Cam hadn’t been to a school dance since he was a teenager. He ran a finger under his collar and considered retying his tie. It felt a little tight. He wondered for the umpteenth time if he was overdressed, but Dakota insisted he wear a suit.
After checking that his phone was charged, he was putting it away when Dakota came trotting down the stairs. He let himself ogle her jiggling breasts for as long as he thought he could get away with, which wasn’t long, then smiled at her.
“Is she ready? We’re going to be late.”
“I’m surprised you’ve gotten to be the age you are without learning you can’t hurry a woman who’s getting ready for a date.”
“She’s not a woman. She’s a little girl. What the hell could she—”
“Shh!” She thwacked him in the chest with the back of her hand. “Here she comes.”
Cam looked to the top of the stairs and Zinny appeared, a perfect ten of adorable.
Her dress was a frothy thing made of white fabric with tiny gold hearts randomly printed all over it. The skirt had a fluffy gauzy layer, giving it that extra little dress-up factor, and she had a gold headband in her hair, which had been curled.
He had a sudden vision of Zinny a dozen years from now, dressed for prom. She’d be excited and so grown-up and so much taller. Whatever time had been spent on her appearance tonight would probably be multiplied by ten, but it would be worth it. She’d be on the cusp of adulthood and he hoped she would grow up to be as cheerful and centered as she was right now. It suddenly occurred to him that if he didn’t convince Dakota to give him a real chance, he might not be present at that moment.
Dakota elbowed him. “Say something,” she hissed.
“Holy shi—wow! Who is that gorgeous thing? Is that my date?”
Zinny giggled as she scampered down the stairs. “It’s just me.”
“Zin Bin, you look beautiful. Turn around for me. Wow. You’re a vision.”
Dakota had her phone out and was taking pictures.
“There’s just one thing missing,” he said, going to the refrigerator and pulling out the miniature corsage he’d ordered from the florist.
Dakota gasped. “Zinny, do you know what this is? It’s a corsage. Boys give them to girls to wear on special occasions.”
“This is a wrist corsage,” he said, stretching the elastic and settling it on her birdlike wrist.
Zinny immediately buried her nose in it. “It smells so good.”
“It’s a gardenia.”
This time it was Zinny who got the nudge from Dakota.
“Thank you, Cam,” Zinny said.
“So let me get a real picture before you go,” Dakota said. “Zinny, go stand on the stairs so your faces are on the same level. Good. Tilt your heads together…good. One, two, three! Perfect. Now go and have a good time, you two. I want to see lots of pictures when you get home.”
Feeling left out sucked. There really wasn’t anything in the world Dakota wanted to do more than be a fly on the wall at that dance. Chris Hemsworth could have shown up right now bedecked in his Thor costume offering to cook her dinner and rub her feet, and she’d still have been distracted as heck.
She tried texting Cam, text after text.
Are you having fun?
Take a panoramic picture.
Does anyone look as pretty as Zinny does?
Are there any other girls without their daddies there?
Unfortunately, he didn’t seem to be paying attention to his phone. That should have been a good thing. That meant he was paying attention to Zinny and not just putting in the time. But of course that wasn’t the case. Cam didn’t do things half-assed. Once he committed, he was into it one hundred percent. That was one of the things she…loved about him. Her brain stuttered on that word, but loving something about a person was totally different from loving that person. Totally.
Supremely frustrated, she consoled herself with the knowledge that the other moms were suffering right along with her. It didn’t help much.
Her phone buzzed. It was a video from Natalie Nordbeck. Apparently she was one of the class parents and had volunteered to act as photo historian for Room 6.
This is the most adorable thing I’ve ever seen, Natalie texted. The picture attached showed Cam and Zinny clinking plastic cups of fruit punch. They looked like they were having so much fun.
Need an assistant? Dakota texted back.
A seemingly endless moment passed before Natalie replied.
I’ve actually seen about five other moms here, poking their heads in and sneaking a peek. The teachers have been shooing them away, but I can say you had to bring me a battery pack for my camera.
Dakota didn’t have to be told twice. She threw on her Converses and sped to school. Roosevelt Elementary looked so different at night, so inviting with the glow from the multipurpose room spilling out onto the concrete walkways. Some of the bushes and trees had been bedecked with twinkle lights and she could hear a familiar song playing.
Natalie met her at the door. “They’re on the dance floor,” she said, pointing.
In the center of the room an area for dancing had been created by a border of potted plants, aglow with more twinkle lights. Off to one side was a selfie station with a selection of fun props—hats, scarves, boas, glasses and funny signs. The PTA had supplied lemonade and cookies, a combination that sounded disgusting to Dakota.
The fathers and daughters danced to Stevie Wonder’s “Isn’t She Lovely.” Some of the men were in suits, like Cam, and the little girls all looked adorable, even if some of the dresses looked more appropriate for a wedding than a school dance.
“I can’t see Zinny,” Dakota said, craning her neck.
“She’s out there. I just saw her. She looks so sweet—oh, there she is!” Natalie said, pointing again.
Dakota saw Cam first. He had his back to her, but she’d recognize that rock hard butt anywhere. Lord, he looked fine in a suit. It fit him perfectly, showcasing his broad shoulders and muscular thighs. His hair brushed the top of his collar and he had a five o’clock shadow that begged to be touched.
Zinny came into view. Her cheeks were flushed pink and she was beaming up at Cam with such pure unadulterated joy and love, Dakota thought her heart might burst at the sight.
