I nod. “I’ll come to yours, but I’m not sure how long I’ll be awake for. I’m exhausted.” Cam reaches out and shakes my dad’s hand and then Bailey’s. He moves along to Marley and my heart falters as I wonder what his response will be, but he puts his hand out and shakes Cam’s then looks across at me and I actually have no idea what he’s thinking.
Cam moves to a spot in the room where he can see everyone and says, “I know what you all probably must think of me and I know that I’m the last person you would want Georgia to be with, given the choice.” He looks at me and he actually looks nervous and I love it. My big, bad, cocky Tiger is shitting himself as he talks to my family, and it just does things to my heart to think that he’s up there, feeling so uncomfortable just for me. “I know in the past, I’ve had a bit of a reputation, but I promise you, that’s my old life. I earn enough money from my clubs nowadays, and it’s all totally legit. I occasionally come across the odd arsehole who needs to be dealt with, but that’s life. I can’t help situations like that happening, but all of my business dealings are legal and above board. I swear.” He swallows and clears his throat before continuing, “I’ll be honest and say, I have a lot of shit going on in my life at the moment and I have no idea which way Georgia and I are going, but I need you all to know, I love her and I’ll always do right by her.” I watch my mum wipe a tear from under her eye. I seriously can’t be doing with any more tears, or emotions of any kind for that matter. I just wanna get out of here and hear what Cam’s got to say about this pregnant girlfriend.
I stand next to Cam and say to my family, “I’m sorry if you think I’ve been a bit harsh today. You know how much I love you all, but I just needed to get all of that off my chest.” I can’t think of anything else to add to that without things getting more emotional. I go and give my nieces and nephews kisses and cuddles, and promise that we’ll spend some time together soon. Cam’s waiting at my mum’s front door as I call out, “Laters taters,” to my family. I get a “See ya, spud,” reply from all of them and it makes my heart swell. Most people would probably have no idea what we’re talking about, but we do; it’s our thing, a Layton thing and I just hope I’ve not upset any of them too much this evening with what I’ve said.
Cam opens the front door and the icy December chill hits me instantly as I step outside and towards his car. Neither of us have said a word to each other and I feel nervous after all of my revelations earlier. Cam holds the door of his car open for me and I slide inside. I have no idea what type of car it is, but it’s beautiful. Low, sleek and black, the interior is all cream leather and smells of Cam. There’s a crown type emblem on the steering wheel and I wonder if he’s had it custom made.
“What make is this car?” I ask him as he climbs in. He’s so tall, I’m surprised that he fits. He turns to me as he does up his seatbelt.
“It’s a Maserati Spyder. Why, d’ya like it?” He starts the engine and the dash lights up. He turns his head back towards me, waiting for an answer.
“I love it. Did you have the steering wheel custom made?” I watch as he turns the car effortlessly towards the gates at the front of my parents’ property.
“No, the steering wheel’s standard. What makes you ask that?” He has a slight smile on his face and it makes my heart do that little skipping thing; it’s like it misses a beat and then takes two extra fast ones to try and catch up.
“Because of the crown on the steering wheel.” He frowns again, while slowing the car down so he can undo his window and press the button to open the gates. He stops the car and looks at me for a moment.
“I don’t understand. Why would I have a steering wheel custom made with a crown on it?” I thought I was the one with jet lag and unable to think straight.
“Because your surname’s King… King, crown.” I shrug, not understanding why he doesn’t get the connection. He throws his head back and gives me that big booming laugh of his, and God, it does things to me. I’ve never been so turned on by a laugh before.
“Kitten, King is just my surname. If I was to have a custom made steering wheel made to represent me, it would have a little He-Man on it, coz I’m not just King of the world; I’m Master of the fucking Universe.” I laugh and shake my head. “Why you laughing? You fucking know it’s true.”
I continue to shake my head. “Just drive. Tiger, just drive.”
We pull out of the gates, and all hell breaks loose. There’s paparazzi everywhere and cameras are flashing. There’s banging on the doors and windows and people shouting, “Georgia, can you confirm that you’re in a relationship with Cameron King?”
“Georgia, is it true you spent the night in a Sydney hotel room on the anniversary of your husband’s death?”