The Summer I Loved You (A Love for All Seasons Book 1)

by J. L. Lora

  “…you had it under control,” Chase finished. “There was no need for him to go check and definitely not without telling you. Unless he really was just looking for Lauren.”

  “Yeah. Are you going to tell me what he did to her? I think I should know, since both you and Adrianna get this death glare when his name comes up.”

  Chase shoved more fries in his mouth and took his time chewing.

  “Did he physically harm her?” No, it couldn’t be. Elias would never do anything that would jeopardize his law career. Even back then.

  “No. He just played with her feelings then humiliated her.”

  Cam frowned. “Is that the only reason you don’t like him? I keep thinking you never liked him since you first met him.”

  “I didn’t. He hated me first, though.”

  “Why do you think that?” Cam asked.

  “Because he wanted Walter for a father and you for a brother. He could’ve kept Walter. I would be more than happy to gift wrap that motherfucker and send him to him.”

  Cam barked out a laugh.

  “But Lauren…I guess I’ll have to come to Baltimore to make sure that walking queef doesn’t try anything with her again.” Chase smiled again.

  Cam sobered up. “She’s Adrianna’s best friend and like a second mom to Bron. You better not mess with her.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  “How long do we have before you get to Bron’s school?” Cam’s voice came through the speakers and bounced off every corner of the interior of the SUV.

  Adrianna took the exit and blew a mouthful of air. The ride had been only slightly better than bumper to bumper. Cam had just called her back five minutes before. She couldn’t believe it was the beginning of April and she was blasting the heat in her car.

  “I’ll be there in the next ten minutes. Why?”

  “I wanted to ask you something important.” His tone was way too serious.

  A pang of unease broke out on the tip of her stomach. What now? “Okay,” she said in a tentative tone of her own.

  “Is Mr. Vibrator making an appearance tonight?”

  Adri almost ran the light and slammed on her breaks. Her heart hammered at her throat but no way she was going to let him rattle her like that without payback. “It all depends. Mr. Vibrator is a SatisfyMe 2.0. Although last night I decided it should be called Kam with a K.” God, she’d been so tempted to play for him in front of the camera. “Cam with a C should come home so I don’t need the SatisfyMe, anymore.”

  “You’re evil.”

  “I’m keeping it real.” She kept her eyes on the traffic light and her bottom lip trapped between her teeth. These conversations were becoming more frequent and she felt like they were back in the summer that changed their lives. They’d teased each other so much back then and spent way too many times between the sheets.

  “The real Cam will be there this weekend to retire the SatisfyMe.”

  “I’ll start stretching.” The words were barely out of her mouth and they both started laughing. Then an idea occurred to her. “Hey, we didn’t talk about birth control but we’re safe. I use a method called the ring.”

  “Okay,” he said.

  She frowned. “I’m telling you so you know that we have no worries about two nights ago.”

  “I wasn’t worried,” he said.

  “At all?”

  “No. I mean, I didn’t think about it. I guess given our history, I should have been, but…”

  She kept her eyes on the road. “But?”

  “I don’t know…for some reason I wasn’t. I never can think clearly when I’m horny around you.”

  She laughed. “Thanks, I think.”

  “You know what I mean. I take it you don’t want any more kids.” Was his voice thicker than before?

  “I never gave it much thought. Bron and I…we’re a well-oiled machine. You know? A new baby would mean starting all over…”

  “But not alone. I would be there, with you this time. We would do it together.”

  Oh, he was really thinking about this. “True. Sooo…are you saying you want another baby?”

  “If you’d asked me weeks ago, I would’ve said fuck no, but Bron and you changed so many things. I don’t just want to paint and hide.”

  It brought a smile to her. “You changed things for us, too. Why don’t we talk about it when you get here? By the way, if we have another kid, you’ll need to get a minivan.”

  “A…what?”

  “Not a soccer-mom one. Since you’re super rich, you can get a designer, state-of-the-art one.”

  He said nothing.

