Mommy Loves The Military Man (Mommy's Little Matchmakers Book 2) Page 4

  “My parents moved to town and helped out a lot after that. When I had trips. It takes a village and all. That was, until I got transferred to Ft. Dunwoody. They didn’t want to leave Georgia. But the move was the right one for me and Mariana.”

  Cameron tried unsuccessfully to stifle a sigh. She had no regrets getting to know Alex and Mariana for Lizzie’s sake, but that had to be it. Yet Alex wasn’t looking at her like just a parent.

  Boomer darted onto the porch behind her, his huge body barreling into her legs and shoving her. Right into Alex’s arms. “I’m sorry. Again. I should just draft a blanket apology to auto-send in my messenger app. I seem to be saying it to you all the time.”

  “There’s nothing to be worried about.” Alex’s gaze said it all. He was definitely looking at her tonight as more than a fellow parent.

  How had she gotten herself into this situation? Oh yeah. She hadn’t. Lizzie had. Cameron picked up her wine glass. Shoot, empty. And after her ungraceful snort, she wasn’t about to risk more wine. Now she just had to find a way to ignore her growing attraction. Thankfully, she was saved from further embarrassment when the girls threw open the back door. “Mom, can Mariana sleep over tonight?”

  Lizzie knew better than to ask for a sleepover in front of the other girl. Cameron would add that to the long list of things to discuss with her daughter later. “Lizzie, it’s a school night. That’s not a good idea. We’ll set something up for the two of you very soon.”

  Lizzie’s face fell. “Do you promise?”

  “I promise.”

  Alex turned. “On that note, we should probably be going. Mariana, how about you grab a couple of dishes and we’ll help clean up before we go?”

  Josh had never helped with dishes. He was always on the run, grabbing a bite between activities rather than sitting down for a family dinner. Not only had Alex sat through the entire meal, he’d engaged her and the girls in conversation, and he was now offering to help with the dishes. What in the heck was she doing telling herself not to like this guy? She should be grabbing hold of him with both hands. If only he wasn’t in the military and likely to travel out of town for long periods of time.

  Instead of reaching for Alex, she threw her arm around Lizzie’s shoulder. “That’s not necessary. We have our own bus person and dishwasher right here. It’s the least she can do tonight for bringing you out under false pretenses.”

  “As long as you’re sure.”

  She nodded and squeezed Lizzie’s shoulder as her daughter tried to escape. “Absolutely.”

  He pulled out his phone. “Let me give you my number. You can use it to arrange that sleepover. And the next time we think the girls are up to something, we can check in with each other so we don’t get hoodwinked again.”

  His reasoning was sound. It was a good thing one of them was using logic. Because she was too focused on fighting her attraction to think straight.

  As soon as she escorted Alex and Mariana out the front door and closed it behind them, she sank to the floor. Dinner had worn her out, but it was more the emotional confusion that Alex stirred up than anything else. Turmoil that she needed to avoid.

  “Are you mad, Mommy?”

  She opened her eyes to find her sweet daughter looking at her, her head tilted. That little gesture was what had attracted Cameron to Josh in the first place. She pointed toward the sofa. “On the couch. Now.”

  She’d never seen Lizzie move so fast.

  Cameron drew in a deep breath. Lizzie hadn’t intended anything malicious when she’d dreamed up this scheme, so addressing the issue with anger wouldn’t do the situation any good. “What were you thinking?”

  “I just… I…”

  The spinning wheels in her daughter’s head were almost audible. She fiddled with her hair and looked anywhere but at Cameron. “I’m sorry. I just wanted to have dinner with Mariana. And I thought her dad was nice and that you’d have fun if he came, too.”

  Daggone it. When Lizzie put it like that, it didn’t sound so bad. But she couldn’t put a stamp of approval on any sneaking around. Her daughter had obviously known this was no innocent mistake. “All of that is fine, but why did you lie to me and Mariana’s dad?”

  “I didn’t think you’d agree if I asked you.”

  “Why not?”

