I finally add, “Your mom told me about your dad.”
“Well, I would hope so.” Lizzy opens the bag with the glazed donuts inside and pulls one out. She takes a big bite and swallows before she continues. “Losing Daddy isn’t Mom’s problem, though. Don’t get me wrong, she loved Daddy. But it’s been two years, you know what I mean?”
I glance over at Lizzy and furrow my brows. “There’s no time frame on mourning the loss of a loved one.”
“Oh, I know. But if you’re going to date my mom, you need to know the entire story.” She stares at me like she’s waiting for me to say something. But I don’t know what to say because I have no idea what she’s talking about. “Did she tell you about Alex?”
I shake my head, my heart beating so loudly, my ears are ringing. “Who’s Alex?”
Her shoulders slump, and she sighs. “My brother.”
My eyes widen, and I think I stop breathing. What the actual fuck? How could I not know this? After all this time—in her house, out with her, kissing her, talking to her, looking at the photos in her study—not once has she mentioned an Alex. “Cami didn’t tell me she had a son.”
“She refuses to talk about him. He died in the car accident with Daddy. That’s the loss that’s really holding her back.”
“Fuck.” I squeeze the bridge of my nose before running my fingers down my beard and around my mouth. Competing with a deceased husband is one thing, but a deceased child? Thereisn’t anything I can do to help her move past that loss. Hell, does anyone ever get over a loss like that?
Why didn’t she tell me? We may be taking things slow, but I thought she trusted me. “Maybe you shouldn’t be telling me this. Camille obviously wasn’t ready for me to know this part of her life.”
“Alex was my brother and a huge part of my life. I can talk about him all I want.”
“Maybe so, but considering my feelings for your mom, it doesn’t seem right for you to tell mehersecrets.”
“Hmm.” She eats the rest of the glazed donut as I start the truck. We drive in silence for the first few minutes, both of us focusing on drinking our coffees. My mind is trapped in a tailspin, and I can’t wrap my head around this new information. I don’t know what to do with it, and I have no time to prepare myself before seeing Camille again. We’ll be at her house in less than ten minutes.
“I like you, Adam.” Her admission surprises me. “Any man who’d stop a conversation like this has to be a good man. But I’m gonna tell you anyway. So, listen carefully. If you want a chance with my mom, you need to fully understand her issues.”
I shake my head. The last thing I want is for Camille to feel betrayed. “I’m a patient man. If she wants to reveal anything to me, she will in her own time.”
“Well, I’m not patient, and I want Mom to be happy. Even if that means she had to move all the way across the country to find it.”
Her last words make me defensive for Camille’s choices, and I feel the urge to defend her. “You don’t support her decision to move?”
“Oh, I do. She had to get away. She’d never let herself truly live again any other way. I may be the only person in her lifewho truly understands that. You see, she blames herself for the accident.”
“Was she driving?”
“No. She wasn’t even in the car. She was at home with me. We were going to watch a movie. Mom wanted popcorn, but we didn’t have any. So, Daddy and Alex ran out to the store to get some. They should’ve been back in twenty minutes. But that didn’t happen. It was raining. Another car was driving too fast, hydroplaned, and slammed into Daddy’s car.”
I wince at the factual, and somewhat emotionless, description from Lizzy. I’m sure all this has been equally as hard on her. I’m sure her way of describing the accident is in part a coping mechanism, but I don’t like it.
“That’s hardly Cami’s fault,” I finally manage to say.
“I know that. But try convincing her of that. She thinks if she hadn’t wanted popcorn, then they wouldn’t have left in the first place. Then they’d still be here. That’s the real issue you have to overcome. What do they call it, survivor’s guilt?”
“Why are you telling me all this?”
“Like I said, you seem like a nice guy.” She smiles. “And you did buy me coffee and donuts.” She pauses, then gives me another frown before she points at me. “Then again, you could be luring me out to the middle of nowhere, and I’ll never be heard from again.”
She laughs, and I groan. “You’re safe. Trust me.”
“Oddly enough, I do.”
She leans back in her seat and kicks her feet up on the dashboard, sipping her coffee. I can’t stop thinking about how upset Camille is going to be when she finds out Lizzy told me the truth.
CHAPTER 12
CAMILLE
