Precious Consequences(49)

“Is it safe?” he asks, looking as embarrassed as I feel. One look at his face and the lid on my laughter comes off.

I stand, wiping the tears from my face. “It’s safe,” I say between bouts of laughter. “But that was so…” my words trail off as I am no longer capable of speech. Cameron walks towards me, a towel around his waist and wraps his arms around me.

“What’s so funny?”

I choke, thinking about Ari’s comment.

“Tell me,” he presses.

I look into his eyes and try to squelch my laughter long enough to talk. “Um, Ari....” I start, waiting for my breathing to return to normal. “She made a comment, when you were still in the bathroom.”

His eyebrows shoot up. “What did she say?”

“She, uh, said you have a tail.”

I press my face into his damp chest, shaking as more laughter takes over. The moment the words came out of Ari’s mouth is on constant replay in my head, which is probably why I can’t stop laughing.

Cameron clears his throat and I look up to see him blushing. His cheeks are rosy and he’s rubbing the back of his neck.

“I’m so sorry,” I say, laying a kiss on his pec. “I didn’t mean to laugh, but it was just so funny.”

Placing my fingers under his chin, I tip his face up so that he can look at me. “It’s okay,” I assure him. “She’ll forget about it in a few hours.”

“But I won’t,” he grumbles.

I kiss the side of his mouth. “Don’t worry about it.”

He sighs, kissing me back. “Okay, fine.”

I smile against his lips. “Let’s get dressed. I want to go see your sister and the baby.”



After getting dressed, and having an awkward breakfast, Cameron got Ari’s car seat out of my car and put it in his truck. I zip Ari’s jacket and get her ready to leave when my grandmother stops me at the front door.

“You’d better be more careful next time,” she warns quietly. “I won’t be having Arianna exposed to such things on a regular basis. Now, I understand you’re young and Cameron is nice to look at, but all I’m asking is that you be a little more sensible next time.”

My brows furrow. “It was an accident, Gama. She just opened my bedroom door and came in. What was I supposed to do? I don’t like that you’re insinuating I would purposefully expose her to...to…things like that.”

My grandmother's face softens slightly. “I know, sweetheart, and I’m not insinuating anything of the kind. All I’m saying is that you two need to be careful because Ari is around. I know you two are probably having sex, and there’s nothing wrong with that, but you need to make sure Ari isn’t exposed to that side of your relationship.”

“I would never do anything to harm Ari, you know that.”

“Of course, sweetheart. But just be careful, okay?”

I nod and my grandmother smiles, cupping my face with her hand. “You are a good mother, Hayley. I know you will always do what’s best for your baby girl.”

“We’ll be more careful next time, Gama,” I promise.

“Good girl.”

With that my grandmother goes back into the kitchen. The front door opens and Cameron appears.

“You girls ready?” he asks.

Ari answers by running up to him and throwing her arms in the air, a silent command that she wants to be picked up. Cameron does it without hesitation, although his cheeks turn a darker shade of red whenever Ari looks at him. I find it comical. How a two year old little girl can make a grown man like Cameron, who is confident and sometimes cocky, blush every shade of red on the color wheel. But even so, watching them together always makes me feel strange. In a good way.

Cameron parks his truck and takes us inside the hospital. We take the elevator up to the maternity floor and head straight for Candice’s room. Cameron knocks and I follow behind him. Candice is holding her newborn and Cameron’s mother, Gemma, is sitting beside her on the bed. I don’t see Brett anywhere so I assume he’s out with Jordan.

“Hi,” Candice whispers. Cameron leans down and kisses her cheek before doing the same with his mother. I walk closer and give each of them a hug, careful not to squeeze Candice too hard.

I watch how Cameron holds Ari, suspended above where Candice is holding her daughter. “Mommy, look,” she says, lifting her gaze to me. I smile at her, thinking back to when she was as small as the bundle in Candice’s arms.

“I see, princess. It’s a baby.”

“A baby,” she repeats, looking down.

“Did you finally choose a name?” Cameron asks.

Candice smiles. “We decided on Aubrey Michaela.”

Gemma sniffles and I realize she moved from her spot on the bed to next to me.

“Are you okay?” I ask her gently, understanding just how emotional she must feel.

“Oh, I’m fine, honey.” Her eyes tell me a different story but it’s not my place to push. Cameron walks across the room and joins us. He engulfs his mother in his arms, and I hear her muffled sobs. It then dawns on me that this must be incredibly difficult for her, getting to experience this magic without her husband. Candice wipes a tear and I squeeze her hand. I might not understand what they’ve been through, but I understand wishing you had someone there to share this with. I felt it for months before and after Ari was born.