  “I’ve heard Grandma bug you about never going out with friends or anywhere without me or Grandma. I just wanted you to have fun tonight. You had fun, didn’t you? I heard you and Mr. Sanchez laughing. It sounded like fun to me. And nobody had to cook.”

  Cameron sucked in a breath. Lizzie wasn’t wrong. But she didn’t know what Cameron did… going out with her friends was how she’d met Josh in the first place. And look how that turned out. But she’d gotten the better end of that deal—a beautiful little girl. Even as she tried to glower at her sufficiently-chastised daughter. “It wasn’t fair to me and Mr. Sanchez to surprise us like that, so how about no more lies, okay?”

  “Okay, Mommy.” Lizzie jumped up and headed down the hall.

  “Where do you think you’re going, young lady?” Cameron pointed to the kitchen. “You’ve got dishes to do.”

  * * *

  The doorbell rang right when Cameron was in the middle of a complicated debug. She almost ignored the bell. It was probably a door-to-door salesman, anyway. Or, worse, a kid selling fundraiser candy. Always impossible to turn down.

  The bell rang again. Shoot. She couldn’t concentrate if she was thinking about who was standing on her porch. She hit the save button, hurried across the house, and threw the door open.

  Where she saw a delivery man holding an arrangement of flowers.

  “Cameron Baldwin? These are for you.”

  She accepted the bouquet that was thrust into her hands. The young man then beat a path to his car so fast that she didn’t have a chance to tip him.

  She buried her nose in the flowers. Much better than fundraiser candy—and cheaper. And they were her favorite—Gerbera daisies and alstroemeria lilies. Were these from Mom apologizing for conspiring with Lizzie last night?

  They hadn’t talked long, but Cameron had had a few choice words with Mom before she headed out to yoga this morning.

  As she wandered into the kitchen, Boomer crashed against the sides of his crate and barked at the large bouquet of flowers. Why did the dog with the world’s most sensitive stomach eat everything he could sink his teeth into? And then throw up on unwitting houseguests? Boomer wasn’t coming anywhere near these flowers.

  She slipped the card out of the envelope. “Thank you for a wonderful evening. We should do it again.”

  The card wasn’t signed, but it didn’t need to be. Alex had sent these.

  She buried her nose in the fragrant flowers until she remembered that she wasn’t going to like Alex. She certainly wasn’t going to fall in love with him. She couldn’t get involved with anyone in the Army. Or the Navy or Marines, for that matter. The military sent their soldiers on assignment. Sometimes for a year or longer at a time. So, Alex couldn’t be in the Army and guarantee he could stick around. And sticking around was a requirement on her list.

  She grabbed her phone and dashed off a text. I don’t think so.

  A minute later, the “delivered” switched to “read,” and three dots flashed on her screen. Cameron?

  Yes.

  What don’t you think so?

  He had sent the flowers. He should know what she is talking about. I’m not looking for anything. You’re a nice man and our kids are friends, but that’s it.

  His response came almost immediately. I understand.

  So why the flowers?

  She stared at the screen, waiting for the three dots. She nearly dropped her phone when it rang.

  “Alex?”

  “What flowers?” he said in that husky voice that had washed over her last night when they’d talked on the dark porch.

  “The flowers you…” About the time she said flowers, she realized her mistake. “You didn’t send
flowers, did you?”

  “Uh, no.”

  She sank into a chair and thumped her head on the kitchen table. Again. And again. What was it about this man that had her constantly embarrassing herself?

  “Oh, God.” She thumped her head on the table again.

  Alex laughed. At least he found something funny about this situation. “So what kind of flowers did I send?”

  She could play along with his joke. “You should know, you sent them.”

  “Hmmm. Let’s see.” She could almost picture him thinking with the same intensity he’d shown last night. “You don’t strike me as a roses girl, although a traditional dozen buds is always a reliable go-to. No, I think you’re something lighter. Happier. Gerbera daisies, perhaps?”

  Suspiciously accurate. “How did you know that?”

  “Despite our less than auspicious meeting. I can tell you are a genuinely happy person. And happy people need bright, beautiful flowers.”

  “I meant what I said.”

