The Stubborn Suitor, Book Two (An Alpha Billionaire In Love BBW Romance) (8 page)

B
y the time
Cami got back from brunch, she still had hours ahead of her before she was scheduled to pick up Madison. She debated going over there early, but she knew that it wouldn’t be received well. And she didn’t want to deviate from the set custody schedule at the moment and thus give Ken even more merit in his demands.

Cami tried to keep her mind calm and away from any of the massive problems dogging her life that she could currently do nothing about. She decided that the best way to keep her mind clear was to keep her body busy. And so she started to clean.

She cleaned her entire house from top to bottom. She straightened Madison’s room and washed all of her toys, then vacuumed under her bed.

She did load after load of laundry, including the sheets from her own bed, which were definitely in need of a wash. Pulling the bedding from her mattress brought her thoughts back around to Drew…and what they’d done the night before.

God, the sex had been good. Not just good—amazing. She’d never had sex anywhere near as good. And they’d only slept with each other three times. That was hard to believe, given the way that they moved together with ease. She’d slept with Ken for years, and they’d never been as attuned to each other’s bodies as she and Drew seemed to be.

The harder she tried not to think about Drew, the more adamantly he seemed to bludgeon his way into her thoughts. The conversation at brunch had both helped and hurt Cami’s opinion of the man. All of Declan and Grant’s praise reminded Cami of just how sweet Drew actually was.

She thought about the scene she’d witnessed at the beach house between him and his sister. Drew had come upon his sister and his sister’s abusive husband. He’d sent the husband packing and had then held his sister while she cried, all the time whispering sweet encouragements in her ear. And then, yesterday, he’d helped her and her son escape the drunken asshole for good, taking them into his apartment. Cami only wished she’d had someone that supportive during her own divorce.

Then there’d been the way he’d always inquired after her custody battle, offering encouragement and advice. It was as if she really did have someone supporting her, like she’d always wanted.

But he was so erratic and unreliable, and this was reconfirmed—though not on purpose—by Declan and Grant. The ambiguous “things” that Drew was dealing with, that neither man could actually explain, just validated what Cami already knew about Drew’s hot and cold personality.

Even if the “things” Drew was dealing with weren’t shady or illegal, they still seemed to be of much higher priority than Cami herself. She didn’t know if she could handle being in a relationship with a man who didn’t see her as his top priority.

Yes, things would come up from time to time—that was life, and Cami realized that. And it wasn’t like Cami expected to be Drew’s number one priority this early in the relationship. But his never staying at her place in the mornings, his not choosing her over the other “things” in his life—made her feel like she’d never be that priority to him.

Cami ran those facts back and forth through her mind until it was time to go pick up her daughter. She felt sick during the entire drive across town to the wealthy neighborhood where Ken lived. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to see her baby. She was super excited to pick up Madison. She just really didn’t want to have to face Ken at the moment.

He’d picked her up from Cami’s mother’s house on Friday while Cami was running errands. She hadn’t seen him since their icy, silent meeting with their lawyers weeks ago and hadn’t spoken with him since the phone call directly after.

Cami wasn’t sure if she was angry or relieved when she pulled down the long driveway to see that Ken’s BMW wasn’t there. It meant she wouldn’t have to deal with him, yes. But it also meant that she’d have to deal with Natalie instead. Natalie had never been anything but perfectly polite to her, but Cami couldn’t help but hate her anyway.

Natalie opened the door with Madison on her hip, clinging to her like a monkey. Of course, Natalie looked perfect, with her blonde hair curled just right and her white pants and tank top without even the smallest stain. Cami offered her a weak smile.

“Hey, sweetie,” Cami crooned as she reached to take Madison out of her arms.

“No,” Madison replied, clinging to the other woman. “I want to stay with Daddy and Natalie.”

Cami visibly cringed. Madison had always been excited to see her and ready to go home after weekends at Ken’s. Now she was clinging to the step-monster and demanding to stay.

“I can keep holding her for a few more minutes,” Natalie told her, like she was doing Cami some big favor. “We’re not completely ready to go yet anyway.”

With that, Natalie turned back into the house, Madison still in her arms, but not fast enough to hide the wide, self-satisfied smile that had spread across her face. Cami had never hated her more than in that moment. She wanted more than anything to demand that Natalie hand over her daughter, but she didn’t want to cause a scene in front of Madison.

“Sorry. We were just packing up her stuff when you arrived.”

Her use of the word was driving Cami insane. It was as if she was implying that she and Madison were a team—a
we.
But they weren’t. Madison and Cami were the team—they were the
we.
Cami curled her fists into balls and didn’t speak as she followed Natalie through the enormous, pristine house—it was even larger than the one Cami had once shared with Ken. It appeared that Natalie lacked any ability to reel in Ken’s spending.

Cami had never been beyond the front foyer. She’d never been invited, and she didn’t understand what was going on now. At least, she didn’t understand until they headed up the stairs and into a large bedroom.

The room was completely decked out as an ideal nursery, with everything a baby could want. A pink princess bed, almost the size of Cami’s own, was pressed against one wall, a gauzy net hanging down from the ceiling to cover it in translucent purple. There was a Barbie house full of dolls and a matching Barbie car large enough for Cami to drive. The walls were covered with pictures of Disney princesses and the closet door was open, revealing an array of extremely expensive-looking girl clothes.

Cami didn’t know when this room had been built, but she knew it hadn’t been here long. She also realized why Natalie had brought her up here. It was to show Cami how much better she believed they could support Madison—how much better Natalie believed Madison’s life would be here. And perhaps, it was another intimidation tactic as well. By showing Cami this room, Natalie was letting her know that she and Ken fully believed they would win the custody battle. In fact—they were already prepared for it.

