“Do you want to tell me about it?” her mom asked softly.
Julia was glad that her dad worked on Saturdays and wasn’t there to see her like this. If ever there was an “I told you so” moment, this was it, and she didn’t want to hear it from both of them.
Sitting further back on the couch and wrapping her arms around her middle, she brought her mom up to date on all that had been happening with Connor. Debra listened intently, her expressions ranging from disbelief to empathy to outrage at Cam’s behavior. When Julia had finished talking, her mom’s first comment was, “That poor baby.”
Huh? What about me? But it was exactly the sort of thing she would have expected from Debra, who hated to see anyone hurting, children most of all.
“I’ve seen so many kids from broken homes, and it never fails to make me sad,” her mom explained. “Kids need both parents to succeed in this world.”
Julia’s eyes bugged out. “Are you saying that Connor and Cam should get back together?”
“No. That’s not what I’m saying at all, especially since they don’t love each other. That won’t do Ava any good.”
“Well, then what’s the alternative?”
“Is that why you came over here? To ask for my advice?” Debra said.
“You sound surprised.”
“That’s because I can’t remember the last time you took our advice. You’ve always followed your own path.”
She was right, of course. Julia had prided herself on being her own person and not relying on anyone for direction. But she was out of her element here, and she had no idea which way to turn. “I just needed to talk to someone,” she admitted.
“I’m glad you thought to come here. You haven’t been around much lately, ever since you’ve…”
“Been dating Connor. Yeah, I know.”
“I’m afraid we didn’t get off to a very good start with him,” Debra said, looking regretful. “Your dad especially.”
It struck Julia that her mom hadn’t referred to him as Dr. Lee that time. He was just “Dad,” and maybe Julia had needed the reminder. Her parents weren’t out to hurt her; they only wanted to protect her, just like most parents did with their children.
“Ava’s so sweet. I’m really going to miss her.”
Eyebrows raised, Debra said, “Are you breaking up with Connor?”
“Yes. No. God, I don’t know!”
“I can understand that it would be difficult to take on another woman’s child, but Ava’s Connor’s child too. Don’t forget that.”
“How can I? I’ve been reminded every day since Cam came back.”
“What are you going to do?”
There it was, the million-dollar question. “I have no idea. I thought I knew this morning, but once I saw them together, looking like a cozy family—it was just too much. All I knew was that I had to get out of there.”
“Maybe you should take a few days to think about it. Listen to your heart, and it won’t lead you astray.”
“Don’t you have that saying embroidered on a towel or something?” Julia said.
Debra burst out laughing, and Julia chimed in.
“I believe it’s on a cross-stitch I made,” Debra said after their laughter had died down.
Picking up where they’d left off, Julia said, “The thing is, if I stay here, Connor will probably track me down, and I’m not ready to talk to him yet.”
“So, go away for a few days. Go up to the lake house.”
“The lake house! Why didn’t I think of that?”
“I don’t know, but you’re welcome to use it anytime. You still have a key, don’t you?”
Julia nodded, her enthusiasm growing by the second. “Yes, and I haven’t been there in forever.”
“Well, there you go. Take a few days to yourself, and you’ll probably find the answers you’re looking for.”
“Sounds like another cross-stitch saying,” Julia teased.
“Mom wisdom. You’ll have it too someday.”
And just like that, tears sprang to Julia’s eyes again. Debra knew how much she wanted to be a mom and how devastated she’d been when Alec had said he didn’t want kids. What irony that now that she had access to a baby, it wasn’t hers. It was theirs as she’d been so glaringly reminded of earlier.
Even if she and Connor reconciled, could she love Cam’s child? Could she look at Ava without thinking about how she’d come to be? And how would it work between her and Cam going forward? They obviously harbored a lot of resentment toward each other. Would that ever go away?
“You know what? A few days away is exactly what I need. I’m going to call Harper and see if she’ll give me some time off.”
“Great idea. I wish I’d thought of it,” Debra said, patting Julia on the knee.
