Somebody Like You: A Small Town Single Mom Romance (The Heartbreak Brothers Book 4) Carrie Elks (free reads .TXT) 📖

“I know.”

“Okay, you’re officially forgiven for almost missing my party.” Becca hugged him again. “Now, let’s go inside. It’s freezing.”

He noticed Mia lingering at the back as the others rushed around the house. Cam locked his car and carried Becca’s gift to the porch. He’d walk around and bring it in later.

Then he clambered down the steps to where Mia was still standing.

“You okay?” he asked her. His fingers twitched with the need to touch her.

“I thought you weren’t coming back until tomorrow,” she said softly.

“Yeah. I was supposed to watch the game at Freedom Field. But I couldn’t wait to get out of Boston.” Couldn’t wait to see her.

“How was the meeting?”

“It was okay. Lots to think about.” He hadn’t processed it all yet. Especially the thought about not going to L.A. He needed to be alone for that.

“Your family told me about your head injury. I’m so sorry.” Her brow crinkled. “I didn’t know it was so bad. I can’t imagine how hard that must be for you.”

Cam looked at her for a minute, running his tongue along his bottom lip. “It sucks. But it is what it is. Hopefully they caught it before it got bad. It means I can’t play again, but I can still live a normal life.” And right now that didn’t sound so bad. Yeah, football had been his life until now.

But what if there was another life for him here?

“Cam!” a voice called out. “You’re up on the Xbox. Come show these losers how it’s done.”

“I guess we should go in,” she said softly.

“Yeah, we should. You doing okay?”

“I missed you this weekend.” Her smile was small, but damn did it hit him where he liked it.

“I missed you, too. Next Saturday still free?”

“Yep.” Her lips curled up.

“Good.” He winked at her. Maybe then he’d tell her how he felt. Because he couldn’t keep fighting these feelings. Not when his heart felt like mush every time she was close.

Chapter Twenty-Two

The junior varsity league played on Wednesday evenings, using the same mini-stadium as the varsity team. It was a much more subdued atmosphere, though. The bleachers weren’t full the way they were on Fridays, and only one of the refreshment stand registers was open. The small crowd of spectators was mostly made up of families of the players, and those from the opposite team.

Not that Mia minded. Michael was so excited about playing for JV that she was beaming with joy. Even the appearance of her almost-ex-husband and his girlfriend couldn’t dampen her happiness.

Niall walked over to the sidelines and hugged Michael, who looked delighted that his father had arrived. Her heart clenched at how easy it was for him to walk back into their childrens’ lives without a care for how they’d been the past year.

But if he hurt them again… he’d know about it. He got this one chance with them and that was it.

“Mom, can I go see Dad?” Josh asked, his eyes wide with excitement. “Do you think he’ll want to sit with us?”

Mia shook her head. “I don’t think he will, sweetheart. But of course you can go see him.”

Josh ran down the metal steps, his feet clanging against the treads, and launched himself to the sidelines, where Niall and Michael were still talking. She looked around for Cam – he coached this team, too, after all. But there was no sign of him.

Maybe that was a good thing. She didn’t need the two sides of her life clashing tonight. This was all supposed to be about Michael.

“You okay?” a soft voice whispered in her ear. Mia jumped about two feet off the bleacher.

“Dear lord, you shocked me.” She pressed her palm to her chest. “How the hell did you sneak up here without me seeing you?”

Cam grinned. “It’s my svelte body. I’m like a ninja.”

“A two hundred and fifty pound ninja.”

“Two-twenty, thank you very much.” He gave her a lopsided grin. “I work hard to keep myself trim.”

She found herself glancing down at his body. He was wearing his usual game night attire of sweats and a tight athletic shirt, his muscles bulging through the shiny fabric.

“I’m not complaining,” Mia told him. “I get the benefit of it.”

“Yeah you do.” He gave her an appraising look. “By the way, do you want me to go punch your ex?”

His abrupt change of subject made her giggle. “I do want you to,” she told him. “But please don’t. Michael’s so excited he’s here, and Josh is, too. I’m just trying to be happy for them.”

“You’re way too good, you know that?” Cam murmured, tipping his head to the side. “He deserves a hard punch after what he did to you.”

It was weird, because a few weeks ago, she would have agreed. But now he seemed insignificant. The boys were happy, and so was she. Niall would always be part of her sons’ lives, but he wasn’t part of hers.

He was just somebody she used to know.

“How good?” she asked with a smile.

Cam’s eyes dipped, taking in the open neck of her shirt, and the tight jeans she was wearing. His pupils darkened, as though he liked what he saw. “Too good,” he said softly.

“Does that mean I’m nearly finished with rehab?”

A smile pulled at the corner of his lips. “Not yet. I’ll need to do a full body assessment first. You should probably come over naked this weekend. That’ll save us some time.”

She raised an eyebrow. “That’ll get the neighbors talking.”

“You shouting my name multiple times will get the neighbors talking,” he said, his voice low. “The rest is just window dressing.”

“Mom, can I sit with dad?” Josh asked, panting from running back up the steps.

Cam immediately pulled back. Mia glanced at her son to see if he’d heard a word of their conversation. From the expression on his face, he had no idea what was going on.

Thank the Lord it was Josh and not Michael