Chapter 50

Cami

I breathed a sigh of relief after ending my call with the police. They’d arrested a young man in connection with my fall. He’d recently made several threats against his mother, who worked in my building. There had also been a violent outburst in school. With any luck, he’d get the help he needed rather than just being sent to jail.

I was about to call Xander to update him when I decided to head over to his place. He’d told me he was going to be home most of the day, except for an early morning appointment. I’d been planning to work out, but I loved finding an excuse to avoid the gym, and I wanted to see Xander. It was becoming increasingly apparent that what we had was a lot more than friendship and sex. Neither of us had said anything yet. Likely, he was afraid of scaring me off. Two weeks ago, he probably would have, but I was beginning to think he was falling in love with me, not falling in love with some perfect girlfriend persona. As for me, I was falling for Xander.

Thoughts of my growing feelings were at the forefront of my mind the entire drive to his home. We didn’t live that far apart, so it only took me fifteen minutes to get there. I could hear the shouting on my way from the car to his front porch, and I wasn’t sure he’d even hear the bell.

My mouth dropped open when Xander answered the door. Strapped to his chest was a baby carrier. There was a little boy with brown hair and deep green eyes clinging to his calf as he rode on his foot. Another little boy with blond hair and blue eyes shouted as he raced forward and wrapped his arms around Xander from behind.

I covered my mouth and giggled.

“Don’t laugh at me, babe,” Xander warned. “I could easily convince them you’re part of this game.”

“She’s not a baby, Uncle Xan,” the little boy on Xander’s foot said with a laugh. He was likely three or four years old.

“Uncle Xan?” I asked with raised eyebrows.

“Yeah,” Xander replied, gesturing for me to enter the house. “These are my nephews.”

“Why didn’t you tell me your sister was visiting from Los Angeles?” I asked. “I thought you said she was coming alone tomorrow.”

“Her interview got rescheduled last minute, and she had to bring the boys with her,” he explained as I followed him to the kitchen. His nephew was still riding his foot.

“You seem to have your hands full,” I remarked.

“Yeah, they missed me almost as much as I missed them,” he replied.

“Mommy says that Uncle Xan is not to hype us up under any circumstances,” the boy on his foot announced.

Xander flashed me a sheepish grin. “I may have hyped them up a little.” The boy in the baby carrier let out a little cry. “Don’t worry, buddy. I’m going to get you fed. Cami’s here to help, so we should have lunch ready in no time.”

Is there anything that can melt your heart faster than a man who loves kids? Seriously, not only did I feel my heart beat a little faster, I may have ovulated right there in Xander’s kitchen.

“What do you need me to do?” I asked.

“Can you make some grilled cheese sandwiches for the older boys?” he asked. “My sister also brought some fruits and veggies she wants them to eat before they have any sweets.”

“Got it,” I said with a nod. “I’ll put those on the table.”

“What?” He sounded as if I was speaking a different language. “I was going to say you should hide those in one of the drawers at the bottom so she won’t see that they didn’t get eaten.”

The boys began jumping up and down as they chanted, “Cookies! Cookies! Cookies!”

“You want me to help you give these boys junk food and skip the healthy food their mother packed?” I asked.

“I promise that if they move up here, I’ll feed them healthy sometimes.” He flashed me a boyish grin. “I hardly ever get to spoil them since I moved.”

“I’m surprised you agreed to move up here,” I remarked as I began prepping the sandwiches and pulling out the electric grill I’d talked Xander into buying.

“It was best for the band,” he replied. “My waffles weren’t the only thing that made it hard to move. When I first got up here, I expected to fly back down more often. Even though I still make it down there every few weeks, it’s different from having my sister call to ask if I can babysit. I wasn’t even down there when Carter was born. I can’t really blame the move for that. He was born during the European tour.”

“So, your sister may be moving up here?” I asked.

“Yeah,” he replied as he settled the youngest boy into a booster seat attached to one of his chairs. “Her wife mostly works from home, so she has no problem with the move. She only has a few out-of-town trips a year. She’s away until tonight, so my sister needed to bring the boys with her. My mom is also out of town, or she’d have watched the boys.”

“So hungry,” the oldest boy said as he collapsed onto the floor with dramatic flair.

“No cookies until after you’ve had a sandwich,” Xander told him in a no-nonsense tone, proving he was more than just the fun uncle who let his nephews have anything they wanted.

“But I’m starving,” the boy continued as the middle boy dropped down onto the floor beside him with a moan.

“Oh no!” I said with my hands on my cheeks. “These boys are starving. I’d better get them some vegetables.”

Xander laughed. “You’re good at this. They don’t mind vegetables, but they always try to get more treats with me.” His eyes remained on the baby who he was feeding some mashed concoction. The baby seemed thrilled with his meal.

“So, I take it the youngest is Carter,” I began as I put the sandwiches on the grill. “Who are these other handsome boys?”

The oldest stood and pointed to his brother on the floor. “That’s James, and I’m Kaeden.”

“It’s nice to meet you, James and Kaeden,” I said with a smile. “I promise to have these sandwiches ready in a flash. Not to sound conceited, but I happen to make the best grilled-cheese sandwiches in the entire world.”

“The best in the entire world?” James asked with wide eyes. He was still lying on his back on the floor.

“She’s telling the truth,” Xander replied. “Her sandwiches are amazing.”

“I want two,” Kaeden announced.

“I want five,” James shouted.

Carter began waving his hands and shouting. “Fa fa fa!”

“Sorry, buddy,” Xander said with a laugh as he scooped out another spoonful of baby food. “Your mama said you have to eat soft stuff a little longer. Maybe next time you visit, you’ll be ready for some of Cami’s cooking.”

I finished getting lunch together, and the boys ate with gusto, Xander included.

“Thanks, babe,” Xander said with a smile. “I appreciate the help.”

“You should have called me,” I told him. “I would have loved to come over to help you babysit.”

“Really?” he asked.

“Really,” I replied. “You’re important to me.”

Xander’s grin widened. “You have no idea how glad I am to hear that.”

Nothing new had been said. I’d told Xander he was important to me before, told him how much his friendship meant to me. Still, this felt like more. Our eyes remained locked for just a moment before Xander’s nephews began begging for cookies. There was a time when I’d have considered it an escape from an uncomfortable talk about our feelings. Instead, I was disappointed by the interruption.