  She continued. “It can be in the Emperors’ colors and you can put some shiny rims on it like your Audi.”

  He still said nothing.

  She stirred the pot some more. “Sometimes, I pick Ayla up for school activities and take her and Bron to practices. Her dad, Oliver, is the baseball coach. Maybe you can be his assistant.”

  She pressed her lips together, counting the seconds of silence.

  “His assistant?”

  “Yeah,” she managed without laughing. “Help him pick up the kids, making sure the helmets are all shiny and taking the smaller kids to the bathroom.” She snorted in the end.

  “You are really evil, Adrianna.”

  “So you keep telling me. I’m about to go inside the campus. Bron will call you when she gets home or maybe on the way back. I’m trying to get home before I-95 becomes more of a nightmare. Love you.”

  “Love you, too, Evil Queen. The weekend cannot get here fast enough.”

  The smile stretched all the muscles in her face. She sat there for a few seconds, savoring the happiness. Things were not perfect, but she and Cam were together and he was coming home in a couple of days. She’d make arrangements to spend some time alone with him while Bron was in school and before she opened the bistro.

  Adrianna jumped out of the vehicle and closed the door. Bron’s math teacher waved at her and pointed in the direction of the benches near the building entrance. She spotted Bron, Ayla, and Winter. Adri thanked him and headed their way.

  “Mom. Guess what?” Bron wrapped her arms around her waist. “Miss Winter is going to have a booth at Artscape again and she wants to put one of mine and one of Ayla’s paintings in her tent. And she wants to work with us on a project.”

  Adrianna’s chest tightened a little. Her baby’s art would be at the biggest art festival in Maryland. Cam was going to be so proud and happy. Her eyes welled.

  “Bron, you should have let me talk to your mom first,” Winter’s gaze was on Adrianna.

  She fanned her face with her hand. “I’m more than okay. I’m so proud of you Bron.” She hugged her daughter and pressed a kiss to her head. Then turned to Ayla and pulled her into her arms and kissed her cheek. “So proud of you too, Ayla.”

  Ayla’s shoulder curved in and she gave Adrianna a sheepish smile. “Thanks.”

  Adrianna touched her cheek and so many emotions flooded through her, she had to turn away. Damn Ayla’s mother for leaving her. No way in hell would Adrianna ever be separated from Bron. Ayla’s mom had just left one day, saying she was going on a business trip. Next time they’d heard from her, she was living in California with a new man.

  She looked to Winter and she saw her emotions reflected on her face. The teacher nodded at her and Adrianna sighed.

  The girls moved to the side whispering to each other.

  “Congratulations,” she said to Winter, who much like Ayla, shrank under the compliment. “Stop that. You’re now a Maryland gem. Third time at Artscape. And thank you for doing that for the girls. We are so going to campaign for this. I’ll have a poster made for the bistro. You’re going to be sold out.”

  “I hope so. I’m happy to share this with them. They’re always so encouraging.”

  “We have to celebrate this. I’m thinking of inviting Ayla for a sleepover soon. You, Lauren, and I c
an have some wine after the bistro closes. Then the two of you can hit the bars.”

  “You didn’t learn from the last time?”

  Adrianna laughed. Her hand smacked over her mouth at the images of Winter and Lauren serenading her from the sidewalk outside the bistro at four in the morning. The drunks in the square had joined in. The neighbors were not happy.

  She turned away to try to control her laughter. She couldn’t do that while looking at Winter. Her gaze almost passed over the man on the other side of the fence. Almost. Her heart slammed against her ribs, rattling every bone in her body. It made the blood slush through her veins. Ten years of fear materialized in a face, though far away, clear as day. Walter Blake nodded to her, watching her like she did him.

  “Oh God.”

  “What is it?” Adrianna whipped about to find Winter close. “Who is that man?”

  Breathe, just breathe. Don’t let him see how scared you are.

  She concentrated on willing the air into her body. “Cam’s father. Have you seen him before?”

