Suddenly, Elena wasn’t sure she wanted to take that risk yet.
Camden must have read her reluctance as she watched Tina and Toby. He didn’t try to kiss her, only brushed her upper arm, sending the most delicious shivers all the way down to her fingertips. This wouldn’t be easy. She gave him her warmest smile, hoping he’d somehow understand. He’d told her they’d talk tonight, that he’d tell her about his past. It was only fair that she open up to him as well. Then he could decide if she was worth pursuing. And, she needed to talk to Tina, to see how much she remembered of her father beyond the stories Elena told her and the photographs they had.
“You’re far away tonight,” Camden said softly. The look in his eyes asked her what she was thinking.
“Yeah. Maybe a little.” She watched Tina lead Toby to her room, where Elena imagined the little girl had a cracker hidden away as a treat. The sound of crunching a moment later verified her hunch.
She turned to Camden, stood on her tiptoes—without her heels on, he was significantly taller—and kissed him. As he deepened their kiss, she felt like she wasn’t just on tiptoes anymore but floating. Any contact with him left her feeling that way. His tongue carefully probed her mouth and she reciprocated, running the tip of her tongue along his lips until he groaned. She pulled back feeling light-headed, and smiled into his half-lidded gaze.
Hand on her upper arms, he steadied her. “Well, hello there. God, you look amazing.” When she glanced at Tina’s room, he touched her cheek and gently turned her face back to him. “I get it. No kissing in front of Tina.”
“It’s not you, it’s—”
He touched her lips. “I know.” A brief flash of pain shown in his eyes. “At least, I think I know because…well, it has to do with something I want to talk to you about tonight.”
“Are we good?” Elena asked. She never wanted to be the cause of any pain, however brief, that took away his happiness.
“Solid.” He bent and brushed his lips against her forehead. If he kept doing lovely things like that, he’d have to tie a string to her wrist so she could float above him like a balloon.
He laid his hand against the small of her back. “Let’s go to dinner and then talk.”
* * *
The restaurant was everything Camden had promised—family-friendly, relaxed, and the food was phenomenal, though Elena thought of ways she’d riff on each dish. They sat on the patio where Toby could join them, lying at Tina’s feet the entire time, hoping for scraps. The dog was no fool. But while Elena admonished Tina when she ‘accidentally’ dropped a piece of bread, Camden just shook his head and laughed.
“Pepita, that’s enough. You don’t want to make poor Toby sick, do you?”
Tina stared at her mother with wide eyes and put the next piece of bread she’d hidden back on her plate.
Camden grinned at Tina. “My boss Lach said Toby’s eaten MREs, including part of the plastic package once. He’ll be fine.”
Elena glared at Camden. “You arenothelping.” And he really wasn’t. Give Tina an inch and she’d take a mile. Her daughter loved pushing boundaries and needed to be reined in sometimes, and he obviously didn’t get it.
Camden bowed his head, keeping his playful gaze on Elena. “I apologize. I’ll stop encouraging her bad behavior. So, tell me about Tina’s nickname. It’s unusual.”
“Pepita? Antonio named her that right after the first ultrasound. She was the little seed that turned my belly into a pumpkin.” Elena grinned at the memory.
“Antonio was your husband.”
Elena’s hand absently went to the wedding ring on its chain. She quickly dropped her hand back into her lap, but to Camden’s credit, he didn’t look jealous or upset. “Yes. He was…is…Tina’s Papa.”
Camden reached across the table and took her hand in his. “It’s a sweet nickname.”
After dinner, they took a brief walk on the beach, which was only a block from the restaurant. Camden confessed it was one of the reasons why he chose the place, knowing Tina would want to go back. They didn’t get to the beach in time for another magic trick, but Tina was still happy to play in the surf with Toby while Elena and Camden followed along behind in the pink and orange light. At one point, Tina ran back and asked, “Camden? Could you put two cameras somewhere on the earth so that you could see the sun rising and setting at the exact same time?”
Camden’s eyebrows shot up as Elena’s belly filled with warm pride for her bright daughter. “I guess you could.”
“Where would you put them?”
He laughed. “I have no idea off the top of my head. They’d have to be really far apart though. Why do you ask?”
“I don’t know. It’d be cool.” She started after Toby, got three steps away, and turned back. “You could set one up at the top of Burj Khalifa in Dubai.”
Camden stopped walking and his jaw dropped. “How did you…?” His eyes widened along with his smile. “Wait. I can’t believe you remember me telling you that name the last time we were on the beach.”
The little girl shrugged like it was no big deal. Then she raced away to scold Toby for barking at a flock of seagulls.
Camden gave Elena a look full of astonishment. “Wow. Just, wow. She is so smart and observant.”
