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

“Good. Now go shower. I can’t concentrate with all these damn pheromones filling up the apartment.”

Cam rolled his eyes. “I’ve kind of missed you, you know that?”

“Yeah, well. You can give me an end of contract bonus.”

“You’ll get more than that.” Cam’s face turned serious. He grabbed the keys he’d slung on the kitchen counter two days ago, pulling one off. “If you fancy a trip to Hartson’s Creek, there’s an Audi parked outside my house there. You pick it up, it’s yours.”

Brian laughed, but then when he realized Cam was serious, the smile slid from his face. “What?”

“The car’s yours. Honestly, I don’t want it.” It was another reminder he couldn’t take. “And if you go there, can you take two of the Depuis watches in my drawer with you? I want you to give them to two kids I know. I’ll give you the address.”

“What is this? Why are you giving away all your assets?” Brian lowered his voice. “Are you feeling suicidal?”

“No, I’m not.” Cam sighed. “They’re just things I don’t want anymore. I want to go to L.A. with a clean slate. Leave a lot of the shit behind.”

“I’ll go pick up the car early tomorrow, and get you anything you need from the house. I’ll even deliver those watches. But I don’t want your Audi. If you really insist, sell the damn thing and buy me another car. One I can actually afford to insure.”

A ghost of a smile passed Cam’s lips. “It’s a deal.”

Chapter Twenty-Nine

“Mom!” Josh came running into the kitchen, one shoe on, the other goodness only knew where. She could tell from the milk mustache that he hadn’t brushed his teeth like she’d asked him to.

“You have fifteen minutes until we need to leave for breakfast club,” she told him. “There’s no time for running around right now.”

“But Cam’s here. His car just pulled in the driveway.”

Mia’s hand froze mid air, her coffee cup clutched in her fingers. “Cam’s not here. He moved away, remember?”

“He’s here. It’s his car. I’m not stupid.”

“Whose car?” Michael asked, sloping into the kitchen. He glanced down at Josh. “Why’ve you only got one shoe on?”

His mood still hadn’t improved much in the last week. But at least he was being kinder to Josh. As for Mia, he was mostly ignoring her, unless she asked him a direct question. Then she’d get a grunt or a head move in response.

“Because I saw Cam pull in the driveway while I was putting them on.”

“Cam’s not here.” Michael frowned, glancing at Mia from the corner of his eye. “Right, Mom?”

She opened her mouth to reply, but the sound of the doorbell echoed through the hallway.

“See?” said Josh, jumping excitedly. “I told you.”

“He better not be here,” Michael mumbled. “Or I’ll whoop his ass.”

“Can I answer it? Can I?” Josh asked, his energy the exact opposite of his brother’s.

Mia blew out a lungful of air. “Okay.”

She wasn’t ready to see him. Yet a tiny pulse of excitement started to grow inside her, getting stronger as she stood and touched the back of her hair.

“I mean it,” Michael warned. “I’m gonna let him have it.”

“You’ll do no such thing, or you’ll be grounded for the next two weeks.”

Michael shook his head and walked into the hallway. “Turn it the other way, doofus.”

“Michael!” Mia shouted, following him out of the kitchen. “Make that three weeks.”

“Mom!”

“You talk nicely to people or you pay the consequences. I’m not putting up with your attitude anymore.”

Josh finally unlatched the door, jerking it open. But instead of Cam standing on the doorstep, there was a much younger man, his hair pulled into a dark ponytail that hung down his back.

For a moment, the three of them stared at the stranger. Over his shoulder, Cam’s blue Audi glistened in the morning sun.

“Um, hello?” Mia said, walking forward. “Can I help you?”

“Is this the Devlin house?” the man asked. He had a bright smile on his face. “You must be Josh, right?”

Josh’s face lit up at being singled out. “Yeah, I am.”

“Which makes you Michael?”

Michael gave a grunt.

“My name’s Brian. I have something for you both. But maybe I should give it to your Mom.” He glanced at Mia. “They’re pretty expensive.”

“What are they?” Josh asked, noticing the shiny wooden boxes in the man’s hand. He reached out to touch them.

“Watches,” Mia said. “They’re watches.”

To be specific, Depuis watches. Valued at twenty thousand dollars each. She could remember her conversation with Cam about them. They’d been sitting in his drawer in his Boston apartment while he decided what to do with them.

“Why are you giving us watches?” Michael asked, his voice wary. “We don’t even know you. And what are you doing with Cam’s car?”

“These watches are from him. He wants you and Josh to have them.” Brian glanced at Mia. “He says keep them or sell them, he doesn’t mind. And he suggests you put them in a safety deposit box rather than letting them sit in a drawer.”

Mia cleared her throat. “Please thank Mr. Hartson for us, but we can’t accept them. It’s too much.”

Brian shrugged. “He said you’d say that. And he told me if you refuse them to leave them on the step. Either you pick them up or some lucky thief does.”

“What’s with that asshole?” Michael asked, throwing up his hands. “Doesn’t he know how to take no for an answer?”

“Mom, can I look at the watch?” Josh asked, his eyes wide. “Is it cool?” he asked Brian.

“Here you go,” Brian said, unlatching one of the wooden cases. “I’d say it’s pretty cool.”

The watch was huge. Way too big for Josh’s little hands. Mia stared at it for a moment, wondering what the hell to do. She couldn’t take forty thousand dollars worth of watches from Cam, not even if they would be used to help out with college for her boys.

But she couldn’t let them sit on the step either.

“I’ll take them for now,” she