  “What? He was around this morning. I assumed he was waiting for someone. Should I call security?”

  He’d been there that morning. He was watching Bron. Adrianna’s stomach lurched but she grabbed Winter’s hand to steady herself. “I need to get home but please promise me if you see him again, you’ll call me and never let him near Bron. Please.”

  Winter frowned but nodded. “Let me drive you and Bron home. I don’t think you are okay. You’re pale and your hands are so cold.”

  “I’ll be okay. I just need to calm down. I don’t want to scare Bron. I’ll explain another time. Can you call Lauren and tell her that I’m on my way home? And tell her I saw Walter Blake at the school.”

  She barely remembered saying goodbye to Ayla. She concentrated on asking Bron about her day, her eyes darting into the rearview mirror. Her breath stuck like a solid block in her lungs. She breathed easier when they’d crossed the tunnel and she took the exit onto Boston Street. She parked her SUV and ushered Bron inside.

  Lauren waited at the door. She took one look at Adri and threw her arms around her.

  “Why are you hugging her like that?” Bron asked.

  Lauren gave her a mock scoff. “Because I missed my bestie. She was gone for weeks and now she left me to go pick you up.”

  Bron rolled her eyes. “Grow up. I’m going upstairs.”

  Adrianna couldn’t stop shaking. “Wait…”

  Lauren stopped her. “Let her. She will be okay there. You have to calm down, go in your office and call Cam. I’ll go bring her a snack and settle her. I’ll be there to check on you after. Just breathe Adri. He can’t do anything to you. He’s just being an old, wrinkled dick.”

  Adrianna took two deep breaths and headed to the office. Bron was safe. Bron was safe. Bron was safe.

  Now, she just needed to break the news to Cam.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  Adrianna and Bron did not call him on their way home.

  He wished that he could have been a part of their afternoon commute and not here setting things up for his departure. He decided to use the time constructively and meet with his assistant. Marli was the daughter of two of the crew members at Emperor Stadium. Her parents had always been nice to him when he was playing. Cam hired her straight out of college as a favor to them and he’d never been sorry. She was a sweet kid, shockingly efficient, didn’t harbor some sort of crush on him, and there was no way Chase could get inside her panties.

  In her pink skirt with purple tights underneath, she couldn’t look older than fifteen. The one time they’d met, Bron had taken one look at her and declared her a fashion icon. He liked Marli but he needed to get her out of here. He wanted to talk to his daughter at leisure. He’d missed her like crazy all day. How was that possible? He’d never known about her and now he couldn’t deal with a few hours of separation well.

  “You’ll need to handle things here while I’m gone. I’m always a phone call away and I want you to travel to Maryland every two weeks to meet with me. I also need you to check on the sale of the Acacia Falls property. Chase and Lux have no desire to go back and have decided to sell it. It’s a money pit right now and I could be throwing that cash into other investments.”

  Marli scribbled as fast as she kept nodding. The bobbing of her head was pretty much a recording mechanism.

  “While you’re at it, tell the realtor I need her to look for a beach house an hour or two from Baltimore. I want to have a short getaway place to take Adri and Bron. And remind her that I need some other investment properties in Maryland. Tell her I want in on new developments and row houses.”

  “Okay, Cam. I’ll also make sure your lawyers and Chase get copied on the communication. Do you want it all in your name? Or some in Bron’s too?”

  He smiled and nodded. “Also, find me a nice row house in the city. Fells Point, Federal Hill overlooking The Inner Harbor, Canton, or Harbor East. I want a place for Lux to run her blog and where she is close to everything.”

  Marli nodded. “Will do. Is that all on your side?”

  “No, I have one more thing. The two-bedroom apartment in the basement. I had it done for whenever one of my teammates stayed over. You know I don’t like strangers in my space?”

  “We all know, Cam.”

  He ignored the dryness in her tone. “I was thinking that I need someone to house sit when Lux moves south. I was wondering if you would—”

  Her eyes went wide like an anime character’s. “I’ll do it,” she gasped.

