Page 146 of See You Again
“I'll go with you then. I want your mom to get used to me.”
She shook her head. “I appreciate that, but you need to meet with your family. And please tell your brother Declan thank you again.”
James scowled. “Fine, but we reconvene in this bed by five o’clock.”
“That sounds like a deal.”
CHAPTER FORTY
Cami greeted her mother with a hug.
“You're in an awfully good mood,” her mother said, but returned the hug with a tight squeeze. Relief washed over Cami. It was one of her mother’s good days.
“I am.” Understatement of her life. She was still having difficulty wrapping her head around the fact that, after all that had happened between them, James loved her and they were going to be together for real.
Her body buzzed with happiness and she grinned, remembering how he invited her to Thanksgiving at his mother’s house. He also insisted she invite her mother. Cami would try, but she had little hope that her mother would leave her house, much less have a meal with a family that in her mind represented everything that had hurt her.
“Things are going really well. I think I've cracked my case.”
“Really? You got that DNA you wanted?”
Cami paused as she emptied the grocery bags. “You listened to the podcast?”
“You’re my daughter, of course I did.”
Cami bit her lip on a sharp retort.
Her mother moved slowly and deliberately as she put the cold items in the refrigerator. Cami’s stomach tightened. That usually meant her mother had something to say. Irene turned back to face her. “You're very good at what you do. I’m proud of you.”
Emotion clogged Cami's throat. She couldn’t remember the last time her mother said anything remotely positive about her life.
“Thank you,” Cami murmured, putting cans of soup in the cabinet.
“How are things with the boyfriend?”
“Things are actually going very well.” Cami bit her lip and then added. “He told me he loves me.” Her cheeks flushed, and she averted her eyes, afraid of what would come next.
She braced for her mother’s predictable comments about being careful and how James would break her heart.
“I'm glad.” Her mother spoke in such a nonchalant way that Cami was shocked into temporary speechlessness. “I had Teresa do some more research on him.”
Cami rolled her eyes and hoped her mother didn't notice.
“His brother has quite the reputation with women, but Teresa couldn’t find anything bad on your young man.”
My young man?
“Did you know he won awards for volunteerism, and he prosecuted bad people when he lived in Florida?” Cami almost swallowed her tongue at her mother’s admiring tone. “And he’s not flashy. You’d never know he comes from money.”
“Hm,” Cami made a non-committal sound, terrified to derail her mother if she was going to be the new conductor of the James Bloom fan train. She was just grateful that the manic episode she thought her mother was headed for hadn’t arrived yet.
Cami was hugging her mother goodbye when her phone rang with an unfamiliar number on the screen.
“Ms. Messina?” The tremulous voice was vaguely familiar.
“Yes?” The gray clouds that had been threatening all day opened up, and Cami fumbled with her keys as she slid into the driver’s seat, the rain pelting her windshield in fat drops.
The caller cleared his throat. “This is… um… this is Trey Crawford.”