsed into sobs with Michael still on the phone. Throwing her phone across the room, she swooped down and picked up her daughter, cuddling her close to her body.
“Mommy isn’t going to lose you,” she said into her daughter’s hair.
“Lose?” Madison asked innocently, having no idea what was going on, but sensing her mother’s fear and sorrow. She gently stroked Camis cheek and hugged her back, muttering incoherently under her breath.
Cami really didn’t know what to do or where to go from there. Not for the first time that week, she wished Drew would call. Drew had always been so comforting when it came to the custody battle, confident and reassuring. She could use some reassurance at the moment. But Drew hadn’t called, and he probably wasn’t going to. So she put that thought out of her mind and focused on what she could do. She got Madison situated with some toys and a movie playing, then she called Maggie.
“Hey there,” Maggie said, answering on the first ring, even though it was a Friday afternoon. One more reason why she loved her best friend. “What’s up?”
Cami found that she couldn’t speak, now that she was on the phone. All the fear and panic began whirling inside her and all she could do was sob into the phone.
“Oh, honey, what’s going on?” Maggie asked.
“Sorry,” Cami was finally able to stutter between her sobs. “I just…I…” But she couldn’t bring herself to get any of it out.
“Don’t worry,” Maggie said. “I’m on my way over now. I’ll be there in fifteen minutes. Just hang tight.”
Cami nodded, even though Maggie couldn’t see her over the phone. She opened her mouth to speak, but before she could respond verbally, Maggie had ended the call.
Thank God for Maggie. Just the knowledge that her best friend was on her way was enough to help calm Cami’s nerves. At least she wasn’t in this completely alone.
True to her word, Maggie showed up less than twenty minutes later, a large bag from the liquor store in hand.
“I figured you could use a drink,” she said by way of explanation.
“It’s three in the afternoon,” Cami replied.
“So? You need this. And we’re not going to get wasted or anything. I’m just making you a cocktail to calm your nerves.”
With that, she turned and headed into the kitchen, where she made herself at home as she mixed up a couple of extra-strong vodka-cranberries. Cami collapsed onto a stool in the kitchen, where she could still keep an eye on Madison in the living room, and watched Maggie work.
Maggie let Cami take a few long drinks of her cocktail before launching into an interrogation.
“What’s going on?” she asked, taking a sip of her own drink. “Is it Drew?”
“No,” Cami replied. “I mean, he still hasn’t called. But that’s not why I’m upset. I heard from my lawyer today. Ken is suing for full custody.”
“I thought you already knew that,” Maggie said.
“No. He was suing for primary custody. Like what I have now. I would still get Madison on weekends, or whatever. Madison would just live primarily at his house. Full custody would mean that I’d never get Madison at all. I would lose my baby girl.”
With that explanation, Cami once again dissolved into tears. Almost instantaneously, Maggie was off her stool and hugging Cami.
“Shhh,” Maggie whispered, careful not to alert Madison. “It’s okay. It hasn’t happened yet. It won’t happen. That bastard isn’t getting full custody of Madison.”
Once Cami was calm, Maggie moved back to her seat.
“I don’t know,” Cami said after a moment. “On one hand, I think ‘That can’t happen… There’s no way I’m losing custody of Madison!’ But then I think about all of Ken’s resources and connections. Half of the judges in this town are personal friends of his family. He pretty much gets whatever he wants. How do you think I ended up with nothing in the divorce?”
“You agreed to nothing in the divorce, because all you wanted was Madison. You didn’t fight it the way you’re going to fight this now.”
“Yeah,” Cami replied. “But my lawyer sucks.”
“Then get another one. I can loan you some money.”
“I can’t take your money,” Cami said simply.
“You will if you have to,” Maggie insisted. “When it comes to Madison, you will do whatever it takes.”
“You’re right,” Cami replied. “Hopefully it won’t come to that, but if it does, I’ll let you loan me some money. And thank you…for everything.”
“Of course,” Maggie said with a smile. “That’s what best friends are for! But there isn’t anything we can do tonight, so let’s just relax, drink our cocktails, and talk about why in the fu—” Maggie looked at Madison guiltily but the little girl was not paying attention to them. “…fudge, Drew hasn’t called you back.”
Cami offered the first genuine smile she’d been able to muster all afternoon, and nodded. It was better to focus on the smaller of her two problems, after all.
Maggie stayed late into the evening, making more cocktails, then dinner, trying her best to keep Cami’s mind away from serious things. And she did a good job of that. Cami was calm and happy for most of the evening.
But later, after Madison was safely tucked for the night and Maggie was long gone, Cami lay in bed, staring up at the ceiling, thinking about everything. Just a month prior, she was relatively happy. Yeah, she was single and slightly lonely, but she wasn’t about to have to fight for the right to take care of her daughter and she wasn’t having her heart played by a guy who constantly sent mixed signals.
When did her life become so chaotic?
7
Cami
It had taken
hours to fall asleep the night before and, although she hadn’t actually drank much the previous evening, Cami felt hung over when she was jarred awake by the three-year-old jumping on her bed.
“Mommy!” Madison squealed. “Breakfast!”
Cami groaned but she pulled herself out of bed. Sleeping in was a luxury one didn’t have when dealing with a toddler. Ignoring her headache, she pulled Madison into her arms and held her tight as she made her way into the kitchen. She got Madison situated into her highchair with some Cheerios before she started coffee and set about making a more substantial breakfast.
After eggs, toast, and coffee, Cami was feeling a little more alive. She knew that she needed to hold herself together for Madison. She couldn’t afford to fall apart, no matter how much stress she was under. And the only way she was going to be able to keep herself from falling apart was to keep busy.
Cami was able to take a relatively relaxing shower while Madison was distracted with Saturday morning cartoons. Even though she didn’t feel like it, Cami blow-dried her hair, did her makeup, and chose a cheery sundress with brightly colored flowers on it. She then wrestled Madison into an outfit and got them both out of the house.
Cami really didn’t have any plans for the day—she just knew that she had to keep moving. So they went to the park, then the farmers market, and then stopped for lunch at a kid-friendly café. She thought about calling her mom, but she knew that her mother would ask about Drew as well as the custody dispute. She really didn’t want to have to discuss either of those things today, so she kept to herself.
After a full day out on the town, Cami let Madison help her make a delicious dinner full of fresh veggies they’d bought at the market earlier. Having skipped her nap, Madison was ready for bed by early evening. She didn’t even fuss when Cami put her in the bath, and stayed calm while Cami slipped her favorite jammies on her.
Cami curled into Madison’s tiny bed with her and began to read a goodnight story, but Madison was asleep less than halfway through. She continued to read aloud, just to distract herself, until the story was finished. Rising from the bed, she made her way back into the living room.
The Stubborn Suitor, Book Two (An Alpha Billionaire In Love BBW Romance) Page 4