Standing up, Julia said, “Thanks for listening, Mom. And I’m sorry I haven’t been around much lately. One way or another, I’m going to fix that.”
“You just worry about you and Connor first, and then we’ll go to work on your dad.”
Bolstered by the knowledge that her mom was in her corner, Julia smiled, hugged her mom tight, and left.
On her way home, she called Harper, who answered on the first ring.
“There you are!” Harper exclaimed.
“Huh?”
“Connor’s been looking all over for you. He just left here a few minutes ago after I swore I had no idea where you were.”
“Good, and he won’t find me if you agree to give me some time off.”
“Wait a minute. Slow down. Time off for what? Where are you going?”
“To my parents’ lake house, if you can spare me for a few days.”
“Sure. That’s no problem, but do you mind telling me what’s going on? Connor didn’t say much other than you’re pissed at him and that you took off from his house earlier this morning.”
It didn’t surprise Julia that Connor hadn’t said more. It was so typical for him to hide things, even from his family. But it made her even angrier.
As she drove, she told Harper what had happened, down to the details of what Cam had been wearing when she’d answered the door.
“That bitch!” Harper said.
Julia laughed, inwardly rejoicing that Harper was on her side despite her connection to the O’Briens.
“Was Finn there when Connor came over?”
“No, but he’s pissed at Connor too.”
“What for?”
“For not showing up to work this morning and not bothering to call.”
“That’s probably because he was too busy strutting around in a towel while Cam salivated all over him,” Julia said.
“What are you going to do, Jules?”
“I don’t know. That’s why I’m going away for a few days, so I can wrap my head around this and decide whether or not Connor and I still have a chance.”
Harper sighed. “Been there. I know exactly how you feel.”
Harper had gone through something similar with Finn, although it’d had nothing to do with a baby. The ghost of her dead husband had come between her and Finn for a while until she’d decided that she didn’t want to live without love—without Finn. Everything had worked out for the two of them, but Julia didn’t hold out the same hope for her and Connor.
In Julia’s situation, she had to think about four people—her, Connor, Ava, and Cam. And she’d already formed an attachment to Ava, which made the decision that much harder.
“Harper? Do me a favor.”
“Anything.”
“Don’t tell Connor where I’m going. I can’t see him right now. Promise me.”
“What should I say if he asks, which I’m sure he will?”
“Tell him the truth. That I needed to get away for a few days and I’ll talk to him when I get back.” He should understand, given that he’d gone to Denver without her. She really didn’t owe him any other explanation.
“Okay. I hope you find the answer you’re looking for,” Harper said.
/> “Me too.” But right then, Julia had no idea what she wanted the answer to be.
Chapter Fourteen
After searching everywhere for Julia and calling her cell phone repeatedly, Connor finally gave up. Wherever she was, she obviously didn’t want to be found. She probably just needed a couple of hours to cool off, and then she’d call him. At least, that’s what he hoped.
So, now he was on the job with his brothers, and they were laying mulch for their new customer, Mrs. Simmons, one of Harper’s friends from her romance book club. At first, Connor had found it odd that Mrs. Simmons sat on her porch and watched them work, but he was too wrapped up in his troubles to care.
It had turned out to be a hot humid day, and his T-shirt was already soaked through. He’d been put in charge of shoveling mulch into wheelbarrows, and Finn and Liam were transporting it to the landscaped areas around the house. Mrs. Simmons had been supplying them with plenty of water and lemonade, and now she’d come outside with a tray of cookies.
“You boys are working so hard. I feel sorry for you in this heat,” she said as she offered up freshly baked peanut butter cookies.
“It’s our job. We’re used to it,” Connor said while choosing two cookies from the tray.
“But thank you very much for the drinks and cookies,” Finn said as he came alongside them with the wheelbarrow.
After Mrs. Simmons had walked away, Finn turned to Connor and said, “Stop being such an asshole.”
Connor scowled at him. “What are you talking about?”
“You know exactly what I’m talking about. First, you screwed up with Julia, and now you’re taking it out on this sweet old lady. Lighten up!”
