“I know,” Cameron grimaced. “Like, I know what he meant but still. You’ve been their Aunt Mel for so long.”
“And nothing about that will change.” Melanie scooted her chair closer to Cameron’s. She took her hand, gently squeezing it as she spoke. “The name may change, but my place in their lives never will. I willalwaysbe there for them, just like I have been since they were born. Those two are the closest thing to my own kids I have and I love them as if theyweremy own. You know that.”
“I do. You’re right. I’m sorry for overthinking it.”
“Hey,” Melanie tenderly cupped her hand around Cameron’s cheek, “you’re okay. I promise. This is all new territory for us and for Jonah and Dylan. We’re all going to figure it out. Together.”
“Together,” she repeated, putting her hand on Melanie’s. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
“Are you off at seven?”
“Yeah.”
“Are you coming over after?”
Melanie’s grimace answered for her. “So, don’t kill me.”
“But you picked up a shift tomorrow, didn’t you?”
“Perhaps,” Melanie nervously giggled. “I’m sorry. I know this will be my tenth day in a row but I have six days off after that.”
“Yeah, but four are my work days,” Cameron pouted, only mildly teasing Melanie. “I miss you.”
“I think we both know what we need to do.”
“Quit our jobs?”
“Exactly,” Melanie laughed. “But I think we need to have a trial run this weekend.”
“A trial run?”
“Of living together. I’ll spend the weekend there and bring Lucy and Hank with me. We can see how it goes.”
“What if it doesn’t work out?”
“Cameron June West, shut your mouth.” Melanie’s eyes held concern that hadn’t been there before. “Why would you say that? Are you worried it won’t work out?”
“No, Mel, I’m just trying to be realistic here.”
“Realistic?” She pushed back from the table slightly. “How are we supposed to go forward in our relationship if you’re worried about living together and not working out and yet haven’t ever told me that concern until now?”
Cameron knew they were on the edge of a fight, but didn’t know how to stop it. They’d always been able to communicate their feelings about their relationship with each other, so why was this so different?
Because of the kids.
Seeing Jonah and Dylan so excited about Melanie moving in was an all too real reminder that her actions directly affected them. If she and Melanie broke up after she’d been living with them, how would the kids handle that? It was something she hadn’t thought about before.
“Because I didn’t think about it until Jonah and Dylan were so excited about it.”
“And that’s a bad thing?”
“I… I just don’t want them to get hurt.” Cameron lowered her gaze from Melanie. They sat in silence for a few moments before Melanie placed her hand on Cameron’s knee. “And I don’t want to get hurt.”
“I’m not going to hurt them.” She waited until Cameron looked up at her before continuing. “And not going to hurt you either, Cam. I know Jonah and Dylan are your first concern and they always should be. But I need you to know that I wouldn’t be in this with you if I didn’t love them with my whole heart. I’d never do anything to hurt them in any way. You know that.”
“I do,” Cameron nodded firmly. “That’s not what I meant. I’m sorry.”
