I press a hand against my chest, willing my heart to calm down. “What kind of weapon is that?”
His cheeks turn a light shade of pink. “It was the first thing within grabbing distance.”
He thought you were in danger, so he didn’t want to waste any time.
My throat swells, stealing my ability to speak.
Cami barrels into the room, her small hands raised in a fighting stance she learned in karate. “I’ll save you!” She slices her hands through the air and spin kicks. Her feet slide across the carpet, her arms flailing as she loses her balance.
Cal ditches the lamp to catch her right before she crashes against the floor. He lifts her into the air, making her giggle.
My heart thuds against my chest in betrayal. It’s impossible not to have some sort of reaction as Cal throws her in the air again, earning another loud laugh before placing her back on her feet.
Cal looks up at me, catching me staring at him and Cami’s interaction. “What happened?”
I point a shaky finger at the dark space under the bed. “There is something underneath the bed.”
“What?”
“I don’t know. It’s not like I got a good look before it hissed at me.”
“Oh, that’s Merlin.” Cal’s eyes sparkle as he offers me his hand. I’m a little wobbly on my feet, mainly due to the way Cal scans my body for any injuries.
I look away first. “That thing is your cat?”
Cami gasps. “You have a cat?”
He nods, and Cami instantly abandons us for the bed.
“Cami, no! He’s not nice.” I swoop and pull her back.
Cal shakes his head. “That’s not true. Merlin might sound scary, but he’s harmless. I swear. He doesn’t even have claws because his last owner was an abusive jerk, so you don’t have to worry about him hurting anyone. The worst thing he does is shed, but I have a robot vacuum for that.”
My heart aches. “He was declawed?”
“Yes, and that isn’t even the worst of it.”
Good God. My weakness for strays is starting to show itself at the worst time.
“Can I pet him? Please?” Cami looks up at me while batting her lashes.
I look to Cal for approval.
“It’s fine with me.”
I sigh with resignation. “All right.” I can just tell with the way Cami’s eyes light up, she is going to be attached to Merlin by the end of the night.
Cami army crawls toward the bed while cooing and calling Merlin’s name. He doesn’t come out, which makes her frown.
“He doesn’t like me.”
Cal shakes his head with a smile and kneels beside her.
For the second time tonight, I bear witness to Cal being sweet to my kid for no other reason than he is just that kind of guy.
“He is a little shy.” He holds out his hand beneath the bed.
Cami waits, her body trembling from her growing excitement.
It takes a minute, but thanks to Cal’s persistence and Cami’s patience, a skinny black cat comes crawling out from underneath the bed. He rubs against Cal’s thigh, his tail swishing back and forth as Cal runs his hand down the cat’s spine.
“Slowly pet him.” Cal shows Cami one more time before letting her try.
Cami reaches out her hand with the intention to brush her fingers across Merlin’s fur, but the cat darts outside of the room before she has a chance.
Her smile falls. “He hates me.”
“He’s just grumpy, but I have a trick.” Cal stands before lifting Cami up and on to her feet.
He shows her his secret stash of catnip and Merlin’s favorite toy. Cami watches with fascination as he fills the toy full of the stuff before handing her the pole it is attached to with a string.
With Cal’s instruction, Cami dangles the fish in front of the couch where Merlin is hiding underneath. When Merlin’s paw darts out to catch the feathered fish, Cami squeals. Cal ends up laughing at her reaction, and I find myself doing the same.
I stick back, both enamored and terrified by their interaction. The more the two of them spend time together, the more I worry that Cami might grow attached to Cal. I know what it feels like to have your heart crushed by none other than Callahan Kane. It leaves a void that can’t be filled, no matter how hard one tries.
I’ve made plenty of mistakes, but I wonder if I made the biggest one yet by allowing my daughter to get caught up in Cal’s spell. If she is anything like me, then there is no way she won’t end up loving him. But then he will leave, and I’ll be stuck picking up the pieces yet again.
Except this time, it won’t be my heart he breaks.
It will be my daughter’s.
27
CAL
Living with Lana and Cami is a completely different experience than seeing them every now and then back at the main house while I was cleaning out the attic. For starters, the entire house is filled with toys. Boxes upon boxes of toys. The whole living room is a minefield of Legos, princess dolls, and enough stuffed animals for Cami to play pretend school.
The kid is cute as fuck as she acts out her mother’s Spanish class, switching from English to Spanish, with Lana correcting her every now and then while she prepares dinner in the kitchen.
Cami points a paper towel roll at the mini whiteboard she wrote on. “Vamos a apprendo espa?ol.”
“Vamos a aprender espa?ol.”
Cami repeats the phrase before earning a flour-covered thumbs-up from her mother.
I chuckle underneath my breath, giving away the fact that I was pretending to read.
“Cal, do you want to play with me?” Cami runs over to me and tugs on my hand.
Lana looks up from her cutting board. “I think Cal is busy.”
She’s been rather icy the last couple of days, ever since the day after she moved in. I’ve tried to break through with a few jokes, but nothing seems to get past her. Even my attempts to not drink do nothing to lighten the mood.
She has been careful to not leave me alone with Cami for longer than a minute, which wasn’t the case before.
What changed?
Honestly, not knowing is driving me a little crazy. I’m not sure what happened between her offering to be my friend and now. Whatever is going on in her head can’t be good, and I’m tempted to corner her and get some answers.
Maybe once Cami falls asleep I can.
“Please?” Cami blinks up at me with her long lashes.
“Sure. I’d love to play with you, kiddo.” I stand and follow a beaming Cami, all while Lana glares at me.
I spend the next twenty minutes impersonating a student while Cami attempts to read me a book in Spanish. She trips over the words, and I do my best to help her out, with Lana interjecting every now and then on words I mispronounce.
My neck and spine prickle every now and then. When I look around, I find Lana quickly busying herself with something in the kitchen.
What’s going on?
“All right, Camila. Time for dinner.” Lana tugs her apron over her head.
The smells coming from the oven make me wish she extended me the same invitation, although I know that won’t happen.