I went rigid, my heart jumping into my throat. I needed to get up and slip out before they found me here, in their father’s bed, with questions I didn’t know how to answer.
I tried to pull away, but Cam’s arm locked around my waist, holding me in place.
“But the girls,” I whispered urgently. The footsteps were getting closer.
“Don’t stress.” He pressed another kiss to my forehead. “I’ve got it.”
Before I could argue, his bedroom door burst open.
“Daddy, can we have eggs for—” Audrey stopped mid-sentence, her eyes going wide. “Emily?”
Alice pushed past her sister, bouncing on her toes when she spotted me. “Emily’s here! Why is Emily here?”
Heat rushed into my cheeks. I felt like a teenager caught sneaking in past curfew, but Cam didn’t even flinch. He sat up, keeping his arm firmly around my waist, totally unbothered by the interrogation committee at the foot of his bed.
“She had a nightmare and needed a cuddle,” he said. Simple as that.
Audrey’s expression shifted from surprise to understanding. She nodded sagely. “That makes sense. Daddy gives the BEST cuddles.”
Alice was already climbing onto the bed. “I’m good at cuddles too. Do you need another one?”
Oh god, I was for sure gonna cry.
“I would love another cuddle,” I managed, my voice a little thick.
Alice threw herself at me, wrapping her small arms around my neck. Audrey climbed up on Cam’s other side, reaching over to pat my arm.
“It’s okay, Emily,” she said, her voice grave. “Daddy says nightmares are just your brain playing tricks on you, coz sometimes it likes to be scared.”
Okay, well this was adorable and it sure went a long way to making me feel better. “Is that what’s happening?”
She gave a solemn nod.
“And what does Daddy say we should do about it?”
“You need to tell your brain to stop being stupid and that you don’t like it.”
I hugged Alice close, catching Cam’s eye over her head. The way he was looking at me made my heart roll over. Dragging my gaze away, I turned back to Audrey.
“Thank you, sweetheart,” I told her. “I’ll try that next time.”
“Can Emily have breakfast with us?” Alice asked, pulling back to look at her dad hopefully.
“If she wants to,” Cam replied. “Emily’s welcome to stay as long as she likes.”
The way he said it, steady and certain, made me believe it.
There was no way I could face being alone right now, and since Maya had picked up a weekend shift, I said, “I’d love breakfast. What are we having?”
“Options are eggs or pancakes,” Cam said.
“I can’t pass up the best pancakes I’ve ever tasted.”
“Yay!” Alice scrambled off the bed. “Come on, Audrey! We need to get the syrup ready!”
The girls thundered out of the room, already arguing about whether they needed regular syrup or the special strawberry kind.
The sudden quiet they left behind felt loaded. I glanced at Cam, feeling oddly shy all of a sudden. He still had that soft look in his eyes. He reached up and brushed my hair back from my forehead before leaning in to kiss me, soft and lingering.