Connor didn’t argue because Finn was right. Ever since his fallout with Julia, he’d been snapping at everyone in sight, including his brothers. After he’d chased Julia down the driveway in his towel, he’d gone back inside and snapped at Cam too. She’d played innocent, but he wondered what she’d said to Julia to make her take off in such a huff.
Cam had insisted that Julia hadn’t liked seeing her in his T-shirt, but he knew it was more than that. When he’d asked Cam to spend the night, he hadn’t completely thought it through. It was late, and Cam had been worried about waking up her parents, so he’d offered for her and Ava to stay over. He’d been trying to do the right thing by helping to take care of his sick child, but now he’d pissed off Julia—again! Maybe if he’d called her first, she wouldn’t have been so mad, but then again, maybe not. It seemed like no matter what he did, he couldn’t win right now.
“So, what did you do to Julia this morning?” Finn said as he came up for another load of mulch.
Mrs. Simmons was busy talking to Liam, but Connor lowered his voice anyway. “Cam and Ava spent the night at my place. Julia came over this morning, and Cam answered the door in my T-shirt. I think it pissed her off.”
“You think?” Finn said, his eyes bugging out.
“I didn’t know what else to do. It was late when we left the clinic, and Cam didn’t want to disrupt her parents’ sleep. She already feels guilty enough for staying there, so I offered up my place.”
Finn wiped his forehead with the hem of his T-shirt while Connor scooped out the mulch. “Man, you’ve got to help Cam find her own place.”
“I’m trying,” Connor said, thrusting the shovel into the pile of mulch with a little more muscle than was completely necessary.
“Well, try harder. No woman wants to see her man’s ex wearing his T-shirt.”
“I get that, but I had no idea Julia would show up so early. I’d planned on going over to her place after I took a shower, but she beat me to it.”
Just then, Liam wandered over with cookie crumbs on his lips. “Man, Mrs. Simmons makes some mean peanut butter cookies!”
Connor and Finn stopped what they were doing to stare at him.
“What? I was just building customer relations,” Liam insisted.
“How many cookies did you eat?” Finn asked.
“Four or five. I wanted to make her feel good.”
“Bullshit. You just like to eat!” Finn teased.
“What’s going on over here, anyway? It’s taking you girls a long time to load one wheelbarrow of mulch,” Liam said.
“We’re having a discussion,” Finn replied.
“About chicks?”
Finn frowned. “How old are you, thirteen? They’re called women, and yes, we were just talking about Julia.”
“Ah. What did you do this time, bro?” Liam asked Connor.
“Shut up,” Connor replied, flinging a shovelful of mulch into Liam’s wheelbarrow.
“He had a sleepover with Cam, who was wearing his T-shirt when she answered the door to Julia,” Finn said.
Liam tipped his head back and laughed. “Man, you really messed up!”
“It’s not funny,” Connor snarled. Why do I work with my brothers again?
“Are you and Cam…” Liam started to ask.
“No! But she’s the mother of my child, and I can’t just ignore her.”
“That doesn’t explain why she was wearing your shirt,” Liam said, confused.
“Ava was sick last night, and Connor felt bad, so he let Cam and Ava spend the night at his house,” Finn said. “If you’d have shown up at the restaurant last night like you said you would, you would have already known this.”
Liam rolled his eyes. “I got busy.”
“Busy doing what?” Finn asked.
“Or who?” Connor said.
“None of your business. I see enough of you guys during the day. I don’t have to see you at night too,” Liam said, and then he lifted up the wheelbarrow handles and walked away.
Raising his eyebrows, Finn said, “Hmm. It’s interesting that McKayla didn’t show up last night either. I wonder if…”
“No way. She hates him,” Connor said, glad to change the subject.
“I’m not so sure of that,” Finn said.
“You’ve been hanging around Harper too much. You’re starting to sound like a girl.”
“She’s a woman, and I’d rather hang out with her than you two buttheads.”
“Now you sound like Liam,” Connor said just as Liam sauntered back over.
