Sally had asked in shock. “Why on earth haven’t you told him?”
Julia hastily explained that she’d tried, but Cameron had never called or returned her messages.
Sally rolled her eyes in exasperation. “Why am I not surprised? I’m sorry Julia, but my son can be stubborn.”
Then Sally promised Julia that she wouldn’t say a word to Cameron. Her lips were pursed in determination as she called over the hotel manager and told him to put Julia and the baby in Cameron’s suite. Julia had protested, but Sally managed to convince her that Cameron would be gone for the next two weeks.
“He’ll never know what happened,” Sally had said with an innocent smile. “Trust me.”
Julia let herself into the suite and was surprised by the silence. There were no lights on, no sounds of activity anywhere. Back home, her house was never this quiet. Had Cameron taken the baby somewhere? Maybe Sally Duke had followed through on her promise to babysit and rushed up here to take the baby off to play.
Julia left her briefcase and purse on a dining room chair and considered pouring herself a glass of wine. The thought was irresistible but she would check on Jake first, then see about the wine.
It had been a long, intense day. She would have to talk with Cameron’s mother eventually.
The fact that Sally had set them both up still baffled Julia. And she had to wonder what Sally would think when Julia told her that Cameron had discovered her in his shower.
“Maybe I won’t go into quite so much detail,” Julia muttered to herself. Removing her high heels, she walked down the hall to the baby’s bedroom and still didn’t hear anything. When she pushed the door open, the first thing she saw was the empty crib. She suffered a moment of consternation as she wondered where her baby could be. The room was dim with the lights off but the drapes were open, letting in the dusky twilight. Looking beyond the crib to the twin beds, she finally spotted Cameron laid out, with little Jake sprawled on his chest, sound asleep. Cameron’s big hands were splayed protectively across the baby’s back, holding him in place.
Julia’s heart stuttered in her chest as she tried to swallow the emotional lump in her throat. Had she ever seen anything more beautiful than the sight before her?
Oh, she was in such big trouble.
She sighed, wondering if she could possibly be a bigger sap than she’d already been over Cameron Duke. There was no way she would fall for him again. Hadn’t she learned her lesson about commitment-phobic men? Besides, she and Jake were doing just great on their own, thanks very much.
But now Cameron was back in the picture and he’d made a few things quite clear. First, despite his apparent affection for Jake, he didn’t yet believe that the child was his son. Second, he’d like a repeat performance of the wild affair they’d had the last time they were together. But Julia had her child to consider now, and she was no longer interested in sex without love. Cameron wasn’t about to open his heart to her, let alone fall in love and marry her.
And she was fine with that. She’d grown a lot stronger in the year and a half since Cameron had refused to answer her messages. She was happy. Her life was full. She neither wanted nor needed Cameron Duke in her life anymore. No, the only thing she needed right now was someone who could convince her that everything she’d just told herself wasn’t a big, fat lie.
Four
Cameron heard a sigh and his eyes flew open. Julia stood a few feet away, staring down at him and Jake. She was still dressed in her serious business suit but she looked softer, almost more fragile now than she had that morning. He didn’t budge from his position as he whispered, “He’s asleep.”
“I see that,” she said quietly. “So were you.”
“Nope,” he countered. “Not asleep. Just resting my eyes.”
“Ah.” She smiled. “We should probably wake him up now or he won’t sleep through the night.”
Cameron frowned. “I never thought of that.”
“That’s okay, you didn’t know,” she said, walking to the edge of the bed.
Cameron patted and stroked Jake’s back. “Hey, buddy, mom’s home. Time for some grub.”
The baby stretched and grunted. Cameron watched as he blinked, then stared into Cameron’s eyes and began to whimper.
“Shh,” Cameron said, as Jake’s lips quivered. Concerned, Cameron shifted his gaze to Julia. “Why is he going to cry?”
“He’s always a little crabby when he first wakes up from a nap,” Julia said, reaching for the baby. “He’s a bit disoriented and probably needs his diaper changed.”
“Again?” Cameron frowned, feeling strangely bereft without the weight of the baby on his chest. “But the babysitter took care of that before she left.”
“I’m sure she did,” Julia said, smiling as she snuggled Jake against her shoulder. She slipped her feet into a pair of flat shoes she’d left by the bed. “But knowing Jake, I’d better check anyway.”
“Okay,” Cameron said, standing and stretching. “I’ll watch what you do. Just so, you know, in case you’re not around, I’ll know what to do.”
“Oh.” She seemed taken aback, as though the thought had never occurred to her that he was capable or interested in taking care of the baby. “Okay. Good idea.”
Sure enough, Jake needed a clean diaper in a big way. As Julia handled the task with an efficiency Cameron could only marvel at, she asked, “Did you speak with the nurse?”
It took him a moment to figure out what she was talking about. Then, for some reason, Cameron decided he wasn’t quite ready to concede that Julia was right about Jake being his son. He’d let her squirm for a bit longer. “Oh, for the blood test? Not yet.”
She sighed. “I don’t know why you can’t see it. Your mother knew Jake was your son within seconds. And before you jump to any conclusions, let me assure you that I didn’t say one word to her. She just knew.”
“My mother?” Cameron frowned. “She saw Jake?”
As she maneuvered Jake into some kind of stretchy blue pajama thing, Julia related what Sally had told her the day before.
“Okay, I’ll admit my mother might have a scheme in mind,” Cameron said, watching her. “That still doesn’t mean Jake’s my son. I mean, I can’t imagine I’m the only guy you’ve ever …” Cameron couldn’t continue with that thought. He didn’t want to picture Julia with other men, not that it was any of his business what she did or who she did it with. He just didn’t want to think about it. He coughed to cover his uneasiness. “Anyway, as I said before, we used protection. So you want to tell me how this could have happened?”
Julia raised her gaze to meet his. “Of course we used protection, but for goodness’ sake, Cameron. Don’t you remember how many times we did it that weekend? Something was bound to happen.”
Yeah, he remembered. And even after all this time, Cameron’s groin still stiffened at the memory of that red hot meeting of lips and tongues,
