Chapter 19

nineteen

Fiona sat next to Brady at Cam's dining room table, grabbing the street view person on the corner of her Google Maps screen. She dropped the figure outside her downtown high-rise building. "Here we go."

Brady blinked as he stood on his knees in his chair, already dressed in his swim trunks and a T-shirt for some lake time later in the day. "There's lots and lots of buildings."

She nodded, wearing dark-wash overall shorts and a white tank shirt. She'd added simple silver hoops to her ears and tied her hair back in a half ponytail before she'd left for Cam's this morning. "Everywhere you look."

He frowned. "Where are the trees and stuff?"

She smiled, forever fascinated by Brady's brilliant brain. "There are trees planted in those sidewalk spaces." She pointed to several leafless trees lining the streets in the winter image. "But mostly you see lots of trees in the parks when you live in a city."

His frown stayed in place. "Oh."

Clearly, Brady was as unimpressed with urban living as his father had always been. Cam had visited her numerous times during her college days in DC. They'd always had a blast touring the museums and other iconic sights, but Cam had never loved the noise and crowds. "This is where my house is." She pointed to the screen.

"Hey," he said with his hands on his hips. "That doesn't look like it touches the sky."

Using the mouse on her keypad, she moved the angle of the image so he could see the vertical view of the building. "How about now?"

His eyes grew huge. "It does go up to the sky!"

She chuckled, grabbing her phone, pulling up the pictures she'd flipped through in bed early this morning, looking for images with views from her condo's windows. "This picture is from my living room. The house I live in is called a condo. You can see the water?—"

"And mountains with snow on them. And more buildings that reach the sky. What's that thing that looks like a spaceship on a stick?"

She grinned. "It's called the Space Needle. You can go in it and look through a whole bunch of glass to see the entire city."

He laughed in amazement. "I love Seattle."

She laughed, adoring Brady Bennet. "I'm glad you do." She pulled a book out of her bag that she'd been waiting for the mail to deliver. "I brought this if you want me to read it to you. Stanley the Seal takes us on a tour of Seattle."

He nodded. "Let's read it on the couch." Getting off his chair, he picked up the card that had fallen. "What's this?"

She looked at it. "This is my business card. It has my work phone number on it and it says my name. Fiona Willis," she said as she pointed to it. "I give this to people so they can call me when they want to have a party."

"I need this for my birthday. For when I turn six."

"We'll tuck it in the book just for you. It'll be a business card and a bookmark."

"Okay."

They walked to the couch, snuggling on one of the middle cushions. "Are you ready for your tour of Seattle?"

"Yeah!"

Opening to the first page, she introduced Brady to the city she'd made her safe haven when everything had fallen apart. After several minutes of reading the story and answering a million questions, she closed the book. "The end."

"I like this one."

"Good." She handed it to him. "It's for you."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"Now I know all about Seattle."

She nodded. "I think it's safe to say you're a Seattle expert."

"Yup." He set the book on his lap. "I'll go there when I go to Ms. Stella's house again."

Her brow furrowed when she realized Brady didn't understand that Seattle wasn't down the road. "Ms. Stella lives in Maple Ridge just like you. In Vermont. I have to fly on a plane to get to my house because it's much farther away."

Getting up, she went back to her bag, grabbing the simple United States map she'd doctored up and laminated for Brady, bringing it over to him.

He smiled. "Hey, that's me and my dad. And that's you."

She nodded as he studied the pictures she'd shrunk down and printed out—one of Cam and Brady grinning when the three of them had gone for their lake swim this past Sunday and one of her on a sunny Seattle day with the Space Needle in the background. "You and your dad live here in this state. Vermont."

"That's why our picture's here?"

She nodded again. "Exactly. And my picture is in the State of Washington where Seattle is."

"You put heart stickers on the map."

"I did. There are a lot of states between us, but these hearts connect our pictures."

"I like this map."

She smiled. "Me too."

"Can we put this in my room so I remember where Seattle is?"

"Sure."

Brady carried the map as they walked upstairs.

"Where should we put it?"

"On my side table so I can look at it when I go to bed," he said as he set it down.

"That looks like a great spot."

Brady stared at the map. "When you go to Seattle, you'll come visit me again?"

She nodded, sitting on the bed. "Definitely."

"Maybe on the days when I'm not at big kid school when I go to kindergarten?"

She exhaled a quiet breath as she stared into his eyes. He was breaking her heart. "I won't be able to come every day that you're not at big kid school. But I'll come home for a visit at Thanksgiving and Christmas. You'll be so busy with big kid school and your friends that you'll blink and I'll be back."

"Okay."