Then somehow, Cam looked up and saw Dakota. Their eyes met and his crinkled at the corners as he smiled at her.
Just her.
The music went away and the emotions she’d been trying so hard to deny cracked and then finally broke through the wall she’d built.
Crap. She was in love with Cam.
Head over heels in love with him.
Barring his chronic messiness, he was the most wonderful man she’d ever met. He was smart and funny and loyal to the core. She knew he would walk barefoot across a frozen tundra for her or Zinny, without a second thought, and she felt stupid for not realizing it until now.
For a brief moment she let herself think about what it would be like if they lived like a real family. The days would be idyllic with the three of them eating breakfast together, lazing by the pool on summer afternoons, flying a kite at Baker Beach or venturing into the city to ride the cable car to Ghirardelli Square … The nights would be different. The nights would belong to Dakota and Cam. They’d be free to be as intimate as they wanted, to explore each other’s bodies to their hearts’ content.
A wave of longing hit her so hard, she caught her breath. Cam had turned his attention back to Zinny by then, so he hadn’t seen the sudden tears that had formed.
But Natalie did.
“It’s nice to know I’m not the only sap who cries at the drop of a hat,” Natalie said.
Dakota faked a laugh and said, “Right?” as she stuffed all those hopes and dreams back into the basement of her brain and padlocked the door.
“Wait a second.” Natalie was frowning. “Those aren’t sappy tears. Something’s really wrong, isn’t it?”
“No, I’m fine,” she replied, sniffling hard. “Thanks for covering for me. I’d better go before I get kicked out.”
Walking swiftly, Dakota left the multipurpose room and headed to the parking lot. Natalie followed her at a jog.
“Hey,” Natalie said, catching up. “Come on. Something’s wrong.”
Natalie hugged her and Dakota let herself be comforted. It was almost like having a big sister again and that realization made her cry harder.
When Dakota finally got a hold of herself, she apologized. “You need to go back in there and take pictures.”
“The dads will be taking plenty of pictures, believe me. This is much more important. Now, tell me what’s going on.”
Dakota hesitated. It was one thing to fall apart in front of Natalie. It was another to admit she wanted to jump the bones of her boss, who just happened to be the teammate of Natalie’s husband.
“You know,” Natalie said, “maybe I should just guess…does it have to do with Cam?”
“I’m in love with him,” Dakota blurted. “I didn’t mean to do it. I couldn’t help it and now everything’s in the shithole.”
Natalie led her to a park bench in front of the office and Dakota spilled her guts. Once she started talking, she couldn’t seem to stop. She told Natalie about how attracted she was to him right from the very first day and how flaming hot their recent kiss was. She babbled about Ellen, the custody action and how CPS could descend on her at any moment and that she couldn’t risk any hint of impropriety.
“Is there any chance he returns your feelings?”
“Yes. He said he wanted to be more than friends, but I can’t…we can’t…”
“Because you’re afraid the authorities will find out.”
“Right. So I lied and told him I didn’t feel anything for him.”
“Okay, listen to me. I used to be a nurse and I’ve dealt with CPS, so I know a little about how they operate. They’re not going to take Zinny away from you if they find out you and Cam are romantically involved.”
“But she told them I’m a prostitute!” Dakota cringed at how loudly she’d said that.
“That doesn’t mean they believe her. That’s why they have to do their own investigation. The unfortunate truth is, I’ve seen the state allow children to remain with some truly messed up people. But that’s good news for you. You and Cam are wonderful people. Wonderful people who happened to discover each other in a unique way. Trust me, you’re fine. The social worker will talk to Zinny and she’ll tell them how happy she is, right?”
Dakota nodded. “Well, she gets mad at me sometimes when I make her go to bed or make her go back upstairs to brush her teeth.”
“And if she tells the social worker that, they’ll just laugh. You have nothing to worry about.” Natalie cocked her head. “You don’t look convinced. I have a friend who used to be a social worker. You want to talk to her?”
“No, that’s okay. I feel a lot better about that, but…”
Natalie gave her a smile of encouragement.
“I think Cam’s confused. He just wants to have sex with me. I was a sexy maid and he’s probably got that image of me stuck in his head and once we do it, he’ll be done with me,” Dakota said. “I mean come on. Let’s be honest. The man looks like a god. He’s rich. He could have any woman he wanted.”
Natalie frowned at her. “Let me tell you something, sister. When Paul told me he wanted to get to know me better, I didn’t believe him either. I didn’t think there was any way he could possibly be interested in me. I’m just your run of the mill nurse. He’s this famous hockey player. People would walk up to him and go out of their minds because they were meeting him. He flat out told me women threw themselves at him, but look at us now.” She leaned forward. “Hockey players aren’t like other athletes. I’ve been married to Paul for a little over six years now and I’ve met a lot of them. There’s this…I don’t know… A lot of them are pretty wild—I think maybe they all are when they’re younger, but underneath it all, there’s this almost universal code of behavior. The majority of them are decent guys. I don’t know what it is. Maybe it’s peer pressure. ‘Friends don’t let friends be assholes,’ or something like that. Someone told me they thought it was because a lot of them were good Canadian farm boys, or maybe there’s something in the Gatorade.”
Dakota laughed.
“But if Cam says he wants to take things to the next level, it’s not because he wants sex. Believe me, he can get that anytime he wants. I’ve known him for as long as I’ve known Paul and I’ve seen the way he looks at you, you and Zinny both. And I’m telling you, there’s something there and I think you’d be making a mistake if you ignored it.”