better.”
Jake shuddered and sniffled as Cameron soothed away his pain.
“Hey, you’re getting to be a real big boy,” he murmured, patting his back. “Come on. It’s all better now. All better. And just wait till your mama hears what you did.”
The emotion hit him so fast and hard, Cameron almost fell to his knees himself. Julia needed to know that Jake had walked. He raced into the house to call her immediately. Who better to share this special moment with?
As Cameron picked up the phone, he rubbed his chest, recognizing the heavy feeling. He’d felt it that night at the big party, while watching Julia as she talked to his friend Byron. Now the feelings seemed to come in waves and they filled his chest with so much warmth, he had a hard time catching his breath. It wasn’t pain. It was an emotion he’d never felt with any other woman but her.
He stared at the phone for a few seconds, then put it back in its cradle. What would he do when Jake had another special moment? Would he rush to call Julia? And what would happen when Jake started walking for real? If Cameron wasn’t there, would Julia call him to describe his every movement, bit by bit, over the phone? Was Cameron prepared to miss all those special moments of their lives?
And what would happen if Jake fell down again? What if Cameron wasn’t there when Jake cried? Who would kiss and make it better?
And what if something happened to Julia? Who would kiss her and make her feel better when she was hurt? She’d spent much of her life having no one around to do that for her. He was ashamed to admit that he hadn’t come forward to do it for her, either.
Would she find someone else? Someone with the guts to stand by her side and love her as she deserved to be loved? Would some other man move into Julia’s life and take Cameron’s place?
Would Cameron really sit on the sidelines and let that happen?
“Hell, no,” he swore. If anyone was going to love Julia, it was going to be him.
“Damn it, Julia,” he muttered, grabbing his keys and Jake’s diaper bag. “I warned you.”
He drove up into the hills above Dunsmuir Bay to Glen Haven Farm, Julia’s home. She and Jake had their living quarters in the east wing. It was a nice set-up, with three bedrooms, a couple of bathrooms, a good-size sitting room, as Julia called it, and a great old kitchen. It was comfy and lived-in, unlike the rest of the big old house.
He still couldn’t picture the little girl she’d been, trying to grow up in what was more like a fine arts museum than a home. But that was okay, because he was determined to make sure she wouldn’t live here much longer.
Holding Jake securely in his arms, Cameron rang the doorbell and waited for the maid or housekeeper to open the heavy double doors.
Instead, Julia showed up, looking beautiful and sexy in jeans, sneakers and an apron spotted with chocolate smears. “Hi.”
“Hi,” Cameron said, and gazed into the dark blue eyes he’d fallen for the first time he ever saw her. He’d settled on a plan of action on the drive over here. He’d worked out all the right things to say, and just how to say them. But when faced with his fate, he simply blurted, “I love you, Julia. Please come home.”
He watched her swallow, then she bit her lip as her forehead furrowed in a frown. “I’m sorry. I’m not sure I heard you quite right. Could you maybe repeat that three or four more times?”
“I’m in love with you, Julia,” he said. “I love you more than anything in the world. I want you and Jake to live with me and I want more babies and I want a dog. A big one. But more than anything else, I want you back, Julia. I love you so much. Come back home and don’t ever leave me again.”
She tilted her head. “Once more?”
He laughed and grabbed her in a fierce embrace and she kissed him with all the love she could muster. “Of course I’ll come home. I’ve just been waiting for you to ask.”
“Mama!” Jake giggled and waved his hands.
Cameron’s heart was bursting with joy. “I love you more than anything. Will you marry me all over again? We’ll have a huge, fancy wedding. You can wear a designer dress and we’ll invite a thousand people. There’ll be a gigantic cake. I promise we’ll do it the right way this time. Just please come home with me. I love you.”
She kissed him again with her arms still wrapped around him and Jake. “Silly man. You still don’t get it. I don’t need another wedding, Cameron. I already have everything I’ve ever wanted right here in my arms.”
KATE CARLISLE
