Chapter 6

six

Cam sat beside Brady on a blanket in the park as they polished off their picnic lunch. Craving an afternoon of physical activity and sunshine with his son, he'd cut out of work thirty minutes early, trading his dusty clothes for comfortable gray mesh shorts, a white sleeveless top, and his favorite black ball cap he wore backward.

Brady put another purple grape in his mouth, dressed for the day's warmth in a red dinosaur T-shirt and black athletic shorts. His skin was still sheen from a fresh application of sunblock. "How about now? I ate a lot ."

Cam studied Brady's paper plate, noting that his son had devoured most of his Cheetos and grapes. "How about a couple more bites of your sandwich. Then you can go play."

"Okay." Brady picked up his ham sandwich, taking a huge bite.

Cam frowned. "Yikes, buddy. Don't choke on me."

"I won't," he said, talking over his mouthful.

Cam popped his final grape past his lips, looking toward the massive playground structure twenty yards in the distance. Tan and green swings, bridges, climbing pieces, and a half dozen slides in various shapes and sizes offered plenty of opportunities for an enjoyable time. "What do you want to play on first?"

Brady studied his options as he swallowed his enormous bite. "Um, that thing you hold on to and slide across the pole."

Cam nodded. "The overhead glider. Good choice."

Brady moved to stand on his knees. "Yeah, I like that thing because it goes fast like a superhero."

Cam nodded again. "I can see that. Which superhero are you today?" Because his son had a big imagination.

"Captain America."

Apparently, Brady had moved on from his desire to be Iron Man—his superhero of choice for the last several days. "I guess I should start calling you Cap, then."

Brady laughed. " Dad ."

He grinned, loving that his little boy thought he was funny. "One more grape, and you can go play."

Brady quickly popped another piece of fruit in his mouth. Then he gasped as his eyes grew huge. "Look! There's Fiona Willis!"

Cam's gaze whipped in the direction Brady pointed, staring at Fiona as she walked along the path by the thicket of trees. She carried a small bag on her arm as she dipped a spoon into a cup while she spoke to someone. Since she was alone and he didn't see her phone, he assumed she wore a pair of AirPods.

"There she is," he said, trailing his eyes up her glorious legs, appreciating her black high-waisted running shorts and simple white T-shirt. She was the picture of subtle summer sexiness with her sunglasses in place and her hair pulled back in a ponytail.

Brady scrambled to his feet, running in her direction a little more than ten yards away.

Cam stood as his son yelled Fiona's name.

She stopped, waving to Brady, then veered his way as she removed her AirPods.

Cam followed, watching how she smiled as Brady said something, finding himself no less affected by Fi's beauty than he'd always been.

He'd thought about her nonstop—about their conversation in her driveway and Ezra's truth bomb at the Clarke site two days ago. If he would have had any idea that Fi had been oblivious to Ally's departure… But she hadn't wanted to know. He'd fucked up the best part of his life, and she'd moved on. But Ezra was right. Fiona was here now.

"Hey," he said, closing the distance between them, catching hints of her perfume.

Fi sent him a small smile. "Hey."

He stopped close by, immediately feeling the tension radiating between them. "How's vacation treating you so far?"

She nodded. "Pretty good."

"Good."

"Brady was telling me you're having a picnic."

Cam nodded this time. "We just finished our sandwiches."

"We went to see Grampy at the Dawson site before we came here," Brady piped up. "We have to keep our pulse on things 'cause Bennet & Sons is our legacy. But there's no pressure, right, Dad?"

Cam grinned when Fiona chuckled. "That's right."

Brady hopped from foot to foot. "Because maybe I wanna be a policeman or an astronaut instead of a home builder."

Cam nodded. "You can be whatever you want to be, and I'll be proud all the same."

Brady nodded this time, eyeing the logoed purple cup in Fi's hand. "You have a Freezy."

"I do. I've been helping my mom with the gardens, but I wanted a break, so I walked down to Martin's."

"How's Stella doing?" Cam asked.

Fi bobbed her head from side to side. "Mostly, she's good. She's a little sore—a little grumpy, I guess. I think it's hard for her to watch me do the things she normally does, so I thought I'd grab us both a pick-me-up."

Brady still stared at Fi's frozen dessert. "That looks yummy ."

"It is yummy."

Cam shoved his hands in his pockets as he rocked back on his heels. "I'm guessing that's death by chocolate with extra brownie chunks, cookie dough, and a shot of caramel."

