“How are Mom and Dad?”
“They’re great. They want us to visit for Independence Day.”
“We can do that.”
“So…you two are, like…official now?” she whispers as she leans in.
I answer with a wide grin and an enthusiastic nod.
“Aren’t you glad I dragged you to that match now?”
“I’m forever in your debt, Chelsea Tanner.”
“A lifetime supply of these cookies should make us even.”
“Deal.”
Feeling his stare, I glance over at Cameron. I think he’s ready to leave.
“Okay,” I acknowledge him.
“What?” Chels asks in confusion.
“Oh, not you, Chels.”
She looks over at me like I’m crazy. With a soft chuckle, I walk him to the door.
“See you later.”
Reaching into his pocket, he peels off a few bills and hands them to me.
“What’s this for?”
He jerks his head toward Spartacus.Oh.
“Child support?” I smile and stuff the money into my pocket. He drops a kiss on my forehead and then he’s gone.
“Well, well, well…look at you, Carter,” Chels pipes up behind me.
I rejoin her on the couch and lay my head on her shoulder. “I know.”
“You love him.”
“My heart really, really likes him,” I reply with a sigh.
“I’m happy for you, Jas. You deserve to be happy after what that son of a bitch did to you.”
“Chels…he’s leagues away from Jamal. There’s so much more to him than anyone knows, like, he was a Marine.”
“Your dad will like that.”
“He graduated summa cum laude from Northwestern…degree in Mechanical Engineering.”
“Mom’s gonnalovethat.”
“Andyou’lllove that he knows about a hundred different types of martial arts.”
“Really?”
