The guy grinned, then gestured toward the street.
“Oh, my God,” Carly breathed.
Pippa stared in shock at the brightly decorated delivery van parked in front of her shop.
It was perfect. Absolutely perfect. How on earth could Cam have pulled this off?
Just as with her store sign, Pippa’s Place was splashed in hot pink across the side of the white van. There were lavender, yellow and orange flowers surrounding the lime-green tagline: Catering Done Your Way.
“Here are the keys,” the guy said with a grin as he held them out to her.
She held out her palm, tears filling her eyes as she stared in astonishment at her delivery van. It was too much.
Her friends crowded in behind her, hugging and squeezing her as they squealed in excitement.
“Let’s go for a ride!” Tabitha suggested.
Sylvia’s eyes lit up. “Ohhh, let’s do it!”
“Don’t you have to have a commercial license or something?” Pippa asked. “Or any license at all?” she added with a laugh.
Ashley chuckled. “How would I know? I think you’re supposed to hire someone to drive it for you, but hey, we should totally try it out.”
Pippa grinned, excitement overtaking her. “Okay, let’s do it. Last one in is a rotten egg.”
Laughing like hyenas, the women ran to the van, oohing and aahing as they jumped in.
Pippa climbed into the driver’s seat and inserted the key into the ignition. Before she cranked the engine, she turned and shot them all pointed glances. “If any of you rats me out to Cam, I’ll murder you. That means you, Ash. He’d have a cow if he knew I was driving around the city without a license. I’d have to endure endless lectures on safety and God only knows what else.”
Ash blinked innocently. “Who’s Cam?”
“Let’s go, Pip!” Sylvia said from the seat next to Pippa.
Pippa started the van and then carefully pulled into traffic.
“Turn on the radio,” Carly called from the back. “Put something good on.”
“I’ll do the radio. You drive,” Sylvia said as she leaned forward.
Soon the van streaked along the streets of the city, the radio blaring as the women laughed and sang along. Okay, so this was the most fun Pippa’d had in longer than she could remember. This pregnancy thing wasn’t so bad. Nothing had changed. Except for the fact she was going to be a mother.
But she still had good friends. Her career was finally going places. And some of the worry was gone.
She had Cam to thank.
Cam, who swore he couldn’t give her a damn thing. Cam, who swore he didn’t do commitment, wouldn’t call and only wanted sex. She nearly snorted. He sure didn’t act like a man who wanted to distance himself.
“Let’s drive to Oscar’s for lunch,” Tabitha said. “My treat today. Then we can head back to your shop after and make cupcakes.”
Pippa grinned. It sounded like a perfectly wonderful plan to her.
* * *
She LOVED it. You did good, Cam.
Cam read the text from Ashley and smiled despite himself before sliding his phone back into his pocket. He felt a pang as he imagined Pippa’s eyes lighting up when she saw the van. He could well picture how beautiful her smile was and how radiant she looked now that she was pregnant.
He curled his hand into a tight fist, then rubbed it over his chest in an attempt to dispel the uncomfortable sensation.
But it wasn’t something he could wipe away any more than he could wipe Pippa from his thoughts. He was consumed with her every waking moment and there wasn’t a damn thing he could do about it.
Eleven
Pippa stood on her stoop until she saw Cam’s car coming down the street. Then she hurried to the curb to wait as it came to a stop.
She slid into the passenger seat, cupping the sundress she wore firmly to her rounded abdomen so the ends wouldn’t billow up. The city was on the cusp of spring. Still raw and windy, prone to chilly rains and the occasional snow flurry, but today the temps had soared into the sixties and the sun shone brightly, a promise of what was to come.
The past few months had been…nice. It seemed too tepid a word, but it fit. Accepting friendship from Cam had been hard—it was still hard. There were times when she could so see them together long-term. Then it was almost as if Cam realized how close they were getting, and he would back off and erect the wall between them once more.
Today, though? Today was special, and in her heart of hearts, she hoped their relationship would move forward just a bit. How could it not? Today they’d “meet” their child and for the first time see the tiny little life inside her.
“Are you nervous?” Cam asked as he drove toward the clinic where Pippa had her regular checkups.
Pippa took a deep breath. “Maybe?”
Cam smiled indulgently and reached over to squeeze her hand. “Still want to find out what we’re having?”
She nodded. “I do. I have to know. I want to be able to establish that bond early. Figure out a name. I can start buying clothes and decide how I want to decorate.”
She didn’t even realize she had drifted off into a dreamy smile until she became aware of Cam watching her.
“Have you given thought to what you’d like? Are you hoping for a boy or a girl?”
She grinned ruefully. “Depends on what day you catch me on. Yesterday I was sure I wanted a boy. Today I’m leaning toward a girl. What about you?”
His eyes went bleak for a moment. She watched his Adam’s apple bob up and down as he swallowed. Then he attempted a smile, but it was lame at best.
“I think I’d like a daughter.”
“Really? I thought guys always wanted sons.”
His eyes grew dimmer. “No. I think a daughter would be great. A little miniature Pippa. All that dark hair and green eyes.”
Her cheeks grew warm and she smiled at how pleased he seemed over the idea of having a daughter who looked like her.
A moment later, they pulled into the clinic’s parking garage and Pippa’s stomach burst into nervous flurries.
“Oh, my God,” she breathed. “We’re going to find out in just a little while.”
Cam smiled faintly, then reached over to squeeze her hand again. “Let’s go do it.”
* * *
Maybe it was her nerves, but Cam looked like he’d rather be anywhere but sitting in the tiny room where the sonogram tech was about to perform the scan. He looked…tormented. There was raw emotion in his eyes and he kept glancing toward the door like he was seriously contemplating bolting for it.
She bit her lip and controlled the urge to reach for his hand. He wasn’t even paying her any attention. He kept eyeing the tech and growing more uneasy by the minute. Instead, she took several calming breaths as the tech rolled her gown up and tucked it just over the slight swell of her belly.
She flinched when the cool gel smoothed over her skin and then the young man smiled at her as he placed the wand over her belly.
She strained closer as the blob took shape on the screen. Tears burned her eyelids when the tech explained that she was seeing the beating heart. She glanced over at Cam to see him equally awestruck. But there was such deep sadness in his eyes that she wondered what he could possibly be thinking.
Several long minutes later, the tech moved the wand again. “Ready to see what flavor of baby you’re having?”
“Oh, yes,” she whispered.
“Let’s take a look here. Hopefully we won’t have a shy one. Oh, hello! No shyness here. Look at the little guy.”
Pippa sat forward as she stared in amazement at the tiny appendage that clearly signaled the baby’s sex. “Oh, my God, it’s a boy! Cam, we’re having a son!”
Her excitement dimmed when she caught sight of Cam’s expression. And then to her shock, he simply got up and walked out of the room, leaving her on the table with the image of their son still vivid on the monitor.
* * *
Cam
walked straight out of the building. He shoved at the door, needing freedom, needing air. Tears burned his eyes and he was desperate to get as far away from anyone as possible.
The sunlight assaulted his senses. A cool breeze blew over his face, freezing the unshed tears in place. The knot in his throat was so big he didn’t have a prayer of taking a breath. So he stood there, chest burning, throat so raw that it felt like he’d swallowed a razor.
A son. Another son.
Why couldn’t it have been a daughter? No threat to the memory of Colton. And it wouldn’t seem so damn much like he was replacing his first son with another. How could he even bear to look at this child, knowing he’d lost one before?