“Huh?” Liam said upon hearing his name.
“Nothing,” Finn said, walking away with his wheelbarrow.
Finally, Connor thought, rolling his shoulders to release the tension. Finn always gave him a hard time, but this time, he deserved it. He should have handled things differently with Julia, and then he wouldn’t be in this mess.
“So, what are you going to do about Cam and Julia?” Liam asked, wiping the sweat from his brow with the back of his hand.
“Not you too,” Connor huffed.
“Hey, I’m just asking.”
“I don’t know what to do. That’s the problem. I have a kid now, and I need to be there for her, but if I alienate Cam, she could take Ava away from me. I can’t let that happen.”
“So, where does that leave Julia?”
“I want her in my life too, but I’m not sure how to juggle it all. And right now, Julia doesn’t want anything to do with me.”
Liam shrugged. “You don’t know that for sure. Sometimes, chicks act like they don’t want you, but they really do.”
“Are you speaking from experience, or is that wishful thinking?” Finn asked when he’d come up behind them.
“Whatever,” Liam said, and turning his ballcap backward, he hurried off with his load.
“Something’s up with him,” Finn said.
“Yeah, maybe,” Connor replied, still too distracted by his own problems to worry about Liam.
“So, do you want my advice or not?” Finn asked as Connor scooped him another load.
“I have a feeling you’re going to give it to me whether I want it or not.”
“You’re right. So, here goes. No relationship is perfect, and you’re gonna have problems. But if you care about Julia, I mean really
care about her, you’ll fix this.”
“You gonna sew that on a T-shirt?” Connor said sarcastically.
“If I did, I wouldn’t let my ex-girlfriend wear it.”
“Enough about the stupid T-shirt! She didn’t have any pajamas, and it was the only thing I had to offer her.”
“Well, maybe next time, offer her a pair of sweatpants to go with it,” Finn said and then walked away. And guy talk was officially over.
Later that night, Connor sat in his empty house and nursed a beer. He’d tried calling Julia again after work, but the call had gone right to voicemail. She must have updated her message during the day, because now it said that she’d be out of town for a few days and she’d return the call when she got back.
Great! Now he’d have to wait three days to talk to her, and he sucked at waiting. It was driving him crazy that he couldn’t talk to her. He wasn’t even sure what he’d say when he saw her, but he just knew he had to see her. He couldn’t let her think that anything had gone on between him and Cam last night, because nothing had. Although, if he’d been open to it, something might have happened.
Cam hadn’t overtly come on to him; however, a few of the looks she’d given him as they’d sat together drinking beer…well, let’s just say he’d seen those looks before. She’d sat cross-legged on the couch, his shirt barely covering her lower half, and eyed him up like a hot fudge sundae that she was dying to take a bite of.
But all he’d been able to think about was how he’d wished Julia was there instead. Looking at Cam from across the room (he hadn’t dared sit next to her lest she get the wrong idea), he hadn’t been the least bit attracted to her. Sure, she was pretty in a Barbie doll sort of way, but she didn’t do it for him anymore.
He much preferred Julia’s silky black hair, her deep brown eyes that reminded him of the Hershey bars she loved so much, and her curvy body that she spent entirely too much time trying to hide. He’d rather have heard her hearty, unselfconscious laugh and seen that smile that lit up the room than listen to Cam rattle on about nothing while she tossed her blonde hair around and gave him come-hither looks.
If she’d thought she could seduce him, she’d been dead wrong, and by the end of the night, he’d suspected she knew that. After making sure Ava was sound asleep, he’d retreated to his bedroom, where he’d locked the door behind him. He hadn’t done it to keep himself in but to keep Cam out just in case she got any ideas about slipping into his bed at night. At first, he hadn’t believed Julia when she’d said that Cam was trying to win him back, but now he understood. Whenever he’d brought up Julia’s name, Cam had stopped talking or averted her eyes like she didn’t want to acknowledge that Julia was important to him.
The Sweetest Mistake (O'Brien Brothers #2) Page 11