  Cam chuckled. “You won’t have to pay for anything, just your own food. I’ll just need you to go through the house, sort my mail and make sure I see what I need to see. You can work from the office. I can have the furniture removed from the apartment if you want and you can bring your own stuff.”

  “Are you serious? I live in a small, Bronx apartment where my parents had everything covered in thick clear plastic. My room only has my clothes, the white bedroom set they bought when I was five, and Janelle Monáe posters. There are Hello Kitty stickers all over my dresser. I’ll keep your expensive furniture.” Her energy jumped on her every word but she still managed to roll her eyes in the end.

  “About guests, even your girlfriends—”

  “I’m only dating Tessa now and she is too afraid of you to come into the house. I will make sure the guests come in through the separate entrance.” She pushed her glasses up. The sparkly unicorn horn design glinted against the light. “You can trust me, Cam.”

  “I know. That’s why I’m offering it to you. I think that settles it. You got anything for me?”

  “Now that you mentioned it.” She rummaged through her purse and pulled out a thick folder. She opened it to reveal a wad of papers with color-coordinated tables. “I have a list we need to go through.”

  Fuck. “What the hell is that?”

  Her eyes narrowed in that you-know-damned-well kind of way. “I think you know. We have to know who’s in charge of all your ventures and what to do with all your stuff here.”

  Cam loved that she wasn’t a pushover but shook his head anyway. This wasn’t happening. She nodded, her smile sweet as apple pie with two scoops of caramel gelato but her eyes shone with her the strength of the bulldozer she could be.

  His cell phone rang and she shot him a forbidding look. Then looked at the object and sighed like she’d already lost the battle. “It’s Adrianna.”

  Yep, she’d lost. And he won.

  Anticipation rushed through his body and he reached the desk in two steps. “Hey.”

  “Can you talk?” He barely recognized her voice. It was strained and thick and it pricked at the hairs on his neck.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Oh, Cam. Something’s happened. Your father is here in Maryland.”

  “What? Walter is there? At the bistro?”

  “He was outside Bron’s school when I went to pick her up. And
Winter says he was there in the morning. Cam… he was watching Bron.”

  Her voice dropped at the end and along with it his stomach. What the fuck was wrong with Walter? Only a lunatic would try to pull something like this. Only, his father wasn’t crazy. Walter was a greedy bully out to manipulate him. He was dead set that Cam should continue bank rolling his gambling habit. No more. Walter had bet wrong this time around. No way in hell would he let him terrorize Bron or Adri.

  His hand tightened around the phone. “Adri, listen to me. If he comes to the bistro, call the cops and have him arrested. I’m on my way.” He shot a look to Marli. “Book me the first flight to Baltimore you can find.”

  •••

  She was going to punch the damned laptop and then throw it out the window. Except it was Adrianna’s, not the laptop’s fault. She was the one that wasn’t thinking straight and entered the amounts five times, every time messing up the digits.

  She slammed her hands on to the glass top and blew the air pent up in her chest. Her gaze drifted to the monitor screen and Bron was still painting by the light of the living room window. Thank God she wasn’t here to witness the mess of nerves her mother had become. Adri was relieved she’d asked to go upstairs and paint. She was safe, and Adri could keep an eye on her through the monitor.

  No one could get into her apartment before passing by the office door. So, calm down.

  Her gaze was in a ping pong game from the monitor, to her laptop, to the gold clock. It was seven thirty-five. She had not heard from Cam since right before his plane took off an hour and a half ago and had to force herself not to call him to see if the plane had landed. They’d been on the phone until they’d called him to board. He’d been a calming force for her. And now the silence was killing her.

  The office was becoming smaller by the second. She couldn’t stay in here anymore. She should go upstairs to check if Bron was hungry and then go help out a little in the bistro. No, she couldn’t do that. Lauren had banned her to the office because she had been getting on the staff’s nerves. She had to do something.