Page 124 of See You Again

Cami: I’m so sorry. I won’t be able to make dinner.

James: Everything okay?

Cami: Just family stuff.

James: Are you with your mom?

The jumping dots appeared and disappeared.

Cami: Yes. Sorry about dinner. Might be late.

Then a few seconds later.

Cami: Why is it when you’re already having a bad day your car decides to die? If you haven’t put Jax down I might need a ride.

He was already waiting for the elevator when she realized she had sent the wrong person the message.

Cami: Oops, last text was for Madison.

He shook his head. Why couldn’t she just ask him for help?

As he pulled onto the highway, he texted back.

James: I figured.

What he didn’t add was that he’d pulled up her mom’s address on the internet, and according to the screen, he would arrive in fifteen minutes.

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

Cami glared at her phone. It was an indication of how flustered she was that she’d texted the wrong person. She rested her head against the steering wheel. The temperature had dropped dramatically when the sun had gone down, but she needed to wait outside for the tow truck.

It had taken hours to calm her mother down. She didn’t want the disturbance of the tow truck driver knocking on the door undoing it all. After their meeting with Kip and Kevin, her mother had called hysterical, convinced someone had broken into her house. Irene had her once a month, in-office day tomorrow, and her boss had asked her to bring in some of the original documents Irene was supposed to keep at her house. Irene wailed that she’d looked everywhere, and they were gone.

When Cami arrived, she helped her mother sort through the piles of paper and cardboard boxes that had taken over her mother’s home office. The mess and stale air weighed on her like a physical blanket as she tried to console her mother. The days before her mother had to go into the office were always rough, but this was worse than usual.

Thankfully, Cami had located what her mother needed, and after several cups of chamomile tea, Irene was calm again. If only Cami could say the same about herself. Her nerves felt like they’d been scoured with a metal brush, and she was near tears when her car refused to start.

Headlights lit up the interior of her car, and she lifted her head, wiping at her nose. She put on her best everything-is-fine smile to greet the tow truck driver.

But to her shock, the large frame unfolding from the car was James. Cami’s throat closed in panic, her body betraying her by swiveling to make sure the door to her mother’s house was closed. She didn’t want James to see just how different their lives were.

“What are you doing here?”

He frowned at her sharp tone. “Your text sounded like you had car trouble. I thought I’d come help.”

Her heart cart-wheeled in her chest, and her nose tingled as tears threatened again. Sheer will kept the smile on her face, and she shrugged a shoulder. “It won’t start. I’ve already called a tow truck.”

James closed the distance between them, his eyes studying her. Cami was afraid that the evidence of her pity party was all over her face. He stopped just short, and with one finger, he tilted her chin up. Cami was grateful for the first time in her life that her mother’s lack of home maintenance meant only one of her exterior lights was working.

It must have been enough though, because concern softened the lines of James’s face, and he stroked gentle fingertips down the curve of her cheek, his voice catching. “Ah, Tig. What’s going on?”

Her smile wobbled, and she couldn’t help the tears that filled her eyes. “Just a bad day. No big deal.”

James gazed down at her with shadowed gray eyes. “You don’t cry unless you’re watching sappy movies involving dogs.”

He smoothed a hand down her hair, and despite herself, the comfort in his touch was her undoing. She gasped as the first sob broke loose, hot tears splashing down her cheeks. James made a low sound in his throat, and enveloped her in his strong arms. She pressed her face against the warmth of his chest only mildly caring that she was soaking his dress shirt.

James pressed a kiss to the top of her head, and she snaked her arms around his waist underneath his suit jacket, her body shaking. One of James’s hands stroked her back in soothing circles, while the other cradled the back of her head.