The Billionaire's Secret Baby(26)

Cicely looked at Cami then and said, "I will say one thing about Roman. He really does care about you a great deal. I could see that as plain as day on his face when he looks at you.



“He watches you with love. I don't think he knows it yet, but it's obvious. If you two think you're going to be able to raise my little Emma as just friends and not have any sort of romantic feelings for each other, you've got a challenge ahead of you.



“He cares for you and he cares for Emma, and that is only going to grow stronger over time. If his wife thinks she can hold on to him, she better hold on tight. You're a grown woman and you can do what you want, but I'm going to tell you right now, Cami, you be careful around him, and you keep your wits and senses about you, because I don't think it would be too difficult at all for you to fall right into love with him and end up with a broken heart."



Cami was silent as she listened to her mother. She knew that what Cicely was saying was true. She had seen it and felt it at the hospital, and before then, at his office and in her hotel room when they kissed.



There was something very strong and hot between them; like a gravitational force that pulled at them, drawing them together like a yin and yang. Though their friendship was indeed growing stronger all the time, she could not deny that there was much more than friendship bubbling just beneath the surface.



"Well, Mama, he's married, and we are both making that a priority, as well as Emma's future and best interests, so even if we do have some feelings for each other, they are going to remain feelings of friendship, and that's all."



Cicely gave her daughter a sidelong look and nodded slightly. "Mhmm. Well, we'll see what happens."



They got out of the car and headed into the restaurant. Cami made it a point to pay extra attention to Emma as they were seated, hoping to change the subject before her Mama took it any further. Cami knew her Mama wasn't wrong, but she didn't want to talk any more about it.



They spent the next three days getting Cami settled into her new home. It was a sweet little condo with a private garden and it had a sweeping view of the city and the bay. Cicely was really impressed with it, and Cami was excited to be moving into her own place. Roman had purchased it for her and Emma, but the deed was in her name, and she owned it free and clear, and that felt incredible to Cami.



Janine helped them with furniture and extras, and Mama and Cami did all the shopping to get the place all settled. There were three bedrooms; one for Cami, a nursery for Emma, and a guest room where Cicely stayed. By the end of the week, it looked perfect, and Cami was excited to have Janine and Roman come over to visit and see it.



Janine picked him up and the two of them showed up for lunch. They loved the home right away and Roman hugged Cami tightly when he came in. He held her for a long moment before letting her go, saying softly to her, "I'm so glad that the two of you are in such a nice place.



“This is lovely, and it seems ideal for you both. It's a safe neighborhood, it's got good restaurants and shops around it, and a park nearby; this will be a good place for Emma and you to be." He looked relieved and happy, and Cami hugged him again.



"Thank you, Roman," she said. "I'm so grateful to you for giving this to us."



He nodded to her and they went out to the patio to enjoy lunch with Cicely and Janine.

It was a good visit, and the conversation flowed lightly between Cami's new place and her art, and Roman's recovery. They talked about Cicely in Seattle and Janine's adept handling of the business, but no one brought up Denise until Cicely and Janine insisted on clearing away the lunch dishes and Roman and Cami were left alone

.

She looked at him and saw that he seemed more relaxed than he was when he and Janine first came to the door.



"How are things going for you at home?" she asked, reaching out and holding his hand in hers for a moment.



The feel of her fingers on his skin was like a balm to him; soothing and comforting, warm and tender. He drew in his breath deeply and sighed, looking at her.



"It's alright. Denise is trying like crazy to fix our marriage. She is getting to a point where she has accepted that we have a daughter and she has begun to refer to herself as Emma's step-mother. She has some misgivings about you, and that's really my fault. I'm sorry about it. I hope this isn't difficult for you, but she wants you to bring Emma to us for visits, and leave her with us. Then, when the visit is over, you could pick her up from us again," he said miserably.



Cami bit her lip thoughtfully. "That's clever of her. It takes me out of the picture entirely when it comes to you. Every interaction we have is supervised by her, and she has some semblance of control." She frowned a little. "How do you think she'll be with Emma?"



Roman looked right at her. "She's not going to be alone with Emma, ever. Emma is my daughter, not hers, and if she happens to be around, then that's fine, but anytime Emma comes to see me, it will be to spend time with just me, and Denise wouldn't be much more than an observer on the sidelines. She'll be good to Emma, or she will have hell to pay."



Cami's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Well, that takes care of that!" She gave a little laugh. Then she tilted her head a bit and reached for his hand again, this time holding it and not letting it go.



"That doesn't give us much time to spend together as parents for Emma, and it doesn't give us any time to be around each other as friends." Disappointment colored her expression and she felt bad. "I'll miss you," she said quietly.



He rubbed his fingers softly over hers. "I'll miss you, too. Maybe I can talk to her and have you over with Emma sometimes, so that we seem more like co-parents to our girl, rather than single units."



Cami shrugged. "That doesn't seem like much."



He nodded. "I know. I'll see what I can do. I'm trying to maintain a delicate balance at the house right now. Things are... not what they should be."



Cami looked at him with concern. "Are you alright? Is she being decent to you?"



Roman shrugged. "I guess so. I can see that she's trying, but something in me doesn't trust it, and I don't know why, but it feels like she is being nice to me because of something she wants, not because she genuinely cares about me, but I can't quite tell."



Cami's fingers closed snugly around Roman's. "Just be careful. I don't want you getting hurt."



He smiled and nodded at her. "I will. I promise."



Janine came out on the patio then and Cami and Roman let go of each other's hands while Janine pretended not to notice. "It's time to go, Roman. Cicely just put Emma down for a nap and I have some things I need to get to this afternoon."



Roman stood and reached for his crutches. "Well, it was a lovely visit, and I enjoyed myself. I'm so glad to see you two in this place, it's perfect for you." He smiled warmly at Cami and she rose up and hugged him, slipping her arms around his waist and laying her head against his chest.



"Thank you so much for gifting it to us." She held him tightly and he closed his eyes and held her back, wishing that he could stay there in her arms just a little longer.



She let him go and looked up at him, and he smiled at her. Then Janine said good-bye to Cicely, and they left.



Cicely handed her daughter a cup of tea. "Young lady, you better be real careful."



Cami felt distracted by the feel of him, by his scent and his warmth. "Careful about what?" she asked, sipping her tea and looking up at her Mama.



"You just mind the way you are with him. You both have some pretty strong feelings for each other and neither one of you is in a position to do anything about it, so you better just watch out. Don't take any chances. I don't want my babies getting hurt. If he was single, I would be glad to have you two looking at each other the way you do, but he's not, so you have to keep it simple, baby." Cicely drank her tea and held her tea cup, looking at Cami earnestly.



Cami shook her head. "Mama, I don't think he likes me the way you think he does. I think it was just a little confusing at first because of the way we left things when we saw each other last year, but now it's different. Now we're just friends. We're both working hard to make it that way between us for ourselves and for Emma."

Cicely laughed softly. "Well then, you two keep working at it, because you have a long way to go if you only want to be friends."



***



Roman's first follow-up appointment was a good one. He was able to get rid of his crutches and get a brace for his ankle. He was back at his office and had picked up matters at work where he’d left off with them, except for the things that Allen had taken care of.



It felt to him like his life was settling into some sort of strange new normalcy, although he couldn't quite get comfortable in it. Denise was being extremely sweet with him; not really taking great care of him, but at least paying more attention to him than she had in years, and she had even started talking about moving back into his bedroom,



although they hadn't been intimate since his first night home when he had called out Cami's name. He felt that she was secretly holding that against him and was biding her time getting back into his bed, though she liked to talk to him about it, almost in a teasing way.