The thought made Cami sick. She knew it wasn’t true. She knew that stuff wasn’t what would make Madison happy.

With Madison still on her hip, Natalie was leaning down and scooping up the clothes and toys that came from Cami’s house. They paled in comparison to the clothes and toys in this room—but that was just the point Natalie was trying to make.

As soon as the last article had been deposited in the bag, Cami yanked it from Natalie’s hand.

“I’ll take my daughter now,” Cami said, prying Madison from her clutches.

Madison whined for a moment, asking for one of her dolls.

“These toys are for this house, Madison,” Natalie said. “Your mother has other toys for you at your other home.”

Other home.
Cami wanted to scream that this was not Madison’s home—that Madison had one home, and it was with her. But she didn’t. She simply carried her daughter out of the room and down the stairs, not waiting to be shown out.

Madison was still fussing, calling for Natalie and a dolly Cami knew nothing about. Cami didn’t care. All she cared about was getting out of this house as quickly as humanly possible.

She had to force herself not to run through the living room and out the door. She leaned into her car to buckle Madison in, then noticed Natalie was at the house’s entrance, still smiling her nauseatingly sweet smile.

“Bye, Madison, my love,” she called. “See you soon.”

“Bye, Natalie,” Madison called with a wave even as Cami was slamming Madison’s door and getting behind the wheel.

Cami only got a few blocks away before she had to pull over and dissolve into tears. How was she supposed to compete with
that?
She couldn’t. She didn’t have the means. Even if she won the custody battle, which was looking less and less likely every day, Ken and Natalie would be able to win Madison over by the sheer amount of stuff they were willing to purchase for her.

It might not matter much to a three-year-old, but it would sure as hell matter to a thirteen-year-old. By the time Madison was old enough to decide for herself, she’d be old enough to be bribed and wooed away from Cami with promises of the most expensive clothes and the coolest gadgets, tropical vacations and a new car on her sixteenth birthday.

No!
Cami told herself.
It will never be like that!
She would make sure that Madison grew up knowing what to value. She’d make sure that her daughter realized that money and material goods didn’t make people happy. By the time that Madison was old enough to choose, she’d know what really mattered. But that would only happen if she won this lawsuit.

Wiping the tears from her eyes, Cami tried to focus on something else for a little while. There was absolutely nothing she could do, at the moment, to affect the outcome of the trial, so it would be better if she invested her time and energy in stressing about something she did have some power over.

Her mind once again drifted to Drew. She really did like him more than she was willing to admit. If he was more constant, she’d probably be in love with him already. Even with his erratic behavior, she knew that it wouldn’t take much to make her love him.

But she didn’t want to be with someone who only saw her as an afterthought. She had been there and done that with Ken already. And now Madison was even drifting away from her. She would not invest in one more person who didn’t see her as his number one priority.

“We’re through,” Cami said aloud, making up her mind once and for all. “Drew and I are over.”

W
ould
you like a sneak peek into
Book Three of
The Stubborn Suitor
? Shh, here it is:

As he watched Sylvester Kenton sign his name on the contract, making the sale final, Drew Sloane felt his entire body relax. Stress and tension he’d been carrying for months slowly began to seep from his body, making him feel lighter and younger all at once.

It was over. It was all over. The sale of Drew’s company had been finalized—for two and a half billion dollars, at that—and he was finally free to do what he wanted with his life. He never had to work another day.

Of course, he
would
work. Drew had no delusions about that. A life of leisure just wasn’t for him. But now he didn’t have to slave away in the corporate world, working twelve to fifteen-hour days and falling all over himself to impress people he couldn’t stand. Instead, he could focus on developing his philanthropic foundation. There was so much he wanted to do with his wealth—so many people he could help.

Drew shook Kenton’s hand, then the hand of James Cook, Kenton’s chief investor and the man Drew had been falling all over himself to impress over the last few months. Although Drew had wanted to sell his company, he had refused to do so until he could ensure that all of his employees’ jobs would be secure. Kenton was not willing to sign the deal until Cook approved of it. And so, Drew had spent the last few months convincing Cook that keeping on every single one of the over five-hundred people employed by his company, as well as ensuring that they retained their healthcare and other benefits, was a good investment for the corporation.

Drew had succeeded eventually, though it had been a difficult process. Cook only really cared about profits and looked down his nose at those he perceived to be below his social sphere. Drew had to convince him that happy, grateful employees provided much better return for their investment than those who resented the company they worked for.

After looking at the numbers—how Drew had been able to build the company from nothing into a multi-billion dollar corporation—the man was finally convinced. Though it had involved months of misery on Drew’s part, all of that hard work had paid off.

“It’s been a pleasure getting to know you, son,” Cook said warmly as he grasped Drew’s hand. Drew couldn’t help but chuckle slightly, because the man really didn’t know him at all. “I’m sure we’ll see each other again soon. Analise speaks very highly of you and I know she’ll want to have you over to the house again soon.”

Drew just nodded in reply, though he recoiled inwardly at the thought. He knew that Cook and his wife Nancy had been pushing their daughter, Analise, at him in the attempt at creating a more permanent type of business venture. Drew loathed that Cook was willing to sacrifice his daughter’s happiness in order to ensure the sale of the company. His wife Nancy had also encouraged the match, though Drew thought it was only because she wanted her daughter to marry someone as wealthy as they were.