  “I know.”

  “About not looking for anything more.” Despite the fact he ticked more boxes on her list than any man she’d met since she’d written that blasted thing.

  “I heard you.”

  “So you need to stop being all charming and sweet.”

  “You think I’m charming and sweet?” She could practically hear him smiling through the phone.

  “See? Just like that. Stop.”

  “I’m not doing anything. Have a good day, Cameron.” Alex laughed and clicked off before she could respond.

  She smiled at the bouquet. Fresh flowers always brightened her day. She headed for her room to shut them away from the dog, who had a special affinity for fresh flowers… and smelled something so much worse.

  “Boomer!”

  * * *

  As soon as she got home from school, Lizzie cracked open Mom’s bedroom door and spied the flowers Grandma had helped her send. Her plan was working perfectly. She hurried to her room and whipped out her phone, swiping to call to Mariana.

  “Mom got the flowers. She didn’t throw them out.”

  “But do you think she thinks they’re from my dad?”

  “Of course. Who else would be sending her flowers?”

  Mariana giggled. “What’s next?”

  “How about a movie? You ask your Dad, I’ll ask Mom, and we’ll show up at the same time.”

  “Sounds perfect.”

  Chapter Three

  “Mom, the new Jennifer Mason movie came out yesterday. Can we go see it? Please? Please?” Lizzie hopped up and down in front of Cameron early on Saturday morning.

  Cameron contemplated the list of chores she’d written up for today. Nope. Movie wasn’t on it anywhere. Laundry and grocery shopping, sure, but not a movie.

  Cleaning the house was also on the list. Speaking of which… “Have you cleaned your room?”

  “Of course, I have.”

  “Did you pick the dirty clothes up off the floor?” And put them in the hamper. Cameron bit her tongue to keep from adding the additional question, but Lizzie had been begging her to stop treating her like a baby. Cameron was trying.

  “Yes, M-ooooo-mmmm.”

  “What about under your bed?”

  Lizzie’s mouth pressed into a line. Busted.

  Cameron scanned the kitchen and added clean the stove to her list. But where was “have fun with her daughter”? Shouldn’t that be on the list, too? The laundry would be there tomorrow. So would the dirty stove. But one day, Lizzie would be grown and Cameron didn’t want to regret not spending more time with her.

  “How about you clean under your bed at super-speed while I tackle the stove and then we’ll go. We’ll make it a mother/daughter day.”

  Lizzie looked suspiciously pleased with herself. What was she up to now?

  Cameron got her answer when she and Lizzie walked up to the only theater in St. Judith… and saw Alex and Mariana coming from the other direction. Cameron stopped short and turned her back on them, lowering her head so she was right in front of Lizzie. “Did you and Mariana plan this?”

  Lizzie shrugged. “Mariana and I have been talking about this movie. I guess today was a good day for them to go, too.”

  Cameron didn’t believe that for one minute. “Hand it over.”

  “What?”

  “The cell phone.”

  Lizzie pulled her cell out of her pocket and slapped it into Cameron’s hand. Too quickly. Like she knew there would be no evidence of her conspiring with Mariana. A scan of her text history netted nothing. Cameron felt bad for suspecting her daughter, but if Alex hadn’t occupied way too many of her thoughts the past few days, Cameron wouldn’t be so on edge.

  It was one thing to get to know the parents of Lizzie’s friends. That was good parenting. It was another to think about kissing the parents of Lizzie’s friends.

  Those dang butterflies were warming up for a symphony in her belly again.

  She returned Lizzie’s phone. “Okay. I’m sorry, honey. I’m just, uh, I don’t know what I am. Let’s go see the movie.”

  Lizzie squealed and rushed up to Mariana, throwing her arms around the other girl like she hadn’t just seen her at school yesterday.

  Alex followed behind his daughter at a slower pace, his gold-flecked eyes highlighted by the deep green of his polo shirt. The color was perfect for his skin tone and his dark black hair. Stop it, Cameron. Do not fall for the man. Remember, he’s in the Army. Why couldn’t he be short… and fat… with a receding hairline and a comb-over? Except that wouldn’t have mattered. She would still be drawn to him because of who he was. His good looks were just a plus, a bonus she couldn’t stop noticing… and she wanted to. Stop, she meant. Not notice. She shouldn’t notice.