"What do you say we head to the store before it gets too hot? We have lots of things to buy for your sleepover party."

He gasped. "It's time to get the balloons?"

She laughed. Because he'd been asking for days . "It is."

"We can blow them up?"

"Tomorrow we can."

His eyes brightened. "My party's tomorrow?"

She shook her head. "It's in two more days."

He groaned as he collapsed forward on the bed. "That's a lot of days."

She chuckled. "They'll pass quickly. We have a lot to do."

Gaining his feet, he stood before her again, touching her earring. "Maybe we can go to the hot dog restaurant while we're shopping."

"The hot dog restaurant?" She grinned, gently poking him in the belly. "You're going to turn into a hot dog if you keep eating them."

He laughed. "No, I won't."

"How about we have ham and turkey sandwiches with some broccoli and dip when we get back. That way we can test out the ice cream we're thinking about using for our sundaes."

His eyes grew wide. "Can I have a sundae?"

She narrowed her eyes and bobbed her head from side to side as if she were struggling to make a decision. "We're buying all of the ingredients today, so it does make sense to try them out. You can be the official sundae taste tester."

He jumped up and down. "That sounds way better than a hot dog."

She laughed as she stood, holding out her hand. "Let's go shopping, party planning helper."

He grabbed hold, walking with her into the hallway. "Okay!"

Cam and Brady headed up to Brady's room to finish his bedtime routine. "It's a little later than usual, so let's pick one good book tonight."

Brady nodded, wearing his favorite Marvel pajamas. "Let's read the new one Fiona brought for me. It has a seal that tells us about Seattle."

Brady had been full of talk about his party and Seattle. From the moment Cam met Fi and Brady at the park after work, Brady's mouth hadn't stopped moving. Fi had left shortly after their rendezvous to meet Melody for a girls' night, so he and Brady had eaten out and then dropped by Grammy and Grampy's for a visit. "That sounds good."

Turning on his light, Brady headed to his bedside table. "See my map, Dad? We live in Vermont, and Fiona lives all the way over here."

Cam clenched his jaw, staring at the distance between their picture and Fiona's paved in a path of hearts. "That's a great map."

"Yup." He grabbed the book on the bed. "And this book tells us about the aquarium and the Ferris wheel. And there's a place called the Space Needle. You can see it from Fiona's living room in her house in the sky. She showed me a picture on her phone."

He nodded as he pulled Brady's covers back. "You mentioned that."

Brady plunked himself on the bed, crawling up to the pillows before he lay down. "It's so cool !"

"It is." Cam settled on his knees by Brady's side, capturing his hands. "Are you ready for the words?"

Brady nodded.

He held Brady's gaze, always wanting his son to know how much he meant what he said. "You're smart and amazing. I love you to the moon and back. I'm so lucky I get to be your dad."

Brady smiled. "You're the best dad in the whole wide world."

Cam grinned, kissing Brady's forehead. "I like that you think so."

Brady nodded. "I do."

"Good." He kissed Brady again. "Are you ready for your book?"

"Yup." Brady absently pulled off his splint—part of the new evening routine. "Fiona's coming back at Thanksgiving and Christmas and for my party when I turn six," he continued without missing much of a beat. "But she can't come home every time I'm not at big kid school."

Cam settled himself next to Brady, pulling up the covers. Clearly, Brady and Fi had talked about their upcoming reality—that Fi would soon be far away. "It'll be nice to see her when she comes back."

"Yeah." Brady opened the book, and a card fell out. "This is Fiona's card with her name on it." He handed it to Cam. "You call her and tell her if you want to have a party."

He didn't want to talk about Seattle anymore. "Like the one you're having in two more sleeps."

Brady nodded. "Tomorrow me and Fi blow up the balloons. We have to make them look like a rainbow. And we have to cook the brownies, even though the ice cream sundae is yummy without them."

He smiled because Brady had talked about being the official sundae taste tester after he and Fiona had eaten their lunch. "It sounds like you have a busy day ahead tomorrow."

Brady yawned as he nodded. "Making a party is hard work."

"It seems like it." He got comfortable against the headboard and pillows. "Let's dive into this story so you can get some sleep."

Brady snuggled against him, making it halfway through Stanley the Seal's tour before he fell asleep.

Smiling as he slowly sat up, Cam settled his son against the pillows. His smile faded as he glanced at Fiona's business card on the side table. Picking it up, he stared at the sleek, simple design on the glossy piece of paper.

Fiona Willis, Senior Events Planner

According to the card, The Laurier Group had offices in Miami, London, Los Angeles, and Seattle. He remembered Fi's excitement all those years ago when she'd snagged the internship with the world-renowned company. She'd gone on to make a hell of a name for herself.