Fiona rolled her eyes as she smiled. "Good guess."

Brady gasped as his mouth fell open. "That's magic . You know magic , Dad."

He shrugged. "Mostly, I just know Fi."

He felt a zing of satisfaction as hints of awareness filled her eyes when she glanced at him through her amber-tinted lenses. Because he'd forgotten nothing. He wanted her to be thinking about everything he remembered about her.

Brady's gaze wandered back to the cup. "The brownies are tasty?"

"They are." Fi's eyes met Cam's again, silently asking him if it was okay to share.

Cam nodded.

Fiona scooped up a bite with a big brownie piece. "Would you like some?"

Brady nodded enthusiastically. "Yup."

Cam cleared his throat as he raised his brow at his son.

"I mean, yes, please," Brady clarified, remembering his manners before he opened up and took Fi's offering. Instantly, his mouth was covered with chocolate as he chewed. "This is good."

"It's pretty much the best flavor," Fiona agreed.

"Yeah," Brady said before he swallowed. "My dad likes Freezies, too. He wants some, too. Right, Dad?"

Fiona's gaze flew to Cam's.

Willing to be a little rude, Cam shrugged. "He's not wrong if you're offering."

Trapped by manners, Fi stepped closer, holding his stare as she held up a spoonful.

He accepted the bite, nodding as he chewed. "That's as good as I remember it. Thank you."

She took a step back. "You're welcome."

"Fiona Willis, do you want to see my cool new trick at the playground?"

She nodded as she chuckled. "I do. But you can call me Fiona. Willis is my last name, just like Bennet is yours."

"Okay," Brady said as he ran off. "Come watch what I can do on the glide thing."

Fiona followed.

"Thanks for being a good sport," Cam said, falling into step beside her.

"It's fine. It's a beautiful day."

Brady made it to his destination, grabbing hold of the glider handle. "Here I go like Captain America," he said, pushing off and holding on, gliding halfway to the other end.

"Great job," Fiona praised as Cam said, "Nice work, bud."

Brady beamed his pride. "And watch this cool thing." Comfortable with a captive audience, he ran to the small chin-up bar, situating himself so he hung by the back of his knees. "Pretty cool, right?"

Fiona blinked. "That's impressive."

Brady grinned again as he let himself fall to the rubber mulch. "Someday, I'm gonna swing really high on those swings over there and jump off like the super big kids do, but Dad says I have to wait 'til I'm twenty because he likes me in one piece."

Fiona laughed full-out this time. "A one-piece Brady sounds like a good thing."

"Yup," he said as he ran toward the twisty slide.

She chuckled again as she shook her head. "Cam, he's such a sweetie ."

Cam met her gaze as he grinned, hoping that Brady would keep talking. Because he'd missed the hell out of that amazing sound. He'd missed staring at those spectacular dimples. "I feel pretty good about keeping him."

She sighed as her smile faded. "I should get going before my mom's pint of rocky road completely melts."

He nodded, even though he didn't want her to leave. "Thanks for hanging out with us for a few minutes."

"Thanks for the laughs."

"Anytime." He looked at his son as Brady reached the bottom of the slide. "Brady, Fiona needs to go."

"Aw," Brady said as he ran over. "You're not gonna play?"

Fiona shook her head. "I'm afraid I can't. My mom needs my help, and our ice cream's melting."

"But you're coming to my dinosaur party?"

Fi hesitated before she nodded. "I wouldn't miss it."

Brady eyed her treat again. "I liked your Freezy."

Fiona grinned as she scooped up another bite, sharing another sample. "Thanks for showing me your cool tricks." She surprised Cam when she scooped up another bite for him, too.

He chewed a piece of cookie dough, holding her gaze. "Thanks."

She nodded. "See you guys on Saturday."

"In two more sleeps," Brady added. Because he asked Cam every day.

"In two more sleeps," she said as she turned away, heading toward her place.

"Not too bad," Cam muttered, watching Fi disappear down the tree-laden path. Because that had gone far better than he'd expected.

"Not too bad at all," he said as he turned back to his son, loving that they lived in such a small town. Because bumping into Fi was bound to happen again. But for now, Brady deserved his full attention. "What are you going to do next?"

Brady studied his options. "Go down the twisty slide on my belly."

"I like it. Show me what you've got."