  “Hey Cameron.”

  “Hi, Alex.” She dredged up something to say. “What are you guys doing here?”

  He smiled, and the dimple that she’d tried to forget about in his cheek popped out. “Mariana had been talking about this movie all week and convinced me this was the showing she absolutely couldn’t miss.”

  “Oh, is that right?”

  They turned to where the girls had huddled near the door. They smiled back at their parents, as innocent as the day they’d both missed the bus. This was no coincidence.

  Cameron might have to step up her cybersecurity measures because her little schemer had learned to conceal her tracks.

  But she was here now. And she wasn’t going to let her irrational attraction to Alex prevent her from seeing this movie with her daughter.

  “Shall we go in?”

  Focus on the movie, Cameron. It was just two hours… in a dark theater… with Alex.

  No, not with Alex. Near Alex.

  When they walked into the building, Alex’s hand rested on the small of her back.

  “No touching.”

  He raised his hands and stepped back. “What did I do?”

  What she wouldn’t give to slip her fingers into his hair, to— Stop it, Cameron.

  “You, uh, well, you put your hand on my back.” Hearing it out loud didn’t sound the same as it had in her head. It sounded… neurotic. But Lizzie had driven her to it. Lizzie’s scheming… and Cameron’s ridiculous list of what she needed in a man. But now that she’d blurted it out, she had to finish. “And stop holding doors or doing anything nice. This isn’t a date. This is two parents taking their kids out to the movies.”

  He grinned and stepped back, allowing the door to close. “You got it.”

  “Fine,” she mumbled under her breath as she whipped the door open, walked in, and then let it go before Alex followed her. As usual, embarrassment heated her cheeks. Just because she couldn’t date him, even though she wanted to, there was no need to behave like a jerk.

  She and Alex both approached the ticket counter at the same time. He motioned to her. “After you.”

  “No, after you.” She could be nice, too. Because they were both humans. And she didn’t want to apologize
to him yet again. Ugh, why was this so hard?

  He shook his head and bought his tickets. Cameron did the same.

  As soon as they handed their tickets to the attendant, Lizzie and Mariana ran ahead to the theater. Cameron yelled after them. “Girls, wait.”

  But they kept going, not even responding to her.

  She slipped her wallet out of her purse. “Guess they didn’t want anything from the concession stand. More for me.”

  “Mariana told me her order already. She said she’d save us the best seats.”

  “Lizzie’s out of luck. She didn’t give me her request.” Just then, Cameron’s phone buzzed. Jumbo popcorn, junior mints, diet soda. Thx.

  At least she had included a thanks. Cameron turned the phone around so Alex could see the text.

  “Smart girl.”

  Too smart.

  A few minutes later, she and Alex headed into the theater, their arms full of popcorn, drinks, and sugar. She scanned the theater for a minute before she found the girls about halfway up… on the aisle… beside each other.

  No, nuh-uh. Not happening. Cameron reached the row and bent over Lizzie. “Scoot down.”

  Alex must not have realized she’d stopped because he headed into the aisle just as Lizzie stood. Mariana jumped up and now it was the four of them, pressed together between the tight row of seats as they tried to rearrange themselves.

  Cameron tried to shift to the left and bumped into Alex. She rested her hand on Lizzie’s shoulder and maneuvered to the other side. Mariana wiggled right, Alex stepped over both girls. Somehow they ended up right back where they started… with Lizzie and Mariana on the aisle and she and Alex beside each other. “Oh, for crying out loud.”

  “Shh.” A woman in the row behind them glared. “The movie’s about to start.”

  “I’m almost done.” It was still the previews, and Cameron was juggling enough snacks and worried about her seats that the woman should be able to take one look at her and see what the problem was. Granted, she wouldn’t understand Cameron’s anxiety about sitting next to this man in the dark, but it wasn’t dark yet, either.