* * *
That damned look spoiled Elena’s evening, but she didn’t want to admit it. Even after she’d changed out of her work clothes, she still felt uneasy. Tina picked up on Elena’s mood during dinner, and Elena made the mistake of snapping at her daughter when Tina called her on her grumpiness. That put Tina in a bad mood, which manifested in the girl’s behavior. She dug her heels in at every turn, refusing to take her plate to the kitchen sink after she’d been scolded for giving Toby table scraps.
And Camden was no help, taking Tina’s plate from the table. “Look, it’s no big deal, I was planning on washing the dishes anyway.”
“That’s not the point. She knows not to feed Toby table scraps and now she’s just being defiant.”
Camden reminded Elena that Toby had eaten far worse than takeout burgers. Elena ground her teeth and Tina took Camden’s efforts to lighten the mood as carte blanche to continue misbehaving, until Elena ordered her to her room where she could get ready for bed early.
“Camden, tell Mama she’s beingmean!” Tina shrieked the last word.
“Now, Mermaid, there’s no need for that,” Camden went to one knee in front of the little girl, his voice gentle. Which was not the back-up Elena wanted. Any other time, her heart would have melted the same way it did every other time she watched the big strong SEAL turn into an oversized Teddy bear under Tina’s influence. But this just felt like he was undermining her. Especially when Tina gave her a look full of triumph.
Elena pointed at Tina’s bedroom door. “That’sit! You are going to bed right now, no talking back, no whining, and no Toby!”
Tina’s triumphant look turned to a mask of tragedy. But Elena stayed firm. She would not let her daughter manipulate her just because Camden was there—especiallybecause Camden was there. But oh, God, the look on Camden’s face.Dammit.
Tina gave one last stomp before marching to her bedroom and slamming the door behind her.
“Elena—” Camden started, but she was in no mood.
“It’s easy for you. You spoil her, you do every little thing that she wants while I’m the one who has to lay down the rules all the time to make sure she’s safe, to make sure she stays healthy. I’m the one who almost lost her when she was a baby and I had no idea what was wrong, while she was slowly starving to death right the hell in front of me because her tiny helpless body couldn’t make insulin. I’m the one who had to be both her mom and dad when my husband died and left us stranded in godforsaken Ross, Nebraska. And then I almost lost her there again because of something that wasn’t even my fault.”
The apartment blurred as her eyes filled with tears. “I tried so hard to give her the best life I could while everything around us turned to shit. So hard all the time, and all by myself. When there wasn’t enough money to feed the both of us, I went hungry, and I never, ever, not even once resented her or thought about leaving her, even when it would have made my life easier.”
“I do know, Elena. I know how hard it was for you. I was there for the kidnapping.” His face was full of hurt, his eyes anguished. Instead of softening Elena’s mood, it spurred her anger. How dare he think he wasthere? That he understood anything about her life?
“You were there for the big rescue. Just doing your job, and then back to sunny California. You would’ve never seen us again, never given us a second thought, if we hadn’t moved out here. You have no idea what it’s like, day in and day out, how hard it is to be a parent.”
Elena immediately regretted her snotty, ungrateful tone and sentiment when Camden inhaled as if she’d just kicked him square in the balls and gave his dick a punch along with it.
“I’m sorry, that was so out of line. Most single guys don’t want to even be bothered with kids, and you go out of your way to make mine feel special.”
When she looked at him, Elena flinched. Now Camden looked like he wanted to punch something.
Her heart plummeted into her chest.Here it is. She’d gone too far and pushed him away. He had every right to be pissed when he’d been nothing but good to her and Tina. Maybe if she apologized again, she could salvage something, at least get back to a point where she didn’t have to avoid him at parties in the future. “Camden—”
“No, stop right there,” Camden cut her off and Elena’s stomach flipped. “We’re going to address this. You have no…noidea, how much your words hurt me just now, how they damn near kill me. No fucking clue. So, yes, we’re gonna address this, and I’m going to set you straight on a few things. But first,” his expression softened as he stood up. “I’m the one who should be saying sorry.”
“What? No, you have nothing to apologize about. I’m the one being a fucking bitch.”
Camden shook his head. “First, don’t you ever let me catch you calling yourself a bitch again. That is not you, and it will never be you, so stop it. I’m mad at you right now, sure, and I’m hurt. But you have every right to be pissed at me, too. Look, I adore Tina, and so it’s easy for me to bend to that little girl’s will. You’re right, I’d do anything for her.”
Camden crossed the short distance between them and cupped her face. “Second, I’d do anything—anything, Elena—to make you happy. But instead, tonight I put you in a position with Tina where you’ve got to be the bad cop to my good cop, and that’s not fair to you. So.” He leaned forward and kissed her forehead, then looked into her eyes. “I’m sorry that I’ve been a complete dumbass, and I promise—from now on, I’ll do the heavy lifting with Tina right along with you.”
Elena blinked rapidly.Is this really happening?
Camden smirked. “You got something in your eyes, Gorgeous?”
“No, I’m just…thank you.”
“So, apology accepted?”
“Yes.” She placed her hands on his cheeks and brought him in for a kiss. She tried to deepen it, but he stopped her.
“Like I said, we’re gonna sort some things before we go too far down that road, because even though I’m angry, I still want to do this”—he licked the seam of her lips—“until you’re begging me for more. Now give me a sec, because I also have to do something else first.”
He got up and went to Tina’s door. He knocked and Tina yelled something back in an angry voice.
