Page 26 of See You Again
“Interesting!” Madison folded her hands under her chin and rested her elbows on the table. “Good interesting or bad interesting?”
“Definitely good interesting.”
Her friend’s face fell after a minute when it was obvious Cami didn’t plan to say anything more. “Don’t leave me hanging!”
Cami laughed. “I’m not giving you details! Besides, little ears.” She reached out to tickle Jax, who was happily distracted by the biscotti he was gumming in the highchair next to them. His blue eyes, identical to Madison’s, sparkled, but he didn’t let up his attack on the cookie.
“Jax doesn’t care. He loves me. He wants me to know. Throw a girl a bone. I’m covered in wet biscotti crumbs with nothing more exciting on my horizon than maybe a trip to the playground later if it warms up.”
Her best friend might complain, but Cami knew Jax was the center of Madison’s world.
Cami raised her fingers to her lips and mimed zipping them closed.
“Party pooper.” Madison leaned back in her chair with a dejected humph. “Do you think you’ll see him again?”
Her friend’s question burst the happy bubble that Cami had been floating in all morning. “No, we were both clear this was a one-off.” She shrugged as if it didn’t bother her. “Though he is interested in our research from the Alvarez case. I told him I’d send the files. I might meet him for coffee if he has questions.” Her heart beat a little faster at the thought of seeing James again.
“The Alvarez case? What for?”
“James is a defense attorney. He said he was looking into thallium for a case. Specifically, how it could be used and how someone could get away with it.”
Madison’s expression became rigid. “That didn’t raise any red flags for you? Was this before or after you went up to his room and took your clothes off?”
“In someone else, maybe. Not James. He’s not the nefarious type.” Cami snickered. “He said he called the office a month or so ago, but Felicity…” Madison’s disgusted expression matched her own. “Told him no. She never even mentioned it to me.”
“Maybe it was an excuse to see you again?”
“Highly unlikely. Up until we got to his room, he wasn’t exactly thrilled to see me, and he looked as if asking me for the files was worse than chewing glass.”
“Ahh, hate sex. That can be fantastic.”
Cami snorted. “It wasn’t hate sex. That implies feelings were involved. This was purely physical.”
“Then what’s the problem with seeing him again?” Madison’s tone was too rational.
“He flat out said he only did one-night stands. And we’re too different now to be friends.”
“In what way?”
“James is—nice try. There’s too much history between us.”
“Oh yeah.” Madison slumped in her seat. “I forgot about that part.”
“It’s fine. It was a long time ago.” Cami tugged her hair over her shoulder. A tone sounded on her phone, and she turned it over to look. “It’s my mom.”
“I need to get going anyway.” Madison wiped the toddler’s face with a napkin and scooped him out of his seat, shouldering her backpack. “Good luck. And remember, deep breaths. It’s not your responsibility to?—”
“I know.” Cami cut her friend off. Madison meant well, but she didn’t fully understand the complicated dynamics between Cami and her mother.
Cami waited until she was almost home to call her mother back. She took a deep breath as the line rang through her Bluetooth.
“Hey, baby. How was your week?”
Cami’s shoulders relaxed at her mother’s cheery voice. “It was good.”
“I’m glad. Any dates?”
Cami’s mind immediately went to the tangled sheets she’d left hours before. “Nope. Just lots of work.”