His gaze moved to Brady's new map—to the picture of Fi grinning with the Space Needle in the background.

"Fuck," he muttered, getting up and pulling the covers more snuggly around Brady before he wandered to the window as the sun sank deeper in the sky.

Typically, Fi pulled up in the driveway right about now, but she wouldn't be coming over tonight due to her plans with Melody.

Maybe that was a good thing. An evening alone was a solid reminder of the cold, hard facts. Because the days were passing quickly. Soon, Fi wouldn't be pulling into his driveway at all.

Fiona bopped her head to the beat of Billie Eilish's "Bad Guy" as she stood on her tiptoes, setting the level on Melody's new floating shelf. "We nailed it."

Melody grinned as she did a happy dance in her kitchen, wearing gray yoga shorts and a blue crop tank. She'd piled her hair on top of her head in a messy bun. "This is going to look so great !"

Fiona stepped back from the smaller corner in Mel's sweet little one-story house, copying her best friend's moves. "I can't wait to see it all put together."

"Me either." They continued their dance, both of them raising their hands over their heads to the rhythm. "I've been trying to figure out what to do with this empty space for almost two years now. The second I saw the coffee bar on Pinterest, I knew I wanted to do something similar."

"I think we're going to come pretty close to your vision," Fi said as she bopped Melody's hip with her own.

Laughing, Melody grabbed Fiona up in a hug. "Thanks for coming with me to pick out the cabinet and accents. You have such good taste."

Grinning, Fiona hugged her back. "You're welcome. It's always fun to spend time together. And you know I love doing this type of stuff."

"I do." Melody let her go. "So, we should probably put the cabinet where we want it. I need to see what's what."

"Definitely." Fiona helped Melody slide the small but heavy two-door farmhouse-vibe piece in its place. Stepping back, she narrowed her eyes, studying the overall effect. The metal accents on the cabinet and shelf matched nearly perfectly. "It's awesome."

Melody let loose a tiny squeal as she clasped her hands. "Ezra's going to love this. I'm sort of making it for him. That man loves his coffee in the morning."

Fi smiled. "I'm happy you guys are so happy."

Melody nodded as she snagged her bottom lip with her teeth. "We've been talking about him moving in."

Fi's smile turned into a grin as her heart melted. "Mel, yes ." She hugged her best friend again. "Yay for you guys."

Melody sighed as she returned her embrace. "He's my lobster, Fi. He's the one."

Fiona eased back, thrilled for her friend. But she couldn't deny that she felt a pang of envy that Melody and Ezra's love story seemed to be so carefree and easy. "Let me know when it's time to start planning the wedding."

Melody laughed. "You'll be the first." Then she cleared her throat as she settled her hands on her hips. "So, are we putting the coffee and espresso maker in its place, or are we talking about what's going on between you and Cam?"

Fiona rolled her eyes. Because she'd been waiting for Mel to start asking questions. The fact that she'd waited so long had been slightly shocking. "It's really nice having him back in my life."

Melody raised her brow. "And what about in your bed?"

Fiona grinned because it had always been impossible to hide anything from Mel. She remembered the long-ago night when she'd called her best friend the second she'd gotten home from losing her virginity to Cam. Because they told each other everything. Or almost everything. "Technically, it's his bed. But it's as good as it's always been. Probably better."

Melody laughed. "I knew it."

Chuckling, Fiona shrugged. "We spend a lot of time together. We're still attracted to each other."

Melody's smile turned into a frown. "It's more than that."

Fi's smile dimmed as she jerked her shoulders, moving to the table to unbox the fancy new espresso and coffee maker. "We're keeping things simple. We're having fun."

Melody covered Fiona's hand, stopping her movements. "Feel free to lie to yourself but not to me, Fi."

She looked at Melody. "I'm going home soon. My career's about to change after Leo and I pull off this wedding."

Melody sighed. "But?—"

"Just let it be simple," she said in a rush as she adamantly shook her head. "This is the way Cam and I want it. Please, Mel."

Melody held her gaze for several more seconds before she nodded. "Okay. We'll let it be simple."

"Thank you."

"Let's get back to Ezra's surprise."

Fi nodded, trying to smile as she reversed her hand, holding Mel's. "I'm sorry."

Melody shook her head. "Don't be. I'll get the new mugs washed up while you do your styling magic."

Fi forced another smile as Melody walked to the shopping bag she'd set by the sink. "Sure."

Focusing on the box again, she tried not to think about Cam or the conversation Melody wanted to have. Because she couldn't go there. She and Cam had what was left of this summer. That was all.